- What is ORP?
- How do you measure ORP?
- What are OPRs of water?
- How does oxidation impact our bodies?
- What causes oxidation?
- What are free radicals?
- How do free radicals form?
- How do free radicals cause damage?
- How can oxidation be stopped?
- What are antioxidants
- What does this have to do with water?
By definition, a free radical is any atom or molecule that has a
single unpaired electron in an outer shell and is capable of independent existence.
An "unpaired electron" will always
mean that there is an odd number
in the outer ring because "pairing" always goes by 2s. Atoms are most stable in the ground state. An atom
is considered to be "ground" when every electron in the outermost shell has
a complimentary electron that spins in the opposite direction.
In general, a free radical has an excess of positive electrical charge
(because there is one
less electron in its rings) and that means that this free
radical is able to attract an electron from some other
atom or molecule. This "taking" of a free electron from somewhere
else means that the free radical is
now balanced and is no longer a free radical.
However, the atom or molecule from which the electron was taken may now,
itself, become a free radical, or may be damaged in some way.
Let's take the example of helium. The nucleus of the helium atom is made up of two protons and two neutrons,
and circling around this center are two electrons.
If a free radical steals one of those
electrons, it leaves the atom with a single electron.
The atom would have an odd number of electrons (one)
in the outer ring (the only ring), and it woud become a free radical itself.
However, it is very difficult to steal an
electron away from helium. That is why helium is considered so stable.
Hydrogen is the simplest atom because the hydrogen atom consists of a single electron
traveling around a single proton. Because of its atomic make-up, hydrogen is
very reactive, and mixing hyrdogen with oxygen creates an explosion.
That is what happened to the Hindenburg,
which was filled with hydrogen.
Another word we
need to understand in this situation is "ion." An "ion" is an atom with some
"net electrical charge"--an atom with either a "+" charge or a "-" electrical charge.
Some atoms can either gain or lose electrons
(the number of protons never changes in
an atom). If an atom gains electrons, the atom becomes negatively charged.
If the atom loses electrons, the atom becomes positively charged (because the number
of positively charged protons will exceed the number of electrons). An atom that
carries an electrical charge is called an ion.
Listed below are three forms of hydrogen: the electrically neutral form and
two ions forms--the
positively charged ion (H+) and the negatively charged ion (H-).
 |
 |
 |
| H+ : Positively charged hydrogen ion |
H : Hydrogen atom |
H- : Negatively charged hydrogen ion |
Free radicals and other reactive oxygen species are derived either from normal
essential metabolic processes in the human body or from external sources
such as exposure to x-rays, ozone, cigarette smoking, air pollutants, and
industrial chemicals.
A free radical is easily formed when a
covalent bond between entities is broken and one electron remains with each newly
formed atom. Covalent bonding is a form of chemical bonding that is characterized by the
sharing of pairs of electrons between atoms, or between atoms and other
covalent bonds. In short, covalent bonding is the attraction-to-repulsion stability
that forms between atoms when they share electrons.
Free radical formation occurs continuously in the cells as a consequence of
both enzymatic and non-enzymatic reactions. Enzymatic reactions which
serve as sources of free radicals include those involved in the respiratory chain,
in phagocytosis, in prostaglandin synthesis, and in the cytochrome P450 system.
Free radicals also arise in non-enzymatic reactions of oxygen with organic
compounds as well as those initiated by ionizing radiations.
Some internally generated sources of free radicals are:
- mitochondria
- phagocytes
- xanthine oxidase
- reactions involving iron and other transition metals
- arachidonate pathways
- peroxisomes
- exercise
- inflammation
- ischaemia/reperfusion.
Some externally generated sources of free radicals are:
- cigarette smoke
- environmental pollutants
- radiation
- ultraviolet light
- certain drugs, pesticides, anaesthetics and industrial solvents
- ozone.
Invading "free radicals" cause the death of cells.
Thus, aside from trauma, the process of death, at the cell level, is oxidation.
These invading free radicals are part of
our environment--from cigarette smoke to the chemical preservatives in
our food and water. Anything that is foreign to the body can, potentially,
become a free radical.
One of the primary types of damage caused by free radicals traces back
to radiation. Sunlight, x-rays, or other radiation hits the
body and creates free radicals inside the body. These free radicals
in turn grab some loose electron from somewhere and create
a new free radical.
This process is called a "chain reaction" because one free
radical can be neutralized and create a new free radical. This new
free radical is then neutralized, and the process continues.
These actions take place in a tiny amount of
time--less than a millionth of a second. Thus, one free radical
may "exist" for only a very tiny amount of time, but one free radical
can set off a chain reaction of millions more free radicals being created
and then neutralized.
Each time a free radical is "neutralized" some damage to a
part of the body may occur.
Free radical biology is closely related to radiation biology since
70-80% of the effect of radiation on cells is due to the production of
free radicals.
Simplistically, when a free radical enters the body and the immune system is
not functioning optimally, three things can occur.
- Should the free radical attack a cell membrane, allergies can occur.
- Should the molecule attack the fat globule that nourishes the cell, the cell dies.
This is associated with aging and rhumatoid arthritis.
- Should the free radical attack the nucleus of the cell, which has the
reproductive map of the cell (DNA), cancer can develop.
Immunodeficiency combined with a weak antioxidant defense system are the
primary causes of illness. Since our body is constantly bombarded
by free radicals, it is virtually impossible for the antioxidant defense system
to be consistently at peak performance.
The human body has several mechanisms to counteract damage by free radicals and
other reactive oxygen species. These act on different oxidants as well as in
different cellular compartments.
One important line of defense is a system of enzymes, including glutathione
peroxidases, superoxide dismutases, and catalase. These enzymes decrease
concentrations of the
most harmful oxidants in the tissues. Several essential minerals including
selenium, copper, manganese, and zinc are necessary for the formation or activity of
these enzymes. Thus, an inadequate nutritional supply of these minerals may impair
enzymatic defenses against free radicals.
Enzymes are essential for digesting food, stimulating the brain,
providing cellular energy, and in repairing tissues, organs, and cells.
If you tire easily or suffer from some form of
gastroenteritis disorder, you should examine your enzyme intake.
Even though the body naturally manufactures enzymes, you should
supplement them with enzymes from the nutrients you consume to prevent
depletion. This will help to keep your vitality and energy levels up at all times.
The second line of defense against free radical damage is the presence of
antioxidants. Some such antioxidants,
including glutathione, ubiquinol, and uric acid, are produced during
normal metabolism in the body. Other lighter antioxidants are found in the diet.
Although about 4000 antioxidants have been identified, the best known are vitamin E,
vitamin C, and the carotenoids.
Many other non-nutrient food substances display antioxidant properties, most notably
phenolic or polyphenolic compounds. These substances may be
important for health.
The balance between the production of free radicals and the
antioxidant defenses in the body has important health implications.
If there are too many free radicals produced and too few antioxidants,
a condition of "oxidative stress" develops which may cause chronic damage.
As mentioned above, free radicals have been implicated in several health problems.
Cancer, atherosclerosis, cerebrovascular accidents, myocardial infarction,
senile cataracts, acute respiratory distress syndrome, and rheumatoid arthritis
are just a few examples. Numerous studies have shown the protective effects of
antioxidant nutrients on these health problems.
Antioxidants are the only way to combat these components of metabolic destruction.
An antioxidant is a molecule stable enough to donate an electron to a
rampaging free radical and neutralize it, thus reducing its capacity to cause damage.
Antioxidants act as shields or barriers to prevent the
invading free radicals from doing harm to cells.
The body produces antioxidants
such as enzymes catalase and superoxide dismutase and vitamin C. Natural antioxidants
such as vitamins A and E and the trace mineral selenium are commonly found in
most consumed diets. Although a wide variety of antioxidants in foods contribute to disease
prevention, the bulk of research has focused on three antioxidants which are
essential nutrients or precursors of nutrients.
These are vitamin E, vitamin C, and
the carotenoids.
Each of these antioxidant nutrients has specific activities, and
they often work synergistically to enhance the overall antioxidant capability of the body.
Thus, a deficiency in one will cause the others to be less effective.
Certain antioxidants are
more effective attacking free radicals in body organs, such as the liver and kidneys.
Others are more effective against the lining of the body openings, such as the air
passages and the digestive tract.
Since our bodies are composed of roughly 70 trillion cells which are primarily water--from 76-98%--the water we drink
is the water that makes up most of these cells. Surprisingly, water can be one of th most corrosive substance we can
ingest, yet it is essential for life. That is why the quality of the water we consume directly impacts our overall health.
Kangen water has extremely low negative ORP numbers, indicating that it contains large quantities of negatively charged ions. These ions are in the form of negative hydrogen.
These negatively charged ions--or hydroxal ions--act as antioxidants in the body.
Negative hydrogen ions, or H minus ions (or H- ions), play a critical role in all known life forms on earth.
They act as both an energy carrier (providing "energy currency") and as an antioxidant in numerous biological systems.
In their antioxidant role, these ions function as a powerful primordial and primary antioxidant found in all raw,
unprocessed foods (plant and animal) and in many "wild" unprocessed, untreated water sources in the earth's biosphere
(the area around the surface of the planet where life exists.)
It appears that this tiny and lightweight ion was the original antioxidant for all life forms on earth and is
likely the single most optimal antioxidant for life forms even today. However, this ion is rather fragile in
our biosphere, and it is easily driven off or destroyed by processing, bleaching, blanching, or heat.
Our ancestors likely ingested a significant amount of these ions in their daily food and
water intake, while we often receive very little in our diets.
The negative hydrogen ion are an effective antioxidant with powerful effects in living systems. It is
the only antioxidant formed easily via purely physical means and not just in
life forms (e.g., green plants). H- is formed easily in water, ice, or moisture laden air
(water vapor) via exposure to ionizing radiation, an electrical discharge (plasma or spark),
or an electrical current in water strong enough to produce electrolysis.
Further, the incredibly tiny size of the H- ion, coupled with its extremely small mass, qualifies it not only
as the lightest and smallest of all known antioxidants, but also the most ubiquitous--meaning that it can
travel almost anywhere in biological systems due to it's tiny mass and size.
Normally a free radical scavenger is a particle of something like Vitamin C.
That particle is a molecule since it consists of many different atoms all connected together.
That molecule of Vitamin C is enormously larger than a single atom of hydrogen--perhaps a million times larger.
However, despite its size, that one molecule of Vitamin C can neutralize only one free radical. It gives up one
electron to do that, and after giving up the one electron, the Vitamin C molecule
has no more electrons it can easily give up.
However, if the hydrogen atom had one extra electon, it would no longer be balanced.
Instead, it would have two negatively charged electrons revolving around a nucleus with one positively charged proton.
Thus, the hydrogen ion, with two electrons, would give up one of those electrons with great ease.
Moreover, when that double-electron form of hydrogen gives up one electron, the remaining hydrogen becomes a balanced particle.
It has a positively charged central nucleus (proton) and one negatively charged electron.
Thus, the hydrogen atom with an extra electron neutralizes one free radical but does not
itself become a new free radical.
For over 30 years in Japan and more recently in the
United States, the most ubiquitous supplemental source of the H-minus ion
has been alkaline ionized water,
from kitchen countertop water ionizers. This water
is more accurately called electrolyzed reduced water. That term is the
naming convention which most commonly appears
in articles in scientific literature to denote this water.
This water from the cathode, or negative pole, of an ionizer, is
called "reduced" water due to
its reducing, or antioxidant activity.
Such water, as produced at the cathodic
pole via electrolysis in the water ionzers, exhibits an alkaline pH as well
as an ORP of -150 mV (mildly reducing)
to -850 mV (strongly reducing), indicating a high degree of reducing
activity and strong presence of
the H- ion. Although theoretically water with an ORP of -850 mV can be
produced, drinking water should not have an ORP any lower than -550 mV.
