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There is increasing information available in scientific literature and the media about the effects of pH on the body. However while everyone has heard of it, few people understand its critical role in health.

Humans have a long history as hunter-gatherers. Our ancient diet consisted of high protein sources such as animal meats, but also an abundance of alkaline-forming foods such as leafy greens and other vegetables, roots, and fruits. Compared to ancient times, modern humans consume fewer and fewer of these important foods, while increasing intake of nutrient-deficient over-processed and refined foods. This means that our intake of acid-neutralizing potential is a lot less than it was historically.

Not only are we not taking in enough alkaline foods, we are over-indulging in acid-forming foods such as cheese, processed meats, and grains (for example, white rice). And our bodies will produce acids as a result of stress, inflammation, insufficient exercise, or toxins: all problems in today’s society.

The good news is that the body is supremely good at buffering: 53% of the blood is bicarbonate, a buffer which keeps the delicate pH balance in the blood in check: it must be kept within a strict range or the body cannot survive. The bad news is that we are constantly asking the body to buffer more than it is capable. So the body has to look elsewhere for buffering capacity: either store acids, or neutralize them.

The best place to store acids is in the connective tissue, which is found throughout the body and around every cell. Nutrients, hormones, and other molecules must make their way through the connective tissue every time they go from one place to another. Acids are bound electrostatically to the proteins that make up the connective tissue, until such time as they are able to be neutralized.

But as you can imagine, adding lots of molecules with an electric charge to a system will change the way the connective tissue works. This can lead to all sorts of disruptions and may result in disorders such as arthritis, inflammation, heart palpitations, toxic buildup (toxins are attracted to the positively-charged acids) and problems in the way hormones and other messengers are delivered to target cells.

The other way is to use additional buffers. The body prefers to use alkaline mineral salts such as bicarbonates and carbonates and phosphates to buffer acids, and the biggest store of such mineral salts is in the skeleton. An acidic pH will cause the cells that build up bone to stop working, and cause the cells that break down bone to do their job. So there is a net loss in bone minerals. When low-grade acidity is chronic over time, that process continues to remove calcium and other minerals from the bone: eventually resulting in osteoporosis.

There is a substantial amount of research which suggests that osteoporosis is less a disease of calcium deficiency, and more a disease of chronic acidity. Research has shown that women with higher intakes of alkalizing fruits and vegetables have lower incidences of osteoporosis.

In addition, supplementation with mineralized alkaline water has been shown to improve calcium balance and decrease breakdown of bone.

Even more troubling, cancer is known to thrive in an acidic environment. Cancer cells create a micro-environment which is very acidic compared with surrounding tissue. It has been hypothesized that promoting a more alkaline environment in the body may impede cancer growth or metastasis.  You can determine if your body is acidic by using good-quality pH strips to measure your urine.

The pH of first morning urine should be around 6.8, and if you measure throughout the day you should get a curve that peaks late-afternoon at a pH of around 8 or 9. If your first morning urine pH is lower than 6.8, or if you do not see an increase throughout the day, you likely have a problem with chronic acidity.

By increasing the amount of alkaline-forming foods, and decreasing the amount of acid-forming foods, as well as drinking 8 glasses of high alkaline water per day, we can help improve the acid-alkaline balance in the body. However for most people, because of our diet and environment, it is very difficult to control acidity – especially when trying to get rid of stored acids as well.

Regular supplementation with high alkaline water is about the best thing you can do to balance this situation.

Related articles

• pH Balance in the Body (everydayhealth.com)
• What’s pH got to do with it? (ascleses.wordpress.com)
• Definition: Soil pH (casasugar.com)
• Superfoods for Super Bones (socyberty.com)
• Take Care Of Your Bones (healthinmotion.wordpress.com)
• Alkaline Water and Your Health (eloisiedotnet.wordpress.com)