• "Ionized water" is nothing more than sales fiction; the term is meaningless to chemists.
• Pure water (that is, water containing no dissolved ions) is too unconductive to undergo signficant electrolysis by "water ionizer" devices.
• Pure water can never be alkaline or acidic, nor can it be made so by electrolysis. Alkaline water mustcontain metallic ions of some kind — most commonly, sodium, calcium or magnesium.
• The idea that one must consume alkaline water to neutralize the effects of acidic foods is ridiculous; we get rid of excess acid by exhaling carbon dioxide.
• If you do drink alkaline water, its alkalinity is quickly removed by the highly acidic gastric fluid in the stomach.
• Uptake of water occurs mainly in the intestine, not in the stomach. But when stomach contents enter the intestine, they are neutralized and made alkaline by the pancreatic secretions — so all the water you drink eventually becomes alkaline anyway.
• The claims about the health benefits of drinking alkaline water are not supported by credible scientific evidence.
• "Ionized"/alkaline water is falsely claimed to be an anti-oxidant. It is actually an oxidizing agent, as can be seen by its ability to decolorize iodine (see video)
• There is nothing wrong with drinking slightly acidic waters such as rainwater. "Body pH" is a meaningless concept; different parts of the body (and even of individual cells) can have widely different pH values. The pH of drinking water has zero effect on that of the blood or of the body's cells.
• If you really want to de-acidify your stomach (at the possible cost of interfering with protein digestion), why spend hundreds of dollars for an electrolysis device when you can take calcium-magnesium pills,Alka-Seltzer or Milk of Magnesia?
• Electrolysis devices are generally worthless for treating water for health enhancement, removal of common impurities, disinfection, and scale control. Claims that "ionized" waters are antioxidants are untrue; hypochlorites (present in most such waters) are in fact oxidizing agents.

Menthol is an organic compound naturally occurring in mint plants. It is also synthetically manufactured. Menthol is widely used in a number of products and features certain therapeutic qualities. It was first isolated from peppermint oil in 1771 in the West, but it may have been in use in Japan for much longer.

Most of menthol's uses are related to its stimulation of the skin's cold receptors. This property makes menthol produce a cooling effect when inhaled or applied to the skin. Similarly to the capsaicin chemical found in hot peppers, which stimulates heat receptors, menthol does not actually change the skin's temperature, but merely produces the sensation of temperature change.

Because of its cooling effect, menthol is used in products meant to relieve skin irritation, sore throat, or nasal congestion. It may be used to treat sunburn, fever, or muscle aches as well. In traditional Asian medicine, menthol may be prescribed for nausea, diarrhea, indigestion, headache, cold, or sore throat. When used as a supplement for health reasons, menthol is usually taken in the form of peppermint oil. Products that commonly contain menthol include toothpaste, cough drops, lip balm, mouthwash, gum, and cigarettes.

Practitioners of homeopathic medicine believe that menthol can interfere with the efficacy of homeopathic remedies, and some even go so far as to advise against the use of mint toothpaste. Another common claim against menthol is thatmenthol cigarettes are more dangerous than regular cigarettes, but this has no scientific basis. The idea may be rooted in the fact that African American smokers have both a higher incidence of cigarette-related cancers and a higher preference for menthol cigarettes than smokers of other backgrounds. However, there is no evidence these two statistics are causally related. All types of cigarettes pose significant health risk.

Menthol has very low toxicity, although menthol poisoning is possible if large quantities are consumed. However, any ill effects from the use of mentholare extremely rare. Many people around the world enjoy the cooling sensation of menthol in gum, candy, lip gloss, and other products.

Properties of Transition Metals

A "ductile" material can be turned into wire. Transition metals are good conductors of electricity and heat, as well. For example, copper has been used for electric wiring for decades, and is also used in making cookingutensils.