A substance that gives up an electron is called a reducing agent. A substance that receives one or more electrons is said to be reduced. The opposite of reduction is oxidation. A substance that loses one or more electrons has been oxidized.

An Atom, the smallest particle of an Element, is made up of positively charged Protons, Neutrons that carry no electrical charge, and negatively charged Electrons. Protons and Neutrons combine to form the nucleus of the atom, making the net charge of the nucleus positive. The negatively charged electrons orbit the nucleus. The strength of the positive charge on a single proton is equal and opposite to the charge on a single electron. When an atom is in balance there is an equal number of electrons and protons, so that the net negative charge of the electrons offset the net positive charge of the protons in the nucleus.

When the number of protons and electrons in an atom are not balanced, the atom is said to be ionized. If the atom has more protons in the nucleus than there are electrons in orbit around the nucleus, the atom is a positive ion. when there are more electrons than protons the atom is a negative ion.

A free-radical is a positively charged oxygen molecule ion, it is missing an electron. The free-radical wants balance so it will pull an electron from wherever it can. In acquiring balance for itself, the free-radical damages other biological molecules in the body. Anti-oxidants, are substances that either give up an electron or combine with and share their electrons with the free-radical to satisfy the demands of the free-radical for balance.

An ORP meter is an instrument that measures the electrical characteristics of a substance. ORP stands for Oxidation Reduction Potential. A negative charge measured by the ORP meter indicates a greater concentration of electrons. Conversely, if the electrical charge measured is positive, there are fewer electrons than protons in the substance.

The following are some tests and observations I have made using an ORP meter. (Note: The ORP meter was inexpensive so the accuracy may not be exact but it will give some general ideas.)

Using the ORP meter to measure the electrical properties of tap water I found the water measured +65 mV and about 7.1 pH. (Note: Municiple water supplies are typically treated with chlorine to kill bacteria in the water. The chlorine lowers the pH of the water. Limestone, calcium carbonate, is added to the water to bring the pH back to about 7pH or neutral. If the pH of the water is too low there is a tendency for the water to absorb lead from the water pipes.)

Processing the tap water through a microwater ionizer produced alkaline ionized water with an ORP of -135 mV and 8.5 pH. (Note: There are a few options available on the microwater ionizer to achieve more or less ionization and alkalinization of the water. The same is also directly related to the mineral content in the source water and the rate of flow of the water through the unit. The water tested was taken with the ionizer set on level 3 and a normal flow rate of water.)

Measuring the ORP of freshly juiced vegetables (a mix of spinach, celery, kale, and carrots) had an ORP of about -40 mV. This juice was produced using a Green Power juicer which has magnetic grinding gears. I don't know if the magnetism of the grinding gears affected the ORP of the juice. This negative charge is an indicator of the potential anti-oxidant properties of the vegetable juice. (Due to the dark color of the juice I was unable to measure pH using pH test drops.)

A liquid product that is marketed as increasing the oxygen content in your drinking water. Adding 10 drops of this liquid to 8 ounces of tap water, as directed on the bottle, increased the ORP of the tap water in a positive direction, from +65 mV to +225 mV, and increased the pH to about 8 pH. While, this product may be adding oxygen to the water, based on the ORP value one could postulate that it may be introducing oxidizing elements to the body.

Experimenting with powdered vitamin C, ascorbic acid, in water produced the following results. One tablespoon vitamin C powder mixed in 8 ounces of tap water changed the ORP of the water from +65 mV to -40 mV. Adding one tablespoon of vitamin C powder to ionized water changed the water from -130 mV to -40 mV. This particular vitamin C powder also contained calcium, magnesium, and pottassium which appears to have a buffering effect so that regardless of the initial ORP value of the water, the ORP of the end product would measure about the same.

Alkaline Ionized Water

A water molecule is generally known to be H2O, two atom of Hydrogen and one atom of Oxygen. However, your drinking water from the tap is not only H2O but also includes elements of calcium, magnesium, sodium, iron, chlorine, flouride, etc. Also, that glass of water contains positive charged hydrogen ions, H+, and negative charged hydroxyl ions, OH-. The electron that normally offsets the positive proton in the hydrogen atom is retained by gravitational pull of the relatively larger hydroxyl on, thus giving the hydroxyl ion its negative charge.

These ions are always going in and out of combination with each other, H2O at one point and then seperating to the individual ions. When this water is processed with a water ionizer, the free H+ and OH- ions are attracted to the oppositely charged electrode in the ionizer. The alkaline ionized water that is consumed has a greater concentration of oxygen in the form of OH-, this accounts for the negative charge on the water. Measuring the ORP of the acid water showed a value of about +510 mV, the result of the greater concentration of H+ ions in the acid water.