I read the English translation of this very interesting article today…
Essentially they report that by drinking “sodium bicarbonate” mineral water during meals, test subjects exhibited lower cholesterol levels. It appears that Dr. Vaquero believes the increase in stomach pH results in less lipid absorption which results in less cholesterol in the bloodstream.Less cholesterol means less plaque formation on arterial walls. Plaque on arterial walls contributes to a greater potential for heart attack.Interestingly, they seem more excited about the benefit of the bicarbonate than the potential sodium consumption risk so I’m assuming that they’re only talking about populations that are not hypertensive or under doctor’s order to avoid sodium completely. Of course the sodium content of softened water is actually quite low (7.86mg/l added for every grain of hardness removed) so “average 20gpg water would meet the US FDA’s “low sodium beverage” standard. The Vichy Catalán water referenced in the article has an average sodium content of 110mg/l – almost half the FDA Recommended Daily Allowance of 2400mg for adults.NOW here’s where we get to have some fun…Sodium bicarbonate in this bottled water is given credit for the health benefit…Water softening through ion exchange removes inorganic Calcium (and other metallic ions – depending on the resin) from the water and leaves sodium carbonate and sodium bicarbonate as byproducts of the ion exchange softening process.
So, based on this report one might logically deduce that ion exchange soft water is good for your heart health…very interesting indeed.
I’m no doctor, consult with your physician before attempting to drink your way to better heart health or making any other lifestyle changes at all 🙂
Here is the translated article (courtesy of Microsoft Translator)
Original article here http://actualidad.redmujer.com/medicina-y-salud/beber-agua-mineral-bicarbonatada-sodica-durante-comidas-ayuda-reducir-riesgo-cardiovascular-20120425132344.html if you can read Spanish.
Drinking water sodium bicarbonate ore during meals helps to reduce cardiovascular risk
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There was less bile in the intestine, less lipids are absorbed and you will get fewer of these compounds to reach the bloodstream, an effect which, as highlighted by cowboy, “found must be water, since everything else was controlled”.
However, this expert has tinged that “what you get is a decrease in the absorption, not that this be deleted”. “We don’t want the fat is not absorbed,” insisted cowboy.
Previous studies had already shown that the use of this water as part of the usual diet was capable of producing a reduction of up to 15 percent of total cholesterol and LDL, known as ‘bad’ cholesterol, also increasing the fraction of cholesterol-HDL or good cholesterol.
For this reason, and this last finding, cowboy and his team suggests that add to the usual diet this type of water could serve as a means of prevention of cardiovascular risk.