Effective bicarbonate-free ways of alkalinizing water?

Hi,

It seems that I've been experiencing some physical discomfort whenever I've alkalinized my water using sodium bicarbonate. To be sure, I don't even alkalinize the water to a high degree (I try to keep it above 7, but preferably no higher than 8) - and, I reached a point where I minimized the amount of sodium bicarbonate I used (1/8 of a teaspoon *at most* for a gallon of water - or often about half this amount: this is all it takes to substantially raise the pH).

Yet, even these cautious measures haven't been enough to stave off uncomfortable symptoms. It seems that I often experience a certain amount of stomach/digestive discomfort whenever I drink this water - and, the other day - I experienced a distressing episode of what I guess could be described as "acid reflux". Given the other vague GI symptoms I've been experiencing upon drinking sodium bicarbonate water - I strongly suspect that this unusual case of acid reflux might have something to do with this alkalinized water.

I'm in a bit of a quandary (yes, another one): I feel the need to raise the pH of my water (the pH of many of the store-bought waters I have access to - even the "spring waters" - tend to be quite a bit on the acidic side) - yet, it seems that my digestive tract reacts negatively to one of the more effective alkalinizing agents. Could it be the bicarbonate ion specifically that is causing the stomach upset (it seems that I've read before that bicarbonate ions directly react with digestive acids - neutralizing them)? I am considering the possibility that it's the higher pH in general - not the bicarbonate ion specifically - that is giving me problems; yet evidence refuting this is the fact that I can drink a certain brand of spring water that *does* have a pH in the mildly-alkaline range that I like with no problems.

So, I want to ask if there is another option for economically raising the pH of water that is effective and reasonably palate-friendly? Several days ago, I tried to use good 'ol salt (sodium chloride) to raise the pH - thinking that it would at least get the water to neutral - but the salt didn't seem to effectively raise the pH at all. I've also been reconsidering sodium hydroxide and/or potassium hydroxide (of those "pH drops" that are sold on the market) - but I was "scared off" of the hydroxides for at least a couple of reasons. One of those reasons is that I was once told by a knowledgeable, respected, fairly-prominent member of Curezone that the hydroxides act as pro-oxidants in the body and that the hydroxide "ion" is actually a free-radical - but I'm not sure how accurate this information is. For one thing - isn't the hydroxide ion in potassium/sodium hydroxide basically the same OH-negative ion that is a constituent of water itself?

Furthermore, it seems that there were times when water alkalinized via sodium/potassium hydroxide caused some stomach upset. Perhaps this only happened in cases when I pushed the pH a little too high for comfort - or perhaps any amount of hydroxide is potentially upsetting. I just read on Wikipedia that hydroxides in solution (in water?) - when exposed to air - react with carbon dioxide to form bicarbonate ions - so using hydroxides may lead me back to the situation I'm trying to escape:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydroxide#Hydroxide_ion


"In solution, exposed to air, the hydroxide ion reacts rapidly with atmospheric carbon dioxide, acting as an acid, to form, initially, the bicarbonate ion."

Anyway - with all of this said - I'd appreciate any feedback/suggestions as far as why I seem to be sensitive to bicarbonate, and bicarbonate/hydroxide alkalinizing alternatives. TIA! Tweet