I did say this was an adventure. Adventures in Alkaline. Before I’ve even got the car in to first gear well, something comes careening down my lane. An attack of the Alkaline Acid theory. I stand up access the situation, no harm done. Car’s still in shape still up for the ride. An understanding of the Ph theory seems to be in order, because it baffles me how eating increased amounts of vegetables and fruits in proportion to complex foods could be hazardous to one’s health.
Anyway. Start the engine. Lets roll. I think a explanation of the alkaline diet is in order. And while cruising the net I came across this web site which did a good introduction on it.
http://www.a-better-way.com/naturalhealthschool/acid-alkaline.html
The Cause of Disease
Have you ever wondered if many of the diseases raging through our society have a common cause? Many doctors, herbalists and nutritionists believe that the explanation may come down to three words:
Acid Alkaline Imbalance
Over acidity, which can become a dangerous condition that weakens all body systems, is very common today. It gives rise to an internal environment conducive to disease, as opposed to a pH-balanced environment which allows normal body function necessary for the body to resist disease. A healthy body maintains adequate alkaline reserves to meet emergency demands. When excess acids must be neutralized our alkaline reserves are depleted leaving the body in a weakened condition. An Acid Alkaline Balanced diet, according to many experts, is a vital key to health maintenance.
The concept of acid alkaline imbalance as the cause of disease is not new. In 1933 a New York doctor named William Howard Hay published a ground-breaking book, A New Health Era in which he maintains that all disease is caused by autotoxication (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 alkalies 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.
William Howard Hay, M.D.
More recently, in his remarkable book Alkalize or Die (see recommended reading), Dr. Theodore A. Baroody says essentially the same thing:
The countless names of illnesses do not really matter. What does matter is that they all come from the same root cause…too much tissue acid waste in the body!
Theodore A. Baroody, N.D., D.C., Ph.D.
Understanding pH
pH (potential of hydrogen) is a measure of the acidity or alkalinity of a solution. It is measured on a scale of 0 to 14—the lower the pH the more acidic the solution, the higher the pH the more alkaline (or base) the solution. When a solution is neither acid nor alkaline it has a pH of 7 which is neutral.
Water is the most abundant compound in the human body, comprising 70% of the body. The body has an acid-alkaline (or acid-base) ratio called the pH which is a balance between positively charges ions (acid-forming) and negatively charged ions (alkaline-forming.) The body continually strives to balance pH. When this balance is compromised many problems can occur.
It is important to understand that we are not talking about stomach acid or the pH of the stomach. We are talking about the pH of the body’s fluids and tissues which is an entirely different matter.
Test Your Body’s Acidity or Alkalinity with pH Strips:It is recommended that you test your pH levels to determine if your body’s pH needs immediate attention. By using pH test strips, you can determine your pH factor quickly and easily in the privacy of your own home. If your urinary pH fluctuates between 6.0 to 6.5 in the morning and between 6.5 and 7.0 in the evening, your body is functioning within a healthy range. If your saliva stays between 6.5 and 7.5 all day, your body is functioning within a healthy range. The best time to test your pH is about one hour before a meal and two hours after a meal. Test your pH two days a week.
Most people who suffer from unbalanced pH are acidic. This condition forces the body to borrow minerals—including calcium, sodium, potassium and magnesium—from vital organs and bones to buffer (neutralize) the acid and safely remove it from the body. Because of this strain, the body can suffer severe and prolonged damage due to high acidity—a condition that may go undetected for years.
Mild acidosis can cause such problems as:
• Cardiovascular damage, including the constriction of blood vessels and the reduction of oxygen.
• Weight gain, obesity and diabetes.
• Bladder and kidney conditions, including kidney stones.
• Immune deficiency.
• Acceleration of free radical damage, possibly contributing to cancerous mutations.
• Hormone concerns.
• Premature aging.
• Osteoporosis; weak, brittle bones, hip fractures and bone spurs.
• Joint pain, aching muscles and lactic acid buildup.
• Low energy and chronic fatigue.
• Slow digestion and elimination.
• Yeast/fungal overgrowth.
Urine pH
Urine testing may indicate how well your body is excreting acids and assimilating minerals, especially calcium, magnesium, sodium and potassium. These minerals function as “buffers.” Buffers are substances that help maintain and balance the body against the introduction of too much acidity or too much alkalinity. Even with the proper amounts of buffers, acid or alkaline levels can become extreme. When the body ingests or produces too many of these acids or alkalis, it must excrete the excess. The urine is the perfect way for the body to remove any excess acids or alkaline substances that cannot be buffered. If the average urine pH is below 6.5 the body’s buffering system is overwhelmed, a state of “autotoxication” exists, and attention should be given to lowering acid levels.
Saliva pH
The results of saliva testing may indicate the activity of digestive enzymes in the body. These enzymes are primarily manufactured by the stomach, liver and pancreas. While the saliva also utilizes buffers just like the urine, it relies on this process to a much lesser degree. If the saliva pH is too low (below 6.5), the body may be producing too many acids or may be overwhelmed by acids because it has lost the ability to adequately remove them through the urine. If the saliva pH is too high (over 6.8), the body may suffer greatly, e.g. excess gas, constipation and production of yeast, mold and fungus. Some people will have acidic pH readings from both urine and saliva—this is referred to as “double acid.”
Keeping the Balance Right for Excellent Health
Your body is able to assimilate minerals and nutrients properly only when its pH is balanced. It is therefore possible for you to be taking healthy nutrients and yet be unable to absorb or use them. If you are not getting the results you expected from your nutritional or herbal program, look for an acid alkaline imbalance. Even the right herbal program may not work if your body’s pH is out of balance.
What Causes Me to be Acidic?
The reason acidosis is more common in our society is mostly due to the typical American 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 sweetners like NutraSweet, Equal, or aspartame, which are extremely acid-forming. One of the best things we can do to correct an overly-acid body is to clean up the diet and lifestyle. Refer to the recommended reading for specific help with diet and lifestyle.
What if I’m Overly-Alkaline?
According to Barody in his book Alkalize or die very occasional readings above 7.5 are aceptable for either saliva or urine. But consistent readings of above 7.5 are an indication of tissue breakdown. A Ph over 8 is a seious matter. This suggests that the body is in an extreme acid condition. it is producing alaline ammonia to compensate. In another chapter called Over Alkalinity Fact or Fiction he says, I am not saying that overalkalinity does not exist, but ti only occurs in the blood, and it mostly occurs where a form of hyperalkalzing poison is taken, such as lye. Our blood has the great alkaline reserve as a God given regulatory mechanism to neutralise excess acidity as quickly as possible. However this is not so when the blood becomes too alkaline, because excess alkalinity cannot be neutralised by more alkalinity. This excess alkalinity in the blood, from some sort of poison, must spill out through the normal channels of elimination without the ability to be neutralzed! Without elimination this this excess quickly disrupts glandular coordination leading to death.
What you really need to know about the Alkaline Ash Diet
The benefits of an alkaline ash diet is an opportunity not just to talk about, but to experience an extraordinary, healthy lifestyle.
The alkaline ash diet attempts to answer the question of how can we prevent our health from deteriorating, or better yet, how can we regain our youth. The alkaline diet is your chance to learn how to create a level of consistent health and energy. Apply the principle seriously and judge their vitality first hand by the results they produce.
A part that plays major important in an alkaline ash diet is to hydrate properly. Since the water we drink provides for all cellular and bodily functions (digestion, respiration, perspiration, elimination just to name a few), the decrease in our daily water intake affects the efficiency of all cellular activity. Water is also quite possibly the single most important catalyst in losing weight and keeping it off.
The other major part of the alkaline ash diet is the foods you eat. Do you ever wonder why children have so much energy? They are constantly running, playing and expanding energy that seems to come from a nuclear reactor. We all used to be like that. Ever wonder why we changed?
Although this change in energy takes place over a number of years, you could get a glimpse of what causes it by observing your daily activities right now. Take a moment to recall the last time you had pasta and meatballs, steak and eggs, a hamburger. How did you feel 20 minutes afterwards? Did you feel an almost immediate drop in energy? This is where an alkaline ash diet turns things around.
These 2 important factors combined will help your body regain lost energy and help with the causes of many diseases. (from the site acidalkalinediet.com )
So till next time in Advebtures in Alkaline when I think I’ll chat a bit about WATER!
About the Author...
Although I believe that what I do does not define who I am how I do it does. I like peace, I like joy. You know that feeling which just overcomes you when you're doing nothing particularly spectacular. Just standing crunching into an apple listening to the boys and you realise, man this is who I am. This person who is there in the 'silence'. Wish she'd come out more often. I can't tell you more about her because I'm still getting to know her myself. Trying to encourage her to stay for longer visits, maybe one day stay forever. That aside I am a thirty one year old mother of two boys, five and three who enjoys writing and staying healthy.
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