Upload
dostalan
View
220
Download
0
Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
8/9/2019 Balancing Your Ph
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/balancing-your-ph 1/3
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
8/9/2019 Balancing Your Ph
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/balancing-your-ph 2/3
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.