balancing your ph

8/9/2019 Balancing Your Ph

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pH“Plop, Plop, Fizz, Fizz, Oh What a

Relie It Is?” I you had heartburn

(acid refux), Alka-Seltzer was

likely the over-the-counter

medication you chose to relieve

your discomort. What magical

ingredient helped decrease your

heartburn or stomach discomort?

The answer is sodium bicarbonate,

which is extremely alkaline, hence

the name Alka-Seltzer. But, did

you ever ask yoursel why you had

acid refux to begin with?

yourbody’s

is your

diet too

acidic?

B RIS jOSO

14 Issue 1 / 2010

Do you remember the old commercial,

Balancing

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14



can be, let’s do a simple exper-

iment. You have a little rust on the

bumper of your classic car, so you

take a rag, pour some soda on it,

add a little elbow grease, and off comes the rust! The ingredient that

removes the rust is phosphoric

acid. Drinking too much soda

creates an acid environment in

the body. As pH slowly begins toshift to the acid side, the body goes

to work calling on its buffering

systems to bring pH back to

normal. Minerals (such as calcium)

play a large role in the buffering

process, so over time calcium

may be leached from the body,causing weak bones. If soda can

take rust off a car bumper, imagine

how some of these acid-forming

beverages can affect your bone

health over time!

Another area of concern is thyroid

problems, especially among women

over age 50. One of the main

functions of the thyroid gland is

to control metabolism. If you have

Issue 1 / 2010 15

understanding pHEvery food and beverage is

classied as acid-forming or

alkalizing based on the effect it has

on the body after digestion. Each ismeasured on a pH scale of zero to

fourteen, with zero being the most

acidic and fourteen being the most

alkaline. Ideally, the human blood

pH should be slightly alkaline,

between 7.35 and 7.45.

We consume considerably more

acid-forming than alkalizing

foods and beverages, including

too much coffee, caffeine, soda,

alcohol, processed and fried foods,

high-fructose corn syrup, articialsweeteners, and animal proteins,

just to name a few. On top of ourunhealthy food choices, we live

in a world that keeps speeding

up, which can lead to high levels

of stress. Your body won’t allow

your pH to become unbalanced.

But, when it has to work overtime

to maintain that balance, the

trouble begins. Health problems

related to an acid-forming diet and

high levels of stress include acidreux, irritable bowel syndrome,

stomach discomfort, insomnia,

headaches, fatigue, constipation,

osteoporosis, inammation, dry

skin, cardiovascular damage,

diabetes, thyroid dysfunction, and

weight gain.

tHe Body’s CHeCksand BalanCesOne thing I nd fascinating about

the human body is its ability to xitself through endless checks and

balances. This is especially evidentwith pH. If the pH of the blood

starts to become unbalanced in

either direction by the smallest of

margins, the body quickly brings

it back into balance through a

number of buffering systems. To

compensate for an acid-forming

diet and high levels of stress, the

body uses alkaline-forming mineralssuch as calcium, magnesium,

iodine, potassium, and sodium.

These minerals work in the blood,

lymphatic system, and extracellularand intracellular uids to bind

acids, which are then removed

through the urine.

It sounds like the body has all

the checks and balances in place

to maintain a balanced blood

pH, so what’s the big deal? If we

abuse our bodies with poor food

and beverage choices, with little

or no exercise, and high levels

of unhealthy stress, the body

can only do so much before theeffort starts to take its toll. Over

time, important minerals become

depleted, leading to myriad health

problems.

pH and your HealtHDrugs for acid reux are among

the fastest-growing groups of medications in the U.S. These

medications may help to relieve the

discomfort, but are they truly xing

the problem? I have witnessedmany who have completely done

away with their acid-reux

medications by improving the

quality of the foods they consume.

By including more alkaline-forming

foods in your diet, you give your

body what it needs to heal itself,

and acid reux slowly disappears.

Other health problems may also

be linked to an acid-forming diet. In

the U.S., we have one of the highest

intakes of calcium in the world,but still have poor bone health

compared with other countries. If

we are consuming enough calcium

to keep our bones healthy, what

seems to be the problem? One of the

real culprits is our overconsumption

of beverages that are acid-forming

in the body, such as soda pop.To give you an idea of how

powerful some of these beverages

test your pH

You can monitor your pHon a regular basis by the

use of litmus strips. These

may be purchased at

most health food stores

or pharmacies. The pH

of your saliva and urine

should fall between

6.8 and 7.2.

balancing your ph

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