Acids and bases for health

Living creatures, like humans, are blobs of acids made from chains of amino acids called proteins, and covered by chains of fatty acids called fats. The foods we eat, especially if they are animals are mainly acidic. The skin covering us is mostly acidic to protect it from external bacteria. The blood that nourishes our cells is alkaline to allow the electrical chemistry to operate in our bodies. Many important bio- logical processes involve acids and bases, such as the breakdown of foods in our stomachs using hydrochloric acid, the sting of bees and ants using formic acid, and the alkaline pancreatic fluid containing sodium bicarbonate that work with digestive enzymes to assist digestion and absorption of nutrients in the small intestine.

Just like oxidation turns paper brittle and dark and rusts steel, acids and bases corrode the body. They are molecules that easily break apart into positive and negative ions. Acids are called proton donors because when they break apart, they produce positive hydrogen ions (+H) which are just protons. Bases are called proton acceptors because when they break apart, they produce negative hydroxide ions (-OH) which accept and couple with protons donated by acids to form water.

The concentration of hydrogen ions and hydroxide ions in drinking water determines if the water is neutral, alkaline or acidic. When the concentrations of the positive and negative ions in the water are equal, the water is neutral with a pH value of 7. When there are more hydroxide ions than hydrogen ions, then the water is alkaline with a pH higher than 7. When there are more hydrogen ions than hydroxide ions, then the water is acidic with a pH lower than 7. Blood is alkaline with a pH of -7.4. Vinegar (acetic acid), soda water (carbonic acid) and lemon juice (citric acid) and soft drinks are familiar acids. Lye (sodium hydroxide) used to make soap and to clean drains by making soap out of clogging grease, ammonia used to clean oils and grease from windows, and baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) are familiar bases.

The strength of acidity or alkalinity is indicated by pH value. The pH scale goes from 0-14 and each step indicates a tenfold change in acid or alkali strength.

Hydrochloric acid with a pH of 0 is 10 times stronger than stomach acid with a pH of 1, and 100 times stronger than lemon juice with a pH of 2. Vinegar has a pH of 3, soda is 4, rain water is 5, milk is 6, and pure water is neutral with a pH of 7.

Egg whites with a pH of 8 are slightly alkaline, but 10 times less alkaline than baking soda with a pH of 9. Antacid has a pH of 10, ammonia is 11, quick lime (calcium hydroxide) is 12, drain cleaner is 13 and lye (sodium hydroxide) is 10 times more alkaline with a pH of 14.

Different internal parts or systems of your body have vastly different pH level requirements. The pH level is maintained by every organ and every cell of the body. The skin is mostly acidic with a pH of 5 to 6 to protect it from external bacteria and fungi. The stomach is a highly acidic place, usually in the 1 to 3 range on the pH scale, similar in acidity to battery acid! The small intestine is alkaline with a pH of up to 9. It needs to be alkaline to neutralize the mix from the stomach. The pH level of the blood is slightly alkaline and must have a pH between 7.3 or you die!

The pH balance in our body is maintained and regulated by our kidneys and our lungs, and not our bones as is claimed by many. Our breathing regulates our pH according to the rate that we breathe in O2 and breathe out CO2. This is regulated by the depth and frequency of our breathing and whether our breathing in is shorter, longer, slower or faster than our breathing out.

When city water is treated with fluoride, it becomes too acidic and corrodes water pipes. Lime (calcium carbonate) is added to buffer the water before it leaves the treatment facility. Consequently, tap water contains highly-concentrated amounts of lime, which is simply pulverized and baked limestone used to make cement. In order for minerals from the earth to be absorbed and properly assimilated by the body, they must be converted by plants through a process of osmosis and photo- synthesis. Calcium carbonate from ground-up limestone cannot be efficiently assimilated by the body, and therefore clogs up the kidneys and lymphatic system.

Hard water, containing an appreciable quantity of dissolved minerals in the form of magnesium and calcium ions can be separated into alkaline and acid fractions using electrolysis. Producers and sellers of water ionizers claim that the highly alkaline water produced for drinking is an antioxidant with surplus electrons that “mop up” free radicals. They also claim alkaline water corrects excess acidity in tissues, which then prevents or cures cancer, arthritis, and other degenerative diseases.

As is true with many things, in the end it’s a matter of balance. Water that is too acidic or too alkaline can be detrimental to human health and lead to nutritional disequilibrium. Water that is too highly alkaline interferes with the stomach’s acidity and impairs its ability to digest food, opens the door for parasites in your small intestine, interferes with protein digestion and the absorption of minerals, vitamins and nutrients and disrupts the balance of the beneficial bacteria in the gut which is so vital to health.

What is needed for health is water that is clean, and neither too alkaline nor too acidic and eating a balanced diet that includes foods that are both acid and alkaline forming. Ideally, the pH of your water should be somewhere between 6 and 8. Too much sugar and processed foods interferes with the body’s ability to optimize pH. The body is a complex, multi-faceted biochemical system and trying to change its self regulated pH balance over long term is as dangerous as trying to change your body temperature, and just as futile.

Eating alkaline forming foods like almonds, melons, honey, bee pollen, maple syrup, figs, dates, natural yogurt, cheese and dairies, vegetables, apricots, avocados, coconut, grapes, molasses, raisins and lemon is beneficial not because it changes the pH balance in your body, but rather because they are nutritious foods filled with beneficial nutrients. The best way to help the body regulate its pH is to avoid unhealthy life- styles such as smoking, eating processed foods, sugars and drinking the highly acidic soft drinks.

When our intercellular fluids are too acidic, they are like vinegar that preserves the vegetables fermented in it. Cells in an acidic environment are in an analogous way preserved and pickled and do not break down and die like they are meant to. They become cancerous and like weeds, eventually overtake everything else.

The body regulates its chemistry and must do so very precisely in order to live. This is especially true for pH regulation and temperature. Cells have to be allowed to corrode and die so that new cells can take over. Life is a constant and delicate balance of death and regeneration. This balance is mainly achieved by oxidation and reduction reactions that regulate the necessary burning in our body. The best way to help your body regulate its oxidation burning is to include in your diet rich sources of antioxidants to quench any unwanted fires out of control. It is a wonder that the body survives the toxins, deficient diets, damaging life- styles, and stresses we abuse it with, and only complains with pain and sickness.