On the Analysis of the Relationship Between Alkaline Water Usage and Muscle Fatigue Recovery

The lactate concentration significantly increases during exercise destabilizing the cellular acid-base balance. In this study, we examined the relationship between alkaline water usage and muscle fatigue recovery measured as the change in lactate concentration. Thirty healthy subjects were asked to pedal on a cycle ergometer for 25 min at a constant pace. At the end of the physical exercise, each subject was asked to drink, in one hour, either one liter of water with a pH equal to 6.9 (control) or one liter of alkaline water with a pH value ranging between 8.5 and 9.3 (experimental). The two conditions were separated by an interval of 24 h. The concentration of the lactate was measured just after the physical exercise and after the water consumption. In control condition, there was not significant change in lactate concentration (p = 0.097), whereas, in the experimental condition, the lactate concentration measured after the alkaline water consumption was significantly lower than the concentration measured just after the physical exercise (p < 0.000001). The observed results have proven the beneficial effects of the alkaline water on the reduction of the lactate concentration thus accelerating the muscle fatigue recovery process.