Do you wake in the morning with aching joints – not wanting to get out of bed – not enough energy or enthusiasm for life – Need coffee, colas, salty or sweet snacks to keep going, Can’t bounce back from stress or illness?
If the answer is yes to any or all of these then it is more than likely that your body is acidic.
The definition of pH (acidity)
I think it is important to understand what this symbol means before going any further and the implications of an imbalance.
pH = potential of Hydrogen – Hydrogen is the fuel of life.
Oxygen burns hydrogen in the living system, releasing the energy that runs our bodies – the pH adjusts according to the food and liquids we put in our system and the stress load in our lives.
Hopefully you have already started to see an important link to pH balance and health.
Chemical makeup of the body and link to hydrogen
Our body is just a bag of chemicals made up in the following order:-
|
Element |
% Mass |
| Oxygen | 65 |
| Carbon | 18 |
| Hydrogen | 10 |
| Nitrogen | 3 |
| Calcium | 1.5 |
| Phosphorous | 1.2 |
| Potassium | 0.2 |
| Sulphur | 0.2 |
| Chlorine | 0.2 |
| Sodium | 0.1 |
| Magnesium | 0.05 |
| Iron | 3g men 2.3g woman |
| Cobalt, copper, zinc, iodine | < 0.05% each |
| Selenium, fluorine | < 0.01% each |
We can see that Hydrogen is one of the big four in the human body and plays a role as a component of water and most organic molecules, also an electron carrier (involved with ATP – our body energy).
Hydrogen and Oxygen ( H2O) play a major role on this planet in the makeup of water generally, and the body composition – water makes up to <78%> of our body – that means it’s pretty important don’t you think?
Correct pH in the body
The human blood pH should be slightly alkaline (7.35 – 7.45). Below or above this range means homeostasis (balance) of the body is compromised and various symptoms and diseases will be evident. A pH of 7.0 is neutral. A pH below 7.0 is acidic. A pH above 7.0 is alkaline.
An acidic pH can occur from, an acid forming diet, emotional stress, toxic overload, and/or immune reactions, or any process that deprives the cells of oxygen and other nutrients.
The body will try to compensate for acidic pH by using alkaline minerals i.e. calcium, magnesium, phosphorous, iron and potassium. If the diet does not contain enough minerals to compensate, a build-up of acids in the cells will occur. Another point to consider is that if these important minerals are missing the body will have to find them from internal sources to achieve balance in the body – hence bone degeneration that is very evident in our society
Outcome of an acid/alkaline imbalance
Another issue right now is that our lives are so fast and this is resulting in an acidic body and damaging the vital organs such as adrenals, liver and kidney.
Stress of any kind influences the adrenal glands ultimately sending us into a high gear catabolic state, breaking down more tissue and reserve energy and producing an excess of acid – this is our fight and flight response.
This condition is so exhausting that we look for a quick fix solution – normally coffee, tea, alcohol or fast food and sugar intake. All of these will cause a rise in acidity in the body
The link here is that when we get stressed the adrenals produce higher amounts of cortisol to increase blood sugar levels, it supresses the immune system and aids the metabolism of fats carbohydrates and proteins.
If we look at what is happening here – the body is now going into hyper vigilance but no real physical energy is being used – it is all internal.
The pancreas has to work harder to produce insulin, adding to the body stress, to get the extra glucose out of the blood. Because the glucose is not being used physically, the body will convert it to a triglyceride and store it in the fat cells – this body reaction has been linked to a symptom called insulin resistance.
Now it gets interesting here, because some bodies are so hyper vigilant that the metabolism used to keep them in that state will use all the extra energy created, and therefore does not need to store it in the fat cells – but when the body is forced to slow down due to dis-ease it converts the extra energy to fat, hence the weight fluctuation that people experience.
The digestive system is affected by cortisol elevation resulting in slowing of digestive action (peristalsis). This causes food to take longer to transit through the gut causing bacterial overload and damage to the ultra-sensitive epithelial tissue (villi) in the small intestine (ilium). The affect here is a lack of absorption of major nutrients causing ACIDITY levels to rise.
So, is this overworked statement correct? – “YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT”
I don’t think so, I think it should read – “YOU ARE WHAT YOU ABSORB”
An acidic imbalance will decrease the body’s ability to absorb minerals and other nutrients, decrease energy production in the cells and its ability to repair damaged cells and decrease its ability to detoxify heavy metals.
Therefore an acidic body can make tumour cells thrive because of the lack of oxygen, and make it more susceptible to fatigue and illness. A blood pH of 6.9, which is only slightly acidic, can induce coma and death.
The reason acidosis is more common in our society is mostly due to the typical diet, which is far too high in acid producing animal products like meat, eggs and dairy, and far too low in alkaline producing foods like fresh vegetables.
Additionally, we eat acid producing processed foods like white flour and sugar and drink acid producing beverages like coffee and soft drinks. We use too many drugs, which are acid forming; and we use artificial chemical sweeteners, which are extremely acid forming.
One of the best things we can do to correct an overly acid body is to change our diet and lifestyle.
The adrenal connection
Another issue right now is that our lives are so fast and this is resulting in an acidic body and damaging the vital organs such as adrenals, liver and kidney.
Stress of any kind influences the adrenal glands ultimately sending us into a high gear catabolic state, breaking down more tissue and reserve energy and producing an excess of acid – this is our fight and flight response.
What can we do to balance acidity/alkalinity
We need to take a step back and start to understand the whole reason that the body needs food; it is to gain the nutrients to run this highly complex and sensitive machine (body), and that not only means putting in the right ingredients, but to make sure that the food is broken down into its component parts – that means to eat peacefully and to chew the food slowly and completely so that the digestion system can disperse the nutrients into the blood and lymph system via the gut wall.
There is a Buddhist saying – “drink your food and eat your drinks”
What does “drink your food” mean? We should chew each mouthful of food 32 times to make it into a semi-liquid and to drink it. That would ensure that the carbohydrates are absorbed sublingually before moving down to the stomach, where the stomach acid and enzymes can break down the protein element of the food, it is then on to the ilium as a liquid chyme for the final stage of breakdown before absorption.
The other part, “eat your drinks” means to take water slowly; drinking water too fast can wash many vital nutrients through the gut too quickly limiting absorption.
To maintain health, the diet should consist of 60% alkaline forming foods and 40% acid forming foods. To restore health, the diet should consist of 80% alkaline forming foods and 20% acid forming foods.
Generally, alkaline forming foods include: most fruits, green vegetables, peas, beans, lentils, spices, herbs and seasonings, and seeds and nuts.
Generally, acid forming foods include: meat, fish, poultry, eggs, grains, and legumes.
The other important ingredient is clean water – we need to drink approximately 1.5 to 2 litres a day. Tap water comes complete with Fluoride and chlorine so it is best to filter these out before drinking.
I have given a link to a site I found interesting, it will certainly make you think about the importance of water in the quest of balancing acid/alkalinity of the body.
Conclusion
Here are some ideas to balance the acidity/alkalinity
- Chewing food well, especially carbohydrates, since their digestion is aided by saliva which begins in the mouth.
- Eating food raw – juicing is excellent
- Not cooking food too much – steaming is best
- Prayer/Meditation/Contemplation
- Calmness (anger makes us acidic)
- Minimizing adrenaline – reduce the stress in your life
- Drinking water with a negative polarity
- Drinking water with alkaline-forming minerals in it
- Eating most fruits and vegetables, especially those low in sugar
- Eating less sugar, candy bars, white rice and white flour (which are acid-producing)
- Eating less fats (which are acid-producing, due to fatty acids)
- Eating less protein (which is acid-producing, although plant protein is less so)
- Avoiding most legal and illegal drugs (which are mostly acid-producing)
- Avoiding stress and anger (these are extremely acid-producing)
- Body manipulation, such as acupressure (deep massage can be acidifying when acids are released so lots of water must be consumed after each session)
- Limiting very strenuous exercise (which can produce large amounts of lactic acid)
- Harmonious music
- Most alternative healing methods
James Lebeau – in his book Balance Your pH states;
“Taking vitamin and mineral pills or any kind of food supplements without balancing your pH is like forgetting to add the yeast to your chocolate cake recipe.”
I would also like to add food to that list – because as your body is mainly water it would be like an acid lake – you do not see fish surviving in that environment, therefore what about the very vulnerable enzyme and hormone structures that we need to break down the food to absorb?
There are some good books available to understand more about this very complex subject.
I hope that I have exposed you, in a very small way, to this very important subject that will determine the health of you and your family; and the planet if we are able to listen?
Suggested books:
Cancer is not a disease, it’s a survival mechanism – Andreas Moritz
Acid and Alkaline – Herman Aihara
Health Defence – Dr Paul Clayton
The miracles of Magnesium – Dr Carolyn Dean
Insightful post=) I am going to need some time to think about the blog.
Artielcs like this make life so much simpler.
Pretty good blogroll you have. It just keeps gettinb better…it looks like.
Really glad you enjoyed it – keep watching for more blogs – keep healthy
Peter
That is totally a nice webpage. Do you make fresh beauty content regularly?
Thanks for your comment – hope you got something from it that you can use to improve your health – or tell others about.
As a nutritionist I feekl there are things that we can do to improve our health – so yes I will be posting blogs as an issue arises in me
Peter
Have you ever wondered who posts a variety of this stuff that you come across? The on-line world never used to be like that, most recently although it has turned around. What do you think?
Hi Reva
Thank you for your comment – I think this is a wonderful media to explore and expand ideas – I am a practicing nutritionist and masseur so I am passionate about the things I write – they are my opinions but are based on what I see in my patienhts and their reponse to the treatments that I give them.
I think we have to be open to what is blogged – but it is then our responsibility to research the points and decide if they resonate with us – if they do then bring them into your accumulated knowledge.
I shall be on Radio Cambridge on 11th August at 9-00 listen in to what I have to say about water – also watch for the blog
Best regards
peter
Learinng a ton from these neat articles.
your web blog is in high position on google and i must say your regular writing style warrants your blog post for being such high in rankings.i appreciated your writing style.thanks.
Thank you for your comment – I think this is a wonderful media to explore and expand ideas – I am a practicing nutritionist and masseur so I am passionate about the things I write – they are my opinions but are based on what I see in my patients and their reponse to the treatments that I give them.
I also teach so my style is very much about keeping it at a level we can all understand – rather than some books I read, and lectures I attend, which are so technical they almost become esoteric and divorced from the general public – and with issues so important to our health I think they must be availble to all – what do you think?
I shall be on Radio Cambridge on 11th August at 9-00 listen in to what I have to say about water – also watch for the blog coming soon
Best regards
peter
Time to face the music armed with this great irnofmation.
What a joy to find smooene else who thinks this way.
Loving the design, what template did you use, or did you design it yourself?
Yes do – if you work on what I have laid out here you will definitely feel difgferent after a few weeks – watch out for the blog on water – that will open your eyes?
I designed it myself – with a bit of help from a designer – glad you like it – I have almost completed my next site graysnutrition watch out for that – another great designed header
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Glad you enjoy them – I am hoping that the info will change our viewpoint about how we need to treat our body if we want to stay healthy
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