FOODS - ACID AND ALKALINE
Al food, as they are digested or burned, leave an ash in the body. This ash can be neutral, acid or alkaline, depending on the mineral composition of the food. The acid ash (acidosis) results when there is a depletion of the alkaline ash. In the healing of sickness, the higher the ratio of alkaline forming foods in the diet, the faster will be the recovery. Alkalis neutralize the acids. All the minerals that make up the red blood cells and the blood plasma are alkaline, except for chlorine which is acid. There are other important fluids in the body which are alkaline. Some of these are saliva, bile, tears, lymph, joint lubricant, muscle lubricant, colon secretion and pancreatic juice. None of the alkaline juices are body wastes, though the bile contains waste. Some body fluids that are acidic are urine, perspiration, fluid emitted during expiration, fatigue wastes and gastric juice. All of these fluids are body wastes except for the gastric juice, which is used for digestion. It is important to realize that the body fluids which contribute to the life processes are all alkaline except the gastric juice and that the waste fluids are all acid. The acid products must be eliminated because the healthy state of the body is one of alkalinity. If the tissues of the body become acid to the slightest degree, serious illness occurs and death can result.
The degree of acidity or alkalinity of a substance is expressed in pH values, the "p" indicates the potency, while the "H" is for hydrogen ions which is the name the chemist gives to the particular element constituting the acid. The scale ranges from 0 (acid) to 14 (alkaline), with 7 being neutral, neither acid nor alkaline.
Normal blood is slightly alkaline, just above neutral, having a pH of 7.35. If the pH of a person's blood reaches higher than 7.8 or falls below 7.22, immediate death occurs. A condition known as acidosis occurs when the pH of the blood drops below 7.35. If the blood rises above the normal 7.35, alkalosis exists and grows more severe, until death occurs when the pH reaches 7.8. This provides a variable range of only about .6 of a degree. Disease occurs any time the blood does not have a normal pH of 7.35.
The more acid the fluids and tissues of the body become the more subject they are to the growth of bacteria and germs, and the less able they are to combat them. It is now known that acid-forming foods increase the excretion of calcium and phosphorus from the body (causing osteoporosis) and that alkaline-forming foods tend toward a greater retention of these mineral salts in the body. Kidney stones are sometimes concentrations of uric acid crystals which are more apt to form when the urine is too acidic. A more alkaline urine tends to dissolve them. A burning sensation can develop when the urine becomes very acidic. By drinking large amounts of distilled water one can speed the process of acid elimination through the pores and kidneys. The pH of urine can be changed in just a few hours.
The skin is provided with approximately 1,500,000 sweat glands, excreting perspiration, which is acidic. The lungs give off carbonic acid gas which is released as carbon dioxide and water. The burning of food and oxygen in the body cells produces this gas which is taken by lymph and blood to the lungs to be exhaled.
More processes of life are aided by alkaline fluids than acid. Both are necessary. Alkalis are continually being consumed and the supply depleted. Since they are continually being consumed, there is the danger that the supply will be exhausted. It is very plain then, that if foods will influence the alkalinity and acidity of the body we need to eat abundantly of that which will keep the alkalinity of the body high, and eat sparingly of foods which will increase its acidity. The ideal ratio according to Dr. Roger Berg, the world's foremost authority on the relationship between the acid-alkaline ratio in the diet, is about 80% alkaline producing foods and 20% acid producing foods. The correct pH balance of our blood can be maintained by choosing carefully the foods one eats. Another factor, which influences the correct balance, is the ability of the kidneys, skin pores and lungs to eliminate acids. It is important that these organs function properly.
Harmful acids that we should avoid are: acetic acid found in vinegar; tannic acid found in coffee, tea and cocoa; and benzoic acid found in food preservatives. Foods that are acid in themselves such as citrus, when digested and assimilated by the body leave an alkaline residue, while alkaline foods leave an acid residue. Therefore, we refer to the foods as either acid forming, or alkaline forming.
Studies have also confirmed that rest, exercise, fresh air, laughter and love are alkalizers of the body; selfishness, anger, worry and hatred are acidifiers of the body.
PARTIAL LIST OF ACID / ALKALINE FORMING FOODS
Acid Forming Foods
Meat; milk and eggs *
All nuts, except almonds and brazil nuts
All grains, except millet and buckwheat
Olives and Carob
Dried beans and seeds, unless sprouted
* NOT RECOMMENDED
Alkaline Forming Foods
Most fruit, except prunes, blueberries, plums, currants, cranberries Most vegetables, except brussel sprouts, cress, rhubarb, and winter squash Avocadoes