Living Wholy

The Power of pH

You hear many people talk about pH level’s and the quality of our health.  What is pH and what does it all mean to you?

pH stands for the Potential of Hydrogen or the measurement of hydrogen ions in a solution.  Boil this down and it’s how acidic or alkaline a substance is.  pH is measured on a scale from 0-14 where 7 is pH neutral having an equal balance between acid and alkaline.  Below 7.0 is acidic and above 7.0 is alkaline.  What that means to us is the more alkaline our bodies are, the more oxygen.  This is great because our cells love oxygen.  As that number drops below 7.0 the more acidic our bodies become equaling less oxygen.  This is where are cells suffer and bacteria, yeast and fungus thrive.

Our bodies operate within a narrow pH range.  We want to be a little alkaline with our blood pH ranging between 7.35 – 7.45.   When our pH drops below 7.0 we have entered a dangerous area where oxygen supply is lowered and cell metabolism is compromised.  With less oxygen available to our blood and tissues began to weaken our immune system resulting in a variety of issues like inflammation, allergies, skin eruptions, achy joints, fatigue, compromised circulation, digestive problems and pre mature aging to name just a few.  More and more research is now beginning to show that low oxygen availability to our cells is a major factor in most if not all degenerative health conditions.  San Diego microbiologist Robert Young who wrote the book “pH Miracle,” puts it simply: “Our cells are like fish. They’re only as healthy as the water they swim in.”

The food we ingest seems to have the biggest effect on our blood pH because an acid or alkaline base bicarbonate is released into the blood after the food we eat has been digested, absorbed and metabolized.  Eating a diet high in acidic promoting foods such as animal proteins (this includes dairy too), sugar, alcohol, caffeine, salt and highly processed foods, will cause our pH levels to become highly acidic.  Our amazing body will always seek homeostasis or balance and will neutralize the acidic assault by using readily available alkalizing minerals to counter the attack.  If there are not enough alkaline minerals like calcium, potassium, magnesium, and sodium being supplied by the foods we take in, then our body at the expense of our mineral reserves will have to steal theses substances from our bones and teeth to restore equilibrium.  Hmmm. does osteoporosis and bone loss come to mind right about now?

The Standard American Diet (SAD) is 80-20% acidic.  Our best defense in keeping our pH balance in check is to consume a diet high in alkalizing minerals found in fresh vegetables, fruits, whole grains, nuts, seeds and beans while reducing our intake of acidic foods such as animal proteins, sugar, alcohol, caffeine, salt and highly processed foods.   As the father of medicine, Hippocrates said “Let food be thy medicine”.