Have you been hearing the word “alkaline” a lot these days? I know I have! If you are not sure, alkaline refers to the upper half of the pH scale. The total pH scale goes from 1 to 14, with seven considered to be neutral. A pH of less than seven is acidic and greater than seven, alkaline. Our ideal pH is around 7.3. As a Holistic Health Coach and Nutritional Consultant, I am always encouraging my clients and followers to eat more alkaline foods, because doing so is said to have tremendous health benefits. The benefits include having more energy, optimal body function, slower aging, lowering your risk of disease and keeping extra weight off. Foods that are alkalizing include vegetables, fruits, nuts and legumes, while highly processed foods, red meat and sugar are highly acidic. Keep in mind that acidic taste does not correlate to acid on the pH scale (i.e. lemons are very alkalizing).
As you may have noticed as well, there has been an influx of alkaline water brands flooding (no pun intended!) our local grocery stores. Between tap, spring, reverse osmosis, de-ionized, distilled, alkaline and so on, it is truly hard to navigate the waters! Recently I was introduced to evamor, a truly unique alkaline water company. I was lucky to have the opportunity to interview their president, Breck Speed, who taught me everything there is to know about alkaline water. He explained that evamor is different from other alkaline brands because it is naturally alkaline, not processed or engineered to be alkaline.
evamor is naturally filtered and perfected in a rare and protected, naturally-alkaline artesian aquifer that’s nearly one-half mile below the ground. Over thousands of years, mineral deposits in the aquifer have infused the water with its naturally high alkalinity and great taste. Straight from the aquifer it flows, where it’s captured and bottled right at the source, here in the USA. –Breck Speed
So why are we just hearing about evamor now? The company has been around for 16 years and started out small, only selling to natural food stores. They are based in Louisiana and their smaller bottling plant (which limited their capacity) was destroyed during Hurricane Katrina. Luckily for all of us, they were able to re-build, and on a much larger scale, allowing them to now sell to major grocery stores.
My husband and I are a bit picky about our water. When we moved from New York City, we were terribly disappointed by the taste and quality of the tap water in our new home. Forced to switch to bottled, we have tried virtually every water on the market! While there are many that we like, we have fallen totally in love with evamor. It has a perfectly clean and smooth taste, and no chemical aftertaste like we’ve noticed with many other bottled water brands.
Hope you’ll read on for my interview with Breck Speed to learn more about evamor and alkaline water, and check out their website and blog for more info. Also make sure to try my LivLight X evamor recipes, Immunity Boosting Elixir and My Favorite Alkaline Smoothie, and let me know what you think!
This is not a sponsored post.
Interview with Breck Speed, evamor President
For someone who has never heard of alkaline water, would you briefly explain what it is and why we should be drinking it?
Alkaline water explained –
Alkaline water is any water that has a pH of 7.1 and above. Alkaline water can occur naturally via the right composition of natural minerals, infusing the water source through time and pressure, or has been engineered by man via water ionizers or mineral additives.
A brief explanation of the pH scale: A pH of 7 is neutral so anything below a pH of 7 is acidic, anything above a 7 is considered alkaline. The pH scale is considered to be exponential. So a pH of 7.1 is considered to be ten times (10x) more alkaline than a pH of 7.0. For example, evamor’s naturally high pH of 8.8 to 9.1 means that it is 180x to 210x more alkaline than neutral water at 7.0 or 80x more alkaline than say a competitor water of pH 8.0.
The concern with “processed or engineered to be alkaline” waters is their source, process and the resulting taste. Source is very important in the world of water. Most any water source can be alkalized, but the issue becomes what was the original state of the source. How was the water processed, purified and mineralized to be alkaline? How long does the mineralization (alkalinity) last after the process? Did the engineering affect the taste of the water? As a side note, the mineral composition in water is what creates its taste profile.
For water lovers, the desire is to seek a source water from a spring, well or artesian aquifer source. Truly natural source waters are considered premium waters. These sources mean that the water has been filtered over long periods of time by mother nature. And in the case of protected (sealed) aquifers, infusion of the minerals in the aquifer is an added bonus.
Based on the fore mentioned variants of alkaline water, here is how we describe evamor, its source and why it is alkaline:
evamor is naturally filtered and perfected in a rare and protected, naturally alkaline artesian aquifer that’s nearly one-half mile below the ground. Over thousands of years, mineral deposits in the aquifer have infused the water with its naturally high alkalinity and great taste. Straight from the aquifer it flows, where it’s captured and bottled right at the source, here in the USA.
Why should you drink alkaline water?
First, everyone should drink more water in general – alkaline or not. The benefits of drinking more water are well documented through thousands of medical articles, books and peer-reviewed scientific papers. Water is said to be the lubricant of the body and all of its functions. This sounds logical given that the human body’s water composition is nearly sixty percent (60%). You should drink alkaline water because it helps reduce the amount of acidity in your diet. What is dietary acid and why does it matter? Over half of the western diet (American) is “ultra-processed,” (1,2) in other words, ultra-acidic, and the implications of such a diet have been documented by the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (3) to show major long-term negative effects on your health. Diabetes, heart disease, bone loss mass, malnutrition and cancer are some the results of a highly acidic Western diet. Dietary acid comes in the form of sugars, preservatives and fats. Nearly everything you eat, that is packaged for convenience and taste, is loaded to excess with one or all of these dietary acids. Convenience is the optimal word in why such a harmful diet is so pervasive and why a healthier diet is so hard maintain.
What can you do to live a healthier lifestyle? In general, evamor promotes the narrative that everyone should adopt a more alkaline diet by eating more fresh leafy green vegetables, fresh fruits and nuts and reduce your sugar, fat and preservative intake. You may have heard of alkaline diets by other names – Mediterranean Diet, Paleo Diet, and Vegetarian Diet. In general these diets promote “farm to table” eating and discourage fast (4) or casual dining foods, as well as, conveniently packaged foods and beverages.
Speaking of conveniently packaged, when it comes to bottled waters, believe it or not some bottled waters can be acidic. So even if you are drinking more water, you are continuing to add to the dietary acid load on your body. Drinking alkaline water, like evamor alkaline artesian water, with its naturally high pH, does not add more acidity to your diet; it comes in three different convenient sizes; and you are likely to drink more of it because of its smooth, great taste. (5)
What are the main benefits of alkaline water?
The main benefit of drinking alkaline water is that you won’t be adding to the excess dietary acid load on your body. The benefit of drinking evamor alkaline artesian water is that it is a premium sourced water and since it tastes great, due to its mineral composition, you will enjoy drinking more of it. Many consumers have told us that in addition to finding evamor to be a wonderful soda replacement, they amusingly call evamor a “water replacement replacement”.
Should we solely be drinking alkaline water and how much do you recommend per day?
You should avoid acidic beverages in general, including waters. Every human body is unique and has its own needs. It is recommended that you consult with your personal physician, nutritionist or dietician to determine your daily hydration needs. As with anything, moderation is the key.
Why is it superior to tap water, filtered water or bottled spring water?
We at evamor believe evamor is fantastic water because of its source and flavor profile.
evamor is extremely proud of its artesian water source. We regularly publish our water quality reports and pH testing reports on our web site to demonstrate the quality of our source. (6)
The number one consumer comment about evamor is its great taste. “Smooth”; “Great mouth feel”; “No residual metallic aftertaste”; and “Clean” are some of the words consumers use to describe the taste of evamor water. Consumers love the taste so much they become daily consumers and comment that they don’t miss the sugary drinks they once regularly consumed.
Also, evamor is loaded with naturally occurring sodium bicarbonate. Sodium bicarbonate (aka baking soda) has been used for years for digestive relief. Fortunately, evamor water tastes much better than water with baking soda stirred in.
When and how did Evamor come to be?
evamor has been around for 16 years. For the first part our company’s existence, we were limited by capacity and sold only in natural food stores. We built a loyal and fierce consumer base in the natural food channel. After Hurricane Katrina destroyed our original bottling plant, we built a brand new bottling facility directly at the source and thereby increased our production capabilities. With the new production capabilities, we were now able to service the mainstream grocery channels as an all-natural, alkaline artesian, domestically sourced, premium water. As a result of our recovery and commitment to the brand, evamor water is the number one premium water brand in the New Orleans (LA) to Mobile (AL) region. evamor is building on this regional growth success story and seeing parallel success in other markets in the Southeast and Northeast.
Evamor Products, LLC. is a privately held company based in Covington, La. and is a subsidiary of Wm. B. Reily & Co., Inc. For more information, please visit www.evamor.com.
What sets Evamor apart from the other alkaline water brands we have been seeing on the market?
Our source, taste and commitment to quality. See forementioned comments on source and taste.
Naturally alkaline water is difficult to bottle and requires immaculate bottling conditions. We believe our commitment to quality is among the best in the industry due to our state-of-the-art bottling facility directly at the source of our water.
Our bottling facility has received a “BRC (Global Food Safety Standards) AA Grade” two years in a row (2015 & 2016), and two year’s before that (2013 & 2014) a BRC Grade A (BRC changed its grading scale in 2015); and an “IBWA (International Bottled Water Association) Excellence in Manufacturing Award” three years in a row. One BRC auditor commented that our facility is a “showcase” example of a well-run bottling facility.
I went to a Japanese brand in-home water system demonstration a few years back. Is Evamor basically a bottled version of this in-home filter system?
Absolutely not. evamor is all-natural and from a rare artesian aquifer that is naturally alkaline in its mineral composition. We add nothing to the water to make it alkaline. In fact, we do everything we can to not mess with mother nature. There is only one source for evamor and it is located nearly one-half mile down in the earth, in a protected (sealed) artesian aquifer, in Covington, Louisiana.
evamor also does not participate in the myriad health claims made by alkaline water purveyors.
Some people argue that consuming high alkaline water on a continual basis can disrupt your body’s natural balance, becoming detrimental to your health. Can you tell us your thoughts on this?
First and foremost, it always recommended that you consult your personal physician or a dietician to determine your optimal, personalized diet and exercise regimen.
Second, we can’t speak for other waters’ mineral content or ionization process, but for evamor water it is simply a fantastic tasting, premium sourced water that happens to be naturally alkaline. Consumers have been drinking evamor regularly for years and rave about its taste and how much it is part of their daily routine/healthy lifestyle.
Third, there is no prescribed amount by evamor of the amount you should drink or not drink. There is even little evidence in the scientific community regarding a daily recommended water intake. A few years ago Heinz Valtin, a kidney specialist from Dartmouth Medical School, decided to determine if the common advice to drink eight, eight-ounce glasses of water per day could hold up to scientific scrutiny. After scouring the peer-reviewed literature, Valtin concluded that no scientific studies support the “eight x eight” dictum (for healthy adults living in temperate climates and doing mild exercise). In fact, drinking this much or more “could be harmful, both in precipitating potentially dangerous hyponatremia and exposure to pollutants, and also in making many people feel guilty for not drinking enough,” he wrote in his 2002 review for the American Journal of Physiology—Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology. And since he published his findings, Valtin says, “not a single scientific report published in a peer-reviewed publication has proven the contrary.” (7)
Lastly, as it relates to the natural balance in your body, it is important to note that when evamor speaks of pH and its relation to your health, we are talking about a healthy body pH, not blood pH. Blood pH is meticulously controlled by the brain and if that becomes slightly off, either acid or alkaline, you will have serious and immediate health problems. We at evamor promote the “food as medicine” conversation and its relation to a healthy body pH – meaning that your diet should be more alkaline (or alkalizing) via fresh fruits, vegetables and nuts. A diet heavy in dietary acids, i.e. – fast or processed foods containing sugar, fats and preservatives, has been determined by the AJCN to cause serious and chronic health problems. And of course, as opposed to sugary (acidic) and carbonated (acidic) beverages, you should drink more water, preferably great-tasting, all-natural water like evamor.
1.http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2016/03/more-than-half-of-what-americans-eat-is-ultra-processed/472791/
2.http://www.forbes.com/forbes/welcome/?toURL=http://www.forbes.com/sites/nancyhuehnergarth/2016/03/14/study-finds-nearly-60-of-calories-in-the-american-diet-are-from-ultra-processed-foods
3. http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/81/2/341.full
4. “The drive through window is the new drive by.” – Damion Michaels
5. Taste profiles in water can be determine best at room temperature. Cold water has almost no taste profile.
6. http://evamor.com/know-better-water/source/water-quality/
7. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/strange-but-true-drinking-too-much-water-can-kill/