Is Kangen Water® Special?

Here's a question I got from a recent prospect who had been 'educated' by their friend who is selling Enagic® SD501s. "Isn't Kangen Water® different and better from water produced from other brands of water ionizers?"

All water ionizers I have personally tested and researched contain a purification filter and ionizing chamber and produce water with alkaline pH, negative ORP, and restructured characteristics. The same water test using the tea bag, the tomatoes and the ORP meter show the same results from just about any water ionizer on the market. (There are differences, which we will cover in future posts.) But the ionizing chamber in an Enagic® ionizer uses the same original solid plate/membrane technology as do most other water ionizers (except the new technology I have written about which uses a disk) to split the water into acid and alkaline streams.

Kangen Water® is Enagic's registered trademark in the US. (Kangen is not their trademark.) It is a Japanese word that means 'reduced' in chemistry, or 'return to original state' in common use. It could not be trademarked in Japan because it is historically used to described all ionized reduced water, regardless of brand.

When we first bought our SD501, one reason was because we were under the mistaken impression that Kangen was something special. We were taught by Enagic leadership that "technically, in order to be classified as Kangen Water®, it needs to show a negative ORP (-ORP) in the range of -200mV to -450mV," and that other water ionizers did not meet that requirement. The truth is, all ionizers on the market accomplish that result if source water contains ionizable minerals.

As a former Enagic® representative, I am thoroughly aware of the stories that the company and its distributor leadership created around the word Kangen® to differentiate the product from other ionizers that had been sold in the US since 1995. A valid registered trademark it most certainly is, and I am pleased they are vigorously defending its use, finally after 6-7 years of competitors dragging it through the dirt. Enagic has a great product ... at a premium price. A great compensation plan is one reason for the premium price, no doubt. And for every person who purchases an SD501, there are at least 8 or 9 who could not afford the premium price. I'd love to show them how they can get water with an ORP of at least -200 mV to -450 mV for a lot less money!