Acid Alkaline Balance Demystified

Why We Get Disease According To The Acid-Alkaline Balance.

There is a very popular theory that most chronic diseases are caused by a build of excess acid in the body over time.

The concept of acid alkaline imbalance as the cause of disease is not new. In 1933 a New York doctor named William Howard Hay published a ground-breaking book, A New Health Era in which he maintains that all disease is caused by autotoxication (or “self-poisoning”) due to acid accumulation in the body,

In recent years it was made famous by Anthony Robbins who endorsed the work of Dr Robert Young who coined the phrase acid-alkaline balance and the alkaline diet, touting that a pure alkaline diet full of alkalising foods is the secret to a disease free life with an abundance of energy.

Interestingly Dr Robert Young was recently charged for some unscrupulous behaviour involving his ranch, unlicensed intravenous treatments and acting as though he is a real medical doctor.

“Alternative medicine, practiced properly in the state of California is legal,” Darvas said outside court. “But there are certain things that only physicians can do, and that includes practices that puncture the skin or harmfully invade the body, or treatment in conditions or circumstances that are … dangerous. The defendant is charged because he engaged in practices under those conditions. He did things that only a real doctor can do.”

“Some of the patients who came to Dr. Young in the last weeks of their lives, ultimately, because of their terminal disease, died,” Pfingst said.

Many scientists and doctors believe this theory is unproven and not possible given the fact our blood pH (measure of acidity) hardly ever changes and that alkaline foods would become neutralized by the acid in our stomach.

The ancient Indian system of healing called Ayurveda however backs up this theory and states than an over acidic condition is called an excess pita disorder (too much fire).

In Ayurveda other lifestyle changes are just as important, from the use of healing herbs, exercise, breathing and meditation for regaining balance.

In Ayurveda balance is key and you can become too alkaline as well.

So really knowing yourself is the key to regaining balance, as you will soon discover.

There are also many doctors who support this theory, and also many thousands of anecdotal stories of people recovering from disease by following an alkaline lifestyle.

I just feel the current understanding of the acid-alkaline balance is misunderstood, taught incorrectly, and taken beyond the level of rational thought. So I have explained in the simplest way possible, my theory on what exactly is going on.

What Is The Acid Alkaline Balance?

Our body has a very powerful way of clearing toxins from our system. Our body also has this intricate system known as the acid-alkaline balance, without which life would cease to exist.

Acid builds up in our system as a waste product of our normal bodily functions. We need to be slightly alkaline to have the perfect balance.

So excess acid must be got rid of.

Our body gets rid of this acid in the form of urea from the kidneys and carbon dioxide from the lungs.

An acid is a substance that adds hydrogen (H+) to a solution, an alkali is a substance that removes hydrogen.

H+ are electron deficient and will steal electrons to make a more stable molecule.

pH is a measure of how acid or alkaline something is.

Our blood has a slightly alkaline pH of 7.35.

If it were to move by more than a few points either way, we would die.

This means there is a fine balance between the acid and alkaline content inside us.

That’s how important pH is to our body.

The blood has a protective buffer than quickly changes any alterations to its pH and maintains a balance.

Our blood is responsible for transporting all the nutrients the cells of our body needs to function.

So pure and balanced blood leads to a pure and balanced body.

Acids harm our cells by oxidizing.

Antioxidants work by mopping up excess acids and toxins.

Our modern lifestyles however create lots of unnecessary extra acid inside our bodies.

So our blood constantly has to work to rebalance its pH.

This is obvious to see when we look at what causes this extra acid.

The following actions produce acid as a by-product inside our body:

• Our Thoughts

• Our Diet and Lifestyle

• Anaerobic Exercise

• Shallow Breathing

How does this happen?

Any action and thought that we make, every physiological function within our body, requires energy from metabolism.

This production of energy has to result in the production of by-products. These by-products are acid forming which harm the cells of our body.

Excess energy production by stress, inefficient bodily functions, over consumption of food and drink and over stimulation will lead to excess acid and TOXIC BUILD UP.

In addition to energy, free radicals such as the reactive oxygen species (ROS) are produced which have the potential to cause cellular damage.

Metabolism

Metabolism is the set of chemical reactions that occur in living organisms in order to maintain life and generate energy.

It is usually divided into two categories.

Catabolism breaks down organic matter, for example to harvest energy in cellular respiration.

Anabolism on the other hand uses energy to construct components of cells such as proteins and nucleic acids. So catabolism provides the energy needed for anabolism.

Cellular respiration is the catabolic pathway for the production of ATP, the currency of energy in humans.

Unfortunately this comes with waste products that are acid forming inside the human body.

Respiration can be divided into two pathways, aerobic respiration and anaerobic respiration.

Aerobic respiration uses oxygen to generate ATP leads to the formation of carbon dioxide that is acidic in water

C6H12O6 (aq) + 6O2 (g) → 6CO2 (g) + 6H2O (l)

Glucose + Oxygen —> Carbon Dioxide + Water

Anaerobic respiration occurs when oxygen is not available, a cell must undergo anaerobic respiration to generate energy.

This is much less efficient way of producing energy and leads to the production of lactic acid.

C6H12O6 → 2C3H6O3 + 2 ATP Glucose Pyruvic Acid

The Importance of Electrons and Energy in Our Bodies

‘All chemical reactions occur with the transfer of electrons and it is this transfer that creates a current. This is the flow of energy inside our bodies.

Acidic and oxidative by-products of metabolism are electron deficient.

This means they will steal electrons from wherever they can, including normal healthy tissues.

This causes the damage to DNA, cell death and mutations from the acid that leads to disease.

This disruption in the flow of electrons means inefficient flow of energy through the body.

It is also this mechanism that practices such as yoga and acupuncture correct by balancing the chakras and energy points that control the current flow through our bodies.

In Ayurveda, energy that flows through your body that gives you vitality and life force is known as Prana.

It clearly states in this ancient healing system that by having a balanced mind body and spirit is essential for the optimum flow of Prana, and when Prana becomes trapped or blocked from reaching your vital organs because you may have gone out of balance, is what leads to disease.

Regulation of the acid-alkaline balance

The body’s principal acidic waste-disposal units are the kidneys and the lungs.

The kidneys do two jobs: they excrete excess acid into the urine and pump out ammonia (an alkali) into the blood.

The lungs mix oxygen with protein to form carbonates, thus creating the body’s own natural antacids.

The combined force of the lungs and kidneys is what results in an overall slightly alkaline system.

Antioxidant nutrients such as vitamins and minerals from the food we eat mop up excess acid.

They aid our body to utilize energy more efficiently.

This is why a diet rich in alkaline forming, antioxidants and vitamins is essential to maintain our pH balance.

What does this all mean for our body?

Our body has a very intricate system as you can see for removing excess acid.

This can however take its toll eventually as we continue with our acidic lifestyles and grow older.

If our kidneys and lungs cannot remove the excess acid alone and we are not getting enough of the right nutrients from food, the body has to find alternative ways to remove the acid.

After all it must maintain the pH balance of 7.35 for us to survive.

This extra acid and electron leaching is what can cause cell death and DNA mutations.

The body begins to fail at regenerating new cells at faster rate than cell death.

This is the onset of disease and ageing.

Conclusion

This is my personal theory to explain why so many people do recover after following an ‘alkaline’ lifestyle. However there are many cases where people do not. This to me shows there is no one size fits all treatment for anything, and that in some cases medicine or surgery is essential.

However if you break it down to its most simplest form, the alkaline lifestyle would mean that you would be consuming a lot more nutrient rich foods, learning to manage stress better and exercise regularly, which for most people would be a good thing 🙂