Blog # 19: pH Balance, Acid, Alkaline,
Neutral
An aspect of nutrition and health which is often misunderstood is the
body’s pH balance. pH refers to
potential hydrogen atoms available to make a solution more basic or acidic. A pH of 0 to 6.9 is
acidic, 7.0 is neutral, and 7.1 to 14 is alkaline. Human venous blood serum is slightly alkaline and most research indicates that it stays
within a small pH range from 7.35 to 7.45.
Blood pH outside that range indicates illness, such as kidney failure,
uncontrolled diabetes, or prolonged, excessive exercise (acidic, or below 7.35) or prolonged vomiting or the
use of certain diuretic medications (alkaline,
or above 7.45).
If you examine most sources of information about this topic, you will discover
companies that are trying to sell you pH testing devices, pH changing substances
which you are supposed to use long term, and even expensive alkalizing water purifiers. These companies suggest that you can determine
the pH of blood by monitoring the pH of urine and saliva. From the small amount of research that has
been done on this topic, it appears that pH values of saliva and urine are not
good indicators of blood pH.
Several factors affect the body’s pH.
Perhaps the main factor is personality, general attitude toward life and
how a person deals with stress. The more
tense and hyperactive a person is, more acidic
their blood tends to be. People who are
tired and hypoactive tend to have more alkaline
blood. This variation occurs within the
normal range already noted above. Other
factors that can affect the body’s pH include malfunctioning internal organs,
extreme environmental toxicity, dysfunctional breathing, and continued extreme
over-exertion.
Certain areas of the body, such
as the stomach, tend to be very acidic. When the gastric environment becomes less acidic than normal, digestive problems will
result. When urine becomes too acidic or alkaline,
different types of kidney stones can develop.
When the body starts to become too acidic,
it will draw on highly alkalizing elements
to counteract this trend. Unfortunately,
calcium is one of the most alkaline elements
in the body, and osteopenia or osteoporosis can result from its use as a buffer. A woman told me that ever since she was a
small child, her body had been overly acidic. She found that living a low stress lifestyle,
following a generally healthy diet, and avoiding medications helped her
somewhat. Unfortunately, to maintain a
relatively normal pH, her body had to mobilize calcium from her bones,
especially from her hip joints. As a
result, she had already received three bilateral hip replacements by the time
she was 52.
Since the alkaline diet is generally
beneficial, it is worth sharing here. Fruits
and vegetables tend to be alkalizing with
a few exceptions, some of which include cranberries, blackberries, blueberries,
green beans, potatoes without skins, cooked spinach, rhubarb, plums, and
pasteurized fruit juices. Other alkalizing substances include mineral water,
seaweed, raw almonds, green coconut, and millet. Meat, fish, eggs, and most dairy tend to be acidifying.
Exceptions are grass-fed raw goat milk products, and butter. Also acidifying
are corn and most nuts, grains, beans, and legumes, distilled water, coffee,
medications, soda, and alcoholic beverages.
These lists could go on, but this gives you an idea.
This month’s offer: feel free to
call or email me with questions about the body’s pH and about this diet.
