Importance of a Balanced pH

Importance of a balanced pH

Vibrant health and energy all begin with a balanced pH. It is our body’s first line of defense against aging and disease. You must try to maintain a balance between the acid and alkaline levels in your body at all times to remain healthy. Most degenerative diseases including cancer, heart disease, arthritis, and osteoporosis are associated with an imbalanced pH or acidosis.

What is pH?

The acronym pH means the "power of hydrogen" or "potential of hydrogen," which measures the concentration of hydrogen ions. Since most of the body is water-based, the level of pH has numerous effects on our body’s chemistry, health, and disease.

pH is a measure of acidity or alkalinity of a solution. The level of acidity or alkalinity of a solution is expressed as a number from 1 to 14 on the pH scale. The lower the pH number, the more acidic the solution is. The higher a pH number, the more alkaline (or basic) the solution is. A pH measurement of 1 would be the most acidic, 7 neutral, and 14 the most alkaline.

Courtesy of the The OHNO Institute on Water and Health

Ideal pH level

The ideal pH level for human blood is 7.43, meaning slightly alkaline. A reading above 7.5 would indicate an over-alkaline state called alkalosis; lower than 7.0 would indicate an over-acidic state or acidosis. Acidosis unfortunately is more common.

What Causes an Imbalanced pH and the Serious Effects It Has on Our Health?

Most diets, the accumulation of environmental toxins and toxic metals, stress, and sedentary lifestyles are some of the causes of an unhealthy pH. Nothing does well in this state, least of all the human body! Consider this: acid rain can destroy a forest and alkaline wastes can pollute a lake. An imbalanced pH continuously corrodes all body tissues. If left unchecked, it will interrupt all cellular activities and functions. An imbalanced pH will affect your overall health…Bottom line.

Symptoms of an Imbalanced pH

Most people who suffer from imbalanced pH are acidic. Acidosis forces the body to borrow minerals—like calcium, sodium, potassium and magnesium—from vital organs and bones to buffer the acid and safely remove it from the body. This strain to the body can cause numerous conditions such as:

• Cardiovascular Disease: arteriosclerosis, heart attacks, stroke, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure.
• All forms of cancer
• Diabetes, insulin sensitivity, obesity
• Neurological disease, MS, Muscular Dystrophy, ALS, Parkinson’s disease
• Liver and kidney disease
• Senility, dementia, Alzheimer’s disease
• Immune deficiencies
• Osteoporosis, osteoarthritis, and tooth loss
• Hormonal imbalances
• Premature aging, male prostate problems

Although relatively uncommon, high alkalinity in the body causes many of the same kinds of mineral problems as acidity. This condition can cause the body to digest foods too slowly, giving rise to a toxic bowel and urinary tract problems. An alkaline condition can give rise to:

• Skin and liver problems
• Constipation
• Chronic infections
• Allergies
• Parasites, body odor, and bad breath

How to test your pH

To maintain good health, the body constantly seeks to dispose the excess acids that irritate the tissues and deplete the tissues of minerals. One of the principal systems it uses for this purpose is the renal system (kidneys). The normal rate of acid excretion through the kidneys gives urine a pH that falls between 6.5 and 7.25. By testing the degree of acidity of the urine, you can determine whether your body is eliminating a normal quantity of acids. If the acid excretion rate is higher than normal, the urine pH will be more acidic. This low urinary pH is also an indication that the body is saturated and therefore in an acid state.

Another indicator of the overall pH balance in your body is the pH of your saliva. When your body has the mineral reserves that it should, the abundance of minerals will show up in a saliva pH test as a pH reading of 7.0 to 7.50. A low saliva pH reading indicates that the mineral reserves in your body are low and are being used to buffer acids elsewhere in the body.

There is a strong correlation between the pH of the body’s internal environment and that of the urine and saliva: urine and saliva become acidic when the body’s internal environment becomes acidic. You can test your pH of these fluids by using Alkalive™ pH Stix™. These pH test strips, made specifically to test saliva and urine, are the most accurate and economical test strips on the market, and are available in our online store.

How to balance your pH to more alkaline state

1. Eat more alkaline foods.
   
   Acid-forming foods are usually high protein foods such as meats, fish, poultry and eggs. Nearly all carbohydrates like grains, breads, pastas and fat in one’s diet are acid-forming. Foods that are alkaline forming are most fruits and vegetables, millet, buckwheat and almonds. The general rule of thumb is to eat 20% acid foods and 80% alkaline foods. Two alkalizing foods with one acidifying food will help to keep the diet balanced. It’s important that vegetables make up two-thirds of our diet.
   
   
2. Test for your specific mineral content and heavy metal toxicity.
   Since toxic metals can affect one’s pH and create mineral deficiencies, getting a hair tissue mineral analysis is the best test.
   
   
3. Supplement with vitamins and minerals according to your results.
   
   
4. Avoiding and eliminating toxins. See detoxification programs.
   
   
5. Drink ionized water.
   
   Ionized water is the best at reversing acidity because it not only creates alkalinity; it also creates water that has superior antioxidant abilities. According to Dr. Sherry Rogers, MD, and author of the book "Detoxify or Die", ionized water is such a good free radical scavenger that it performs as well as the primary antioxidant enzymes that the body makes, namely superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase. And it does an even better job than SOD, because SOD produces hydrogen peroxide, which then has to be neutralized, but ionized water does not produce this unwanted free radical. As well, alkalized water suppresses genetic DNA breakage or mutation while it scavenges over four types of free radicals.
   
   Ionized water has several functions. It purifies the water, alkalizes the water, neutralizes free radicals, and protects the genes by preventing DNA damage! Click here for the best water ionizer on the market by High Tech Health.
    
   If a water ionizer is too expensive, you could consider adding alkalizing drops to ordinary tap water to make the water alkaline. It will alkalize the water but does not provide any purifying, antioxidant or gene protective capabilities. pH Booster drops are available in our online store.
   
   
6. Avoid stress!
   
   
7. Exercise.

Conclusion

Balancing your pH is a major step towards well-being and greater health. A body in balance is full of vitality and energy. It will have a better ability to release toxins, better assimilate vitamins and minerals, and prevent disease.

For more information on this subject, please contact Dr. Akin.