Healthy Diet and pH Balance

Just as the body regulates its temperature, it also manages the chemical environment of the internal fluids that bathe all the cells in the body. The chemical environment is called the the Biological Terrain, and refers to the interstitial fluid that flows through the body, feeding the cells with electrolytes, minerals, enzymes, vitamins and hormones and carrying away waste products that the cells release. The speed of the body’s biochemical reactions is controlled by the pH (the acidity or alkalinity) of this fluid, and any imbalance in its level affects every cell in the body.

While billions of cells in our body perform the task of respiration, they secrete acid metabolic by-products. Although these wastes are used for energy, they must not be allowed to build up. Our food, water and air are loaded with acid forming substances. Soft drinks, especially colas (pH 2.5), are extremely acid forming. Protein metabolism can cause excess phosphoric acid to form that can solidify as kidney stones. Even normal metabolism in our bodies creates acid wastes such as cholesterol, which build up in the body as arterial plaque. And if that isn’t serious enough, most modern medicines and prescription drugs produce acid in our bodies.

These acid wastes must be neutralized and eliminated from the body, otherwise the body’s functions can get impaired. The body works to neutralize and detoxify these acids before they act as poisons.

What is pH?

pH (potential of Hydrogen) is a measure of the acidity or alkalinity of a solution. The value of pH can be between 0 and 14. The intermediate value is 7 (water); values lower than 7 indicate acidic and values higher than 7 indicate alkaline condition. Ideally, pH level of our bodies should be between 7.2 and 7.6.

Diseases Caused by pH Imbalance

An acidic, anaerobic body environment caused by pH imbalance encourages breeding of fungus, mold, bacteria, and viruses. So you are susceptible to diseases caused by microorganisms. In addition, cancer thrives in an acidic and oxygen-deficient environment.

As we age, the cells of the body become thicker with the the acidic waste products. This causes vital nutrients and oxygen brought into the cells to decline and the toxins and metabolic waste products to build up. Apart from causing premature aging, they can cause high blood pressure, angina (chest pain), peripheral vascular disease (poor circulation to the legs and feet), stroke, fatigue, excess weight and poor digestion. Diabetic patients have to be especially careful, as it may ultimately result in gangrene of the feet.

Heart Problems

When the pH of blood plasma is more acidic, it irritates the smooth muscle tissues of the walls of blood vessels and causes lesions to form. In the acidic environment, fatty acids are attracted to the artery walls. This affects the contraction and relaxation of the muscles and also causes plaque, which clogs the arteries and leads to atherosclersis and strokes.

Arthritis

Another byproduct of normal healthy metabolism is uric acid. The body deals with excess acid by solidifying it into a salt that tends to build up in the joints., causing arthritis in the long-term.

When the immune system fights with germs, lymphocytes or white blood cells bind with germ cells and kills them.When acid waste accumulates in your body, the lymphocytes get damaged. If the damage is severe, the lymphocytes mistakenly attack healthy cells and cause autoimmune diseases like arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis and fibromyalgia.

Osteoporosis

A highly acidic body is at a high risk for osteoporosis. As the body becomes more acidic, it steals calcium from the bones, teeth, and tissue to drop the acid levels down.

The homeostatic processes deplete the body of other buffering minerals in addition to calcium such as sodium, potassium and magnesium, which are borrowed from vital organs and bones to neutralize the acid and safely remove it from the body.

Obesity

When the body gets more and more acidic, it protects the vital organs from the acid by making fat cells to store the acids.  When the body’s pH state is restored to a healthy alkaline state, they lose fat easily.

Improving pH

Research shows that unless the body’s pH level is slightly alkaline, the body cannot heal itself. When pH is raised to an alkaline condition the body is better able to neutralize the wastes and flush them out of the system. Good elimination coupled with complete digestion is the most powerful formula for alkaline pH.

Parts of body that have poor circulation – perhaps  a result of stress – can cause stagnated  pools of acidic blood. Deep breathing removes stress by alkalizing the blood, and so does aerobic exercise.

We need to consume at least 60% alkaline-producing foods in our diet by including plenty of fresh fruits and particularly vegetables (alkaline-producing) to balance our necessary protein intake (acid-producing).

Many of the food we commonly eat, like animal protein like meat and eggs, sugar, caffeine, milk, cheese, processed foods are acidic. Even some of the healthy foods are  acid-producing, for example: yogurt, wheat germ and brown rice.  So eat them in moderation, especially when you are already acidic.  Avoid alcoholic drinks as well as soft drinks containing artificial sweeteners that dump more acid into your body.

Leafy vegetables, such as celery, lettuce, spinach and wheat grass are rich in sodium and are alkalizing foods. Parsley, plantain, aloe vera and cucumber are highly alkaline. Where possible, you may be better off using stevia ( a natural plant-based sugar), maple syrup and raw honey instead of sugar.

Most fruits, especially citrus fruits like lemons and oranges are alkaline, except cranberries and blackberries. Almonds are the best alkalizing amongst the nuts, whereas peanuts and walnuts are acid-producing.

Several websites list the pH values of common foods. You can refer to Essence of Life chart.

Assessing the pH Health

Biological Terrain Analysis (BTA) provides a measure of body’s cellular health. This test uses blood, saliva and urine to determine the degree of body acidity, free radical and antioxidant levels and adrenal stress levels

You can also test your pH with litmus paper available in many drug stores simply by wetting the paper with your saliva and matching the color of the paper to a chart.