Ionized Kangen Water

Chanson Water CEO Ronnie Ruiz says a nuclear magnetic resonance test, the results of which are posted on the company's website, shows that its water microclusters. He says 70% of customers who provide feedback report benefits, such as improvement in diabetes, improvement in depression, lower cholesterol levels. Mr. Ruiz says customers "love it, use it daily and see the absolute value in owning the machines. Science will at one point absolutely validate the health benefits." Many of the benefits are due to the fact that the water has a negative charge and is an antioxidant, he adds.

Arizona physician Horst Filtzer—a paid medical adviser to Enagic  and former chief of surgery at Cambridge Hospital, a Harvard teaching hospital—says alkaline water passes into the intestines "without much difficulty" since stomach acid isn't produced in response to water. It doesn't do much good to drink alkaline water with food—such as a steak—that does trigger an acid response, Dr. Filtzer says. He adds that he finds Kangen's alkaline water doesn't make him feel bloated like regular tap water does.

Peter L. Kopko, a chiropractor and chief science adviser to Earth Trade Water, says that alkaline minerals in its water—such as calcium and potassium—improve athletic performance because the help "counteract" acid buildup in the body during exertion. The company hasn't done clinical studies on its water.