Our modern lifestyles are so busy and stressful that we are likely to eat not enough of the healthy green vegetables and more of the wrong foods such as white bread and pastas, sugar, take-always, soft drinks, processed food, alcohol, tea and coffee, just to name a few! These are main reasons why we become acidic. But becoming over alkaline can cause just as many problems congestion, stagnation vulnerability to yeasts and parasites.
What is acid-alkaline balance?
Acid-Alkaline balance is crucial to our overall health. Just like fish in a tropical tank need just the right environment to survive. If their water is too acidic they die. It’s the same with us humans.
pH means ‘potential of hydrogen’. It’s the acid to alkaline ratio in gram equivalents per liter and is therefore a measure of your acid-alkaline balance.
On the pH scale of 0 to 14, 7 in neutral. Any pH above is 6.6 is alkaline and below is acidic (when tested under the correct conditions). Blood should be slightly alkaline at 7.365pH. The alkaline state is necessary for survival and any slight variation is dangerous. The body works very hard at buffering the blood by using stored minerals especially calcium in the bones to correct the pH at all costs. As we get older our bodies struggle to maintain pH balance and we become over acidic. So the urine and salvia pH may alter to protect the blood pH which always stays in balance unless we get a strong disease state like a diabetic coma.
Urine pH is directly related to both tissue oxygen levels and soft tissue levels of calcium, magnesium, sodium and potassium. These minerals are important for every cell in the body. Acid urine shows the body eliminating acid residues.
Saliva pH indicates the activity of digestive enzymes. Enzymes operate within a certain range, outside of which they slow down or become inactive.
Our minerals help to neutralize acids but if we are deficient which is caused by unhealthy lifestyles stress, over or under exercising and an imbalance of water.
The kidneys aid pH balance by excreting acid and the body has various buffering systems but this becomes exhausted when there is a low pH (acidic) which causes a break down of bone and muscle to release carbonate, phosphate and ammonia to help neutralize acid. This can leave us feeling constantly tired, damage the kidneys long term and cause acid to accumulate in the body
Minerals are approx. 2.5kg of the total body weight. The body breaks down without minerals
An imbalanced body pH can be the cause of many common symptoms
• Constipation
• Poor digestion
• Aches and pains
• Heartburn
• Headaches
• Frequent colds
• Fatigue
• Sleeplessness
• Sometimes no symptoms- this is where it’s a fantastic aid to prevent chronic illness such as heart disease, diabetes and cancer.
• And many more
Benefits of a balances pH
• Promotes health body weight
• May help prevent diabetes
• Promotes efficient heart function
• May reduce risk of hypertension
• Protects against premature aging
• Promotes energy, physical vitality and stamina
• Promotes bone health, digestive health and immunity
• Promotes enhanced mental clarity and acuity
• Promotes recovery from illness, injury and exertion
• Promotes normal digestion
• May reduce the risk of gout and cancer.
How to balance your pH levels
Cutting out all the acid forming foods and unhealthy foods and eating alkaline forming foods is the first step. This may also help with weight loss.
1. Drink water
Hydration is critical. Drink 33ml per kilo of body weight. Example: if you weigh 60kgs: 60 x .33 x 100 = 1.98litres. Drink clean filtered water, NOT tap water. Purified water is generally alkaline. Tap water is acidic because of the chemicals that are in it. Drink from stainless steel bottles or glass. Plastic bottles leach toxic substances which can also affect your pH levels.
2. Avoid Coffee, tea, soft drinks and other acid forming drinks.
These drinks are very acid forming! Tea is the least acid forming followed by coffee and soft drinks being the most acid forming. It takes 32 glasses of water to neutralize the acid forming effect of one cup of coffee or glass of cola. Cola is 100,000 times more acidic than blood!
A study at Pennsylvania showed that by giving sugar to patients blood fats increase. It concluded that eating more than 120g of sugar a day there is 5 times more chance of developing a myocardial Infarction (heart attack) compared to someone taking less than 60g a day.
Weight loss is easier if you avoid tea, coffee, soft drinks, energy sports drinks and alcohol.
Instead drink herbal teas, alkalized water or add some freshly squeezed lemon or lime juice to your water.
Fruit juices are also less than ideal for blood sugar and acidity as you consume the calories without the fibre and filling quantity of the fruit. Also, most commercial juices are made from poor quality fruit that is not good enough to eat as well as having coloring, sugar and preservatives added.
3. Avoid preservatives, additives and food colorings.
Preservatives, additives and food colorings are stored in your body. Many of them are toxic and can cause or worsen asthma, skin conditions, mood swings and cancer.
Reading food labels is a valuable exercise. Many have numbers, scientific sounding names or may seem harmless like ‘caramel’ for example which has nothing to do with caramel and is highly toxic!
Your body does whatever it can to eliminate these substances. It neutralizes or stores them depending on the health star of your body.
Calcium as well as other minerals is used as a buffer and it’s leached out of your bones, putting you at risk of osteoporosis.
All this can create health problems but also makes your body work extra hard and takes up your energy.
4. Artificial Sweeteners
All brands of artificial sweeteners are toxic! Including those ‘derived’ from proteins and sugar. Derived means they are highly processed and highly processed is acid forming!
Many studies have shown that using sweeteners can hinder your weight loss, damage your nervous system and cause neurological problems.
Stevia is a herbal sweetener that doesn’t harm you or affect your blood sugar levels so it is safe for diabetics. Xylitol and yacon syrup are also good alternatives. The new Smart sugar is still acid forming because it still has sugar in it.
5. Eat your vegetables
If you are drinking enough you shouldn’t feel thirsty but sometimes we can mistake hunger for thirst. If you are hungry and it’s not meal time have a couple glasses of water. If you’re still hungry then have some veggies on hand. Carrot, celery and capsicum sticks with hommus or fruit and a few soaked almonds are great snacks to have on hand.
Shop regularly and have lots of fresh, ready to eat veggies on hand. Organic vegetables are preferable and there is a company that can deliver to your door called The Green Line or Miss Organic. Alternatively, wash your veggies in a veggie wash which you can purchase from the health shop. This will remove chemical residues but the minerals will be lower than organic vegetables.
Stress, Exercise and Acidity
Emotions can have a direct effect on the chemistry of the body.
The Shaolin monks of China and other spiritual leaders are more alkaline because they manage stress control with meditation which has a direct chemical effect on their bodies.
Athlete’s burn up a lot of mineral so it is important to get minerals tested. There was a case in 2006 of a marathon runner dying of low electrolytes (minerals) not lack of water.
Get a mineral powder suited to change your pH.
We are offering a complimentary pH and hydration test in June.
Regarding minerals it is really important to get the right balance for you. Taking too much, too little or the wrong combination for your body can be harmful. With calcium there are many forms that are poorly absorbed or that don’t break down in the body and lead to atherosclerosis, kidney stones and calcium deposits. A monobasic calcium phosphate absorbs in a water environment and is the best we’ve found.
Testimononials
“Balancing my pH took all my fear out of cancer coming back I could monitor my lifestyle and diet according to my pH”
“Once my pH balanced I no longer had aching muscles and my bowels worked perfectly’
“I didn’t realize I had a problem. Correcting my pH I now feel much more alive and younger”
