ACID vs. ALKALINE- What's it all about?
Today I’m going to dive into an area of wellness that has great potential for improving your overall health and vitality. The topic is a juicy one that can easily go into scientific explanations and health geek observations. I am going to keep it simple, explain the basics of why you want to take note of the pH score of the foods you are eating regularly.
So pH as you may remember from high school science class stands for potential hydrogen and is scored on a chart of 0 (completely acidic) to 14 (extremely alkaline) with 7.0 being neutral.
I want to be clear in stating that what you eat on a daily basis whether it’s alkaline or acidic, does not directly affect the pH of your blood. It is crucial for proper cell function that the blood pH levels in your body remain constant, around 7.35 to 7.45, and the amazing thing here is that your body works very hard to maintain this specific, slightly alkaline pH number. Even your daily metabolic processes create acidic waste that the body can efficiently deal with.
Well, if what you eat isn’t going to change your blood pH level then why does it matter whether what you eat is acidic or alkaline?
The goal is to not add undue stress to this delicate balance by overloading on inflammatory, acidic foods.
One of the ways your body maintains that important spot on the pH scale is this. When you ‘threaten’ your body with an inflammatory, over acidic diet, the body wisely responds by taking alkaline minerals (calcium, magnesium, potassium) from your bones in order to neutralize acid and keep blood pH from changing. Depleting stores of these important minerals helps your body neutralize an over- acidic environment but over the long term this can be damaging to your health.
When you choose a more alkaline diet, your body does not have to ‘steal’ vital minerals from your bones and teeth in order to maintain homeostasis. In fact, an alkaline diet will certainly contribute to your overall mineral stores rather than deplete them. An alkaline diet also lessens inflammation throughout the body which is important in maintaining wellness and avoiding disease states.
What about pH testing?
Most experts agree that testing bodily fluids to check pH range is not very effective. The pH range of bodily fluids (aside from blood) changes throughout the day starting on a more acidic note and ending toward a more alkaline range. You are in a constant flux of change depending on stress levels, exercise demands, and food choices, so checking your urine throughout the day for some optimum pH level could leave you feeling like you are chasing a phantom.
What to Avoid - What to Enjoy
Avoid regularly overdoing obvious acidic options like all- day coffee or soda refills, sugary items, dairy, and processed foods. Creating an environment that is overly acidic can create hormonal issues, sleep disturbances, muscle loss and increased fat storage. A more productive path would be to balance out a healthy diet including plenty of alkaline veggies and fruits. A list of alkaline foods would include the following -
Almonds Arugula Asparagus Avocado
Beets Broccoli Brussel Sprouts Buckwheat
Cabbage Carrots Cucumbers Celery
Chia Coconut Collard Greens
Flax Garlic Ginger Grapefruit
Kale Kelp Lemons Limes
Lentils Lettuce Onions Peppers
Pumpkin Quinoa Radishes Spinach
OK - you get the idea, consume lots of the good, healthy stuff! This is by no means an all inclusive list but should definitely get you started on the alkaline foods path! Eating this way will help you ease the workload your body undertakes to stay at the slightly alkaline magic number, provide you with great stores of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, and help you avoid inflammation which is the trigger of many disease processes.
It’s your life - CHOOSE HEALTH!