REFERENCES
Please reference the book: Prescription for Natural Cures, by James F. Balch, M.D. and Mark Stengler, N.D. A great resource for exploring natural remedies, including diet and nutrition, nutritional supplements, and body/mind work.
Also reference Wikipedia: pH
According to the Carlsberg Foundation, pH stands for "power of hydrogen". The 'H' in pH refers to the measurement of hydronium ion concentration in liquid solutions, such as bodily fluids.
In chemistry, pH is a measure of acidity of a liquid solution. Solutions with a pH less than 7 are said to be acidic and solutions with a pH greater than 7 are basic or alkaline. pH values range from 0.0 to 14.0. Since pH is a logarithmic scale, a difference of just one pH unit is equivalent to a tenfold difference in hydrogen ion concentration. Like earthquakes, a pH of 9.0 on the scale would be 10 times higher than a pH of 8.0.
Measurement of pH can be done with a glass electrode and a pH meter. pH measurements are important in, among many fields, medicine, nutrition, and water purification.
pH VALUES OF SOME COMMON SUBSTANCES
Bleach has a pH of 13.0. Baking soda: 9.0. Sea water: 8.0. Blood: 7.34-7.45. Pure water has a pH very close to 7.0. Urine: 6.0. Human skin: 5.5. Black coffee, 5.0; Tomato juice, 4; Orange juice, 3. Lemons, which contain 5-6% acidic acid, have a pH of 2.2. Gastric (stomach) acid has a pH value of 1.0.
WHAT HAPPENS INSIDE US
The body is very sensitive to its pH level and strong, natural mechanisms exist to maintain it. Homeostasis refers to the proper balance between acids and bases, also called body pH. The pH of different cellular compartments, body fluids, and organs is usually tightly regulated in a process called acid-base homeostasis. By nature, the body is designed to keep everything balanced, healthy and flowing, living strong.
By nature, a body's metabolic processes (eating, digestion, breathing, moving and elimination) are designed to work together with the result being the production and elimination of acids and alkalis. Most of the foods we choose to eat produce an acidic effect in our blood. Most of the acid in our bodies is eliminated by breathing, but acid that is diet-based is expelled through our kidneys. Kidneys need minerals to do their job effectively. Without a large-enough reserve of minerals, acidic toxins can accumulate to a dangerous point. The kidneys can only do so much. If they're overtaxed by acid overload, you're in trouble. Outside the acceptable range of pH, metabolic processes begin to break down to a point where death may occur.
An excess of acid (acidosis) in the blood is called acidemia and an excess of base (alkalosis) is called alkalemia. If blood pH drops too low (acidemia), the body will compensate by increasing breathing, thereby expelling CO2, causing the pH to rise back to normal. For alkalemia, the opposite occurs.
The main issue to be addressed here is dietary in nature. Sugar, meat, dairy products and most refined grains all have acidifying effects on our blood and tissues. The body's acid-base balance (homeostasis) is tightly regulated, keeping arterial blood pH between 7.38 and 7.42. An acidic blood condition adversely affects enzymatic reactions in the body, contributing to a host of problems, particularly inflammation. Where it peeks its head out, only you and I know for sure.
Fruits and especially vegetables contain the kind of organic minerals needed to keep a body's pH level in balance. The organic acid found in fruits easily disintegrates and blows away with respiration (breathing), your body's natural exhaust system.
Green veggies, such as dark green lettuces, broccoli, and zucchini and super green foods such as spirulina, chlorella and wheatgrass as well as sea veggies like dulse, nori, wakame, and hijiki, apparently can neutralize acidic tissues due to their alkalinizing effect.
The thought here: Eat multiple servings of these alkalinizing foods each day.
A NOTE ON SODA AND ENERGY DRINKSACIDIFICATION
No more soda or energy drinks. The more I read about soda, the more I'm glad I'm away from it. It's one of the contributing exacerbators for my Ulcerative Colitis. And these new energy drinks are so full of inflammatory chemicals plus caffeine, they're like an atom bomb of ACIDIFICATION.
Please reference the book: Prescription for Natural Cures, by James F. Balch, M.D. and Mark Stengler, N.D. A great resource for exploring natural remedies, including diet and nutrition, nutritional supplements, and body/mind work.
Also reference Wikipedia: pH
According to the Carlsberg Foundation, pH stands for "power of hydrogen". The 'H' in pH refers to the measurement of hydronium ion concentration in liquid solutions, such as bodily fluids.
In chemistry, pH is a measure of acidity of a liquid solution. Solutions with a pH less than 7 are said to be acidic and solutions with a pH greater than 7 are basic or alkaline. pH values range from 0.0 to 14.0. Since pH is a logarithmic scale, a difference of just one pH unit is equivalent to a tenfold difference in hydrogen ion concentration. Like earthquakes, a pH of 9.0 on the scale would be 10 times higher than a pH of 8.0.
Measurement of pH can be done with a glass electrode and a pH meter. pH measurements are important in, among many fields, medicine, nutrition, and water purification.
pH VALUES OF SOME COMMON SUBSTANCES
Bleach has a pH of 13.0. Baking soda: 9.0. Sea water: 8.0. Blood: 7.34-7.45. Pure water has a pH very close to 7.0. Urine: 6.0. Human skin: 5.5. Black coffee, 5.0; Tomato juice, 4; Orange juice, 3. Lemons, which contain 5-6% acidic acid, have a pH of 2.2. Gastric (stomach) acid has a pH value of 1.0.
WHAT HAPPENS INSIDE US
The body is very sensitive to its pH level and strong, natural mechanisms exist to maintain it. Homeostasis refers to the proper balance between acids and bases, also called body pH. The pH of different cellular compartments, body fluids, and organs is usually tightly regulated in a process called acid-base homeostasis. By nature, the body is designed to keep everything balanced, healthy and flowing, living strong.
By nature, a body's metabolic processes (eating, digestion, breathing, moving and elimination) are designed to work together with the result being the production and elimination of acids and alkalis. Most of the foods we choose to eat produce an acidic effect in our blood. Most of the acid in our bodies is eliminated by breathing, but acid that is diet-based is expelled through our kidneys. Kidneys need minerals to do their job effectively. Without a large-enough reserve of minerals, acidic toxins can accumulate to a dangerous point. The kidneys can only do so much. If they're overtaxed by acid overload, you're in trouble. Outside the acceptable range of pH, metabolic processes begin to break down to a point where death may occur.
An excess of acid (acidosis) in the blood is called acidemia and an excess of base (alkalosis) is called alkalemia. If blood pH drops too low (acidemia), the body will compensate by increasing breathing, thereby expelling CO2, causing the pH to rise back to normal. For alkalemia, the opposite occurs.
The main issue to be addressed here is dietary in nature. Sugar, meat, dairy products and most refined grains all have acidifying effects on our blood and tissues. The body's acid-base balance (homeostasis) is tightly regulated, keeping arterial blood pH between 7.38 and 7.42. An acidic blood condition adversely affects enzymatic reactions in the body, contributing to a host of problems, particularly inflammation. Where it peeks its head out, only you and I know for sure.
Fruits and especially vegetables contain the kind of organic minerals needed to keep a body's pH level in balance. The organic acid found in fruits easily disintegrates and blows away with respiration (breathing), your body's natural exhaust system.
Green veggies, such as dark green lettuces, broccoli, and zucchini and super green foods such as spirulina, chlorella and wheatgrass as well as sea veggies like dulse, nori, wakame, and hijiki, apparently can neutralize acidic tissues due to their alkalinizing effect.
The thought here: Eat multiple servings of these alkalinizing foods each day.
A NOTE ON SODA AND ENERGY DRINKSACIDIFICATION
No more soda or energy drinks. The more I read about soda, the more I'm glad I'm away from it. It's one of the contributing exacerbators for my Ulcerative Colitis. And these new energy drinks are so full of inflammatory chemicals plus caffeine, they're like an atom bomb of ACIDIFICATION.
