Joseph Mercola throws monkey wrenches

It is unfortunate that healthcare professionals like Joseph Mercola throw monkey wrenches into people’s understanding of water filtration and pH issues. In his recent attack on water ionization and water pH he has given millions of readers a distorted view of alkaline water, whose powers for healing and cure are actually unparalleled. Mercola infers that using water ionizers or drinking alkaline water will cause major damage to one’s health. His interview with Houston Tomasz is less than convincing in light of the fact that Mr. Tomasz seems to have no credentials other than being a “10-year veteran in the water filtration industry.” The fact is that Tomasz represents a company called Aquasana that sells water filters. Tomasz makes a few “unscientific” statements such as: “I mean, millions of years of evolution can’t be all that wrong.” Also: “This is my take. We’re mineral water machines. All the water you find on the planet has minerals in it. I absolutely believe that we should all be – from our dogs and cats and fish, to us, that all of our water should have minerals in it.”

And Mercola himself states that, “All of those ionizer salesmen promising alkaline water will lower your cancer risk are completely clueless when it comes to what the scientific research actually shows,” indicating that they are all multilevel salesmen anyway so we should pay no attention to them and their claims. Joseph should not be talking down on salesmen, being one himself. Though I sometimes agree with him and I shy away from multilevel marketing, it does not mean that they do not have fine products.

One of my readers wrote me saying, “You really can’t condemn alkaline water without condemning alkalinity itself and therefore calcium, magnesium and potassium. Most docs know that chronic disease is ALWAYS chronic acidity and anything one can do to make the body more alkaline is beneficial, from green leafy vegetables to alkaline water to transdermal magnesium. Mercola was respected by his peers before he became a huckster. He says he does not sell a water filtration product but – you can bet – he will. He is not a fool when it comes to merchandising and he knows it is more effective to criticize the competition BEFORE you announce a product of your own.”

There are over 400 comments on Mercola’s page after the essay.