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THE pH
FACTOR - Acid Alkaline Balance
pH Balance information
by Lynn Hinderliter CN, LDN
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The human body contains up to 60% water overall: the brain is
70% water; the blood, 82% and the lungs almost 90%. We are an inland sea, and a
blight can descend on our bodies if the acid /alkaline balance of this
"water of life" is not maintained, just as the acid in rain is
blighting some of the forests of the world..
All of the cells of our body are washed by the liquid medium
of that sea, which allows nutrients to be transported from place to place, and
laves away the toxins our cells discharge. When pH is imbalanced, the system
breaks down - if
the body's pH deviates too far to the acidic or too far to the alkaline side,
cells can become poisoned by their own toxic waste and die. Like
the Buddhist concepts of Yin and Yang, our bodies are designed to operate in an
alkaline state, yet we need certain acids to function.
An acid alkaline imbalance can be a factor in:
- cardiovascular problems related to cellular energy
- lowered immune system function, frequent infections
- excess mucous
- dysbiosis
- aches and pains, inflammation
- premature ageing because of cellular inefficiency
- irritability, anxiety and depression
- formation of any kind of stones, kidney, bladder or gallbladder
Many chronic disease states are accompanied by an acid body
condition : cardiovascular problems such as high blood pressure, high
cholesterol, arteriosclerosis and stroke; many cancers; diabetes; many
autoimmune diseases; indigestion, bowel imbalances and dysbiosis;
much inflammation, such as of the joints and the bladder. Osteoporosis in
particular is affected by your pH.
Counteracting
Acidic Diet Reduces Markers of Bone Loss in Older Adults, http://www.medpagetoday.com/PrimaryCare/DietNutrition/12006
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I feel that if the acid alkaline
balance were always maintained, disease would never get a
foothold; I also feel that until the imbalance is corrected, health will
not fully return.
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I consider pH acid alkaline balance the first signpost on the
road to determine whether the body is in a state of health or not, and with
knowledge and determination, one which it is within our power to correct.
Water is considered neutral at a ph of 7. Anything under that
is increasingly acid, anything over - increasingly alkaline. The human body
operates optimally at a pH that varies from 6.8 to 7.5, depending on the time of
day: pH tends to peak at 6 o'clock in the evening, and at noon, with the lowest
point coming at 6 o'clock in the morning. These readings represent
homeostasis, or balance. When the pH is operating within these normal
parameters, cells can take up nutrients as and when needed, depending only on
availability, and can discharge wastes efficiently.
Calcium in particular is dependent on the correct pH for
absorption. In fact, when the body is acidic, it will withdraw calcium from
the bones in an attempt to provide the alkalinizing minerals necessary to
correct balance. Counter-intuitively, when stomach acid is lowered, the body pH
becomes more acidic. It is frightening to consider how
anti-acids may be affecting the health of masses of unaware victims. http://biology.clc.uc.edu/courses/bio115/pepsin.htm#background
Here is an
excellent definition from Health
Freedom Resources
(http://www.healthfree.com/):
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The cells of the body in health are alkaline, but in disease
states the cell pH is below 7.0. The more acid the cells become, the
sicker we are and feel. The cells won't die until their pH gets to
about 3.5. Our bodies produce acid as a by-product of normal
metabolism. This is the result of our bodies burning or using alkaline
to remain alive. Since our bodies do not manufacture alkaline, we must
supply the alkaline from an outside source to keep us from becoming
acid and dying.
Food is the means of replenishing
the alkaline to the body. The main determining factor of alkaline is
the organic minerals. One can equate organic minerals with alkaline
for better understanding. Foods are of two types, acid or alkaline.
This refers to the ash value of a food. (Meaning the type of residue
that remains after the food is digested and processed). Is it acid, or
is it alkaline? If there is an acid residue (inorganic acids), the
body must neutralize this acid to keep the blood from getting acid.
The acid is neutralized with alkaline.
Ideally there is adequate alkaline in the diet to do this. However, if
there is not, the body must extract alkaline from its cells to
neutralize the acid. This, of course, causes the cells to become acid,
and thus diseased. Because our bodies are an alkaline entity, in order
to maintain health, the majority of our diet must consist of alkaline
ash foods.
We can remain in health by consuming a diet that is 70-80% alkaline
and 20-30% acid. The more alkaline the better. If we become too
alkaline by eating a majority of alkaline foods, we will lose our
appetite and automatically want to fast, during which time the normal
acid metabolic by-products will return the body's pH back to normal.
It is interesting to note that some foods which qualify as a real food
have an acid ash reaction. This is probably nature's way of keeping a
balance so that the real food consumer does not become too alkaline.
Also note that the acid content of these acid ash real foods is very
low and they still contain valuable nutrients which can be utilized by
the body.
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You can buy strips
to measure pH at some health food stores. You can
also order them directly from us. You can measure either urinary or saliva pH.
Urinary pH should fall around 6.5, lower is acidic; salivary pH should be
measured at least 2 hours away from a meal, and is healthy at 7.4, acidic below
that.
Monitoring your pH with urine:
hold the strip in the stream of your first morning urination. The first
reading will give you an idea of how the acids in your body are accumulating
overnight. Some experts suggest the second urination of the morning is
more accurate, but I feel it is important to know whether you are maintaining
neutral pH for what is, after all, half your day. Repeating the reading
before your noon meal will complete the picture.
You can also determine your pH levels by testing
saliva: do not do this first thing in the morning: the oral
bacteria present at that time can skew your reading to acidic. Wait until
after you have brushed your teeth and rinsed your mouth well with water.
Then, hold the strip against your tongue well-moistened with saliva.
Diet is the main determinant of whether we tend
towards the acid or the alkaline
and the average U.S. diet might almost be
designed to cause us to err!
- Proteins (pork, beef, chicken, ham, turkey etc.)
- grains
- coffee and tea
- eggs
- beer, wine and pops
- most breads, spaghettis and pastas
- refined rice
- chocolate
all promote an acid state in our body fluids. Dairy foods, potatoes and onions
are mostly neutral, and fruits, vegetables, beans and soy are on the alkaline
side.
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Occasionally I am contacted by
confused clients who have found conflicting information from different
experts concerning the pH of a food: I received this EXCELLENT
clarification from another of my contacts, who like me is a long-time
student of this health element:
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"There is a lot of double talk
by so-called experts. In some cases, the references are just the
opposite of what they should be - I found that the reason apparently
is that some experts are referring to the acid/alkalinity of food
BEFORE these foods are eaten. There is a chemical change in the
body which converts the (e.g.) acidity to alkalinity AFTER ingestion
of the food. This is known as the ASH. This should take out a
lot of confusion about the chemical formation of the different foods.
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Modifying the diet is the first step along the road to moderating pH; if diet
fails, stress is the next consideration, and if controlling stress still leaves
one in an acidic state, then adding a digestive enzyme with Betain Hydrochloride
(or even, in extreme cases, HCl as a standalone) may bring about the desired
result.
There are some "superfoods" that are
natural buffers that I use and recommend frequently. A natural buffer is a
substance that counteracts the acid state of the body, and chief among them are concentrated
green foods like
- barley grass
- spirulina
- Chlorella
- and some wonderful combinations of dried vegetables, sea vegetables and
cereal grasses.
As a side note, I often have people tell me
that their arthritis has been helped by taking a green food, and this is part of
the reason why: people with arthritis are almost without exception highly
acidic, which is a pro-inflammatory state. All concentrated green
foods are helpful in alkalinizing pH.
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Chronic acidosis also
affects the function of the liver, causing congestion:
when the liver is not functioning properly, inflammation
can result:
correcting this condition will also be of benefit in arthritis.
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The other buffers I use and recommend most
frequently because they are healthful in many other ways also, are
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Stress almost immediately
causes acidic conditions in the body. For more about the effect of
stress on our health, read my article on
Stress
and the Adrenal Glands.
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In my
article on digestion, you will find information about Hydrochloric
acid and digestive health. Since stomach acid is a
significant factor in maintaining pH balance, and is affected by stress, you
will find that interesting too.
I find it vexing that some Doctors are still recommending Tums
as a source of Calcium for their patients: it is a truly ironic recommendation,
since Tums is designed to suppress stomach acid, and calcium is very poorly
absorbed unless sufficient stomach acid is present. Sufficient HCL in the
stomach, and a proper acid environment there, are also essential for keeping the
body in proper pH balance.
Lack of acid in the stomach is not only the
first obstacle in the absorption of calcium and other important nutrients, but
often leads to an acidic condition in the body, which in turn
leads to the withdrawal of minerals from the bones; making alkalinizing minerals
available is the defensive reaction of the body to correct and neutralize the
problem.
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Incorrect breathing can
contribute to an acid pH
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Shallow, slow breathing means a higher
concentration of carbon monoxide in your blood, which can be a factor in your
body's overall pH. Make a point each day of taking a few minutes to
practice a regimen of long, deep breaths, involving your entire chest and
testing your lung capacity to its extremes.
When many people give breathing some thought, they
realize that most of their lives, they have been either holding their breath, or
breathing very shallowly. Breathing deeply helps to calm, which of course is why
we say to someone who is distressed - "Now, take a DEEP breath".
Obviously, there is also a breath/stress connection!
Correct
Breathing http://www.lifepositive.com/body/body-holistic/breath/breath.html
At the moment there are no studies that
support the importance of acid alkaline pH balance to health, and there
are even some respected nutritional authorities that do not agree - Dr. Andrew
Weil among them, who comments negatively here. However, in another place he emphasizes the
importance of keeping the urine alkaline for urinary tract infections, and I
wonder whether perhaps there is some confusion between blood pH ( which is
regulated by the body) and urinary and salivary pH, which are at the mercy of
the diet. If the pH of the mouth affects caries, and the pH of the bladder
affects infections - then I submit that all places in between are also affected
by an imbalance.
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Interestingly,
scientists are now determining that the pH of our actual oceans
is changing, with a concomitant effect on the health of the denizens of
the sea.
More in RESOURCES
at below.
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