Evaluating the Health Claims of Alkaline Antioxidant Water: A Critical Analysis - Prof. Ko | Assignments Biology

Group Assignment: Evaluation of Alkaline Antioxidant Water

At this point in the course, you have completed the material covering the nature of science,

critical thinking rules, the nature of matter, and, by the time the assignment is due, much of the

material on Complementary and Alternative Medicines (CAM). You have also done the Xango

case study. All of this information will be useful in evaluating the claim about Alkaline

Antioxidant Water that you have been asked to read and evaluate.

The background reading and information on alkaline antioxidant water is from a publication by

Health News International, L.L.C. publication Vol. 18 Number 6, and it extolls the virtues of

drinking alkaline water (see below). Your task is to evaluate this claim using the information

you have learned thus far, as well as information obtainable from the internet and/or from any

science sources with which you may be familiar (e.g., biology texts; science websites, etc.). In

some cases, I may provide specific sources for you to reference. As you will see when you start

investigating any topic of the type you are examining for this assignment, there is a seemingly

infinite number of websites on a topic, and so it is sometimes difficult to determine what is

relevant and what isn’t. This is why some assistance will be provided in some cases. However, it

is also important for you to develop skills in doing information searches and in identifying what

sources would provide the most relevant – and accurate – information for an evaluation of the

claim. For example, you need to distinguish sites that scientifically evaluate a claim from those

that are promoting it. The latter may be highly biased, misleading, or even dishonest; so,

beware! In short, you will have to find and evaluate some of the sources yourself before

deciding whether to use them. This, too, is part of critical thinking.

Alkaline Antioxidant Water Background Information

As stated above, the background reading for this assignment regarding the health benefits of

alkaline antioxidant water (AAW) was from the following publication: “Health News, Volume

18, Number 6, Alkaline Antioxidant Water Gets Results” published by Health News

International, LLC. One of the articles in this edition of the publication was titled, “Doctor

Explains How Water Works” and was written by Dr. Raymond Dent. Although the original

publication of Health News is no longer available, you can access a version of it if you go to this

web link (http://www.2rbetter.org/archives/2010-06-11%20-%20Alkaline%20Antioxidant

%20Water%20Gets%20Results . This copied version was posted by an individual who wants to

promote the virtues of drinking AAW. The second article was titled, “Mercury Detoxified with

Water”, and was written by Karen Kean. Dr. Dent and Karen Kean are the two people who you

will evaluate in terms of credibility and credentials, and it is their claims about the water that you

will assess. At one point in Part 1 of the assignment, you will also be asked to view a video by

Karen Kean on YouTube. The web link will be provided to you at that time. If you Google

AAW, you will find many testimonials regarding the product.customers have to say about the

product.

Dr. Dent is a naturopathic physician who graduated from Bastyr University in 1982. He has

been practicing naturopathic medicine for 27 years. He says that AAW water is unlike other

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Group Assignment: Evaluation of Alkaline Antioxidant Water

At this point in the course, you have completed the material covering the nature of science, critical thinking rules, the nature of matter, and, by the time the assignment is due, much of the material on Complementary and Alternative Medicines (CAM). You have also done the Xango case study. All of this information will be useful in evaluating the claim about Alkaline Antioxidant Water that you have been asked to read and evaluate. The background reading and information on alkaline antioxidant water is from a publication by Health News International, L.L.C. publication Vol. 18 Number 6, and it extolls the virtues of drinking alkaline water (see below). Your task is to evaluate this claim using the information you have learned thus far, as well as information obtainable from the internet and/or from any science sources with which you may be familiar (e.g., biology texts; science websites, etc.). In some cases, I may provide specific sources for you to reference. As you will see when you start investigating any topic of the type you are examining for this assignment, there is a seemingly infinite number of websites on a topic, and so it is sometimes difficult to determine what is relevant and what isn’t. This is why some assistance will be provided in some cases. However, it is also important for you to develop skills in doing information searches and in identifying what sources would provide the most relevant – and accurate – information for an evaluation of the claim. For example, you need to distinguish sites that scientifically evaluate a claim from those that are promoting it. The latter may be highly biased, misleading, or even dishonest; so, beware! In short, you will have to find and evaluate some of the sources yourself before deciding whether to use them. This, too, is part of critical thinking. Alkaline Antioxidant Water Background Information As stated above, the background reading for this assignment regarding the health benefits of alkaline antioxidant water (AAW) was from the following publication : “Health News, Volume 18, Number 6, Alkaline Antioxidant Water Gets Results” published by Health News International, LLC. One of the articles in this edition of the publication was titled, “Doctor Explains How Water Works” and was written by Dr. Raymond Dent. Although the original publication of Health News is no longer available, you can access a version of it if you go to this web link (http://www.2rbetter.org/archives/2010-06-11%20-%20Alkaline%20Antioxidant %20Water%20Gets%20Results. This copied version was posted by an individual who wants to promote the virtues of drinking AAW. The second article was titled, “Mercury Detoxified with Water”, and was written by Karen Kean. Dr. Dent and Karen Kean are the two people who you will evaluate in terms of credibility and credentials, and it is their claims about the water that you will assess. At one point in Part 1 of the assignment, you will also be asked to view a video by Karen Kean on YouTube. The web link will be provided to you at that time. If you Google AAW, you will find many testimonials regarding the product.customers have to say about the product. Dr. Dent is a naturopathic physician who graduated from Bastyr University in 1982. He has been practicing naturopathic medicine for 27 years. He says that AAW water is unlike other

water because it is a “health drink”. He says that daily use of AAW “may be the best form of natural health maintenance and improvement you can adopt.” He states that AAW has, “greater concentrations of ionized H 2 O molecules which have been restructured through electromagnetic means in a way that creates a greater probability of physiological desirable cluster sizes. This causes more free electrons to be available in the water as well as greater hydration potential. The free electrons can act as antioxidants while the six sided or hexagonal water molecule cluster sizes enhance the proper hydration of our cells.” (p. 4) Dr. Dent further claims that one of the benefits of this six-sided structure is that it tastes better, is smoother, and more refreshing than regular tap water. He asserts that AAW water “ affects health by improving the body’s ability to use water effectively. ” He also says that the process of producing AAW purifies the water. Karen Kean reiterates the health benefits of the water, and focuses her article on the fact that AAW water is just that – alkaline, as opposed to acidic. She says that the water most people drink is acidic and that this acidity (low pH, i.e., below 7 on the pH scale which ranges from 0-

is unhealthy. She claims that her use of alkaline water (pH greater than 7) detoxified her brain and body and that she now thinks with greater clarity as a result of drinking this water. She explains that, “ when we take water through the ionization process, we… create an energetic effect which causes the water to be structured in a way that improves the body’s ability to use the water optimally and maximize the benefits of the water .” According to Ms. Kean, “ Modern lifestyle, diets, and pollution promote acidic metabolism in the typical individual. Having a mild and harmless alkaline influence in the form of water can go a long way in buffering and protecting one’s health against the harmful chronic effects of acidic metabolism. ” So, both Dr. Dent and Karen Kean claim that the water is restructured in such a way as to increase the hydration of the body and reduce the acidity of the body (i.e., increase the body’s pH). This, they claim, results in numerous health benefits. This is the essence of the claim you will evaluate. Instructions for Completing the Assignment This is a two-part assignment consisting of both individual and group work. Part 1 (Individual Component): This part consists of preliminary information gathering/fact gathering and some analysis by each member of the group. This information will be used in Part 2 (Group Component) to formulate your group’s responses to short answer questions which involve an analysis of various aspects of the claims about AAW. (You have to have facts to think critically!) Each student must complete Part 1 of the assignment and must submit this by the due date in order to receive credit on the group portion of the assignment. The requirement that everyone must submit Part 1 of the assignment is to ensure that everyone does their part to make the group component a success, and also to ensure that someone who did not do the individual work does not receive credit for group work.

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Group Assignment: Evaluation of Alkaline Antioxidant Water