So, I was sitting in Starbucks today enjoying my Venti Chai Latte when a guy came up to me and asked if I would like to try some oxyginated water. The first thought that popped into my head was, “Isn’t water made of oxygen?” I wasn’t exactly the most attentive student in high school Chemistry class (Which is kind of funny considering how much chemistry is involved in Baking), but I was certain that a water molecule was H2O, two hydrogen and one oxygen. So what the hell was this guy talking about oxygenated water? They put more oxygen into the water? Wouldn’t that alter the chemical make up of the water, possibly making hydrogen peroxide (H2O2)? It just didn’t make any sense to me. The guy was trying to sell me on oxygenated water, and I wasn’t buying it. There was also the fact that bottles of oxygenated water are ridiculously expensive. I politely said that I wasn’t interested, and the guy moved on to one of the other patrons.
As if bottled oxygenated water isn't a big enough scam, there are also machines that you can buy to hook up to your tap.
When I got home later in the day, I googled “Oxygen Water” and found that it was basically the load of BS that I suspected.
Life O2 Water ”The first Super Oxygenated water produced in the marketplace. With its patented process, Life O2 provides up to 10 times the oxygen saturation of regular waters.”
OGO ”Oxygenated Water is the first meaningful Oxygen Water with an oxygen content of 200 mg/litre, which is 35x the oxygen content of regular water.”
hiOsilver ”A natural artesian spring water bottled with 8 times the normal amount of oxygen.”
AVANI ”Premium supercharged oxygenated bottled water has greater oxygen than normal potable water.”
Basically, from what I have been able to determine, oxygenated water is water that is pressurized with oxygen gas during the bottling process. That’s right, just like how they pump CO2 into soda, they are just pumping oxygen into the bottle. Here is thing though. Because the oxygen gas is not chemically bonded to the water, the gas just dissipates when you open the bottle; hence the “Pssst” sound you hear when you break the protective seal on the cap.
Another thing about the flawed logic behind oxygenated water is that unlike your lungs, the human digestive system is not designed to absorb oxygen, or any other gas for that matter. Any added oxygen in the bottle (that isn’t diffused when you open it) that you may ingest is essentially burped out.
Due to the wide spread practice of taking vitamin supplements, nutritionists have said that Americans have the most expensive urine in the world. The human body can only absorb a certain amount of nutrients. You gain nutrients from the food that you eat. Although taking supplements will provide you with the vitamins and minerals that you may be lacking, any excess nutrients will leave your body through your urine. Apparently, Americans now have the most expensive burps in the world too.
Song stuck in my head at the time of this post: Enter the Sand Man by Metallica
2 Comments
It is amazing to me that someone who cannot even pass high school chemistry can write such dribble. Some oxygenated waters may be fraud, however, there is also the distinct possibility that we do not completely understand the process. While some companies may try to force oxygen into water with O2, other companies are actually out there changing the Oxygen molecule and chemically getting it to actually bond to H2O molecule. Venture to guess most people do not understand the atomic bomb or the newest super collider attempting to split protons by running them into each other either. It has been proven that oxygen can be absorbed through other organ systems than the lungs. For years it was believed UV only penetrated skin 10 mm until they found one lady in Florida who had literally cooked her organs by overexposing herself to tanning beds. So, please, do not assume everything is fraud until you truly understand the science behind it.
oxygenation is 1000 times faster and almost twice as effective at killing bacteria and improves the taste of filtered water which is normally deplete of oxygen. oxygenation provides the best tastng water in that it is pure as it gets but should not be overoxygenated.
Lisa