Role of pH in All Health Conditions

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The best way, and healthiest, to improve your pH is to eat/juice

lots of fresh raw fruits and veggies...

Other comments?

Misty L. Trepke

http://www..com

 

The Role of pH in All Health Conditions

 

What is pH?

 

Technically speaking, pH stands for the Power of Hydrogen. Broken

down to the simplest form, our bodies are composed of carbon, oxygen

and hydrogen. The pH measures the action of hydrogen and the balance

of acidity and alkalinity in the living system.

 

When testing pH, the result is a number from 0 to 14. Neutral is 7

with lower numbers representing an acidic condition and higher

representing an alkaline condition. Our bodies are alkaline by

design but acid by function. All of the cells that make up the body

are slightly alkaline and must stay that way to remain healthy and

alive. The optimum range of pH is from 7.2 to 7.6, slightly alkaline.

 

You can test your pH with litmus paper available in many drug stores

simply by wetting the paper with your saliva and matching the color

of the paper to a chart.

 

The Importance of Hydrogen

 

Do you remember learning about Hydrogen in your high school

chemistry class? You may remember that it is the smallest Critical

Element and is capable of passing through the cell wall. In order

for our cells to function they must communicate with each other

through electrons but electrons can not move in the body without

hydrogen. Cells must have oxygen but oxygen does not work without

hydrogen. Cells cannot multiply or grow without hydrogen. The very

fabric of our being, our DNA, is held together by Hydrogen bonds.

Hydrogen is literally the fuel of life.

 

When we are born we have plenty of Hydrogen but as we age our

Hydrogen pool becomes depleted. When this occurs, free radicals

steel it from essential areas thus accelerating aging and disease.

It is now accepted that the aging process and virtually all disease

is the result of free radical damage to the cells.

 

What Does This Mean?

 

The pH measures the condition of our critical bodily fluids (blood,

saliva and urine). These fluids make up our internal environment

that is critical to our health. Simply stated, an acid system is

conducive to sickness while alkalinity is required for normal

healthy cellular function. A saliva pH below neutral (7.0) is a

warning sign that your body is acidifying and moving away from

health toward degenerative disease and rapid aging.

 

Why is it so Difficult to Maintain a Healthy pH?

 

Our bodies are in a constant state of metabolization. The problem is

that the process of metabolism creates acid, which is needed for

energy and other biochemical processes. Normal healthy metabolism

creates acid wastes such as cholesterol, uric acid and acetic acid.

Even with the best diet these acid wastes are unavoidable but they

must be neutralized and eliminated from the body or harsh

consequences will result.

 

To further compound the problem, our food, water and air are loaded

with acid forming substances like chlorine and an increasing

assortment of chemicals. Soft drinks, especially COLAs (pH 2.5), are

extremely acid forming and are the mainstay of our children's diets.

Poor choices of foods, acidic ingredients and low mineral content

all contribute to a condition of acid overload.

 

Maintaining a proper, slightly alkaline, pH is considered the most

important aspect of a healthy body and a long disease-free life. An

imbalance of alkalinity creates a condition favorable to the growth

of bacteria, viruses, yeast and other harmful organisms--even Cancer.

 

Accumulation of acid wastes are also closely linked with

degenerative disease, lack of vitality and aging in general. Even

when there is no toxic substances in our food, there are waste

products that must either be eliminated or stored. Toxins change

into poison and must be detoxified or they will eventually destroy

the system.

 

Our Bodies Defense Systems

 

The human body has an incredible ability to maintain life, however

the compensations our bodies are forced to make come with a price.

As the damage accumulates over a period of years we may experience

no obvious ill effects but eventually the bill comes due and we pay

the price.

 

Having an acidic pH is like driving your car with the oil light on.

The car will continue to run without any apparent problem but

eventually it will simply stop. To maintain life our blood and cells

must be defended against all of this acidity. Should we become too

acidic, we would die.

 

Calcium and magnesium are two key alkalizing minerals. Fortunately

we have what amounts to an alkaline mineral bank in our bones and

teeth. To buffer the acid overload the body will make withdrawals

from this bank account. While this is effective in the short term,

in the long run we see bones becoming more brittle with age and in

extreme cases it results in osteoporosis.

 

Another way the body raises blood pH is to solidify acids and

deposit them in the tissues. This enables our blood to remain in an

acceptable pH range but as these harmful byproducts accumulate,

overall pH goes lower, oxygen levels fall, and the seeds of a

variety of degenerative diseases are sowed.

 

This process of gradually depleting minerals from the bones an

building up acidic deposits in body tissues is a slow one. For many

years we have no symptoms, no clue as to the storm that is building.

Eventually we begin to experience aches and pains, declining energy

levels, and other subtle signs that we associate with getting older.

 

These are not an inevitable part of getting older. They are warning

signs. Heart and circulatory disease, blood sugar disorders,

fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue (even cancer) are all directly

associated with an acid pH.

 

What is the Aging Process?

 

As we age, we gradually dry up at the cellular level. As the years

go by, the cells of the body (where all biochemical processes occur)

become thicker. As a result the amounts of vital nutrients and

oxygen brought into them declines while the amounts of toxins and

metabolic waste products increases. The result is a loss of youthful

cellular function and the beginnings of degenerative disease.

 

Can this be avoided? Consider this: " Dr. Alexis Carrell, a famous

French physiologist, conducted an experiment in which he took cells

from the heart of a chicken and put them in a solution containing

minerals and nutrients in the same proportion as chicken blood.

Every day he changed the solution keeping the fluids constant and

disposing of the waste products produced by the cells. The result,

for which he won a Nobel Prize, was the chicken heart lived for over

28 years. When he stopped changing the solution the cells promptly

died. "

 

As revealing as this experiment was, the question remains, how can

we accomplish this in the living system? What steps can we take to

achieve similar results? To answer that question, we first must

explore the cause of aging.

 

The Cause of Aging

 

Phosphoric Acid is produced in protein metabolism. Excess amounts

are solidified as salts and can result in the formation of kidney

stones. These acid salts also build up in the walls of our cells and

cause them to stiffen. The resulting thickening creates an inability

to properly hydrate the cells. It also creates a severe decline in

nutrient and oxygen delivery into the cells and toxin and waste

removal from the cells. In other words, a steady decline in cellular

function results --we call this decline aging. Highly alkaline

fluids will wash these acid salts away and help return cells to a

more youthful level of function.

 

How Health Conditions Link to pH

 

Osteoporosis

 

One highly alkaline mineral responsible for neutralizing acids in

the body is calcium. As stated earlier, when we allow our pH to

decline into an acidic condition the body is forced to withdraw

calcium from the bones and teeth in order to maintain life.

 

In spite of the tremendous push over the last 20 years for calcium

supplementation, the incidence of osteoporosis has increased

dramatically. The drain placed on bone mineral content by excess

acidity is simply too great. The prevalence of low or acid pH places

incredible strain on our bones and teeth. In areas like Hunza, where

the people are blessed with abundant highly-alkaline drinking water,

problems like osteoporosis do not exist.

 

Cardiovascular Disease

 

Cholesterol is an acidic byproduct of fat metabolism. As the body

becomes more acidic, it defends itself by solidifying cholesterol in

the blood and depositing it in the cells of our blood vessels. Over

a period of years plaque builds until circulation is impaired

resulting in surgery, medication or heart attacks and strokes.

 

When pH is raised to an alkaline condition the body is better able

to neutralize these wastes and flush them out of the system. Not

only does accumulation of plaque stop but deposits can be dissolved,

neutralized and washed away as well.

 

Arthritis

 

Another byproduct of normal healthy metabolism is uric acid. Like

cholesterol the body deals with excesses by solidifying it into a

salt that tends to build up in the joints. The result is gout and

arthritis. This accumulated acid can damage cartilage and irritate

joints. Blood can not carry out wastes as effectively in the joints,

which is why the acids tend to accumulate there. Drinking highly

alkaline water can do a good job of cleaning out the uric acid over

time, remembering that it took years for the damage to accumulate.

 

 

 

Immune Function

 

The immune system is a sophisticated clean-up service. It is

composed of your body's army of white blood cells or natural killer

(NK) cells. Each NK cell is manufactured by your body as needed to

kill off a specific invader. For example, there is a specific cell

to kill cancer, another one for the cold germ, and still another for

a virus. Sometimes, the pathogens multiply faster than the body can

manufacture the matching NK cell...hence advanced cancer, a bad

cold, a long drawn-out flu.

 

Wouldn't it be nice if we could help the immune system by preventing

these pathogens from taking hold in the first place? Bacteria,

viruses, molds, yeast and fungus that attack our bodies thrive in an

acidic environment. In a slightly alkaline (or extremely acid)

environment they are weakened significantly and do not multiply

efficiently.

 

In the preferred slightly alkaline pH range, the immune system can

clear the potentially harmful microbes out more easily, often before

we have any symptoms. They are weakened and do not multiply as

prolifically. Ultimately health wins out.

 

Vitality

 

An acidic condition also corresponds to low oxygen levels. There is

a direct correlation between pH and available oxygen. An alkaline

environment provides literally thousands of times the oxygen needed

for all bodily functions. Oxygen is essential to energy production.

In very simple terms, natural energy production in the body boils

down to oxygen burning hydrogen.

 

Another aspect of energy and vitality vs. fatigue is proper enzyme

activity. Acids literally turn off enzymes, which are tiny proteins

that control chemical reactions. Without enzymes there is no life.

Maintaining a pH in the range of 7.2 to 7.6 is critical to slowing

down degeneration and maintaining a more youthful vitality.

 

The Solution

 

Making more intelligent choices of food and beverages is an

important starting point. The problem is the difficulty of eating

properly with our modern life styles. Below is a list of acid and

alkaline foods. For the exact pH of the foods listed here, click on

pH Foods from the Links page.

 

 

Acid-Forming Foods (pH under 7)

 

· All meat (beef, pork, lamb, chicken) and fish

 

· Rice (white, brown, or basmati)

 

· Cornmeal, oats, rye, spelt, wheat, bran

 

· Popcorn

 

· Pastas

 

· Breads and most other grain products like cereals (hot or cold),

crackers, pastries

 

· The following beans (unless sprouted, in which case they become

alkaline-producing): pinto, navy, mung, lentils, black, garbanzo,

red, white, adzuki, and broad

 

· Cheese (Parmesan is the worst, along with the sharper cheeses)

 

· Wheat germ

 

· The following nuts: walnuts, pecans, cashews, dried coconut (fresh

coconut is alkaline-producing), pistachios, macadamias, filberts,

Brazil nuts, and peanuts

 

· Sunflower and pumpkin seeds

 

· Colas (I've warned numerous times in the past how the phosphorus

in cola turns to phosphoric acid and destroys bone.)

 

· Alcoholic drinks

 

· Coffee and other caffeinated drinks

 

· Sweetened yogurt

 

· Most forms of sweeteners (artificial sweeteners, cane sugar, beet

sugar, barley syrup, processed honey, maple syrup, molasses,

fructose, lactose)

 

· Refined table salt

 

· Soy sauce

 

· Mustard (dried powder and processed)

 

· Ketchup (unless natural and homemade)

 

· Mayonnaise (unless natural and homemade)

 

· White Vinegar (apple cider and sweet brown rice vinegar are less

acid-producing and preferred)

 

· Nutmeg

 

· Tobacco

 

· Practically all drugs

 

 

 

Alkalizing Foods (pH over 7)

 

· Practically all vegetables

 

· Practically all fruits with the exception of blueberries, plums,

prunes, and cranberries. Even citrus fruits such as lemons, which we

think of as being acidic, are alkalineproducing in the body. They

are rich in organic salts, like citrates, which are converted into

bicarbonates. Beans such as string, soy, lima, green, and snap Peas ~

 

· Potatoes

 

· Arrowroot flour

 

· Grains such as flax, millet, quinoa, and amaranth

 

· Nuts like almonds, pignoli, fresh coconut, and chestnuts

 

· Sprouted seeds of alfalfa, radish, and chia

 

· Unsprouted sesame

 

· Fresh unsalted butter

 

· Milk

 

· Cream

 

· Goat's milk

 

· Eggs

 

· Whey

 

· Plain yogurt

 

· Sweeteners like raw, unpasteurized honey, dried sugar cane juice

(Sucanat), brown rice syrup

 

· Fresh fruit juices

 

· All fresh vegetable juices

 

· Most herbal teas

 

· Garlic

 

· Cayenne pepper

 

· Gelatin

 

· Most all herbs

 

· Miso

 

· Most vegetable and unprocessed sea salt

 

· Most all spices

 

· Vanilla extract

 

· Brewer's Yeast

 

· Most unprocessed, cold-pressed oils are neutral or alkaline-

forming (Even margarine seems to be neutral, but it is not

recommended that anyone eat this " liquid plastic. " )

 

As you can see from the list, just because a food is acid-forming

doesn't necessarily make it unhealthy. In fact, many of the acid

foods are necessary for proper health. It's just a matter of

balance.

 

The bottom line is that we need to eat enough alkalizing foods to

help our bodies neutralize the acid-forming foods. Since acid

forming foods are a little stronger, the rule of thumb is about 25%

Acid to 75% Alkaline.

 

Testing your pH level weekly and, if needed, using an alkaline

supplement will go a long way in the prevention of degenerative

disease and the promotion of good health. Bicarbonate of Soda

(Baking Soda) is extremely alkalizing but not recommended for long

periods of time and, of course, an alkalizing supplement should

never be taken with meals because it may reduce the stomach acid

needed for proper digestion.

 

Now that you know the role pH plays in all health conditions, you

may want to test your pH to see where you stand. If you can't find

pH test strips in your local pharmacy, you can order a roll from

Synergistics.

 

How to Increase pH?

 

There is a supplement on the market called Active H that has

demonstrated a powerful ability to bring cellular hydration into a

more youthful condition very quickly. In a two week independent

study using four capsules a day, the increase in cellular hydration

resulted in a 5 1/2 year reduction in the biological age of the

cells.

 

According to Dr. J. Turner Carson, MD, " Active H is the best way to

make the shift from acid to alkaline. " Independent testing has shown

that when added to ordinary tap water with a pH of 6.55, Active H

instantly raises pH to a remarkable 9.36. When added to juice the pH

often goes even higher.

 

Remember that when we measure pH, we are really measuring the Power

of Hydrogen. Active H adds huge amounts of hydrogen into water along

with its unique mineral structure. The combination is the ideal

water to promote a healthy pH and optimum body fluids. In addition,

the negative charge of Active H makes it an extremely potent

antioxidant--far more powerful than Pycnogenol.

 

Also remember that hydrogen is capable of passing through the cell

wall. Fluid flow through the cells is the only means for essential

oxygen and nutrients to be brought into the cells and for toxins and

waste products to be bought out. Active H has demonstrated, in

independent testing, the ability to significantly reverse the

decline in intercellular hydration--one of the key aspects of aging.

 

How to Use Active H

 

Because of Active H's powerful antioxidant properties, it is

important to start very slowly with perhaps one capsule every other

day for a week or two. Increase the dosage by one capsule a day

every week or two after that until you are taking 4 to 6 capsules a

day. If taken in this manner, there are usually no side effects. The

product is more potent when mixed with liquid.

 

The reason for building up slowly is, if you take too much too

quickly, you may experience a die-off. That's because when Active H

raises the pH, pathogens may die and poisons will be neutralized.

These must exit the body and may overload your elimination system.

If your liver, kidneys and intestines can not handle it, the largest

organ of the body (the skin) will pick up the excess and you will

break out in a rash. Usually this will occur within the first three

days and last for a week or two. The rash is not uncomfortable. It

just doesn't look very good.

 

Many people will experience a rash after starting with one a day for

three days. Starting with one every other day usually does not

produce a rash. However, if you were to go overboard and start with

4 a day, you may experience a rash and flue like systems which would

not be pleasant. Debris would literally flood into your system and

your body would quickly be drowning in its own waste. This can be

serious. Build up your dosage slowly and your body will thank you

for it. You should notice positive results once you reach 6 a day (2

with each meal).

 

How Fast can I Change my pH?

 

Shifting pH is not an overnight process. In fact, it is difficult

and requires consistent effort. Consider this: It would take 32

eight ounce glasses of highly alkaline water (10 pH) to bring one

glass of cola (2.5 pH) to a neutral 7 pH.

 

The body contains roughly 10 gallons of water. That same glass of

cola added to 10 gallons of water with a pH of 7.4 (normal body pH)

would bring the overall pH down to 4.6. Fortunately the body has a

buffering system that prevents such a severe decline in pH. If not,

drinking cola would literally be fatal.

 

The point is, taking proactive steps not only to eliminate such

acidic substances such as soda from our diets but also to assist our

bodies by adding alkalinity is essential. In addition to Active H,

Spirulina is also highly recommended to replace the alkaline

minerals our bodies need.