Acid Alkaline Balance

Acid alkaline balance – a major step toward better health. Human blood pH should be slightly alkaline ( 7.35 – 7.45 ). Below or above this range means symptoms and disease. A pH of 7.0 is neutral. A pH below 7.0 is acidic. pH above 7.0 is alkaline.

Acidic pH can occur due to an acid-forming diet, emotional stress, toxic overload, and/or immune reactions or any process that deprives the cells of oxygen and other nutrients. The body will try to compensate for acidic pH by using alkaline minerals. If the diet does not contain enough minerals to compensate, a build-up of acids in the cells will occur.

An acid-alkaline balance will: decrease the body’s ability to absorb minerals and other nutrients, decrease the energy production in the cells, decrease its ability to repair damaged cells, decrease its ability to detoxify heavy metals, make tumor cells thrive, and make it more susceptible to fatigue and illness. A continuous blood pH of 6.9 or below, which is only slightly acidic, can induce coma and death.

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 sweeteners like NutraSweet, Spoonful, Sweet ‘N Low, Equal, or Aspartame, which are poison and extremely acid-forming. One of the best things we can do to correct an overly acid body is to clean up the diet and lifestyle.

Maintaining health, the diet should consist of 60% alkaline-forming foods and 40% acid-forming foods. To restore health, the diet should consist of 80% alkaline-forming foods and 20% acid-forming foods.

Generally, alkaline forming foods include green vegetables, most fruits, peas, beans, lentils, spices, herbs and seasonings, and seeds and nuts.

In general, acid-forming foods include meat, fish, poultry, eggs, grains, and legumes, and pretty much all processed food.

According to several different resources on acid and alkaline-forming foods, some of the best alkaline-forming foods include:

Cucumbers
 
 Chia seeds
 
 Figs
 
 Sprouts
 
 Dates
 
 String beans
 
 Root vegetables (radishes, carrots, beets, turnips, rutabagas)
 
 Almonds
 
 Avocados
 
 Cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage)
 
 Fresh coconuts
 
 Raw, grass-fed milk
 
 Leafy greens (kale, spinach, Swiss chard, turnip greens)
 
 Raisins
 
 Lemons
 
 Cayenne pepper
 
 Wheatgrass
 
 Melons (watermelon, cantaloupe, honeydew)