Balance your body pH with Food

Introduction

The body needs specific nutrients for energy. It then takes those nutrients and through chemical reactions, manufactures substances the body uses for growth and to maintain life. These chemical reactions are called metabolism. Each nutrient plays a unique role in metabolism and if one nutrient is missing, there could be mild to severe consequences in health and energy. Metabolism requires a very specific level of acidity, or pH, to function properly. Scientifically speaking, the body pH measures the number of hydrogen ions in solution within the body. An acidic pH has a low ability to attract hydrogen ions, while an alkaline solution has a high ability to attract hydrogen ions. (Grosvenor, 2006).

What does this mean for you and me? When the body pH is in balance, the body can extract and assimilate minerals and vital nutrients from the blood. This means digestion is good, proper elimination is taking place, and the immune system is functioning properly. (Cowden, 2000). But when the body pH is not in balance, the opposite occurs. Having a too acidic body pH, an imbalance that is below the perfect pH, can cause severe acid reflux, heartburn, acid indigestion, low energy and mild joint dysfunction. It can effect other body systems such as the circulatory system, the digestive system, the nervous system and the structural system. Conversely, having a too alkaline body pH, an imbalance that is above the perfect pH can indicate extreme fatigue and deficiencies in blood and liver conditions. (Cowden, 2000). According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, more than seven million people suffer from severe acid reflux, heartburn, and acid indigestion. (Nemours 2010). Over-the-counter and prescription antacids are commonly prescribed for acid indigestion, but knowing what foods lower the pH is a crucial tool in preventing pH imbalance. If you have been diagnosed with a digestive disorder, discuss food options with your doctor before self-prescribing.

A Perfect pH

Inside the body, pH must be maintained in a relatively neutral level in order to allow metabolic reactions to proceed normally. If the pH changes, these reactions slow or stop. The pH scale ranges from 0-14 with <6.4 acidic and >6.4 alkaline for body fluids, specifically – saliva and urine. A perfect pH is 6.4, and monitoring your pH is as simple as getting pH strips at your pharmacy or health food store. The best times to monitor the pH levels are first thing in the morning before eating or drinking anything, 2 hours after a meal, and prior to bed.

Acid Forming Foods

An acid pH of <6.4, indicates excess conditions and that is when diet should consist of only 20% acid forming foods. The following foods are acid forming and will lower pH levels: All grains except oats, white sugar, all meats, animal fats, butter, cream, eggs, cheese, sea foods, most nuts, soft drinks, milk, beans, most oils, lentils, coffee, tea, cocoa, flour products, and pasta.(Nature’s Treasure Chest, 1991).

Alkaline Forming Foods

As noted above, when acid pH is <6.4, the diet should consist of 20% acid forming foods. The following list of foods is alkaline forming and 80% of the diet should consist of these: Almonds, figs, bananas, prunes, raisins, dates, avocados, grapes, pears, red potatoes, molasses, coconut, all melons, maple syrup, soured dairy products, spinach, beets, okra, parsley, green peppers, lettuce, cabbage, cucumbers, string beans, green peas, sweet corn, carrots, and squash. (Nature’s Treasure Chest, 1991).

In Conclusion

Knowing what to eat, or not to eat can greatly determine how you feel in the short run. In the long run, eating correctly will determine your level of health or illness, so it is very important to pay attention to your diet. Even if you have already been diagnosed with a condition or illness, you can still improve the quality of your life just by the foods that you eat. It is worth the time and effort. Happy eating!

References:

Cowden, Dr. William, (2000). Convention in Minneapolis

Grosvenor, M., (2006). Nutrition Everyday Choices, Volume 1. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Nature’s Treasure Chest. (1991). Health Ministries

Nemours Kids’ Health. (2009-2012). Have you heard of Gerd? Retrieved 2010 from http://kidshealth.org/kid/health_problems/stomach/gerd.html

Balancing your body pH - Circulatory system

This is the first of a series of educational articles regarding balancing your body pH.

1. Circulatory System

2. Digestive System
3. Nervous System
4. Structural System
5. Foods that are acid forming, alkaline forming and other things you can do to balance your body pH...

Poor health begins in one area of the body, and like a virus or disease, spreads to other parts of the body. Much like the domino effect, once you have a collapse in one body system, it is next to impossible to stop the cascading movement that causes a myriad of symptoms that people go to the doctor for.

The problem with going to the doctor is that he or she doesn’t have the time to find the root cause of your symptom much less educate you on reversing the damage and getting your once profound health back. Chances are, your doctor will write a prescription to manage your symptoms. If this goes on long enough, you develop other symptoms (or side effects) from the medication or the ongoing domino effect that is happening, so he writes more prescriptions to manage your new symptoms, and so on the merry go round turns.

There are 32 nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, sulfur, calcium, magnesium, iron, manganese, boron, copper, zinc, molybdenum, etc.) known as trace minerals that are found in nature in our soil, twelve of them considered essential. Without those nutrients, plants cannot grow or resist disease. The soil must have a certain amount of acid and a certain amount of alkalinity to produce health benefitting plants.

Your body pH is like the fertile ground that organic fruits and vegetables grow in, and also requires balance of acid and alkalinity to keep your body systems functioning properly. If you have excess stomach acid which causes acid reflux, acid indigestion, GERD, or even an ulcer, it is possible that you are already having issues in other parts of the body too. Just like the soil, the pH in your internal environment, (your blood and tissues) must be balanced to produce health. If the magnetism of your blood isn’t correct, the cells of the body cannot extract nutrients from the blood, and a host of things begin to go wrong, starting with malnutrition.
The harmful effects of an imbalanced pH can affect the circulatory system, the nervous system, the structural system and the digestive system. This article is going to address the circulatory system.

THE CIRCULATORY SYSTEM

Bacteria and/or fungi and viruses can attach themselves to the inner walls of your arteries if your body pH is not in balance. This attracts white blood cells, clotting cells and clotting proteins which can cause a plaque to form in the artery. We all know what happens at this point – the arteries narrow and oxygen, nutrients, and blood flow to the tissues are restricted. If this happens in the coronary artery, a heart attack can occur. If excess acidity is present, calcium, which was moved out of the bone to buffer the acid, can deposit in the arterial plaque, thus converting the plaque from soft to hard. The plaque makes the arteries stiff, which can raise blood pressure.

You are now prescribed hypertension, and/or blood thinning, and/or high cholesterol medication. All because you are eating too many foods that cause acid or too few foods that can create alkalinity, or vice versa.

What is a perfect pH? It is 6.4. How do you get your pH to 6.4? Invest in pH strips, and learn which foods form acid in the tissues and blood and which form alkaline in the tissues and blood. There are many other things one can do to balance the body pH, but this is a great start.