Good Healthy Water, LLC

What is ORP?

What is ORP?

ORP, which stands for Oxidation-Reduction Potential, is an important water chemistry parameter. ORP measurements have applications in many fields, including maintaining proper chemistry in swimming pool water as well as the drinking water industry.

ORP provides a measurement of the oxidizing or reducing nature of the water. As pH is a measurement of proton activity to assign a value to the acidity or alkalinity of a system, ORP is the analagous measurement for electron activity. It is useful in assigning a value to oxidizing or reducing systems.

A positive ORP means that the solution is oxidizing. The higher the number, the more oxidizing the solution. A negative number, however, indicates a reducing or dexodizing tendency. The lower the ORP number, the more deoxidizing is the solution.

The oxidizing or reducing nature of water has implications in its ability to support life. Persons with high ORP numbers have more symptoms of illness, while those with negative numbers are healthier.

Oxidation-Reduction

When chemists first used the term oxidation, the word meant "to combine with oxygen." It was a radical concept back then. Historically, scientists were confused about the nature of matter. For example, they believed fire involved the release of some unknown, mysterious substance. That didn't change until about 200 years ago when some brave chemists proved that fire occurred when oxygen combined rapidly with substances being burned.

A 4-year-old son was eating an apple in the back seat of the car, when he asked, "Daddy, why is my apple turning brown?"

"Because," his dad explained, "after you ate the skin off, the meat of the apple came into contact with the air, which caused it to oxidize, thus changing the molecular structure and turning it into a different color."

There was a long silence. Then the boy asked, "Daddy, are you talking to me?"
We can see examples of oxidation all the time in our daily lives. They occur at different speeds. When we see a piece of iron rusting, or a slice of apple turning brown, we are looking at examples of relatively slow oxidation. When we look at a fire, we are witnessing an example of rapid oxidation.

We now know that oxidation involves an exchange of electrons between two atoms. The atom that loses an electron in the process is said to be "oxidized." The one that gains an electron is said to be "reduced." In picking up that extra electron, it loses the electrical energy that makes it "hungry" for more electrons.

Potential

"Potential" is a word that refers to ability rather than action. Potential energy is energy that is stored and ready to be put to work. It's not actually working, but we know that the energy is there if and when we need it.

In electrical terms, potential energy is measured in volts. When we use the term potential in describing ORP, we are actually talking about electrical potential or voltage. We are reading the very tiny voltage generated when a metal is placed in water in the presence of oxidizing and reducing agents. These voltages give us an indication of the ability of the oxidizers in a substance to keep it free from contaminants.

How do you measure ORP?

Virtually all liquids have an ORP, and ORP is easily measured in millivolts (mV) with a calibrated meter. An ORP probe is really a millivolt meter, measuring the voltage across a circuit formed by a reference electrode constructed of silver wire (in effect, the negative pole of the circuit), and a measuring electrode constructed of a platinum band (the positive pole), with the pool water in between. Modern ORP electrodes are almost always combination electrodes, that is both electrodes are housed in one body--so it appears that it is just one "probe."

Only a negative ORP can reduce or negate oxidation. As substances oxidize, the ORP rises. In other words, the lower the ORP level, the more powerful the antioxidant. Fresh squeezed orange juice has an ORP of -250 mV, as do most other fresh squeezed juices and vegetables. However, if they have been pasteurized or otherwise processed, the antioxidant properties are diminished or removed. Most of the packaged orange juice has ORP values as high as +200 mV.

What are ORPs of water?

Oxidation-Reduction Potential (ORP)

Water Type ORP pH What It Means

Tap Water +400 to +500 mV 7 Oxidation potential

Reduced Water -250
to
-350 mV 8 Strong reduction potential. Contains a mass of electrons that can be donated to free radicals

Oxidized Water +700 to +800 mV 4 Strong oxidation potential. A shortage of electrons giving it the ability to oxidize and sterilize.

In short, ORP measures the quality of the water. Positive ORP increases oxidation (aging) and is found in distilled and reverse osmosis waters as well as cooked and processed foods. If the ORP is a negative number, it means the water is is beneficial to our body in that it reduces oxidation (anti-oxidant). Negative ORP is in ionized water and fresh, uncooked foods.

Almost all tap and bottled waters have positive ORPs. Normal tap water has an ORP of +250 to +400 mV, meaning that its potential for reducing oxidation is nonexistent. Tests reveal that bottled waters have an average ORP only slightly lower than ordinary tap water-- approximately +200 to +300mV.

Alkaline ionized water has an ORP of -200 to -700 mV, depending in part on the amount of minerals in the source water and how the ionizer is adjusted. This means it has a very high potential for reducing oxidation. Below are the results from one test.

ORP results from one test
(numbers do not reproduce exactly and will vary from test to test)

Although the ORP numbers vary from test to test, bottled water and tap water will always test with high positive ORP numbers and Kangen water will always test with a low negative ORP number.

How does oxidation impact our bodies?

Oxidation is the process by which our bodies break down or "age" bioligically. Each cell in our bodies contains a combination of proteins, minerals, and fats. As these cellular building blocks are exposed to oxidation, the fats become rancid, the proteins putrefy, and the minerals rust--all of which leads to decomposition.

In other words, oxidation is truly systematic destruction of the body resulting in wrinkles, degeneration of bones, organs, and glandular systems, a weakening of cellular membranes, and a loss of vitality that can lead to disease and death.

"A top research scientists says most of us take better care of our swimming pools than our body."

CNN's Carol Lin introducing
Dr. Robert O. Young

ORP Use in Swimming Pools

"In Germany, which has about the strictest water quality standards in the world, an ORP level of 750 millivolts has been established as the minimum standard for public pools (1982) and spas (1984)."

* * * * * *

"ORP technology has received widespread application in this country as the basis of automated chemical control equipment. The reasoning is clear: Only an ORP sensor can deliver the kind of feedback needed to control feeders for sanitizer and pH adjusting chemicals."

"Unlike constant feed or timer controlled devices, ORP based chemical controllers can dispense pool chemicals as they are needed. Combined with a pH sensor, these controllers can be used to activate liquid feed pumps, gas chlorinators, and erosion type feeders for dry chemicals. They also can monitor pool water chemistry and record the reading on a chart."

Naturally, ORP values vary quite widely between foods and beverages. Your goal is to avoid oxidizing your body internally as much as possible, so it is important to make a constant effort to eat and drink foods and beverages with an ORP value on the negative side. Unfortunately, the majority of what we eat and drink has positive ORP values, often quite high.

The consumption of oxidized foods and beverages tend to affect unafavorably the chemical characeristics of the body fluids. Many foods and beverages are highly oxidized and devoid of electrons.

Likewise, having a diet of foods and beverages with negative hydrogen ions affects body fluids in a favorable manner. These negative hydrogen ions are found to be especially high in organically grown vegetables.

The impact of oxidation was demonstrated by a health care instrument containing an ORP measuring function designed by Japanese inventor Yoshitaho Ootomo for the Yugen Kaisha Endo Process company. The inventor measured ORPs on healthy and unhealthy subjects and obtained the results shown in the following table.

Subjects	mV*	Health analysis by subjects themselves
Group A	-190	Satisfactory physical condition and confidence in his or her own health.
Group B	-157	Constant body weight and full vitality.
Group C	-50	Though hardly conscious of it, health standard is not met.
Group D	+72	Liable to catch cold but no subjective symptoms such as pain.
Group E	+120	Liable to catch cold but none of serious diseases requiring the subject to enter hospital. hospital
Group F	+200	Somewhat conscious of suspenseful physical condition as well as subjective symptoms and liable to be tired.
Group G	+280	Going to hospital regularly with subjective symptoms and apprehension about health.
Group H	+350	Repeatedly entering and leaving hospital, feeling regret for health care.
*ORP values (mV) for respective Groups represent averages of ORP values obtained on subjects belonging to respective Groups

By using the instrument containing the ORP value measuring function, the following tendencies were discovered. Groups F and G included many patients suffering from lung cancer, gastric cancer and liver cancer, and the average ORP value in these Groups was in a range of +200 through +280. Groups D and E included many patients suffering from hepatitis C, hypertension, diabetes, hepatopathy, cystitis, cecitis, Behcet's syndrome, asthmatic fit, and collagenosis, and the average ORP value in these Groups was in a range of +72 through +120.

The healthy subjects--who neither experienced going to hospital regularly nor had subjective symptoms or problems in complexion, appetite, vitality and physical stamina--were found in Groups A, B, C. The average ORP value in these Groups was in a range of -50 through -190.

What causes oxidation?

Oxidation involves the transfer of electrons between atoms and molecules. Atoms are made up of three types of particles--electrons ,
protons , and neutrons . Each atom is made up of a combination of these particles. Each of these particles has different properties. Electrons are tiny, very light particles with a negative electrical charge (-). Protons are much larger and heavier than electrons and have a positive charge ()+)--the opposite charge as electrons. protons Neutrons are large and heavy like protons; however, neutrons have no electrical charge. Protons and neutrons make up the central mass called the nucleus, and electrons move around the nucleus.

A molecule is made up of at least two atoms in a definite arrangement held together by a strong chemical bond. The molecules in your body, have electrons going around a nucleus in a state of balance, just like the planets in the solar system revolve around the sun and are kept in balance by gravitational forces. If we were to remove Venus from our solar system, the whole universe would have difficulty trying to rebalance itself.

Think of the solar system being a molecule and those planets as being electrons. In your body, if an electron is removed from a molecule, it is like an atom bomb going off. That is what a free radical does--it steals an electron from another molecule. Free radicals are the cause oxidation. Free radicals are all around.

We have all seen examples of oxidation in nature--metals rust, plants decompose, proteins like meat putrefy, and oils become rancid when exposed to free radicals. They are abundant in the air we breathe, the food we eat and the water we drink. They are even produced in your body as cellular waste.