February 12, 2011

pH Balance in Your Body: Should You Care About Your Internal Acid - Base Balance?

I'm hearing more and more about the pH balance of the human body and how maintaining a proper pH balance is important to your health. 

 
What is pH balance?

 
It's the balance between acid and alkaline.  Water is neutral.  When your pH balance goes wacky, then you have physical consequences.  Things like acidosis can occur.  After that, really bad things can happen: cancer, kidney disease, things like that.  Turns out, pH balance is really, really important. 

 
What's acidosis?

 
Acidosis results when your body is too acidic and therefore internally promotes the growth of bacteria, viruses, mold, and other bad things that can make you sick. 

 
Acidosis is a state where your body lacks sufficient calcium and oxygen to keep an internal balance that keeps these nasty things in check.  It's not like you don't always have bacteria, mold, etc., inside your body.  It's just that when you get out of balance, then they have an environment conducive to their growth. 

 
Not only does this mean that you can suffer from gas, bloating, headaches, and other rather minor symptoms, but as these things continue to thrive, things get more serious.  Intestinal disorders -- and get this, I learned that osteoporosis is the result of chronic acidosis.  In order to grab the calcium it needs to fight off the pH imbalance, the body will suck out calcium from its own bones and teeth to try and get a better alkaline level - and win the war against the bacterial growth.  Less bone mass, that's osteoporosis.

 
You can monitor your pH balance by buying cute color-coded gauges at your nearby health food store, or online at places like The Wolfe Clinic

 
How to get yourself back in a balanced pH state?

 
First of all, there's no magic pill here.  Simply put, you have to eat right - the same kind of thing that you are supposed to be doing anyway.  Avoid sugar, fast foods, caffeine.  Eat lots of raw veggies and fresh fruit.  Drink water.  (Here's a nice chart for you.)   Apple cider vinegar is supposed to be helpful, too.  Get calcium inside of you, along with water and potassium. 

For more information, check out these articles:

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