Acid/Alkaline:

It's all about Balance!

 

  Acid/Alkaline theory began many, many years ago.
(ten minute read time)

It has been called many different names but to simplify it, we can say that it has been the 'thread' in many traditions in Asia including the Tao, Yin/Yang, and Macrobiotic theory. Fundamentally, it says that if we live in a way that either causes us to create excess metabolic acids, or if we ingest  excessive amounts of acid-forming foods, our bodies will sooner or later break down because they are not in balance.

Breakdown will occur either through the slow acidification of the body, also known as free radical damage, or through major organ failure, or through one of a myriad of common major disease conditions.

The body always seeks balance and when it is constantly assailed by excess acids, then balance is a constant loss. Today, we have a large body of scientific opinion that confirm Asian philosophies. University studies, live blood analysis and a host of publications all demonstrate that we are, more than ever, at a crossroad in our ability to maintain balance in our modern toxic life.

We'll take a look on these pages at what foods, lifestyles and just which supplements contribute to balance; how our metabolism can operate as it is supposed to instead of acting as a continual janitor in an increasingly overloaded toxic warehouse. Excess Acidity Weakens all Body Systems.

Chronic Acidosis: a definition and cause:

  An acid overload forces the body to borrow minerals – including calcium, sodium, potassium and magnesium – from vital organs and bones to buffer (neutralize) excess acid and safely remove it from the body. As a  result, the body may suffer severe and prolonged ‘corrosion’ due to high acidity – a condition that usually remains undetected for years. It affects virtually every person in our society because of the way we live, the way we eat, and the environment we live in. The result is an internal environment where disease can easily manifest, as opposed to a pH-balanced environment, which allows normal body function necessary for the body to resist disease.

It is true that if we have a healthy body we will maintain sufficient alkaline reserves to meet emergency  demands. However when excess acids are continually neutralized, our alkaline reserves are depleted, leaving the body in a weakened, disease -prone condition.

How Our Response To Diet and Lifestyle has Evolved.

Unfortunately, there are still many practitioners who believe that the body can somehow miraculously and ‘naturally’ balance its pH – as if we are still living in the woods, eating raw foods and herbs. The truth is so far beyond this ideal. The truth - according to a study by Dr. Lynda Frassetto, (9.7MB .PDF download!)  acid/alkaline researcher from the University of California, is that we have turned an evolutionary corner. We do not handle acid waste the way we used to. Her research showed the sheer volume of acid waste our body has to handle has now  forced it to take drastic ‘war’ style action to preserve its ‘strategic reserves’ –and to protect the kidney and liver, our major, essential detox organs. In her study of almost 1,000 aging subjects, she found that we are now ‘stockpiling’ acid in fatty deposits rather than eliminating it via kidney and liver.

In one of her many studies, (Estimation of the net acid load of the diet of ancestral preagricultural Homo Sapiens and their hominid ancestors here) she says that 87% of pre-agricultural diets were alkaline based, (-88 +/- 82 mEq/d). Modern diets, incontrast were, in her words, 'a mismatch between the nutrient composition of the diet and genetically determined nutritional requirements for optimal systemic acid-base status'.

Compared to the -88mEq/d pH rating of our ancestors, we now rate around +48 mEq/d: a 136 point difference!

There's more: in another study of the relative incidence of hip fractures in older women worldwide, Dr Frassetto concluded: "the critical determinant of hip fracture risk in relation to the acid-base effects of diet is the net load of acid in the diet, when the intake of both acid and base precursors is considered." This is further supported by the conclusion of a study on the effects on our skeleton undertaken by the University of Rochester, which concluded that "a slight, but significant, metabolic acidosis leads to greater loss of bone mineral and increase potential to fracture."Put simply, an acidic lifestyle weakened bones and increased the possibility of fracture in later life.

Infinite Wisdom

In its infinite wisdom, the body has chosen to save the kidney and liver from degradation by excess acid. Of course, there is a cost. It’s called obesity, lowered immunity, lack of energy and the whole host of acid related diseases we are subject to including cancer, diabetes, osteo-arthritis and more - much more.

Acid Alkaline History

The concept of acid/alkaline imbalance as the cause of disease isn't a new one. One of the first people who talked about the need to alkalize the body was the great "Sleeping Prophet," Edgar Cayce. He always referred to body detoxification with herbs, colonics, fasting, massage, steam baths and diet modification with the aim of alkalizing the body.
Way back in 1933, Dr. William Howard Hay published a ground-breaking book, A New Health Era, in which he maintained that all disease is caused by ‘auto-toxication’ (or "self poisoning") due to acid accumulation in the body:

“Now, we depart from health in just the proportion to which we have allowed our alkalis to be dissipated by introduction of acid forming food in too great amount. It may seem strange to say that all disease is the same thing, no matter what its myriad modes of expression, but it is verily so.”

Dr. Theodore Baroody, medico and author of Alkalize or Die says:

“The countless names of illnesses do not really matter. What does matter is that they all come from the same basic root cause…too much acid tissue waste in the body!”

Unfortunately, according to Sang Whang, inventor, scientist and author of  Reverse Aging, even if we eat the best of organic fruit and vegetables, 97% of our food still consists of carbon, nitrogen, hydrogen and oxygen, which will still be reduced to acid waste. He says that it is not what we put into our bodies…it's what stays in our bodies as waste that creates our overacidic condition and causes us to age prematurely.

In terms of acid/alkaline balance, he says the only difference between 'good' food and 'bad food' is that 'good' food will have less acid waste and more acid neutralizing result.

“Your pH balance depends on what is left after metabolism."

Very few if any of us are physically capable of ridding our bodies of all the acids we create from food, stress and our own metabolism. These acid wastes circulate the body via the blood and lymphatic system until our overloaded kidneys decide to dump them or, as we have mentioned, they can be stored in fat. (and if you don't have enough fat yet, there's always more in the next burger!)  Cholesterol and crystallized uric acid are solidified acids that have been dumped within the body for 'later' removal- the 'later' that never comes.


Why Acids are so Harmful to Our Health

Acid coagulates blood. Blood already has major problems flowing around fatty acids. Capillaries block and die. Skin, deprived of life-giving balanced blood, loses elasticity. It begins to wrinkle. Even after a face-lift or liposuction, the acid remains and continues its relentless advance. Without a basic acid/alkaline balancing plan, every part of your body works ever harder to maintain health - because every system; all the organs, the lungs, even the skin – are involved in the maintenance of correct blood pH.


Optimum pH is Achievable, but temporary!

If your blood’s pH dips from its optimum pH 7.36 down to pH 7, you will lapse into a coma and die. That's why you get such a charge from a can of Cola. Its pH 2.5 acidity sets alarm bells ringing all over your body. Alkaline chemical stores that should be used elsewhere are sacrificed to the call of the needed adrenalin that floods your system. The “high” you have learned to expect is no different to the high a drug user gets as he experiences his artificial sensory elevation. It is your body screaming "Help,” and you, enjoying the thrill of the fear. It’s “The Real thing.”

It's not just a glass of Cola that causes such effect. (32 glasses of neutral pH water are needed to balance one glass of Cola) Most of us already have a running battle within, as our body struggles to counteract acid-producing foods, acid producing pollution and acid producing stress. In fact - of all acidifying factors - stress is the greatest. It can neutralize and acidify an alkaline diet with one surge of adrenalin.

Some newcomers to the acid/alkaline theory think that it's like some sort of pill; take a few and the problem has gone, but this isn't how it works. We are a river of life. We change constantly and all of our organs, our circulatory, our eliminatory and our respiratory systems are constantly involved in an amazing juggling act. each acting synergistically but only within their limits, to support the perfect pH of the blood. So alkaline balance is a constant fact of life. However if this comes as bad news, think again, for the benefits of true health are simply not for sale. Having been alkalizing for the last eight years I can say that I am so very, very grateful for this knowledge and love to hand it on!


Acidity = Rust

It corrodes our tissues. It eats into our 96,000 kilometers of veins and arteries. Left unchecked, it eventually interrupts all cellular activities and functions, from the beating of our heart to the neural firing of our brain. Over-acidification interferes with life itself leading to virtually all sickness and disease! Finally, it ages us…then kills us. When we die, it celebrates by turning the whole body acid, inviting foreign antagonistic organisms to the party! (For a detailed Wikipedia look at this process, go here).

Dr. Baroody expresses it very well:

"Too much acidity in the body is like having too little oil in the car. It just grinds to a halt one lazy Sunday afternoon. There you are -
stuck. The body does the same thing. It starts creaking to a stop along the byways of life and you find yourself in some kind of discomfort. I watch with great concern as people of all classes and lifestyles suffer from this excess."

Dr Baroody attributes no less than 68 major health conditions to a prior existent acidic inner terrain.


Fat saves Life

As Dr. Frassetto  discovered, when we are faced with shortage of options due to an acid-besieged inner terrain, we dump toxic wastes in fatty deposits as far away from the organs and heart as possible; on the buttocks, the chest, the thighs and the belly.


Alkaline Balance and Energy

The pH of our internal fluids has a profound effect even at the individual cellular level in our bodies. Our entire metabolic process is dependent upon balance, right down to molecular. Our 75 trillion cells are slightly acidic within, dependent on our inner sea - the surrounding alkaline interstitial fluid to surround them. Without this relationship, no useful chemical or energy interchange will occur because no pH balance exists. pH opposites - acid and alkaline - in the body are the chemical method for electricity to flow. Without sufficient “polarity” between the interior of the cell and the fluid surrounding it, the energy of the cell has difficulty flowing into the surrounding tissues. Weight loss and the regaining of energy occurs more easily when we take the first steps toward an Alkaline “re-balance.”


Alkaline Balance and Internal Parasites

It’s not an understatement to say that we live in a world plague of "microforms.” These include more than simple germs. Yeasts, fungi, viruses and moulds are all microforms that exist within our bodies. It’s not just their presence within us, but the acid faecal excretions they deposit within us. These toxic wastes are produced when microforms digest glucose, fats and proteins in our body. They eat our food, turn it to poison, and dump it!


Alkaline Balance and Mineral Assimilation

If we knew what causes minerals to be assimilated or rejected, we could save hundreds of millions in wasted supplement consumption every year. pH balance determines - and limits - mineral assimilation. Every mineral has its own 'signature' pH level that permits assimilation by your body. If we look at an atomic scale chart of elements, those at the lower end are capable of assimilation over a broader pH range. Those ‘higher’ on the chart need a progressively narrower pH range to be assimilated.

Summarizing, if you are not pH balanced, your body will simply reject most minerals. Why is this relevant? Let's look at iodine as an example. High up on the atomic scale, it requires near perfect pH for its assimilation into the body. Iodine is required for a healthy thyroid gland. But our thyroid will receive no iodine unless the body pH is almost perfect. Thyroid deterioration has been connected to arthritis, heart attacks, diabetes, cancer, depression, obesity, and fatigue.



The Body Electric

Today, inadequate mineral supply to the body is extremely common due to the depletion of minerals in our agricultural land. The supply and
absorption of adequate minerals determines our health and well-being because it determines the conductivity of electricity in our bodies.
Electrical conductivity is the basis of an effective nervous system, which in turn monitors and reports on how well our various organs and subsystems are performing. The effectiveness with which our nervous system can operate, therefore, is subject to a correct pH, just like every biochemical process we perform. By eating and living in a way that causes imbalances to our internal pH, we actually 'kill the messenger'; the nervous system that updates us on how our body is fulfilling its many tasks.


Alkaline Balance and Mercury

Dr. W.R. Kellas, Ph.D., co-author of numerous books including Surviving in a Toxic World says that the pH factor plays an important part in
ridding the body of mercury and other toxins. He says, "the best pH is around 7.35 because the more acidic the body is (below 6.5) the more it holds on to (heavy) metals. Heavy metals in turn create a high oxidative stress that acidifies the body." Dr. Kellas's clinic in California sends out pH strips along with their medical treatment and products, to measure body pH. They claim to have seen consistently better results when the pH factor is incorporated in their detoxification program.

The latest worldwide survey of all current Alzheimer’s research has identified mercury as the prime suspect as causative factor.


What Foods?

Within the book Acid/Alkaline Food Guide by Larry Trivieri Jr and Dr Susan E Brown, you’ll find a list of the acid and alkaline effects of many foods. To achieve a balance, enlightened health practitioners recommend an 80/20 mix of alkaline and acid foods. As you’ll discover, unless you are like ‘Popeye’ and just love spinach, silver beet, and broccoli, you may find this rule rather hard to keep.

We have one client who has progressed from diet to alkaline powders, to volcanic water with drops, until he found ION LIFE alkaline water. He just couldn’t beat his acidity with food. However, some dedicated “green food people” do manage, but most enlist the help of alkaline supplements or alkaline water.



Green Supplements

There are many formulations of alkalizing green food on the market. They all work, and are a workable answer for a busy parent or business person because you need only take it once a day. Ingredients may include barley grass, wheat grass and all manner of green vegetables and alkalizing herbs. Few are organic so take care in selection.


Calcium and Magnesium

We all see many ads on TV and in magazines for calcium supplements. Calcium will certainly replace lost alkalinity, and it is constantly being raided in the acidic body. After talking to literally thousands of acidic people, we agree that calcium is a viable method for rebalancing, but the question remains about whether it is, as some would say, not actually a cure, but a palliative.
An unbalanced acidic system will always hunger for calcium but unless the cause is corrected, the hunger may well continue forever.
Be sure to choose a calcium that has the correct ratio of calcium and magnesium in an ionic form for fast assimilation and the vital 2:1 ratio.


Alkaline Ionized Water

Sang Whang, scientist, inventor, and drinker of alkaline ionized water for 17 years, says the problem with trying to alkalize using food is that unless you can afford organic, you will metabolize a large amount of pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, and other chemical residues. He adds that if you ‘overdose’ by drinking large amounts of alkaline ionized water, it will simply pass through the kidneys and flush away any
germs that may have taken up residence as it passes through.

Alkaline water is used by millions of Japanese and Korean families, and has been a part of their culture since the 1980’s. Alkaline water is used in hospitals, in sanatoriums, and in clinics all over these countries.

Benefits of an ION LIFE Water Alkalizer/Ionizer

Your tap water may already be slightly alkaline, but Japanese scientists at Shiga University say that you should have water at pH 8.5 or above. A Water Alkalizer, Ionizer and filter attached to your tap or to your cold water line filters your water of all major impurities including chlorine and then separates and removes acid minerals, giving an unlimited and very economical stream of purified and powerful alkaline water. The secondary magnetic chamber's process has a number of important side benefits. The water molecules are greatly reduced in size, offering far greater hydrative ability. The minerals in the water are negatively charged, making them far more effectively absorbed. The water is also loaded with bound oxygen, plus negative hydrogen ions that are nature’s original antioxidant.

Learn More

• To learn more about alkalizing click here
• To learn about the history of alkaline ionized water, click here.
• To take your own (free) Alkaline Defence program, click here
• To compare ION LIFE water alkalizers click here
• To download free e-books on alkalizing click here
• To read articles on acid/alkaline balance click here
• To view online videos about alkaline water click here
• To read clinical studies about alkaline water click here
• To download a FREE Acid Alkaline food Chart click here
• To order books about alkaline water click here
• Read: 'Is a 20 Minute Read worth Five Years of Life?' by Ian Blair Hamilton
• Check what experts have to say about alkaline water here

 

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