# "If your body PH is alkaline, it won't get cancer or other diseases!" - a woo debunking thread **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 25, 2014, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-your-body-ph-is-alkaline-it-wont-get-cancer-or-other-diseases-a-woo-debunking-thread/705592 "2014-11-25T14:19:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![DingoelGringo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9d8465/32.png) [@DingoelGringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DingoelGringo)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2014, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-your-body-ph-is-alkaline-it-wont-get-cancer-or-other-diseases-a-woo-debunking-thread/705592/41 "2014-11-26T00:36:11Z")
The nutsiest water BS I have heard is a guy telling us that water “doesn’t like” 90% corners. Plumbing incoming water he always uses 45% (actually 135% but in plumbing we talk about as 45%) to keep the water more content! ---
**Author:** ![swampspruce](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampspruce/32/261_2.png) [@swampspruce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampspruce)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2014, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-your-body-ph-is-alkaline-it-wont-get-cancer-or-other-diseases-a-woo-debunking-thread/705592/42 "2014-11-26T18:20:30Z")
OK, so we’ve covered the whole water in big blobs bad, water in little blobs good thing, my question is what about the bond angle? I have it on good authority (from the back of PopSci’s adverts) that by using a special machine I can get a better bond angle on the water (104 vs 114 donchaknow) that will energize me and kill cancer! Or is it all secret messages from the Illuminati like I suspect? [johnellis.com](http://johnellis.com) if you’re feeling adventurous. ---
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2014, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-your-body-ph-is-alkaline-it-wont-get-cancer-or-other-diseases-a-woo-debunking-thread/705592/43 "2014-11-26T19:14:05Z")
> [@DingoelGringo](#): > > The nutsiest water BS I have heard is a guy telling us that water “doesn’t like” 90% corners. Plumbing incoming water he always uses 45% (actually 135% but in plumbing we talk about as 45%) to keep the water more content! Talking about the happiness of the water is certainly in error… However, a 90-degree angle in plumbing does introduce a lot of friction in the system. In designing the plumbing for my koi pond, you look at the pressure of a pump in terms flow per feet of head. In other words, a pump might do 3000 gph at its outlet, but if it has to push the water 10 feet high to a waterfall, you might only get 1000 gph. When you calculate the resistance of the plumbing, 1 90-degree angle is equal to 1 foot of height, and 10 feet of pipe is equal to 1 foot of height. (So 10 feet of pipe, 2 turns and 3 feet increase in elevation, means a total of 6 feet of head when figuring your final gph for that pump.) So your friend just needs to talk about water flow/pressure rather than what water “likes.” (I just realized you say “we” when talking about plumbing terms. If you’re in that field, you may know more about this issue than I do.) ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2014, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-your-body-ph-is-alkaline-it-wont-get-cancer-or-other-diseases-a-woo-debunking-thread/705592/44 "2014-11-26T19:23:16Z")
> [@dracoi](#): > > So your friend just needs to talk about water flow/pressure rather than what water “likes.” > > (I just realized you say “we” when talking about plumbing terms. If you’re in that field, you may know more about this issue than I do.) A plumber, like a walrus, enjoys a good, tight seal. ---
**Author:** ![Whitney\_Harper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f0a364/32.png) [@Whitney\_Harper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whitney_Harper)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2014, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-your-body-ph-is-alkaline-it-wont-get-cancer-or-other-diseases-a-woo-debunking-thread/705592/45 "2014-11-26T20:52:17Z")
I’ve heard too many acid containing foods can promote UTI infections, (especially in the very elderly, as they have impaired immune systems). In other words, eating more alkaline foods may not be a bad idea for elderly folks prone to UTI’s. ---
**Author:** ![psychobunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/54ee81/32.png) [@psychobunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychobunny)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2014, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-your-body-ph-is-alkaline-it-wont-get-cancer-or-other-diseases-a-woo-debunking-thread/705592/46 "2014-11-26T22:17:12Z")
> [@](#): > > I’ve heard too many acid containing foods can promote UTI infections, (especially in the very elderly, as they have impaired immune systems). In other words, eating more alkaline foods may not be a bad idea for elderly folks prone to UTI’s. Do I really need to point out that “I’ve heard” is not valid evidence? Show me a cite please. Frankly, there used to be some feeling that acidic urine was more irritating and could mimic symptoms of UTI in those without infections and it couldn’t hurt to alkalinize the urine when nothing else was working. (I must confess, I actually tried this in some patients who consistently complained of urinary burning with urines that were completely normal but very acidic on the theory that a few extra antacids probably wouldn’t hurt). However, depending on the bacteria involved, some research shows that acidification of urine may help to kill bacteria [cite](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC296218/). In short, no evidence that adjusting urinary pH has any effect at all on either UTIs or urinary symptoms [cite](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2426891/). ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2014, 8:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-your-body-ph-is-alkaline-it-wont-get-cancer-or-other-diseases-a-woo-debunking-thread/705592/47 "2014-11-27T08:11:59Z")
This thread has been a fascinating and enjoyable read. Unfortunately I got lost in the OP. What does MSM stand for in the context of this conversation? ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2014, 8:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-your-body-ph-is-alkaline-it-wont-get-cancer-or-other-diseases-a-woo-debunking-thread/705592/48 "2014-11-27T08:56:19Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > This thread has been a fascinating and enjoyable read. Unfortunately I got lost in the OP. What does MSM stand for in the context of this conversation? I’m not sure if you meant MLM, used in the OP to mean Multi Level Marketing, the new name for Pyramid Scheme, or MSM, which I used in my post because I had a brain fart. [I meant MMS](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miracle_Mineral_Supplement), which is a fairly strong bleach solution that some people are peddling as a supplement for everything from AIDS to cancer to malaria to hepatitis. Damn acronyms. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2014, 9:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-your-body-ph-is-alkaline-it-wont-get-cancer-or-other-diseases-a-woo-debunking-thread/705592/49 "2014-11-27T09:15:15Z")
Thank you. Also I just read your link. URK! :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2014, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-your-body-ph-is-alkaline-it-wont-get-cancer-or-other-diseases-a-woo-debunking-thread/705592/50 "2014-11-27T15:10:30Z")
> [@psychobunny](#): > > Do I really need to point out that “I’ve heard” is not valid evidence? What, are you trying to shut down the Internet? :mad: ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2014, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-your-body-ph-is-alkaline-it-wont-get-cancer-or-other-diseases-a-woo-debunking-thread/705592/51 "2014-11-27T15:26:22Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > A plumber, like a walrus, enjoys a good, tight seal. [Those asshole seals deserve whats coming to them!](http://www.techtimes.com/articles/20531/20141119/shocking-seals-found-chasing-and-raping-penguins-caught-on-camera.htm) :mad: ---
**Author:** ![NinjaChick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/71c47a/32.png) [@NinjaChick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinjaChick)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2014, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-your-body-ph-is-alkaline-it-wont-get-cancer-or-other-diseases-a-woo-debunking-thread/705592/52 "2014-11-29T03:25:47Z")
Oh! Oh! A while ago I met a guy who was completely convinced that water fluoridation is actually a Big Pharma conspiracy! This conversation occurred towards the end of a day-long winery tour, so it probably made more sense than it would have had I not been drinking wine for six hours. See, fluoride is a carcinogen, according to Some Guy Who Wrote (and self-published, I’m sure) A Book. Therefore, by putting fluoride into the water, you increase the number of cancer patients, who therefore need all those expensive chemotherapy drugs. The solution is to only drink spring water or distilled tap water. Then he tried to convince me to think about buying a countertop water distiller for my own safety. Comparisons to General Jack Ripper went unappreciated. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2014, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-your-body-ph-is-alkaline-it-wont-get-cancer-or-other-diseases-a-woo-debunking-thread/705592/53 "2014-11-29T04:58:25Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > [Those asshole seals deserve whats coming to them!](http://www.techtimes.com/articles/20531/20141119/shocking-seals-found-chasing-and-raping-penguins-caught-on-camera.htm) :mad: Good lord! It’s like a live action version of _Meet the Feebles_. ---
**Author:** ![TPWombat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbce88/32.png) [@TPWombat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TPWombat)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2014, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-your-body-ph-is-alkaline-it-wont-get-cancer-or-other-diseases-a-woo-debunking-thread/705592/54 "2014-11-30T21:50:31Z")
> [@Finagle](#): > > Alkaline won’t help? They lyed to me! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2014, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-your-body-ph-is-alkaline-it-wont-get-cancer-or-other-diseases-a-woo-debunking-thread/705592/55 "2014-11-30T22:06:47Z")
You can’t beat [Al Kaline](http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/k/kalinal01.shtml)! ---
**Author:** ![hotflungwok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/edb3f5/32.png) [@hotflungwok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hotflungwok)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2014, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-your-body-ph-is-alkaline-it-wont-get-cancer-or-other-diseases-a-woo-debunking-thread/705592/56 "2014-12-01T15:56:36Z")
> [@Ike\_Witt](#): > > Good lord! It’s like a live action version of _Meet the Feebles_. Wasn’t it a seal and a cat in MtF? ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2014, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-your-body-ph-is-alkaline-it-wont-get-cancer-or-other-diseases-a-woo-debunking-thread/705592/57 "2014-12-11T22:24:03Z")
Heard another one today, this time from an essential-oiler: “Today’s generation is the first one that will not outlive their parents!!!” As the person is a cancer survivor, and it was a public forum, I didn’t really have the heart to ask her what she meant: that kids are going to die before their parents, or they aren’t going to live as long as their parents? I so wanted to shout “CITE?!?” but, again, don’t really begrudge cancer survivors their memes. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2014, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-your-body-ph-is-alkaline-it-wont-get-cancer-or-other-diseases-a-woo-debunking-thread/705592/58 "2014-12-11T22:39:37Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > Heard another one today, this time from an essential-oiler: > > “Today’s generation is the first one that will not outlive their parents!!!” > > As the person is a cancer survivor, and it was a public forum, I didn’t really have the heart to ask her what she meant: that kids are going to die before their parents, or they aren’t going to live as long as their parents? I so wanted to shout “CITE?!?” but, again, don’t really begrudge cancer survivors their memes. Oh, that may actually be true. Nothing to do with cancer though. Thank obesity for that one. [http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/17/health/17obese.html?\_r=0](http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/17/health/17obese.html?_r=0) > [@](#): > > The report, to be published Thursday in The New England Journal of Medicine, says the prevalence and severity of obesity is so great, especially in children, that the associated diseases and complications - Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, kidney failure, cancer - are likely to strike people at younger and younger ages. > > The report, which wades into several controversial aspects of public health, is likely to stir debate on both scientific and political grounds. The health effects of being obese depend on many factors, like one’s fitness level. And estimating these effects could alter the expected cost of medical care and the size of pension payouts. > > The report says the average life expectancy of today’s adults, roughly 77 years, is at least four to nine months shorter than it would be if there were no obesity. That means that obesity is already shortening average life spans by a greater rate than accidents, homicides and suicides combined, the authors say. > > And they say that because of obesity, the children of today could wind up living two to five years less than they otherwise would, a negative effect on life span that could be greater than that caused by cancer or coronary heart disease. > > “Obesity is such that this generation of children could be the first basically in the history of the United States to live less healthful and shorter lives than their parents,” said Dr. David S. Ludwig, director of the obesity program at Children’s Hospital Boston, and one of the authors of the report. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2014, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-your-body-ph-is-alkaline-it-wont-get-cancer-or-other-diseases-a-woo-debunking-thread/705592/59 "2014-12-12T15:50:06Z")
Very interesting find **WhyNot**! Still that obesity researcher was blowing it out his behind, as was politely pointed out by several other experts quoted in that NYT article. “Could …” Well yeah, could also live much longer than their parents do. With at least as much to base the speculation on. It is fascinating to follow-up on that 2005 paper, and it was followed up on. Within just a few months other analyses were published and the lead author of that NEJM paper [backed dow](http://www.sciencemag.org/content/308/5723/770.full?sid=64f58888-adf5-4280-b73f-f36b3c16090d)n from the alarmist position. > [@](#): > > Olshansky, Allison, and Ludwig published their own provocative obesity paper in The New England Journal of Medicine in March. It argued that U.S. life expectancy could begin decreasing as today’s obese children grow up and develop obesity-induced diseases, such as diabetes and heart disease (Science, 18 March, p. 1716). > > But Olshansky now says that in light of Flegal’s recent paper on obesity deaths and a companion paper that she, Williamson, and other CDC scientists authored in the same issue of JAMA, his life expectancy forecasts might be inaccurate. … Predicting average life expectancy is a tricky thing. Big increases had occurred by virtue of decreases in childhood and young adult mortality. But those gains have been mostly had … maybe cut down a bit more on murders, suicide, and car accident rates but only so much that can reasonably be gained there. Significant increases have been gained by improvements in treating diabetes and heart disease and by preventing lung cancer with decreased tobacco use. Slight gains by early identification of some other cancers and improved treatments of them. As for the obesity life expectancy impact prediction - the questions boil down to whether or not obesity rates, especially Class 2 or higher (BMI over 35) rates (which has significant life expectancy impact) will continue to increase at the same rate, top off, or decrease as time goes on, and how much better we continue to get at treating those complications of obesity. If one believed that the increase in obesity rates was going to increase without slowing down and that there would be no improvements in treating the complications of obesity then the dire predictions would be potentially believable. If either is untrue then no. So far since 2005 obesity rates have [leveled](http://www.gallup.com/poll/160061/obesity-rate-stable-2012.aspx) off in general. In the young children in the most at-risk circumstances (low income) obesity, especially more severe obesity, is actually [decreasing](http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=1487493). The improvements in preventing death from obesity related complications also continue. Significantly obese and unfit people may have a much greater incidence of disability and decrepitude as they age, and huge healthcare costs, but the increase of their numbers is topping off with some early signs of reversal (kids are the leading edge) and the life expectancy impact of the obesity is decreasing. At least as of now the CDC is stating that life expectancy in the United States is continuing to [increase](http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/283625.php). ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2014, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-your-body-ph-is-alkaline-it-wont-get-cancer-or-other-diseases-a-woo-debunking-thread/705592/60 "2014-12-12T16:01:21Z")
A fun article on the overall [how much higher can average life span go](http://biomedgerontology.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2014/08/19/gerona.glu130.full) question, looking at trends in two long-lived groups, Olympians and supercentenarians. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-your-body-ph-is-alkaline-it-wont-get-cancer-or-other-diseases-a-woo-debunking-thread/705592.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-your-body-ph-is-alkaline-it-wont-get-cancer-or-other-diseases-a-woo-debunking-thread/705592.md?page=4)