In this article we are going to talk about the alkaline-acid balance of the human organism and how to maintain it through our nutrition.
You have probably heard that the human body is mostly made of water. And you're probably wondering how this is possible. Thanks to the body's aquatic environment nutrients, oxygen and many biochemical substances are being transferred through the body. This water may have alkaline or acidic properties. The best thing is that we can influence this environment directly with the food we consume.
The alkaline-acid balance of the body is measured with the so-called pH scale. The scale is divided from 1 to 14. Values below 7 are considered as acidic environment, 7.0 is neutral environment and above 7.1 is alkaline environment.
The human organism is slightly alkaline and has a reference value between 7.35 and 7.45.
If we are out of the norm, this can lead to a number of problems, including death. Of course the body has its protective mechanisms. When there are anomalies and the body is acidic, it resorts to the reserves of calcium, magnesium and other alkaline minerals contained in the body. The goal is to neutralize the acidity.
The optimal diet in order not to reach the body's defense mechanisms is to take approximately 70-80% of the alkalizing foods and only 20-30% of the oxidizing foods.
You can combine alkaline foods with acidic foods to neutralize the oxidation.
Do not panic! The body does not give up that easy. Death also does not come so easy. The pathological processes in the body do not occur abruptly.
Protective functions of the body diminish with aging. Anyway:
Raising or lowering the pH levels can result in crystallization of salts in the urine and in the formation of stones in the kidneys and bladder. There are registered cases of degenerative diseases, including cardiovascular diseases, cancer and diabetes, as a result of high acidity or high alkalinity.
How can I measure the pH level in my body?
At pharmacies, you can find so-called pH papers but keep in mind that they are not as accurate as a blood test made in a lab.
Do not be obsessed!
Eat all types of foods. The body needs not only alkaline, but also acidic foods.
How can you determine the type of food?
You have probably already if a particular food leads to oxidizing or alkalizing. This is determined by the mineral content of each food. For example, the elements potassium, sodium, magnesium, calcium and iron are alkali-forming and phosphorus, sulfur, chlorine, iodine and manganese are acid-forming. The alkaline-acid properties of the food are not determined by the taste of the food we eat. For example, citrus, which is believed to be acidic, is a clear source of alkalinity. By the way, lemons are the most alkaline food.
Balance
When you eat high acidic food, you can combine it with high alkaline food and thus neutralize the acidity. For example, if we eat steak, we can combine it with a large salad, at a ratio of 30 to 70.
Avoid, but do not exclude acidic foods
Do not consume highly acidic foods without having eaten alkaline foods this day. However, do not exclude acidic foods because over alkalinity of the body is extremely harmful.
Alkaline water
Drinking water with high pH from 9.5-10 can help neutralize acidity if we suffer from such. Keep in mind that we should not overdrink high alkaline water.
Food type classification
Apart from the two extremes, acid and alkaline, the food can be slightly or strongly acidic, as well as slightly or strongly alkaline. It can also be neutral.
Frying oxidizes even strongly alkaline foods
Frying, as well as processing food with different chemicals oxidizes it. This means that fried bananas, for example, are acidic while raw bananas are mostly alkaline. When we mix foods in soups or dishes, they change their alkalinity / acidity. For example, a chicken soup cannot be identified as acidic or alkaline at first sight because it is made up of chicken (meat is an acidic food), water that is alkaline, but it is mixed with the acidic juice from the chicken. We also add different spices.
Some of these symptoms could be related to high acidity in our body:
(1) fatigue even after sleep
(2) migraine
(3) difficult concentration
(4) irritability and distraction
(5) greasy skin and hair
(6) abundant sweating without reason
(7) bad breath early in the morning
(8) difficulty in digestion
(9) muscle pain
(1) the consumption of acidic foods leads to osteoporosis - it is believed that in case of inappropriate alkaline-acid balance, the body's protective mechanism extracts the necessary minerals from the bones, which can cause osteoporosis. In fact, kidneys have bigger role in maintaining body pH than the bones.
(2) The alkaline diet prevents cancer - it is believed that the tumor cells like the acidic environment and this predisposes them to their development. In fact, scientists have found that cancer cells can live both in acidic and alkaline conditions because when tumors are present, they create their own pH environment that may be different from that of our body.
(3) Blood Ph is dynamically changing - there is a difference between the pH of the blood and the pH of the urine. The second one changes from the food we eat.
(4) Alkaline nutrition is a guarantee for weight loss - a good weight loss diet depends mostly on the amount of calories rather than on the type of food. If you are taking high-calorie alkaline foods and cannot use up the calories you accumulate, you will continue to gain weight.
Note that the acidity or alkalinity in the food in our stomach is different from the actual pH of the food itself. For example, the meat is alkaline before it passes through the digestive tract but mixed with the gastric juices, is converts into high acid. Lemons, though sour, are not acidic but have an alkali-forming effect.
Here's a list of foods according to their effect on our body: