Energized Water: pseudoscientific snake oil

Junk Science in the Marketplace

There are hundreds of hucksters claiming that the filters, concentrates, or water-treatment devices they are flogging produce water that is "energized", "living", "spin-reversed", "ionized", "clustered", "structured", or otherwise somehow endowed with special properties that are supposed to be associated with pristine glaciers, the Hunza Valley of Pakistan, or the alleged healing springs of Lourdes. These worthless products are aimed at the notoriously credulous "alternative health" crowd and others whose lack of scientific training leaves them open to this kind of exploitation.

These nostrums are supposed to work all kinds of wonders from tuning up your immune system to raising your "energy levels" and slowing the aging process. Here are a few examples, with the hype I consider false, misleading or meaningless indicated in color.

the bunk	the science
The quartz Crystal in the filter has had its piezoelectric natural energy exponentially enhanced to have a stronger energy level. The energized crystal in the filter creates water which is structured and has smaller water clusters. Smaller water clusters also taste better. Tap water has 10 molecules in a cluster bound by hydrogen, ours has 5 and they are smaller. [link]	Quartz is piezoelectric, meaning that if you squeeze it, a small electrical voltage develops between the two sides. This has nothing to do with "natural energy". The quartz has no effect on the bulk water; the whole idea of discrete "cluster size" or "smaller clusters" is bunk.
Dr. Lee Lorenzen’s Clustered Water™ restores cellular balance by helping our cells express themselves, so our body will have the energy and capacity to more rapidly heal itself and return to normal. [now disappeared, but see here for a summary of the topic.]	You are not likely to find any of these terms defined in any textbook on cell physiology. This is a good example of the more general (and unverifiable) kind of claim made for "alternative health" panaceas in general. See my pages on water cluster quackery and debunking unbelievable Clustered Water™ claims.
The Vortex Energiser ... is a spiraling copper device. It contains highly energized water, which has been prepared using an innovative new process called Implosion. ... Because of the special water it contains, and its form, the Vortex Energiser acts as a cosmic antenna and amplifier which takes its energy directly from the Quantum Sea of Energy or Ether, a subtle form of energy which is all around us.	This site hawks a goofy spiral device that is supposed to spin the water through a "vortex". Notice the meaningless, pseudoscientific terms used to impress the suckers. Of course they offer no evidence for the efficacy of this; you are supposed to have Faith! See here for more.
The process of "Zeta Potential" enhancement in colloidal minerals is complicated but suffice it to say that body and plant cells which have higher, "negative Zeta Potentials" have more robust and healthier characteristics then cells with lower, negative Zeta potentials. [reference]	"Zeta potential" is a well-defined chemical term, but it's use in this context is errant nonsense whose only intent can be to mislead. It certainly has no meaning when applied to cells. Often associated with so-called "microclustered" waters.
As science has now confirmed, our DNA is composed of light (energy) and emits this light (photons/biophotons) which contains instructions on how the cell should behave and replicate. Thus, the biological cell receives information from our DNA in the form of light/energy via the cells internal watery environment, simply because water stores and shares information. And water stores and shares information from ALL energy sources, man-made or natural. [reference]	Typical far-out new-age nonsense aimed at those who are credulous enough to believe in crystal- and pyramid power and chakras. All of the statements shown here are false.
Inducing this ferric ferrous salt into a high-energy state and infusing it through a ceramic filter process creates pi-water. A pi particle is a quantum particle smaller than an electron, neutron and proton. The pi meson causes the protons and neutrons to exchange energy states with one another, which create energy and electrical charges of it's own. The amount of ferric ferrous (bivalent and trivalent ferrite) is minute, a quantum particle - essentially such a trace amount that it is only the energetic signature of the substance that remains. [link]	One of many false and misleading claims made for this worthless buy widely-hawked "energized water" product which appears to have originated in Asia. Many of the promotions show dubious photos of the effects of this water on plants and goldfish.
[The product] achieves its goals by increasing the body’s vibration to the point where it is in complete balance and total harmony, allowing the healing process to begin. ...[It] is revitalized water, energetically charged with life giving vibrations.	Talk about "vibrations" is usually a dead giveway that snake oil is being flogged. "Balance" and "harmony" are other words that have no physiological meaning, and so are widely employed to mislead the credulous.
Researchers have discovered that water depleted of sufficient charge "spins" to the right, while energized water "spins" to the left. The building blocks of life spin to the left, while abnormal cells (such as cancer) spin to the right. Various sources contribute to the loss of' energy in Earth's water system. The primary culprit is the loss of energy in our geomagnetic field, coupled with restriction in the natural curves and spirals of our hydrosphere. [reference]	More pure fiction, this time from a Creationist site that even offers Biblical references! But this cannot change the fact that water molecules do not possess "spin". Neverthless, hucksters like the "Water Doctor" shamelessly prescribe this nonsense.

These claims are bunk; there is no scientific evidence that water can be "energized",
re-structured, or otherwise altered by filters or external forces.

But here's a bunch of hucksters who offer "ionized stones" that are supposed to energize water, food, and your body:

By placing an Ionized Stone next to a glass of water or plate of food, the water or food becomes energized, increasing digestibility and nutrient absorption. Ionized stones can also be used effectively in conjunction with Ener-Chi Art -- simply place an Ionized Stone on the corresponding area of the body while viewing an Ener-Chi Art picture.

Can rocks be ionized? Well not really, but natural radioactivity occasionally knocks an electron out of an atom, creating an ion pair which can remain locked into the solid for a long time. So in this sense, even the rocks you find in your back yard can be said to be "ionized".

Energize your plants and garden!

Vi-Aqua is an electronic device you are supposed to attach to a watering hose. It generates an electromagnetic signal

that will energise your water through altering the hydrogen content, thus simulating photosynthesis and ... making it easier for the plant to absorb moisture... up to 25% increased crop growth

As usual, no supporting evidence is offered for the benefits of this "proven" device, and there is absolutely no reason to believe this garbage.

Starchamber Hypercharged Water Hype

The "Starchamber" purports to "collect free energy flowing through space". This outfit offers numerous goofy products, such as vials of magical water "designed to release the stored energy of our water vortexes and transmit it directly to the auric field through the vial."

"in the pure water by this purely organic process,
using no electricity, are inserted into the subatomic energy structure of absolutely pure
distilled water. The water is transformed into "living particles of rotating light", according to
a [falsely identified] "water physics researcher for Los Alamos National Laboratories", and
associate to Dr. Bill Tiller, Professor Emetrius [sic], Stanford Physics Dept."

For more information and references, please see the AquaScams home page