Weight Loss Articles

 

Dietary Supplements
Acid-Alkaline Balance
By David Murphy, PhD, ND, CHT


Introduction

This article attempts to summarize the importance of the
acid-alkaline balance in the human body as a measure of
overall physical health, and to indicate several steps that
can be taken if you need to improve that balance.

Body Chemistry

We live and die on a cellular level. If our cells are
healthy then we are healthy and if our cells are not
healthy, if they live in a toxic environment, then we are
not healthy. The human body contains about ten gallons of
fluid so its cells are swimming in an ocean that is either
acid, neutral or alkaline. The body's systems work best in
an environment that is neutral to slightly alkaline although
some vital organs, like the stomach, either produce or house
very acidic substances.

The pH, or "potential of Hydrogen" is a logarithmic scale
that measures the relative acidity or alkalinity of a
solution. Solutions are measured from 0 (totally acid) to 14
(totally alkaline) and 7 is neutral. The intracellular fluid
should have a pH of about 6.8. If the pH is too low (more
acidic) then enzymes can't work and other cellular-level
process that are life and health sustaining can't take
place.

Although the cells live in an almost pH neutral environment,
they produce acid as they convert food into energy and then
perform work. The weak acid that they produce is easily
eliminated by the respiratory system. This is the first, and
natural source of acid in our bodies. Although we don't eat
a lot of acid food most of the food in the "typical"
American diet produces acid ash. Ash is the residue that is
left after the body has used what it can of the food that we
ingest. Acid ash in solution is a much stronger acid than
that produced by the cells and it must be eliminate by the
kidneys.

The strong acid produced by the "typical" American diet is
so strong that it would burn the urinary tract upon
elimination. Consequently the body buffers the acid.
Alkaline minerals (calcium, magnesium, sodium, and
potassium) are added to the strong (pH 5.5) acid when a
person's alkaline mineral reserve is full. This converts the
strong acid into a very weak acid that is excreted as urine.
On the other hand, if a person's alkaline mineral reserves
are depleted then the body is forced to buffer the strong
acid with ammonia (a strong alkaline, pH 9.25). This results
in the secretion of alkaline urine (pH of about 8.0).

Urine pH is a measure of the environmental conditions in
which the cells live. It also shows how the body responded
to the food that was ingested within the last 24 hours. This
in turn is a good measure of how well the body is
functioning. As a general rule, if urine has a pH of about
5.5 in the morning after eating meats, eggs, bread, milk,
cheese and cereal the day before then alkaline mineral
reserves are adequate and body acid-alkaline balance is
healthy.

High Body Acidity

High acidity is the most common acid-alkaline balance
problem. When the body's mineral reserves are depleted the
body "borrows" minerals from what ever source it can. This
usually means that minerals are borrowed from bones and
vital organs. Over time this weakens the organs and muscles.
Some of the common health problems that result from high
acidity include:

- Acceleration of free radical damage,
- Bladder and kidney problems,
- Cardiovascular weakness,
- Immune system weakness,
- Lactic acid buildup in joints resulting in joint pain,
- Low energy,
- Osteoporosis, eventually resulting in brittle bones and
hip fractures, and
- Weight gain.

Diet is the primary cause of acid-alkaline imbalance in the
body. The tables below classify common foods as either
alkaline ash producing (Table A) or acid ash producing
(Table B). Foods identified with an asterisks are either
very alkaline ash producing or very acid ash producing. Very
acid-ash producing foods should be avoided. On the other
hand, very alkaline-ash producing foods can be used to help
counteract an acid imbalance. In addition, it is important
to note that a food may be acidic, like a lemon, but be
alkaline ash producing so don't always go by taste.



Table A
Common Alkaline Ash Producing Foods

Almonds Amarantha Apples
Apricots Asparagus* Avocados
Bananas Beans (Dried) Beet greens
Beets Blackberries Broccoli*
Brussels sprouts Cabbage Canola Oil
Carrots Cauliflower Celery
Chard leaves Cherries (Sour) Chestnuts
Cucumbers Parsnips Dates (Dried)
Figs (Dried) Flax oil Garlic*
Grapefruit* Grapes Green beans
Green peas Green tea Herb teas *
Honey (Raw) Kiwi Lemons*
Lettuce Lima beans Limes* Mangoes*
Maple syrup Milk (Goat's)
Millet Molasses Mushrooms
Musk melon Olive oil* Onions*
Oranges Papaya* Parsley*
Peaches Pears Pineapple
Potatoes (Sweet) Potatoes (White) Quinoa
Radishes Raisins Raspberries
Rice syrup Rice (Wild) Rutabagas (Green)
Sauerkraut Soy beans (Green) Spinach (Raw)*
Strawberries Sugar (Raw) Tangerines
Tomatoes Watercress Watermelon*

Table B
Common Acid Ash Producing Foods

Artificial
sweeteners* Bacon Barley
Beans(Dried) Beer* Beef*
Blueberries * Bran (Wheat) Bran (Oat)
Bread (White) Bread (Whole wheat)Butter
Carob* Cashews Cheese*Chicken Codfish
Coffee Corn
Corn oil Corned beef Crackers (Soda)
Cranberries* Plums Currants
Eggs Flour(White)* Flour (Whole wheat)
Haddock Honey(Processed) Lentils (Dried)Lobster
Milk (Cow's) Milk(Homogenized)*
Molasses Macaroni OatmealOysters Pasta*
Pastries* Peanut butter
Peanuts* Peas (Dried) Pecans
Pike Pinto beans Pork*
Prunes* Pumpkin seeds Rice (Brown)
Rice (White) Salmon Sardines
Sausage Scallops Shellfish*
Shrimp Soft Drinks* Soybean*
Spaghetti Spelt Spinach (Cooked)
Squash (Winter) Sugar (Refined) Sunflower seeds
Tea Turkey Veal
Venison Walnuts* Wheat germ
Yogurt


Eighty percent of a persons diet should be alkaline foods
and the balance (20%) acid ash producing for a perfect pH
balance.

There are a few other things, in addition to diet, that can
be done to help correct an over acidic balance. These
include taking enzyme supplements, organic calcium and
magnesium supplements, colloidal minerals, vitamin A and D,
and drinking alkaline vegetable juices (carrot, celery and
beet) and lemon/maple syrup drink.

Most adults don't produce enough digestive enzymes and so
partially digested food enters the intestines or sits in the
stomach and becomes more acidic. Enzyme supplementation
helps treat this problem. Mineral supplements are important
to build up the potentially depleted mineral reserve of the
body. In addition, most vitamins can't be used effectively
if the necessary minerals are not present. Vitamins A and D
help hold calcium in the body and reduce the risk of calcium
depletion. Alkaline drinks help change the pH balance of
body fluids. Finally, if you are taking ascorbic acid to get
your vitamin C allowance then switch to either Rose Hips or
Citrus Bioflavonoids, neither of which is acidic.

Conclusion

Our bodies are constantly rebuilding themselves. You really
are not the same person that you were last year. The body
replaces the lining of the stomach about every five days,
the skin in about a month, the skeleton about every three
months, the liver about every six weeks and the red blood
cells circulate for about 120 days before being replaced by
new cells. What you do today affects the body that you will
have tomorrow. That can be good or bad . . . it all depends
on what you do. The new body that you are building today is
affected by the food that you eat, the waste that you
eliminate (and as important, by the waste that you don't
eliminate), by the air that you breath, the liquids that you
drink, and by the stress that you feel and how you respond
to it. Everything that you do affects the new body that you
are building for yourself. A long-term acid ash producing
diet creates a toxic environment at the cellular level. If
the cells can't function, the body ceases to function. On
the other hand, a healthy diet creates an environment that
is conducive to cellular and total health.
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Dr. Murphy is the director of the International Wellness
Institute. The International Wellness Institute offers
outstanding, low cost, distance-education programs in
fitness and wellness. You can study for a professional
certificates as a Personal Trainer, Health and Fitness
Specialist and/or Sports Nutrition Specialist. Or study for
a B.S. in Fitness and Wellness, Masters degrees in Nutrition
Counseling or Fitness Management, or Doctoral degrees in
Naturopathic Medicine or Hypnotherapy. Please visit our
website at www.iwinst.org.
 

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