The Acid Alkaline Balance – Part 2

In part 1 of The Acid Alkaline Balance we discussed the health crisis in America. To put this in perspective America is first in having access to clean water and sanitation facilities. We spend more money per person on health care and a greater percentage of our GDP that any other country.

Yet, we are 34th in infant death rate, 29th in maternal death rate, and 48th overall in life expectancy. Where we used to be #1 in life expectancy for women age 65 we are now 20th.

Many feel the source of the problem lies in our calorie consumption. Americans consume more calories per capita than any other nation and we show it by the prevalence of overweight and obesity health issues.

What Does This Have To Do With The Acid Alkaline Balance?

Everything! The vast majority of the American diet centers on foods that create an acidic environment in your body. This then allows other acid producing pathways to take hold having a negative impact on your health and wellness. The body’s acid alkaline balance moves to the acidic range as a result of the following three things:

1. Ingesting Acidic Producing Foods. When food is metabolized or “burned” in our body it leaves an “ash”. This food ash will be neutral, acidic, or alkaline depending largely on the leftover mineral composition of the food. Although the following list is not complete, it will give you a general idea of which foods leave behind an acidic or alkaline environment:

   Acidic Foods: corn, canned fruits, cranberries, most grain and grain products, most beans & legumes, milk, peanuts, peanut butter, most animal proteins, tuna, most fats and oils, sugar, artificial sweeteners, alcohol, catsup, cocoa, and aspirin.

   Alkalizing Foods: water, most vegetables, most fruits especially if they are low sugar, almonds, fermented tofu, whey protein, all herbs and many spices, soured dairy products, probiotic cultures, bee pollen, and juices that are green, veggie or fresh fruit.

   Super Acidifying Food: Coca-Cola – pH 2, Beer – pH 2.5, Coffee – pH 4

   Super Alkalizing Minerals: Potassium – pH 14, Sodium – pH 14, Calcium – pH 12, Magnesium – pH 9

2. Creation of an Acidic Environment Resulting in Toxicity & Microform Overgrowth. As you eat and drink food combinations that create an acidic environment, microforms and pathogens start to grow and proliferate in your body. For example, yeasts, Candida, and anaerobic bacteria now have an environment that fosters their growth, which results in toxins and acids being excreted into your system causing a further acid alkaline imbalance.

3. Poor Elimination & Neutralization of Acids. Your body will go to great lengths to maintain its normal pH level. It will even stress other tissues and body systems to do so. It uses minerals such as calcium to act as a buffer. Your body will even pull calcium out of your bone structure to help in this process which can lead to osteoporosis.

Now you can see why the standard American diet of animal protein with a refined grain product washed down with a beer or dark cola creates an extremely acidic environment.

Got Milk?

The dairy industry has created a great campaign slogan so you might think that all you have to do is drink more milk. The fat and protein in whole milk creates a greater “acid ash” than the amount of calcium it contains. The net result is whole milk will actually deplete calcium stores.

If you are going to drink milk, then make it skim milk only. Not only will you save on calories and fat but you will be able to offset the “acid ash” from the protein and get a positive influx of calcium. And, since we are on this topic of “acid ash” please

stay away from dark colas!

Most dark colas, whether they be regular or diet, contain phosphoric acid. I firmly believe that this has been one of the leading causes of all the degenerative diseases.

The average American drinks 1.5 cans of cola per day. If you refer to the above section entitled “Super Acidifying Food” you will note that Coca-Cola has a pH of 2. If you remember from The Acid Alkaline Balance – Part 1 I told you that the pH scale is not arithmetic but logarithmic.

Logarithmic means that the values separating each unit are not of equal value along the scale but increases in proportion to their distance from a pH of 7 which is neutral. For example, a pH reading of 6 is 10 times more acidic than 7, but a pH of 5 is not 20 times more acidic but 100 times more acidic.

Thus, a pH of 2 is 100,000 times more acidic. This has a huge impact on your system and the creation of “acid ash.” Additionally, sugar and artificial sweeteners are also acidic foods adding to the creation of “acid ash” in your system.

How Do I Find Out If I’m A Walking Flask of Acid?

You could spend lots of money and make lots of visits to your doctor’s office to get your blood analyzed on a regular basis or you could do a simple urine test at home. One of the primary systems for getting rid of acids in the body is your kidneys or renal system. Under normal or optimal conditions, the acid alkaline balance of your urine should be in the 6.75 to 7.25 range.

Anything under 6.75 would most likely mean that your body’s internal environment is becoming acidic. By using pH test strips you can test your urine’s pH at home. There are special test strips designed to give you a color gradation to help you accurately determine your urine’s pH so that you can maintain a proper acid alkaline balance.

You can go to a health food store and buy pH strips or you can order them online. If you find that your pH strip shows that your system is acidic, then there are steps you can take to go from acidic to alkaline.

6 Steps to Go From Acidic to Alkaline!

To regain your optimal acid alkaline balance, you will need to take the following steps:

1. Change your diet to include more alkalizing foods.

2. Increase your water consumption and eliminate dark colas.

3. Cleanse and detoxify your body of microforms and the toxins they have created.

4. Replenish your mineral reserves.

5. Replenish your enzyme reserves.

6. Replenish the populations of healthy probiotics in your GI tract.

When someone consumes a diet rich in acid producing foods, the body’s overall pH balance can be thrown off. To counter this effect, alkaline foods and water must be consumed to provide the nutrients necessary to neutralize the acids and toxins created. The top alkalizing foods and nutrients are:

• Wheat Grass

• Calcium

• Sodium

• Potassium

• Chloride

• Bicarbonate

• Kamut Grass

• Barley Grass

• Alfalfa Grass

Think Green!

Notice that it’s the grasses and certain key minerals that are necessary parts of your diet. A good Green Fusion drink would be an excellent replacement for the dark colas. A diet rich in green and colorful vegetables would help create an alkaline diet. Increasing your intake of pure, clean water to at least ½ gallon per day will not only aid in maintaining the right acid alkaline balance but will also aid in weight management and weight loss.

Get a good mineral supplement into your daily diet plan. However, Tums with Calcium is not the answer. Even though calcium is an alkalizing mineral it needs the acidic environment of the stomach to be absorbed properly. The purpose of Tums is to reduce stomach acids. This interferes with calcium absorption. I’ve never understood why doctors promote this type of product in their offices as a calcium supplement.

There is so much more that could be said in this area. Hopefully, these two posts on The Acid Alkaline Balance have provided you with useful information.

As our American culinary tastes have evolved to the Super Size Me diet of acidic foods and drinks, we have also seen an explosion of both the waist line and degenerative diseases. Diseases that are not only preventable but robbing us of our youth and vitality as we grow older. It’s critically importance that you maintain an alkaline environment for your body. Enjoy foods that will help you maintain the proper acid alkaline balance. This will create optimal health and wellness and potentially allow you to live a longer, disease free life.

Blessing Lives Through Nitric Oxide Therapy!

Dan Hammer