Why is Acid/Alkaline Balance Important?

The foods we eat this year will dictate how healthy we are in the coming years.  The lack of proper diet has contributed to practically every chronic disease we have in America today; heart disease, osteoporosis, arthritis, cancer and others.  The problem is that we, like our medical system, are reactionary rather than proactive.  We have fallen into thinking that what we eat is okay since we are relatively free of disease.  The problem is that the body can compensate for poor diet over a long period of time with backup mechanisms, showing few signs of disease.  We think we are healthy until one day we are not.  We need to take responsibility for our health, giving our bodies the proper fuel to perform its everyday functions.

All of our body processes occur optimally in a slightly alkaline environment (except in the stomach, where a strongly acid environment exists to begin the digestive process).  An alkaline pH is greater than 7.0, neutral pH is 7.0,  and an acid pH is less than 7.0.  The fluids in the body, both intracellular and extracellular, function best within a narrow pH range of 7.35 to 7.45.  If we get below this range on any kind of regular basis, our body processes start to fail.  Enzymes in our body only work within this narrow pH range, and our cells cannot function outside of this range.

The foods we eat have an effect on the body's pH level once consumed.  Foods leave either an acid ash or an alkaline ash once all of the vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients from them have been used.  The body has buffering systems in place to make sure that the acid/alkaline balance of the body is not upset.  Foods that leave an acid ash are neutralized so as not to upset the body's balance.  Those that leave an alkaline ash provide reserves for the body's buffering system.

Our body also produces acid as a normal by-product of energy metabolism.  Energy metabolism generally produces carbonic acid, which is eliminated as carbon dioxide through the lungs.  This weak acid is eliminated without any problem so long as we are not eating foods that produce too many other acids for the body to handle.  The acids produced by wrong foods that we eat are much stronger acids such as uric acid and sulfuric acid.  These acids must be neutralized and eliminated by the kidneys.  Organic minerals including sodium, calcium, magnesium, and potassium neutralize these acids in the body by combining with them to be eliminated.  When we don't have enough of these nutrients in our body from food, minerals that are needed for other uses in the body will be robbed to neutralize acid.  A good example is calcium, which is pulled from the bone if too much acid is present from the foods we eat.  This is the condition that often leads to osteoporosis.

Unfortunately, acid-producing foods constitute a huge portion of many American diets:  meats, fish, dairy, grains, refined sugars, white flour products, foods with preservatives, sodas, coffee, alcohol and processed foods.  While meats, fish, dairy and grains can be an important part of a healthy diet, it is their over-consumption that can cause problems.  Some of us have gone overboard on eating protein.  Experts vary on the amount of protein we need each day, but 55 grams for the average male and 45 grams for the average female is probably sufficient.  If you have a larger frame, are rebuilding from an illness, or play demanding sports, you may need more. 

You can easily test your pH level with pH test strips and your first morning urine.  Test strips that operate in a range of 5.5 to 8.0 should be sufficient.  You should test your urine pH for 5 days and take an average, as your first morning urine tells how well you handled the food you ate in the last 24 hours.  Urinate into a cup or directly on the test strip.  Let it dry for 5 seconds and compare the color to the chart provided with the test strips.  If your strip turns a very dark color, i.e. registers over 7.5, it is likely that you are in trouble.  Even if you feel okay you are not healthy.  This may be confusing because a reading over 7.5 seems to indicate an alkaline urine.  However, a reading this high usually shows that your body has exhausted all of the available minerals and has gone to the most radical back-up system it has available.

When the body does not have alkaline mineral reserves available, the body breaks down muscle to obtain glutamine, an amino acid.  Glutamine is then used to make ammonia, a strongly alkaline substance.  The ammonia is used to neutralize acid so it can be eliminated by the kidneys.  If your urine has an ammonia odor on any kind of regular basis your body is overly acidic.  YOU SHOULD NOT DO STRENUOUS EXERCISE IF YOU ARE OVERLY ACIDIC.  The acid that your body produces during exercise must also be eliminated, so strenuous exercise can put too much of a strain on our body in this case.

You should first try to get healthy at the table and with low impact exercise, adding more strenuous exercise as your pH level comes back to normal.  Perhaps this is why some obese people are discouraged from exercise-they really don't feel good afterward because their bodies are overloaded with acid.  Some acids can also be eliminated through the skin by perspiration, but this mechanism can carry only a light load.  One indicator of too much acid in the body is body odor.

If you have a reading of 6.5 to 7.5 and you do not have any health problems, you can easily work toward making your diet more alkaline and maintaining or improving your health.  Experts recommend that people with a pH in this range eat 60-65% fruits and vegetables and 35-40% everything else.  Remember that each point on the pH scale represents a tenfold change in pH, so even a .2 increase in your pH can have significant health benefits.  If you are moderately acidic (6.0 to 6.4) or extremely acidic (5.0 to 5.9), then you should try to eat 80% fruits and vegetables and 20% everything else, until you have significantly raised your pH.

It is important not to change your diet too quickly as the body needs time to adjust.  If you get headaches, diarrhea, or excessive fatigue, you are changing too fast.  Dr. Ted Morter, expert on acid/alkaline balance, suggests these 4 steps (in order) for improving your diet:

1)       Increase the amount of cooked vegetables you eat each day

2)       Reduce the amount of protein you eat

3)       Add one serving of raw fruits or vegetables to your diet each day

4)       Reduce or eliminate salt, coffee, tea, soft drinks, & processed foods

If you initially had an alkaline reading above 7.5 (actually indicating extreme acidosis), your level may drop as low as 5.0 before it slowly rises again.  Full recovery of an appropriate pH level could take months in this case.  If your level was mildly acidic (6.5 or so), then you should be able to reach a more alkaline pH within 6 weeks. Check your urine pH weekly to see if you have made any improvements.  Short term supplementation of enzymes can also enhance digestion, speeding the process.

What Foods, Specifically, Should I Enjoy or Avoid?

Remember that the ash a food leaves after it is digested is what is important.  Some foods like citrus fruits, berries, apple cider vinegar, and tomatoes may have an acidic pH before being digested, but, in fact, leave an alkaline ash.  Most fruits and vegetables are alkaline.  There are a few that leave an acid ash including figs, dates, prunes, cranberries and peas.  Complex carbohydrates are quality foods, but do leave an acid ash and may need to be eaten less often.  Great choices for complex carbohydrates that are more alkaline include quinoa, millet, wild rice, potatoes (including sweet), and to a lesser extent, brown rice.

Below are some food choices you should and shouldn't make, listed by HIGHLY ALKALINE,  HIGHLY ACIDIC BUT OKAY IN SMALLER QUANTITIES, and HIGHLY ACIDIC.  The HIGHLY ALKALINE foods are rescue foods that can be used to neutralize a highly acid condition in the body or to counteract a highly acid meal.  Say that you know you will be going out with friends for a nice American breakfast of bacon, eggs and hash browns.  The bacon and eggs are somewhat balanced by the potatoes, but the proportion is still wrong.  Try having one of the very alkalizing foods an hour or two before you go out.  Fruit is very light, or even drinking a good mineral water before breakfast would be a good idea.  The HIGHLY ACIDIC BUT OKAY IN SMALLER QUANTITIES category has mainly foods that are good sources of protein, but highly acidic, or those that we like to eat or drink and could handle in very small quantities.  They may have other health benefits (like coffee, red wine, or dark chocolate), but should still be looked at as foods we "cheat" with.  The HIGHLY ACIDIC foods have little going for them and should be eaten rarely, if at all.

HIGHLY ALKALINE

Ø       Melons -all types, best if eaten by themselves

Ø       Mineral Water-Apollinaris, San Pellegrino, Sanfaustino

Ø       Asparagus, celery, kale, kohlrabi, winter squash

Ø       Berries (blackberries, strawberries, raspberries)

Ø       Herbal teas-burdock root, ginger, parsley & others

Ø       Mustard and collard greens

Ø       Pumpkin seeds

Ø       Chestnuts

Ø       Mandarin oranges, tangerines, papayas, pineapple, kiwi, mango

Ø       Horseradish or daikon radish

Ø       Ginger root, parsley

Ø       Sea salt

Ø       Root vegetables-parsnips, beets, sweet potataoes, rutabagas

Ø       Miso

Ø       Seaweeds-dulse, nori, kelp, kombu

Ø       Onions

Ø       Lemon or lime juice in water (1^st thing in the morning and between meals)

HIGHLY ACIDIC, BUT OKAY IN SMALLER QUANTITIES

Ø       Cheese

Ø       Beef, pork, chicken, veal

Ø       Soybeans

Ø       Lobster, shrimp, mussels, swordfish

Ø       Cow's or goat's milk (soy is the most acidic)

Ø       Tofu

Ø       Red wine vinegar

Ø       Walnuts

Ø       Dark beer or wine

Ø       Coffee

Ø       Chocolate (dark only)

Ø       Baked potato chips

HIGHLY ACIDIC

Ø       Soft drinks

Ø       Cakes, cookies, brownies, pastries, pies and donuts

Ø       Hard liquor, pale beer, espresso

Ø        Soy milk

Ø       Hot dogs (even the vegetarian kind)

Ø       Ice cream

Ø       White, wheat, soy or rice flour

Ø       Brown or white sugar

Ø       Fried chips

Ø       Caesar salad dressing

Ø       Iodized table salt

Ø       Pizza

Ø       Quiche

Ø       Pasta

Ø       Corn syrup

Ø       Sweetened preserves, jams or jellies

Table salt, or sodium chloride is believed by the experts to be poorly broken down in the body, whereas sea salt is organic and its minerals can be more readily utilized.  Mineral water and lemon/lime water are great balancers that are easy to add to the diet.  If you enjoy herbal teas, that is also a great way to alkalize without having to be too drastic about changing your diet.  Make simple substitutions if you have a fairly good acid/alkaline balance:  dark beer or ale is less acidic than light; wine is less acidic than either beer or hard alcohol; raw fruit or vegetables are better than cooked; seeds are generally less acidic than nuts; if you love nuts, go for cashews first, then chestnuts, then almonds; use a greens supplement; supplement with minerals in an absorbable form.

Do Prescription Drugs Affect the Acid/Alkaline Balance?

Most medications have an acidifying effect on the body including antibiotics, antihistamines, psychotropic drugs, antiseptics, and NSAID's, including aspirin and ibuprofen, when taken in high doses.  Some diuretics and drugs that treat heartburn may actually cause over-alkalinity.  One has to take a look at the drug you are taking and the risk/benefit of doing so.  If the acid/alkaline balance is upset, many other things in the body can go awry.  If you really need a drug that is acid-producing, then just be aware that you need to compensate for that through your diet.

Are There Any Supplements that Can Help?

Supplements that provide needed minerals or alkalizing fruits or greens can aid the healing process.  If the body is in a highly acid condition, it may be best to get food-based supplements that are better absorbed by the body.  Calcium and magnesium supplements, coconut water for potassium, greens formulas, spirulina, chlorella, and herbal teas can all be used to alkalize the body.  These are great additions to a healthy diet, and can help in situations where we have "fallen of the wagon".

Acid/alkaline balance is vitally important to the proper functioning of the body.  Through proper diet we can keep our body processes functioning at optimal levels, producing great resistance to disease.  A healthy body does not succumb to germs, inflammation, or other disease.  And while I am not against the occasional "cheating" with foods that simply taste good (ice cream is a favorite for summer), it is clear that the body was designed to operate with certain foods as fuel and not others.  If you have a bad day or even week of eating junk food, use some of the Highly Alkaline foods above to get yourself back into balance.  It does take some work to get to a point where you truly eat a 60/40 ratio of fruits and vegetables to everything else, but the rewards are great.  Happy eating!