The Essentials of Blood pH and Acid/Alkaline Balance

Your body’s blood pH level could be the key to living — or dying.

Acid and Alkaline Forming

The human body is mostly comprised of water, hence it is an environment that must be properly maintained to function properly. Blood pH, an abbreviation for potential of Hydrogen, is ideally maintained by the intake of foods for optimal health and the exclusion of foods that negatively affect blood pH. Such foods are deemed alkaline or acidic in nature. Acid wastes are merely a byproduct or normal metabolic processes. The more acid residue that is present, the more alkaline residue the body must squeeze from its cells to neutralize it.
When elimination is compromised by heightened acidity, disease can be the result.

In This Case, Neutral Is Good — Keep It Above “7”

In an unbalanced state, pH levels are not only nonoptimal but potentially harmful. External sources of stress and an overly acidic pH can work in tandem to make a person quite ill. Seven happens to be the number associated with perfection, so it’s easy to remember that seven, or 7, is the level of a neutral pH. Therefore, below seven is acid or acidic. The proper level of blood pH is between 7.35 and 7.45. Those parts of foods which are inorganic, macronutrients like calcium, magnesium, potassium, sodium, and sulfur, are what actually determine acidity and alkalinity in the body. Metabolic wastes, the wastes that the human body produces and begins any number of processes to flush out, are acidic. It is critical to not hamper or handicap these processes by negatively affecting blood pH level in the first place.

Consume To Live, Or Not

Alkaline foods are those that work to reduce acid levels in the body, while acidic foods are exactly that, foods that contribute to consistently higher acid levels. The alkaline foods include organic yogurt and honey, berries, most fruits and dark leafy green vegetables, and most types of nuts, such as almonds, walnuts and pine nuts. The range of acid-forming foods includes but is not limited to red meat, alcohol, coffee, cheese, pasta, breads, white rice and refined white sugar and chocolate. These foods, and hence, acidity, are associated with less than optimal conditions such as weight gain, affected breathing, constipation, and worst of all, existence in a precancerous state. Tests have shown that increased prolonged acidity results in increased white cell production and diminished red cell production. Additionally, further time spent living in this state can lead to the introduction of malignant cells, or cancer. As a general rule, the ingestion of acid-forming foods and drinks is best avoided but hardly adhered to by the average person.

A State Of Alkalinity

What is astonishing is that even a slight deviation from the norm can be hazardous. Even a tenth below the acid level, below seven, can be extremely harmful. What is even more amazing is how easily such a trap can be avoided. Even a diet that contains nearly a third of acid-forming foods, which means the other seventy per cent consists of foods that are moderately or highly alkaline, can be indulged for reasonably healthy living. As shown, a chronically high level of acidity is a breeding ground for disease, while a properly balanced pH keeps cells healthy and thriving.