Can an Alkaline Diet Promote Greater Wellness? By Erika Dworkin, Board Certified in Holistic Nutrition®
H
ave you been searching for a diet that can promote your overall wellness? The overly simplistic acid-alkaline theory of disease essentially maintains that excess acid accumulation in the body causes many diseases. While the advantages of an alkaline (high pH) diet is controversial, and researchers agree that further studies to explore its exact effects are warranted, a growing body of evidence indicates that it promotes cellular health and contributes to the prevention of certain diseases. Especially if you suffer from chronic pain, experimenting with this type of diet for six months could be beneficial.
For the body to function properly, it must maintain the proper balance of acidity and alkalinity (pH) in the blood and other body fluids. There is accumulating evidence that certain disease states...are influenced considerably by dietary acid-alkaline balance. ~ The Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine (3rd Ed.), Michael T. Murray, ND, and Joseph Pizzorno, ND (2012)
The Role of pH in the Body pH (the “power of hydrogen”) is a measure of the hydrogen ion concentration in solution. The pH scale ranges from 1-14, where a pH of 7 is neutral, below 7 is acidic, and above 7 is alkaline/base. To survive, the body requires and thus maintains through the lungs and kidneys, a tightly controlled slightly alkaline ~7.4 pH level in blood serum, including that in the veins and arteries. The natural level and function of pH in the body’s cells and organs, however, vary considerably: Skin [4-6.5 – protects from harmful microbes (bacteria/parasites/fungi/viruses)]; Urine (4.6-8.0 – limits microbe overgrowth); Stomach (1.35-3.5 – assists digestion; protects against microbes); Bile (7.6-8.8 – neutralizes stomach acid; aids in digestion); Vaginal Fluid (less than 4.7 – limits microbe overgrowth); Cerebrospinal Fluid (7.3 – protects the brain exterior); Intracellular Fluid (6.0-7.2 – balances acid production in cells). Cells that are more alkaline have a greater ability to detoxify and therefore maintain a higher energy potential.
Increased acid production, the loss of bicarbonate, and/or a reduced ability of the kidneys to excrete excess acids, can cause metabolic acidosis, the presence of excess acid in body fluids. The inability of overtaxed kidneys to detoxify excess acid can cause various symptoms including fatigue, nausea, vomiting, headaches, and breathing difficulty, and the health conditions discussed below. Doctors diagnose this condition with various blood tests, including an arterial blood gas (ABG; determines blood pH and the lungs’ ability to move oxygen into, and remove carbon dioxide from, the blood), and a basic metabolic panel (checks pH balance and kidney function). First morning urine testing can also indicate metabolic status. Healthy after-rest urinary pH, which increases proportionately with the increased consumption of alkalizing foods, ranges from 6.5-7.5.
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