pH
pH (potential of Hydrogen) is the measure of the acidity or alkalinity of a solution – for purposes of this discussion I refer to the pH levels of our blood and cellular fluids. pH is measured on a scale of 0 to 14. The lower the number the more acidic our body fluids and the higher the number the more alkaline we are. A pH of 7.0 is neutral – neither acid or alkaline
As an example, let’s look at a cola. It has a pH of about 2.0 – that is very acidic. Many school students have probably performed the test in class where they dropped a nail in a can of Coke. The nail is usually totally dissolved within 3 days. Cola is also useful in cleaning stubborn stains & grease on clothes and in removing hard to clean toilet and sink stains. If the acid in soda eats through a metal nail, imagine what it does to your body!
Our bodies are naturally slightly alkaline, with 7.3 to 7.5 being the optimum alkalinity for healthy body functions. The pancreas regulates the pH balance in our bodies. This is the same organ which regulates insulin production. The pancreas pulls potassium, sodium, calcium and magnesium from our blood stream to balance pH when foods are digested. It requires almost 750,000 times the effort to convert soda at an acid pH of 2.0 to an alkaline pH of 7.5 than it does to convert a fruit or vegetable when digested from a pH of 7.0 to an alkaline pH of 7.5. [Converting pH is exponential: to convert pH 2.0 to pH 3.0 takes a measure of 10. To convert it to the next level of pH 4.0 it takes a measure of 100 (10 x 10). To the next pH of 5.0 it takes a measure of 1,000 (10 x 10 x 10).]
If we do not have enough of the essential minerals - potassium, sodium, calcium and magnesium – in our bloodstream from the foods and supplements we eat, the pancreas will begin pulling these minerals from our vital organs, tissues and bones to neutralize the acid and safely process it from through body. This can lead to severe and prolonged damage to the pancreas, bones and muscle if we consume mainly acidic foods. In the back of the book is a chart of alkalizing and acidifying foods. Take a look at how many acidic foods you regularly consume. Can you see how by eating sugars, refined foods, excessive amounts of meat, chips, drinking coffee and soda, etc. we have been taxing our pancreas to try to keep an alkaline balance? Eventually the pancreas can’t keep up and we have an acidic build-up of fluid in our bodies. This leads to all kinds of medical conditions as the acid eats at our organs and tissues.
Mild acidosis can cause such problems as:
• Cardiovascular damage and hypertension
• Weight gain and obesity – acid blood causes the body to store the acid in fat. The body actually creates fat to store the acid to protect itself.
• Diabetes and difficulty metabolizing sugar
• Bladder infections, kidney stones and other kidney conditions
• Immune deficiency disorders, susceptibility to disease, poor wound healing
• Cancerous cell mutations
• Calcium leaching from bones leading to osteoporosis and broken bones
• Muscle pain, muscle atrophy, poor response, lack of strength
• Fatigue, low energy, lack of drive
• Poor digestion, constipation and other bowel problems
Did you know that a virus or disease cannot thrive in living tissue? It is fact. Yet, we have been taught for decades that germs and virus are responsible for all of our diseases. These microbes exist in our bodies all the time and serve to remove cell waste from our systems, as they thrive on decayed cellular matter. Sure, environmental issues can contribute to some ailments, but most are treatable and curable by our life choices.
Louis Pasteur postured the theory years ago that each disease was caused by specific germs or virus that entered our bodies. Since then, the medical establishment has accepted this theory and tried to develop drugs to treat disease according to different infections. With this theory, everyone would constantly be sick because of all the germs and bacteria in our systems at any time. Drugs actually mask symptoms and are big dollars.
At about the same time Claude Bernard theorized that disease was caused by internal decay which created favorable conditions for micro-organisms (germs), already in our bodies, to thrive. The ideal environment would be one on an acidic scale. The germs are there all the time, but do not affect many people because their internal body environment does not support them.
Our bodies replace old cells as they deteriorate with new cells. In 7 years our bodies will completely remake themselves. That is a lot of decayed material that our bodies must eliminate. Germs normally eat this decayed material and it is flushed from our systems. An acidic environment amplifies the problem, giving micro-organisms an environment to thrive where decayed material is amplified. It isn’t the germ that causes the disease, but the environment of the body. Acidosis in our bodies causes more cellular degeneration and therefore more food for germs and bacteria.
If we continue to overeat, to eat acidic foods and to eat processed foods and snacks, toxins begin to accumulate in our bodies. The acidic environment we create contributes to this toxic accumulation as our pancreas strains to keep up. When your body becomes oversaturated with toxins, a safety valve opens to release toxins, which may come out of any of the four elimination channels of the body; 1) the skin; 2) the lungs and respiratory tract; 3) the bowels & colon; and 4) the urinary tract. We call these attempts by the body to throw off toxic build-up disease.
When poison gets into your bloodstream, your body responds by doing whatever it can to get it out of the body in the fastest way possible through any elimination channel available to preserve the functioning of your system. Your body will use up every ounce of energy in its effort to get this poison out. You might experience coughing, throwing up, fever, acne, sweat, vomiting, diarrhea, headaches, low energy, joint pains, inability to sleep, fatigue, kidney problems, convulsions, burping, irritations, and many more symptoms.
Acidic pH allows germs to proliferate and the result is treated by the body as a poison. The body is trying to heal itself, but we respond by taking highly acidic drugs intended to treat the problem. We actually amplify the problem, rather than working with the body to help it heal. Drugs don’t cure disease, they mask symptoms. When you understand the pH balance of the body, you begin to understand what is happening in your body.
On his deathbed Pasteur said: “Bernard was right. The microbe is nothing. The terrain is everything.” (Hume, Ed. Pasteur exposed: the false foundations of modern medicine. Australia: Bookreal, 1989)
Why hasn’t medicine conformed to this information? Money! There is more money in keeping you on pharmaceuticals to treat symptoms rather than fixing the root problem.
Watch this humorous video to get an idea of what the pharmaceutical & food processing conglomerates get us to believe so they can keep us thinking we need their harmful drugs and the harmful foods they offer. I won’t get into conspiracy theories – there are plenty of books to convince you of that – but think about why there is a simple cure, but no widespread offering or teaching of the cure. They have controlled the medical schools and media for years. Why do the 10 largest pharmaceutical companies make more profit than the rest of the Fortune 500 combined? Why do the pharmaceutical companies only make donations to medical colleges that teach drugs and none to so-called ‘drugless’ medical schools? Why are pharmaceutical companies so intent against supplement companies and alternative treatments? Why do the countries using the most ‘medicines’ have the most unhealthy citizens? http://www.matttraverso.com/video/healt-ebook/fda-cartoon/fda-cartoon.html
You’ve heard the saying, “garbage in, garbage out.’ We put a lot of unhealthy foods into our bodies’ systems. Marvelously created as they are, they struggle to process the garbage into energy to sustain the body and to then flush the unhealthy by-products out.
Let’s look at a car for example. If you used a poor quality gas to fuel the engine it would start to accumulate deposits. It will run great for a while. The car will use the gas to produce the energy the car needs to turn the pistons to move the car. After a time the poor fuel supplied will accumulate larger deposits, affecting how well the car burns the gas. Spark plugs will have a harder time sparking because of the build-up of gunk. The pistons will struggle to move as freely to move the car. It may take years. After a time you have to perform some major work to keep the car even operating properly. The car has tried to eliminate the by-products of the poor fuel since day one, but can’t discharge all of it through the exhaust system and deposits formed inside the engine. The same is true of your body. If you use poor quality fuel, your body does what it can to convert in into energy. Poor quality fuel leaves too much bad by-product for the body to eliminate.
The body is basically a bio-electrical engine. It has a current charged through the bloodstream. The blood carries the fuel from digestion to the cells where it is broken down into energy so the body can operate. This charge operates at an acid-alkaline balance of 7.36
The pancreas is the organ that regulates the pH balance so that the system operates at optimal performance. Each organ has a part in this operation. The heart pumps the blood throughout the body so that fuel and oxygen are delivered to the cells and waste is taken away to the lungs and the kidneys. The liver converts fuel into useable components. Every organ has a part in this biological machine.
The body works very hard to keep your entire system at an optimal pH balance so that each element can perform at its peak. If you do not consume enough alkaline producing calcium, magnesium, potassium and sodium your body pulls the stored supplies from your tissues and bones. Excess acid will be stored in fat to neutralize its damaging effects to the body. Your body will actually create fat to store the acid. Osteoporosis is an affect of the body leeching the bone of essential minerals. Excess fat is the body’s way of protecting itself from acid brought about by an acidic body fluid balance caused by eating acidic foods and by overeating. You wondered why you eat so little yet keep gaining weight? Here is your answer.
There are many reasons besides the foods we eat that can adversely affect pH balance. These reasons include negative emotions, thoughts, words and actions. Research shows that these adverse feelings can be a major cause of high blood acidity. God sure had it right when He told us that forgiveness, thoughts and actions and our very words will affect our well-being. Did you know that studies show that those who pray daily, or who read the Bible daily, or those who meditate regularly or even those who attend a church weekly have better blood pH results? Unforgiveness, gossip, negative thoughts, negative feelings towards others, belittling others, harmful words and hurtful actions affect our bodies negatively.
Lack of sleep, stress, not regularly exercising, shallow breathing, chemicals, radiation and pollution are other factors which lead to acid pH levels within us and cause cellular disturbances. Smoking, alcohol, vinegar, animal protein, many cooking oils, refined sugar, processed foods and overly highly refined carbohydrates (flours, crackers, etc.) are other causes of the breakdown at a cellular level that lead to acid pH.
The chart on the next page gives a general idea of which foods are more on the alkaline scale and which are more acidic. Please note that the foods are not listed based on their pH balance before consumption, but according to their effect on the body after eating. For example, citrus fruits are listed as alkaline, as they have an alkalizing affect on the body, even though these fruits are more acidic before they are eaten.
The rule of thumb is: Eat more of what grows on trees and plants and much less of what has to be processed in a manufacturing plant to make it edible. Fresh food is great but loses vitamins on the way from the harvest to your table. Flash frozen contains more of the vitamins of the pre-harvest food as the food is frozen soon after harvest. Even canned fruits and vegetables contain lots of good vitamins, as long as they are packed in water, no added sugar, with little or no sodium.
Nuts, seeds and avocadoes are good for you. Plant-based foods we have always considered bad for you are full of natural omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids which protect the heart and perform many functions in the body. That’s why we call them essential fatty acids.
Real foods are not only delicious; they provide all of the nutrients our bodies need to heal and to allow you to live a healthy life to the fullest.