Can You Really Change the Acidity of Your Body?

[limitme]

just playing the devil's advocate on an article i found....

https://www.thenibble.com/reviews/main/beverages/waters/evamor-mineral-water.asp

"Dr. Gabe Mirkin, associate clinical professor of pediatrics at Georgetown University School of Medicine, goes further, stating that anyone who claims that certain foods or supplements can make your stomach or blood acidic does not understand the body or nutrition. The stomach is so acidic, he explains, that an entire bottle of calcium pills or antacids (or a case of eVamor, by extension) could not change its acidity for more than a few minutes. “Taking calcium supplements or drinking alkaline water will not change the pH of your blood,” says Dr. Mirkin. “If you hear someone say that your body is too acidic and you should use their product to make it more alkaline, you would be wise not to believe anything else the person tells you.”"

 

[jfh]

Mostly garbage. He is right that you would have a very hard time turning you blood more acid. The body is very strict about the narrow pH range of the blood. Thank goodness it is. But it is much more than just stomach acid that keeps the rest of the body in check.

But the rest is mostly garbage. As we age (after about 40), we have less and less stomach acid. Hence, we have more digestion problems. Also, if he were correct about the time it takes the body to adjust the pH of the stomach, some oral cancer meds would fail. Even the alternative cancer mineral, cesium, would not be able to get past the digestion of the stomach. The bicarbonate of soda plus molasses cancer cure would not work. We would have very little gas and bloating due to great digestion with so much acid. Some temporary alkalinity does occur with a meal. Otherwise such things as probiotic supplements would never make it past such stomach acid as he declares. Some meals can take much longer to digest in the stomach than a few minutes.

One of the chief jobs of the stomach acid is to kill parasites coming in with the food. Why is it that children and elderly have the most problems with food borne parasites, like salmonella, e-coli, listeria? So I agree that it is not a good idea for people to try to alter their body's pH. The body does it better.

 

[limitme]

Mostly garbage. He is right that you would have a very hard time turning you blood more acid. The body is very strict about the narrow pH range of the blood. Thank goodness it is. But it is much more than just stomach acid that keeps the rest of the body in check.

But the rest is mostly garbage. As we age (after about 40), we have less and less stomach acid. Hence, we have more digestion problems. Also, if he were correct about the time it takes the body to adjust the pH of the stomach, some oral cancer meds would fail. Even the alternative cancer mineral, cesium, would not be able to get past the digestion of the stomach. The bicarbonate of soda plus molasses cancer cure would not work. We would have very little gas and bloating due to great digestion with so much acid. Some temporary alkalinity does occur with a meal. Otherwise such things as probiotic supplements would never make it past such stomach acid as he declares. Some meals can take much longer to digest in the stomach than a few minutes.

One of the chief jobs of the stomach acid is to kill parasites coming in with the food. Why is it that children and elderly have the most problems with food borne parasites, like salmonella, e-coli, listeria? So I agree that it is not a good idea for people to try to alter their body's pH. The body does it better.

thanks for the info...

" So I agree that it is not a good idea for people to try to alter their body's pH. The body does it better."

how do we get the body do it?

 

[jfh]

The body has numerous redundant systems used to control the pH of various parts of the body. Acidosis and alkalosis are rare.

Here is the science.
https://dwb4.unl.edu/Chem/CHEM869R/CHEM869RLinks/www.usyd.edu.au/su/anaes/lectures/acidbase_mjb/control.html

Including respiration. "The respiratory system can also produce rapid compensation for changes in pH by altering the level of PaCO[SIZE=-1]2[/SIZE] . The change in pH alters respiratory control. This causes the alveolar ventilation to alter such that the PaCO[SIZE=-1]2[/SIZE] moves in a direction to cause the pH to return towards normal, i.e. the PaCO[SIZE=-1]2[/SIZE] moves away from normal (40mmHg) in a direction which returns pH towards normal." It is simply this. When the blood starts becoming too acidic the breathing rate increases to blow off carbon dioxide reducing the acidity. If we go too alkaline the breathing decreases to retain more carbon dioxide increasing carbonic acid levels. Increased respiration will also reduce acidic lactate, which is why we continue to breathe heavy after exercising.

Your body has a complex system of checks and balances to keep its pH in a normal and healthy range:
7.35 to 7.45. When your pH shifts outside this range and becomes too acidic or too alkaline, your body
automatically corrects itself to bring things back to normal by:

• Increasing or decreasing respiration - When you breathe more rapidly, you blow out more
  carbon dioxide. This raises your pH so it becomes more alkaline and less acidic.
  Conversely, slowing down your breathing causes you to release less carbon dioxide,
  which lowers your pH making it less alkaline.
• "Mopping up" excess hydrogen ions - Neutralizing substances in the blood such as
  bicarbonate and hemoglobin, mop up excess hydrogen ions and prevent pH from
  becoming too acidic.
• Eliminating the excess - Your kidneys excrete excess acidic substances into urine
  to prevent pH from becoming too low. Conversely, if your pH starts to become too
  high or alkaline, the body uses similar tools in reverse to bring down the pH.

The bottom line: The body fights hard to keep your pH balanced. It's nearly impossible to achieve
and maintain a high-alkaline pH for a prolonged period of time.
https://www.brighamandwomens.org/healtheweightforwomen/special_topics/intelihealth0506.aspx?subID=submenu10

 

[Ted_Hutchinson]

However it is relatively easy to change the acidity/alkalinity of you urine.
Treatment with Potassium Bicarbonate Lowers Calcium Excretion and Bone Resorption in Older Men and Women Bicarbonate, but not potassium, had a favorable effect on bone resorption and calcium excretion. This suggests that increasing the alkali content of the diet may attenuate bone loss in healthy older adults.

Making a water that is both high in magnesium and bicarbonate is relatively cheap and easy.Recipe for Magnesium/Bicarbonate Water I used to have very acid urine (it was as acid as the test strips I used could measure so it could have been more acidic) and using this recipe and drinking a litre magnesium water daily has brought my urine to a more neutral level. Hopefully it will stop calcium being leached from my bones.

You may find it's worth looking for a better bottled water supply.
Indications for a medium mineral high bicarbonate water (Cerelia) in urology.

This site may help you find a good source of high magnesium, high bicarbonate water

 

[jfh]

Testing your urine only measures the pH of your urine, not of the body. The kidneys eliminate toxins and other excess substances that the body does not need, or that the immune system purposely eliminates. Urine is naturally more acidic, about 6.0. The body will maintain itself in a strict narrow range of 7.35 - 7.45. To continue to defeat the immune system is never a good thing.

 

[Ted_Hutchinson]

Testing your urine only measures the pH of your urine, not of the body.

Indeed, that is why I stated that it was the excess acidity of my urine that I was correcting. The aim was to raise the acidity from below 5 into the 6 normal range.
Positive influence of nutritional alkalinity on bone health.

 

[AllisOne]

Watch the diet. Most of the foods that are at the center of the western diet are acid-forming, like meat, cheese, soft drinks, coffee, grains. Fruits and vegetables in general are far more commonly alkalizing. The cucumber, for example, is the most alkalizing vegetable there is. If the diet is balanced, then being too acidic becomes less of an issues.

We should also take care not to consume things that neutralize the stomach acids with or right before a meal (like lime squeezed in the water). This creates another issue of problems with digestion.

 

[bbmartin]

Understanding pH of the human body

The subject of the pH of the human body can seem complicated and basic principles lost.

For anyone wishing to understand pH of the body better and how it relates to health, here is a good introduction in plain English:
https://www.improving-health-and-energy.com/ph-definition.html

It is true that the body maintains the pH of the blood in a very tight and precise range. It is also true that the stomach is acidic; it has to be in order to function.

The pH of the body is a matter of biochemistry. All the different metabolic processes of the body function optimally at certain pH levels, some more acidic, some on the alkaline side.

What you put in your body determines the general pH of the intracellular fluids in the body. It overtaxes the body if a preponderance of acid-forming foods are consumed on a regular basis, i.e. meats, dairy, grains, sugar, carbonated drinks are all acid-producing.

If you're eating and drinking things that are mostly acid-forming, you're not helping your body function at it's best by fueling it with low quality fuel

It's not that you shouldn't eat acid-forming foods - the body needs is a balance - fresh raw veggies are the primary foods that create an alkaline effect in the body. It is suggested that we consume about 80% alkaline-producing foods and 20% acid-producing foods in order to keep intracellular fluids at an optimum pH of about 7ish.

Testing saliva or urine (urine is slightly acidic) is simply an indicator of how the rest of your body is doing pH wise. pH changes daily. I've personally observed an improvement in my pH test results after consuming more fresh vegetables via juicing and cutting out carbonated drinks, for example.

It's worth learning about because it is very basic to the functioning of the body and health!

Cheers,
BB