pH Management – Acid/Base Principles
pH Management – Acid/Base Principles
A basic understanding of the importance of a balanced pH is central in developing a healthy individualized diet. Such understanding will enable one to eat those foods that support rather than inadvertently challenge or stress our body’s healthy function.
The health of the body, organs, glands, and all body systems depends on the health of the cells. All disease originates at the cellular level, and each single cell must be oxygenated and healthy to create a healthy body. The blood and body fluids, such as saliva and the cellular fluids, must maintain a very narrow acid/alkaline balance. The optimum pH level for the blood is between 7.35 and 7.45. At this level the body is highly oxygenated, detoxification and healing are effortless, the cells are energized, and there is strong immunity to disease. Unfortunately, the vast majority of Americans have an acidic pH level below 7.0.
If you have a health problem, your body is most likely acidic. The body’s pH must be slightly alkaline for healing, so any attempt to regain health will not be completely effective until the pH is corrected. Also, when the pH is not balanced you cannot effectively assimilate vitamins, minerals and food supplements. Acidosis, an extended time in the acid pH state, can result in rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes, lupus, tuberculosis, osteoporosis, high blood pressure, most cancers and much more.
The wrong food can lower our life force, or put us in an acidic state, to the point that the forces of nature begin to return our bodies to the earth. We humans are either in an alkaline or acidic state. The acidic states signals the microbes living within us, or that come by, that we are ready to decompose. Disease is literally a rotting of some part of our bodies because the microbes around us have been given the signal that we are already dead. So, if your bladder cells remain in an acidic state, you are more prone to bladder infections as these cells are a welcoming host to bacteria and other microbes.
Knowing these things prompts one to adopt a diet that supports and eases the body’s workload. This is done by supplying adequate quantities of alkaline forming minerals. The basic minerals, primarily sodium, calcium, magnesium, potassium and iron, among other things form buffering salts. Generally, foods that leave acid wastes in our body are heavy, overcooked, over-processed and sweet, such as meats, flours, pastries, alcohol, coffee, and the sweeter fruits. Alkaline foods are greener, fresher, and more alive, such as fresh vegetables and their juices, leafy greens, sprouts, and fruits like avocado, tomato, grapefruit, and lemons.
The attached chart places different food along the alkaline/acid continuum, allowing easy reference and discernment of the influences foods are having on the body’s overall acid/alkaline balance. By using pH test strips first thing in the morning with the saliva and urine it is possible to see clearly what the state of acid balance is in the body and what the degree of alkalinity is present in the tissues. The urine represents the excretion of acid from the prior day’s food intake. With modest practice this understanding opens into simple and natural food choices, potentially bringing control to our acid/alkaline balance and stress reduction to our bodies.