Commercially Available Alkaline Water Not Likely to Prevent Kidney Stones

WEDNESDAY, Jan. 17, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- Commercially available alkaline water is not likely to provide benefit over tap water for patients with uric acid and cystine urolithiasis, according to a study published in the February issue of The Journal of Urology.

Paul Piedras, from the University of California at Irvine, and colleagues analyzed five commercially available alkaline waters to assess their potential to increase urinary pH compared to potassium citrate, the gold standard for urinary alkalinization.

The researchers found that the pH levels of the bottled alkaline water ranged from 9.69 to 10.15. For all brands, electrolyte content was minimal and the physiologic alkali content was below 1 mEq/L. Compared with potassium citrate, the alkali content of alkaline water is minimal. Other organic beverages, synthetic beverages, and supplements contain more alkali content than alkaline water and can achieve the American Urological Association and European Association of Urology alkali recommendation of 30 to 60 mEq per day with no more than three servings per day.

"Commercially available alkaline water has negligible alkali content and thus provides no added benefit over tap water for patients with uric acid and cystine urolithiasis," the authors write.

One author disclosed employment with Litholink, a subsidiary of LabCorp.

Abstract/Full Text