Acid/Alkaline Balance Part I
Last Updated on Thursday, 27 October 2011 01:32
Posted by elizabethjulia Tuesday, 7 September 2010 09:47 |
Have you ever wondered what it would take to always be healthy? Many doctors, herbalists and nutritionists believe that by maintaining your body’s pH on the slightly alkaline side you never get ill. Dr. William Howard Hay in his book A New Health Era states that all diseases are caused by auto-intoxication (or “self-poisoning”) due to high acid levels in the body. More recently, in his book Alkalize or Die Dr. Theodore A. Baroody says: “The countless names of illnesses do not really matter. What does matter is that they all come from the same root cause – too much tissue acid waste in the body!”
When the body becomes too acidic many health problems can occur. It is very rare to find someone being overly alkaline. Most people who suffer from unbalanced pH are acidic. An overly acidic body must borrow minerals—including calcium, sodium, potassium and magnesium—from vital organs and bones to buffer (neutralize) the acid and to safely remove them from the body. Because of this stress, the body can suffer severe and prolonged damage due to high acidity—a condition that may go undetected for years. People who have chronic acidosis are at greater risk for bone loss than those who have normal pH levels. Many bone fractures due to osteoporosis is more prevalent among middle-aged women. This is because the body borrows calcium from the bones in order to balance pH. These are connected to high acidity caused by a diet rich in animal foods and low in vegetables.
If you are experiencing any of the following health challenges you may be too acidic:
- Cardiovascular damage, including the constriction of blood vessels and the reduction of oxygen
- Weight gain, obesity and diabetes
- Bladder and kidney conditions, including kidney stones
- Low immunity
- Nervousness, restlessness, insomnia
- Moodiness, irritation, mental edginess, impatience, intolerance
- Premature aging
- Osteoporosis, weak, brittle bones, nails, hair, bone spurs
- Joint pain, aching muscles and lactic acid buildup
- Vitamin/mineral deficiency
- Low energy and chronic fatigue
…and much more
What is pH?
Potential of hydrogen, pH, is a measure of the acidity or alkalinity of a solution. It is measured on a scale of 0 to 14: the lower the pH the more acidic the solution, the higher the pH the more alkaline the solution. When a solution is neither acid nor alkaline it has a pH of 7, which is neutral. Another way to think of pH is as a balance between positively charged ions (acid-forming) and negatively charged ions (alkaline-forming). This is similar to the workings of a battery. The human body needs to have a positive and a negative to create an electrical current, in other words, energy.
Our bodies continually strive to balance pH. When this balance is compromised many problems can occur. For example, the most important fluid in the body is blood, which has a pH level of 7.4, slightly alkaline. If the blood becomes too acidic the heart relaxes and ceases to beat. If the blood is too alkaline, the heart contracts and ceases to beat.
How You Can Test Your pH
You can quickly and conveniently test your pH levels with pH test strips, which are available at most drugstores. Knowing where your pH levels are may help you correct any imbalances in the body right away, before foreign invaders settle in. If your urine pH fluctuates between 6.0 to 7.0, your body is functioning within a healthy range. If your saliva stays between 6.5 and 7.5 all day, your body is functioning within a healthy range. The best time to test your pH is about one hour before a meal and two hours after a meal.
Look for Part II next week!
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Most of us are affected by acidosis simply because we live in the modern world. Our topsoils have been stripped and our food supply chain is devoid of minerals and other vital nutrients. We are eating a diet high in animal proteins, sweeteners, and processed food with few fruits and vegetables. If we move toward a diet full of whole fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and spices, we can quickly ease a great deal of this burden and use food to our advantage.
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