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Acid-base Diet - What To Know About Acid-alkaline Balance
Acid-base Diet - What To Know About Acid-alkaline Balance

Video: Acid-base Diet - What To Know About Acid-alkaline Balance

Video: Acid-base Diet - What To Know About Acid-alkaline Balance
Video: Does Eating Alkaline Foods vs Acidic Foods Affect Your Health? #TBT | LiveLeanTV 2024, March
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acid-base-diet-green-red-vegetables-apples acid-base diet
acid-base-diet-green-red-vegetables-apples acid-base diet

As is already known, the human body is made up of about 70% liquids. To this amount are due the biochemical processes - the vital processes that occur in living organisms. Knowledge of chemistry reminds us that any solution has an acidic, neutral or basic character. But how important is the balance and the acid-alkaline diet in the context of daily life and our state of health? Are we able to overcome a given disease if we maintain a certain acid-alkaline balance? Does food play an important role in this balance? The answers to these questions, we will give them to you in this useful and very current article.

The acid-base diet and pH levels in the human body

acid-base-diet-pH-alkaline-acid-neutral-acid-base diet
acid-base-diet-pH-alkaline-acid-neutral-acid-base diet

The potential hydrogen or pH (in English potential hydrogen) measures the saturation and the activity of the hydrogen ions H + in solution. That is, pH is a measure of the acidity and basicity of a solution. The pH indices vary from 0 to 14.

If the pH of a solution varies from 0 to 7, it is said to be acid;

If the pH of a solution is equal to 7, it is said to be neutral;

If the pH of a solution is 7 to 14, it is said to be basic or alkaline.

The more the pH decreases (away from 7), the more acidic a solution. So, for example, the pH of pure water is 7 (neutral character), the pH of bleach is 11.5 (basic character).

The pH levels in the human body are not equal - while some organs and systems work best in an acidic environment, others, on the other hand, work better in an alkaline environment. The normal pH of the stomach, for example, is very acidic - between 1.5 and 2.5, so that the digestive enzyme (protease) can break down the proteins in the food we eat. Blood, for its part, is slightly alkaline (pH between 7.35 and 7.45).

But beware: disorders of the acid-base balance in the blood, called acidosis (pH less than 7.35) and alkalosis (pH greater than 7.45) are harmful to health. Take into consideration that these two diseases only affect people suffering from pathological diseases such as kidney failure, certain serious diseases, poisoning, etc.

The acid-base diet - what are the three types of foods

acid-base-diet-ph-acid-alkali-diet-food-drinks
acid-base-diet-ph-acid-alkali-diet-food-drinks

The theory that you are able to balance your body's pH by dieting is enjoying increasing popularity. The main idea here, supported by the alkaline diet, is based on the belief that the body functions optimally when there is a balance between the consumption of alkaline and acidic foods.

Take into consideration that the pH of foods has nothing in common with their property of alkalizing and acidifying. The pH does not matter here, because later the food passes through the acidic atmosphere of the stomach and afterwards it becomes alkaline in the small intestine. It is important to know that, once metabolized, food leaves an acidic or alkaline residue in the body. Lemon juice, for example, has a pH of 2, but despite this it leaves an alkaline residue and is believed to be an alkalizing food. That is, lemon juice has an acidic character, but it is not an acidifying food.

Which menu to choose for your acid-base diet?

acid-base-diet-fresh-vegetables-carrots-peppers-cabbage-tomatoes acid-base diet
acid-base-diet-fresh-vegetables-carrots-peppers-cabbage-tomatoes acid-base diet

Acidifying foods: meat, fish, eggs, dairy products, alcohol, coffee and grains.

Neutral foods: dietary fats (animal and vegetable), starch, sugar and honey.

Alkalizing foods: vegetables, sprouted seeds, most fruits, most leguminous plants, herbs and spices, nuts, avocado, olives, coconuts, chia seeds, seeds flax, quinoa seeds, millet seeds, buckwheat and green tea.

Corn, lentils, rice, etc. - cereals are necessary for a good state of health

acid-base-diet-rice-corn-lentils acid-base diet
acid-base-diet-rice-corn-lentils acid-base diet

Supporters of the acid-base or alkaline diet believe that the foods you eat have a strong influence on the body's acid-base balance. When we consume foods that leave an acidic residue, they disturb the blood balance which leads to disease. This is why, according to them, one should consume as much as possible of alkalizing foods, to balance the body's pH level.

We know that certain ratios, like that between omega 3 and omega 6, are very important for our health in general. But does the balance between alkalizing and acidifying foods matter a lot? Let's try to find the answer.

For your acid-base diet, bet on green leafy vegetables …

acid-base-diet-leafy-green-vegetables-cucumbers-avocado acid-base diet
acid-base-diet-leafy-green-vegetables-cucumbers-avocado acid-base diet

… and on exotic spices

acid-base-diet-spices-pepper-black-red-curry acid-base diet
acid-base-diet-spices-pepper-black-red-curry acid-base diet

Foods and blood pH

As already mentioned, even the small oscillation of the blood pH index, can lead to great risks. The pH lower than 7 and higher than 7.7 guarantees us serious health problems, because the cells cannot function in such an environment.

Therefore, the body automatically reduces the blood pH level, by means of certain buffering mechanisms, maintaining the acid-base balance. The most important regulator is breathing. When we breathe, the lungs fill with oxygen and the opposite process is the expulsion of carbon dioxide. The high concentration of carbon dioxide lowers the blood pH level, but through the process of respiration, the balance between oxygen and carbon dioxide is maintained and, respectively, the acid-alkali balance.

What substances will be excreted in the urine and which substances will be reabsorbed in the body - it depends on the kidneys, which, as can be seen, play a role of great importance. If the blood pH level is low (therefore, if the atmosphere is acidic), the kidneys filter out bicarbonate ions, which combine with the acidic remains in the blood. The result of this reaction is the formation of salts, which the kidneys filter through urine, and carbon dioxide, which is released by the process of exhalation.

The homeostasis of pH can be maintained also through a third mechanism - these are different buffering substances such as calcium and other minerals.

So there are three mechanisms - aspiration, kidney function and buffering substances. Through these mechanisms, the body maintains the blood pH within specified limits. The truth is, you can't influence blood pH by the foods you eat. It is possible for the blood pH level to rise for some time after consuming a large amount of baking soda, but in general, regardless of whether one consumes alkalizing or acidifying foods, the blood pH will oscillate between 7.35 and 7.45.

acid-base-diet-sugar-cane-honey-water acid-base diet
acid-base-diet-sugar-cane-honey-water acid-base diet

Foods and urine pH

On the other hand, it is true that food influences urinary pH. If for breakfast we have a fresh salad and an avocado, a few hours later the urine will be more alkaline than that of someone who has had a bacon omelet, because the kidneys process the unnecessary acidity and they emit through urine. This is why the pH fluctuates from 4.6 to 8 - much wider limits. It all depends on the food you eat.

You can easily test your urine pH. This is one of the benefits of the alkaline diet that attracts so many people. It is always nice to be able to see for yourself your state of health. The urine pH test shows this - if the urine pH is alkaline, then we are on the right track. But the problem here is that the acidity of the urine is not a good indicator for the general pH balance of the organism, it is hardly an indicator for good health.

acid-base-diet-cabbage-red-peppers-zucchini-garlic acid-base diet
acid-base-diet-cabbage-red-peppers-zucchini-garlic acid-base diet

The acid-base diet and cancer

One of the most popular opinions is that the acid-base diet can cure cancer. The explanation is that cancer cells grow faster in an acidic environment. According to proponents of the alkaline diet, we can alkalize the body and stop the development of cancer cells. Unfortunately, this claim is false for a few reasons.

First, as already explained, foods - either alkalizing or acidifying - do not influence the pH of the blood and that of intercellular fluids.

Second, cancer cells don't just form in an acidic environment. There are many experiments which affirm it and scientists manage to make cancer cells develop in an alkaline medium.

Third, it is true that cancer cells grow faster in an acidic environment, but the root cause for their formation is different. It is not the acidic environment that causes the tumor to form, it is the tumor that creates it.

acid-base-diet-starch acid-base diet
acid-base-diet-starch acid-base diet

Finally we can say that unlike many diets, the acid-base diet is really healthy. But it is a question to be debated if it is due to the causes that the supporters of this regime point out. This opinion is believed to be due to the fact that the diet encourages the consumption of lots of vegetables, fruits and other healthy foods and prohibits alcohol, artificial sweeteners, carbonated drinks and fast foods.

The problem with this alkaline diet is this: it prohibits or strongly limits the consumption of meat, eggs and milk products. So a diet like this deprives the body of a good natural source of protein. There are no studies that make claims that the acidic rest of these foods has a negative influence on our health. In reality, acidities are one of the main constituents of all living matter.

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