Acidic and Alkaline – Why It’s Important To Your Health

The degree that our body is slightly alkaline instead of acidic can determine how healthy we are.

The pH scale measures the level a substance is. The scale ranges from 1 to 14 with 1 being very acid, 7 neutral and 14 very alkaline. Our body works the best and is the healthiest when it is at the optimal pH level, which according to Dr. Christopher Vasey, N.D. is about 7.39.

If our tissues and organs become too much one way or another, our body chemistry is disrupted and illness usually occurs. Today, because of our diets, more often we become too acid.

Symptoms of acidity in our body includes:

Lack of energy
Low body temperature
Weight loss
Increased frequency of infections
Irritability
Nervousness
Headaches
Loose teeth
Sensitive gums
Cracks at the corners of the lips
Throat and tonsil irritation
Teeth sensitivity
Excess stomach acid
Stomach pain and spasms
Tendency towards diarrhea
Cramps and abdominal pain
Kidney and bladder stones
Acidic urine
Prone to chills
Frequent colds and bronchitis
Enlarged tonsils
Coughs and sore throats
Dry skin
Fungal diseases
Pimples
Eczema
Nails are thin and break easily
Dull hair
Osteoporosis
Leg cramps and spasms
Arthritis
Tendinitis
Low blood pressure
Poor circulation

What Happens When The Body Is At the Wrong pH?

Because it is so important for our health to be at the right pH level, our bodies work very hard at maintaining that level. If the body becomes too much on the acid side, it can try to eliminate the offending substance (through the lungs, kidneys or sweat glands) or neutralize it.

To neutralize the acid, the body uses alkali elements (minerals) found in body tissues and organs. If this happens only occasionally, the alkali minerals are easily replaced from our food. If it happens too often, our body’s alkali reserves gradually decline and we become mineral deficient.

According to Dr. Vasey, there are 3 ways that a body that leans toward the acid side makes us sick:

All functions in our body are dependent on enzymes. Enzymes are dependent on the correct pH balance in order to function properly. If our pH is too acid, it can disrupt or even stop our enzymes from functioning. A complete disruption of our enzymes can cause death.
Acids are harsh on our body tissues and organs. Before they are neutralized with alkali substances, the acids can irritate the organs leading to inflammation, lesions or hardening of tissues.
The third problem caused from excess acids are problems with our teeth and bone structure. Bones lose their calcium and teeth can chip or become oversensitive as minerals are pulled from our skeletal structure to neutralize the acidity in our body. Hair and fingernails can also become affected.

Becoming too much on the acid side can also cause fatigue and weaken the immune system.

What Causes Our pH To Become Too Acidic?

The most common culprit of an acidity in our organs and tissues is eating a diet with too many acid foods and not getting enough minerals in our diets.

Learn about what foods are alkaline and acidic on the pH scale.

By eating more alkali foods than acid leaning foods, we can begin to restore the optimal pH balance in our system. Dr. Theodore Baroody recommends an alkaline diet made up of 80% alkali foods and 20% acid forming foods.

In addition, we can take mineral supplements that help us become more alkaline. These minerals include:

calcium
sodium
magnesium
cobalt
copper

There are a number of supplements on the market that have a combination of these minerals to help move us towards a more alkaline internal chemistry.

How Can We Determine Whether We Have A Balanced pH?

When our tissues and organs become on the acid side, our body tries to excrete the excess acid and also neutralize it. The excess acid ends up in our urine and then excreted from our body. By measuring the acid/alkali level of our urine, we can determine whether excess acid has been put into our urine.

To measure your pH level you will need to purchase pH paper. You can usually find this in a drugstore. According to Dr. Bob Marshall, if you test your first morning urine with the pH paper, you should get a good idea of whether your body is functioning at the optimal pH level.

The pH paper will come with a chart. When your urine comes in contact with a piece of the pH paper, it will change color depending on your pH level. The chart will show you what color represents alkali and what color represents acid.

If you find that you are more acidic, begin to eat more alkaline foods. You might also consider trying a special mineral supplement to add alkaline minerals back into your body. According to Dr. Bob Marshall, a good coral calcium supplement is an effective alkaline supplement. It’s effective because it contains the complete spectrum of minerals which can help replace the minerals that we may have lost by becoming too acidic.