Recently there has been a lot of talk about the unique and health-giving benefits of Kangen water. This interest in Kangen water coincided with the push into the alkaline water market by the MLM (Multi Level Marketing) company Enagic.This article is written with the intention to address some of what is been said on other web sites and in public meetings, so that customers wanting the best value for their money, are able to make an informed opinion about "Kangen water" without the hype.

• Kangen water is different from alkaline, ionized water.
• Kangen water is better than alkaline, ionized water.
• Enagic units and Kangen water are recognized and approved by the Japanese Health Department, unlike other ionizers.
• Well known authorities on ionized water endorse or recommend Enagic ionizers.
• Kangen or Enagic ionizers cost more because they are better.
• Enagic has been marketing "Kangen water" for 30 years.

KANGEN vs. LIFE IONIZERS

All ionizer manufacturers claim their ionization process is superior to others because of the composition, amount and/or size of the electrolysis plates inside. The only real way to determine the efficacy of a water ionizer is through its performance, which can be determined by testing the pH and Oxidation Reduction Potential for both the alkaline and acidic water produced.

The key to obtaining a true “Apples to Apples” comparison is to perform tests on water coming from the same source. Side by side tests were conducted on the Kangen LeveLuk SD 501 and the Life Ionizers 5000 using tap water from Carlsbad , California . The Kangen ionizer used was only a few weeks old and the Life Ionizer 5000 has been heavily used in our corporate headquarters for over five months. Based on the results, the Life Ionizer 5000 is clearly superior to the Kangen ionizer with six (6) times the alkalization and much stronger ORP (251% stronger). We want to make it clear that the results of any ionizer will depend upon the source water. The source water can vary from hour to hour as the base pH and ORP ratings are affected by the minerals and chemicals in the water and those can change at any time. Another point is that pH is measured with the logarithmic scale so the difference between a pH of 8 and a pH of 9 means that the latter is ten (10) times stronger.

With all that said, the bottom line is that the LIFE Ionizers give you:

• Highest pH
• Twin Filters
• Undercounter Units
• Patented "TCS" - the Triple Chamber System for optimum results

The best news is that the Life is less than half the price of the cheapest Kangen ionizer and also available in an under counter model too!
Myth One: Kangen water is different from alkaline, ionized water.
Fact: The word "Kangen" in Japanese means "return to origin" and is simply a marketing term. The Enagic water ionizer contains a filter and ionizing chamber just like all other alkaline water ionizers. Also Enagic ionizers create the same type of alkaline and acidic water as created by all other water ionizers.The ionizing chamber in the Enagic uses the same technology as do all other water ionizers to split the water into acid and alkaline streams. Kangen water is simply another name for ionized, alkaline water . Nowhere will you be able to find a definition of Kangen water that is different than alkaline water because there is not any.

In trying to make a difference where there is none, an Enagic representative's web site says, "technically, in order to be classified as Kangen water, it needs to show a negative ORP in the range of -200mV to -450mV, while typical Ionized Alkaline Water shows anywhere between +100mV and -100mV, depending on the quality of the machine". The cheap copy ionizers from China can get at least a -100mV ORP reading and LIFE ionizers can get over -800mV.

That been said, Enagic through its MLM is doing a fantastic job of introducing the concept of alkaline and acid (kangen) water to people who would otherwise not know about it.

Myth Two: Kangen water is better than alkaline, ionized water.
Fact: There are two ways the quality of kangen or alkaline water are measured - by how acid or alkaline the water becomes (pH) and by how much ionization occurs (ORP).

Independent tests carried out by ex-Enagic representatives (concerned about the high prices been charged), showed that the LIFE Ionizers produced higher ORP (negative ionization) than the Enagic model and when salt was added to the LIFE 3000, it produced a stronger acidic water than that achieved by the Enagic.

Unfortunately when there are very high prices there is also a need to justify the difference - hence the hype such as in the following from an Enagic distributor:"This water technology is practically non-existent outside Japan. ... Even worse, there are some people who are trying to sell cheaper Ionized Alkaline Water machines as if they were at the same or a similar level as with the Kangen Water machines, only cheaper."

Myth Three:Enagic units and Kangen water are recognized and approved by the Japanese Health Department, unlike other ionizers.
Fact: In the 1980s the Japanese Health Department recognized that ionized alkaline water (Kangen water) from water ionizers had proven health benefits and described water ionizers as health devices. Nowhere did any Government say specifically that Enagic units were the ones approved.Below are examples of comments from an Enagic web site and ones that are often voiced.

"The Enagic is approved by The Japan Ministry of Health, as a top quality medical device" or "Enagic units and Kangen water are recognized and approved by the Japanese Health Department". Major corporations in Japan such as Hyundai, LG and Samsung all have approval from the Japan Ministry of Health.

Myth Four:  Well known authorities on ionized water endorse or recommend Enagic ionizers.
Fact: The best known authorities in the USA such as Dr. Robert Young (author of The pH Miracle), Dr. Theodore Baroody (author of Alkalize or Die), and Sang Whang (author of Reverse Aging) all recommend and sell Jupiter Science or LIFE water ionizers because they want to give their customers high quality kangen or alkaline water ionizers at an honest price. Other well know alkaline authorities that endorse water ionizes include Daniel Reed (author of The Tao of Detox), Harald Tietze (author of Youthing) and Ian Hamilton (author of The Untold Truth...) - none of them mention Enagic. If Enagic is such an old established, reputable company offering technology that is so much better than what other ionizer companies can offer for much less - then where are their credible spokespersons?

Myth Five: Kangen or Enagic ionizers cost more because they are better.
Fact: The LIFE 6000 and the LIFE 5000 are priced between $1195 & $1895 and offer some important user friendly features that are missing with the Enagic. Certain alkaline water ionizers are better and stronger than others and the Enagic range are decent models, but when you have a MLM company that pays eight levels down you have to create an artificially high price because Enagic and up to eight representatives need to make money from every single sale.

Enagic products are sold by MLM "reps" who typically do not have a thorough technical understanding of the properties of water, ionization and how the two together produce health benefits. There are exceptions; reps who have really rolled up their sleeves and educated themselves, but the fact remains that there is a lot of "bogus" information fed to people who have been to Enagic presentations. Going to a few MLM presentations does not make one an expert in something, especially something as complex and technical as ionization. Enagic "reps" are often innocently fed misinformation and led to believe in half truths.

Then these misinformed "reps", who are motivated by the MLM dream, go forth and perpetrate these inaccuracies and mislead naïve customers into falsely thinking they are getting something of good value. The price of Enagic models has more to do with compensating the Enagic MLM reps than the actual cost or the comparative technology inherent in their ionizers. To verify that, simply ask Enagic about their compensation plan and see how much money is paid to the various levels of the network organization when one machine is sold.

Myth Six: Enagic has been marketing "Kangen water" for 30 years.
Fact: What became the Enagic brand was initially manufactured by Toyo Metal a/k/a Toyo Aitex who recently sold marketing rights to Enagic (also called the Thohan Kiden organization). Toyo Metal water ionizer were called the Apex, Pure Porte 11 or Protec units and these early models were manufactured by and sold for less much less than $1000 in the USA. A company called HydroAnalytics previously imported, distributed and did hands-on repairs on this unit from Japan for the US, Western Hemisphere and European market before it was withdrawn from the US market, presumably due to lack of market penetration. In Japan the Thohan Kiden organization manufactures units, that are not sold through the Enagic MLM, for similar prices to other alkaline water ionizer in the US market.  When you see so many mis-representations and falsehoods, this brings doubts to all statements issued by the Company itself and the MLM dreamers who want you to buy and sell their over priced ionizer.

Here are some bullet points to consider in comparing Enagic to LIFE:

• Filtration:  The LIFE ionizers offer two (2) filters with 12 stages of filtration and are available in 0.1 micron and .01 micron levels of filtration. Both options have alkaline minerals to improve performance (Enagic does not have a .01 Ultra Filter nor the Calcium).
  They also come with a free water analysis, report & recommendations. Also included are a pre-filter to remove chlorine before it even enters the ionizer. LIFE even includes the pre-filter housing and has filters available to remove any impurities in your water.
  
• Installation  The LIFE ionizers can be installed three ways: The LIFE 5000 installs on the counter top and can connect to the faucet or the line can go thru the counter top and connect below. The LIFE 7000 is designed to be an undercounter unit with its own faucet with two spouts and all controls on the faucet.
  
• Functionality:  The LIFE 5000 has increased functionality in terms of a flow control valve ( our Micro Dial ) that operates independently of the tap (Enagic is only controlled by tap).  The more advanced LIFE models also have an LCD control panel screen which has various readouts and alarms.
  
• Cleaning: The Life 5000 and 7000 have automatic cleaning as well as manual
  
• Performance:  The LIFE ionizers outperform the Enagic (see chart above ).
  
• Cutting Edge Technology:  LIFE's latest models have new patented features to further distinguish them in value. Features like:
  • 1) Life's patented chamber system creates the highest pH and - ORP of any machine. This means that LIFE is able to achieve a higher ORP and pH output without having to increase the size of the plates. Enagic has to increase the plate size and number of plates to try to attain the same levels as the LIFE, but LIFE still outperforms the Enagic.  They can not copy LIFE's patented systems and that gives us the advantage.
  • 2) Life's "micro-dial" system allows for fine tuning of pH and ORP levels. (Enagic doesn't have a valve other than the tap!).
  • 3) The LIFE ionizers are also designed and optimized to operate in hard water. If you have high TDS ( total dissolved solids ) and very high levels of
    hard water, then use our "Hard Water System" which is a system that uses a 5 stage reverse osmosis system that then runs through our proprietary mineral cartridge ( over 70 minerals ) and then into the LIFE Ionizer.  The purest water that is then made into ionized, micro-clustered, alkaline health water.  LIFE is an international water company so we will always have innovative ways to provide you with the best systems for the best water. We build systems for use in home, commercial and industrial applications and have our own manufacturing facilities worldwide.  This separates us from Enagic, which is a multi-level marketing company.
    
• Manufacturing Standards: LIFE's parent company makes Medical Equipment and has been manufacturing ionizers since 1986. Who owns Enagic and what is their background? LIFE manufactures in a state of the art ISO 9001 certified and ionizer-dedicated plant (they do not make anything else). ISO is the world-recognized certification for quality standards in manufacturing (see: www.iso.org). Certification is very expensive and time consuming. LIFE products are additionally CE, UL, SMBA and US Safety certified.
  
• Reliability:  LIFE Ionizers has the lowest return rates for service in the industry (less than 2%). When something does need repair, we have repair facilities in the USA ensuring prompt service. 
  
• Support: All LIFE units come with a DVD that shows how to install and get the best kangen or alkaline water out of your ionizer. Professional, trained staff are available to answer any questions for the LIFE ionizers.
  
• Value: When you buy from LIFE you buy top quality at an honest, retail price from a company that has been providing ionizers to Doctors and the
  health conscious public for 12 years. Value is:  Quality * Results * Price * Reliable Manufacturer