The Business Leadership Wikipedia: Leader Health & Acid/Alkaline Balance

You are what you absorb... Eat and Drink Veggies to Alkaline and Balance your Health and Engery

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Acid-Alkaline Balance and Your Health

Have you ever wondered if many of the diseases raging through our society have a common cause? Many doctors, herbalists and nutritionists believe that the explanation may come down to three words:

Acid Alkaline Imbalance

Essentially, the alkaline diet is opposite the high protein, high fat, low carb diets that are currently in vogue. Most people have never heard of alkaline-acid balance, but many medical doctors, herbalists, and nutritionists consider a properly balanced diet to be important to optimal health and preventing diseases such as cancer.

The theory behind an alkaline diet is that because our body's pH level is slightly alkaline, with a normal range of 7.36 to 7.44, our diet should reflect this and also be slightly alkaline. An imbalanced diet high in acidic foods such as animal protein, sugar, caffeine, and processed foods tends to disrupt this balance. It can deplete the body of alkaline minerals such as sodium, potassium, magnesium, and calcium, making people prone to chronic and degenerative disease.

Inside the human body, the acid-alkaline balance is important since many functions in the body occur only at a certain level of acidity or alkalinity. Many enzymes and chemical reactions in the body work best at a particular pH. A small change in pH can have a profound effect on body function. For example, muscle contractibility declines and hormones like adrenaline and aldosterone increase as the body becomes slightly more acid.

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:

Now we depart from health in just the proportion to which we have allowed our alkalies to be dissipated by introduction of acid-forming food in too great amount... It may seem strange to say that all disease is the same thing, no matter what its myriad modes of expression, but it is verily so.
William Howard Hay, M.D.

More recently, in his remarkable book Alkalize or Die (see recommended reading), Dr. Theodore A. Baroody says essentially the same thing:

The countless names of illnesses do not really matter. What does matter is that they all come from the same root cause... *too much tissue acid waste in the body!*
Theodore A. Baroody, N.D., D.C., Ph.D.

Understanding pH

pH (potential of hydrogen) is a measure of the acidity or alkalinity of a solution. It is measured on a scale of 0 to 14-the lower the pH the more acidic and oxygen deprived the solution, the higher the pH the more alkaline and oxygen rich the solution. When a solution is neither acid nor alkaline it has a pH of 7 which is neutral.

Water is the most abundant compound in the human body, comprising 70% of the body. The body has an acid-alkaline (or acid-base) ratio called the pH which is a balance between positively charges ions (acid-forming) and negatively charged ions (alkaline-forming.) The body continually strives to balance pH. When this balance is compromised many problems can occur.

It is important to understand that we are not talking about stomach acid or the pH of the stomach. We are talking about the pH of the body's fluids and tissues which is an entirely different matter.

Human blood stays in a very narrow pH range right around ( 7.35 - 7.45 ). Below or above this range means symptoms and disease. If blood pH moves to much below 6.8 or above 7.8, cells stop functioning and the patient dies.

The ideal pH for blood is 7.4

If you have a health problem, most likely you are acidic. Research shows that unless the body's pH level is slightly alkaline, the body cannot heal itself. So, no matter what type of modality you choose to use to take care of your health problem, it won't be effective until the pH level is up. If your body's pH is not balanced, you cannot effectively assimilate vitamins, minerals and food supplements. Your body pH affects everything.

The body has to have a balanced pH like most living things on earth or it does not function correctly. The alkaline level is very important because research has already proven that disease cannot survive in an alkaline state and yet they thrive in an acidic environment.

HOW BODY pH IS MEASURED

Different parts of the body have different levels of acidity and alkalinity. Some of these are shown in Table 1. It should be noted that while there can be a wide range of pH values for the saliva and urine, the value for the blood is maintained within narrow bounds.

Most of what is known and used clinically relates to the acidity and alkalinity of the bloodstream, since it is possible to measure the pH of blood and difficult and sometimes impossible to measure the pH of other tissues. Medical doctors typically try to determine the acidity or alkalinity of the body and its cells by analyzing the blood. Some of the elements in blood that are measured are sodium, potassium, chloride, carbon dioxide and bicarbonate. A number known as the anion gap can be calculated using the sodium, chloride and bicarbonate measurement. The anion gap, along with the other values, are used to assess the acidity or alkalinity of the body tissues (1).

Alternative practitioners may use systems developed by Carey Reams, Harold Hawkins or Emanuel Revici, who were pioneers in developing methods to measure urine pH and other factors such as saliva pH. None of these systems claims that internal pH can be determined by saliva or urine pH alone. The kidney has several methods for disposing of excess acid, and each has a different effect on the urine pH. Similarly, the saliva pH is affected by bacteria and other microbes in the mouth so that saliva pH is not a reliable indicator of the internal environment. Nonetheless, Dr. Reams felt that saliva pH reflected the strength of digestive fluids (4) (5) (6).

By far the most common imbalance seen in our society is over acidity (acidosis).

HOW DOES OUR BODY REACT TO OVER-ACIDITY ?

Most people who suffer from unbalanced pH are acidic. This condition forces the body to borrow minerals-including calcium, sodium, potassium and magnesium-from vital organs and bones to buffer (neutralize) the acid and safely remove it from the body. Because of this strain, the body can suffer severe and prolonged damage due to high acidity. This over-acidity can go undetected for years. Like acid eating into marble, acidosis erodes and eats into cell wall membranes of the heart, arteries and veins. Acidosis is the first step towards premature aging and accelerated oxidative stress.

Even Mild acidosis can cause such problems as:

• Cardiovascular damage, including the constriction of blood vessels and the reduction of oxygen.
• Weight gain, obesity and diabetes.
• Bladder and kidney conditions, including kidney stones.
• Immune deficiency.
• Acceleration of free radical damage, possibly contributing to cancerous mutations.
• Hormone concerns.
• Premature aging.
• Osteoporosis; weak, brittle bones, hip fractures and bone spurs.
• Joint pain, aching muscles and lactic acid buildup.
• Low energy and chronic fatigue.
• Slow digestion and elimination.
• Yeast/fungal overgrowth.

WHAT CAUSES ME TO BE ACIDIC?

The acid-alkaline balance is an important factor in the health and functioning of the body. Optimal health depends on the body's ability to maintain a slightly alkaline state. Unfortunately, most of what we eat is acidic in nature and, therefore, changes the balance toward acidity called METABOLIC ACIDOSIS.

The reason acidosis is more common in our society is mostly due to the typical American diet, which is far too high in acid-producing animal products like meat, eggs and dairy, and far too low in alkaline-producing foods like fresh vegetables. Additionally, we eat acid-producing processed foods like white flour and sugar and drink acid-producing beverages like coffee and soft drinks. We use too many drugs, which are acid-forming; and we use artificial chemical sweetners like NutraSweet? , Equal, or aspartame, which are extremely acid-forming. Infections, smoking, stress, and a sedentary life style also tend to make the body more acidic.

What are the symptoms of excess acidity?

• Low energy, chronic fatigue
• Excess mucous production
• Nasal congestion
• Frequent colds, flus, and infections
• Nervous, stressed, irritable, anxious, agitated
• Weak nails, dry hair, dry skin
• Formation of cysts, such as ovarian cysts, polycystic ovaries, benign breast cysts (fibrocystic breasts)
• Headaches
• Joint pain or arthritis
• Neuritis
• Muscle pain
• Feel better after a detox diet
• Hives
• Leg cramps and spasms
• Gastritis, acid indigestion

Even though our bodies have regulating systems to prevent us from going too acidic and a buffer system in the blood that helps keep its pH constant, these reserves are limited and over time the body will become depleted, the body sickens, and disease and/or death occurs.

One mechanism the body uses to control blood pH involves the release of carbon dioxide from the lungs. Carbon dioxide, which is mildly acidic, is a waste product of the metabolism of oxygen (which all cells need) and, as such, is constantly produced by cells. As with all waste products, carbon dioxide gets excreted into the blood. The blood carries carbon dioxide to the lungs, where it is exhaled. As carbon dioxide accumulates in the blood, the pH of the blood decreases. The brain regulates the amount of carbon dioxide that is exhaled by controlling the speed and depth of breathing. The amount of carbon dioxide exhaled, and consequently the pH of the blood, increases as breathing becomes faster and deeper. By adjusting the speed and depth of breathing, the brain and lungs are able to regulate the blood pH minute by minute.

The kidneys are also able to affect blood pH by excreting excess acids or bases. The kidneys have some ability to alter the amount of acid or base that is excreted, but because the kidneys make these adjustments more slowly than the lungs do, this compensation generally takes several days.

Yet another mechanism for controlling blood pH involves the use of buffer systems, which guard against sudden shifts in acidity and alkalinity. The pH buffer systems are combinations of a weak acid and weak base that exist in balance under normal pH conditions. The pH buffer systems work chemically to minimize changes in the pH of a solution by adjusting the proportion of acid and base. The most important pH buffer system in the blood involves carbonic acid (a weak acid formed from the carbon dioxide dissolved in blood) and bicarbonate ions (the corresponding weak base).

OVER ACIDITY AND CANCER

There are two factors that are ALWAYS present with cancer no matter what else may be present. Those two factors are Acid pH and Lack of Oxygen. Cancer needs an acid and low oxygen environment to survive and flourish within. Terminal cancer patients are around 1000 times more acidic than normal healthy people. The vast majority of terminal cancer patients possess a very low body pH. Why?

In the absence of oxygen, glucose undergoes fermentation to lactic acid. This causes the pH of the cell to drop from between 7.3 to 7.2 down to 7 and later to 6.5 in more advanced stages of cancer and in metastases the pH drops to 6.0 and even 5.7 or lower. Our bodies simply can not fight disease if our body pH is not properly balanced.

The normal human cell has a lot of molecular oxygen and a slightly alkaline pH. The cancer cell has an acid pH and lack of oxygen. Cancer cells cannot survive in an oxygen rich environment. At a pH slightly above 7.4 cancer cells become dormant and at pH 8.5 cancer cells will die while healthy cells will live. Again, the higher the pH reading, the more alkaline and oxygen rich the fluid is. Cancer and all diseases hate oxygen / pH balance. The proper alkalinity pH of the blood ( 7.35 - 7.45 ) is critical for the overall health of the body. In other words... alkaline or die.

Keeping the Balance Right for Excellent Health

To correct the condition of over acididty, it is very important to maintain a diet of alkaline foods , alleviate stress, exercise regularly, and undergo a detoxification program. Additionally, proper nutritional supplementation with vitamins, antioxidants, alkalinizing nutrients and mineral supplements will support the health and harmony of the body.

There is nothing better than fresh fruits and vegetables every day. But in today's fast paced world, shopping and cooking are not always practical or effective in getting 8 - 10 servings of fruits and vegetables.

Cell-nique provides 31 Organic Super Foods in each bottle that are alkaline forming. Drinking you fruit and vegetables is fast and easy and tastes good, low in calories and sodium and lightly sweeten with raw agave. Gluten Free and safe for diabetics.

Fortunately, Cell-nique can help support and promote the body's alkaline forming mineral reserves and supply the body with life important nutrition and microelements, promoting digestion and eliminating toxic acidic compounds. For more info http://www.cell-nique.com/

"Total healing of chronic illness only takes place when and if the blood is restored to a normal, slightly alkaline pH."

Dr. Enderlein