Does Your pH Really Matter?
There is a lot of talk about balancing your pH to maintain vibrant health. Does your pH really matter?
We are going to take a little journey into your body so you can better understand why pH is important for your health.
First, a definition of pH and the pH scale is needed.
The pH (potential of hydrogen) is a measure of acid and alkalinity and is measured on a scale of 0 – 14, with 7 being neutral. A pH of 0 is very acidic while a pH of 14 is most alkaline.
I want you to understand it is much easier to become too acidic rather than too alkaline.
What makes your body acidic?
- Acidic foods – sugar, coffee, meat, alcohol, bread, rice, pasta, pastries,etc
- Lifestyle choices – stress, lack of exercise, shallow breathing
- Naturally occurring acids – by-products of respiration, metabolism, cellular breakdown and detoxification while sleeping
If your acidic diet and lifestyle makes you acidic your body gets overwhelmed.
Acids and Your Blood
Your blood is the most important tissue in your entire body. Your body is designed to operate in a very narrow pH range. Blood is the most important and therefore the most protected pH measurement.
Your blood must be at a pH of around 7.4, slightly alkaline in order for you to thrive and survive.
When acidic conditions occur, your body keeps regulating and responding to the increased level of acidity to ensure that your blood maintains that very narrow, slightly alkaline range required for healthy function.
When acid-yielding foods lower the body’s pH below 7.4, the kidneys coordinate efforts to buffer that acidity. Bones release calcium and magnesium to reestablish alkalinity, and muscles are broken down to produce ammonia, which is strongly alkaline. By the time the response is all over, the blood is neutralized but your bone minerals are depleted and muscle tissue is broken down. This is not good for your body.
Acids and Osteoporosis
The strongest evidence in support of maintaining an acid-alkaline balance relates to osteoporosis. Americans consume more calcium-rich dairy foods than almost every other nation, and yet we have one of the highest rates of osteoporosis. There’s a disconnect here. Dairy may be rich in calcium, but most dairy foods also produce an acid yield. To compensate for that overload of acid, your body mines calcium from your bones and teeth to neutralize the acids created by the load of dairy. As a result when we eat foods that create an acidic pH in the body like dairy, meat, etc we actually deplete our bones of minerals and our muscles of protein because we need to neutralize the acid they cause.
Acids and Oxygen
All of the arteries and veins in your body are like superhighways that transport blood and nutrients to each cell while also helping to remove waste products. Inside this “river of life” are your red blood cells (RBC) which carry oxygen to the cells
Each RBC has a negative charge on the outside and a positive charge on the inside. This ensures that the RBCs don’t stick together – since 2 negative charges repel each other. This is important to understand. You don’t want the RBCs to stick together. If that happened your blood would get thick and sluggish, your cells would not get enough oxygen and eventually die.
Too much acid in the blood strips away the negative charge around your RBCs and they coagulate (stick together). Your blood becomes thick and slow moving preventing oxygen from feeding your cells.
When you don’t get enough oxygen to your cells you feel tired, lethargic and sluggish. Your energy will be dramatically reduced.
Also, an environment lacking in oxygen is a breeding ground for fungus, mold, bacteria, viruses and disease.
Consider this:
If you were to seal the door of your freezer and then unplug it, come back and open the door in two weeks, you would find mold, bacteria, and microscopic “bugs”. Things will be growing and multiplying. Where did they come from? They did not sneak in-Remember the door was sealed. The answer is… They were always there. It is simply that the environment changed to a breeding ground for those bugs to thrive in.
This is what happens inside your body when you’re too acidic. The nasty bugs literally activate to start causing problems and making you sick.
Health Conditions Related To Excess Acids
Since the blood needs to be slightly alkaline, and many of the foods we eat are acidic our body goes to great lengths to neutralize these acids leaving it depleted.
High acids levels in your system can lead to arthritis because it causes joints to deteriorate. Chronic fatigue syndrome develops because it overloads detoxification mechanisms and shuts down production of critical enzymes, leaving you toxic. Acidity increases your risk of diabetes because it compromises the function of the pancreas and damages the body’s ability to metabolize sugar. Cancer patients have consistently been shown to have higher acid levels than those without. High acid levels in the body have been linked to over 150 degenerative diseases because it affects the cells’ ability to repair and reproduce.
Acidity and Weight
We tend to look at fat as the enemy, but fat is actually your ally against high levels of acidic food.
In the same way that your fat stores protect you from environmental toxins, they help prevent acid from scouring your arteries and damaging your cells, tissues and organs. Your body uses fat as a buffer against acid.
If you keep eating highly acidic food or even moderately acidic food over a long period of time, without enough alkaline foods to counter the acidity, your body will pack on more and more fat in its effort to protect you from cell damage. Your body is in effect in protective mode. You may hate that belly fat but those fat stores are trying to protect you. You need to reduce the acidity and constantly rebalance to get rid of the fat.
How to Balance Your pH for Really Great Health
Most people eat far too many acidic foods and not enough alkaline foods to balance their system. This is why so many people are unhealthy. Don’t let this happen to you.
If you have been reading my newsletter for awhile you know I am a huge fan of getting more vegetables, especially greens into your diet. Green vegetables provide the most alkaline minerals to help your blood maintain its ideal pH. Click over to the blog for 7 Steps to Rebalance Your pH Fast.
In the Fall with winter just around the corner, nature is sending us a strong message to alkalize now before it is too late.
- Fall is a critically important season to prepare for winter by eating a more alkaline diet. This can help keep your immunity strong through the cold months.
- Alkaline foods support healthy and natural detox pathways in the body.
I have been working on the Nourishing Foods Fall Cleanse over the last few weeks. In this cleanse we are going to be getting rid of the acidic waste from our colon and bringing our pH back into balance.
I have designed this cleanse to clean out the acidic toxins that tend to build up in our system.
In the Nourishing Foods Fall Cleanse, you will get the exact protocol and recipes you need to get alkaline in just 5 days. Balancing your body’s pH will allow you to lose extra pounds, reduce aches and pains and boost your immune system for the cold months ahead. And you will know how to balance your pH for the rest of your life.
Nourishing Foods Fall Cleanse
Clean-Up Your Colon – Balance Your pH
Mon-Fri Nov 2 – Nov 6, 2015
You will look and feel great. Once you remove the acidic toxins you will be less likely to gain weight over the holiday even if you eat a little extra. Click Here to for more information and to sign up
This cleanse will make a huge difference to your health, energy, vitality and immunity.
Seasonal cleansing is a big key to staying healthy.
Hear what some previous cleansers say…
“Thank you dearly & enthusiastically Ingrid, I appreciate your work very much. As I go through this (my second seasonal nourishing foods cleanse with you) I realize more and more how well-curated your recipes are (everything I’ve tried comes out good, how well thought out your offerings to us are, how smart & genuine & how much of an amazing humble giver you are—-please receive our gratitude I know I am not the only one! This is one of the few things I’ve paid for online that I am literally already stoked on the plan to pay for the FALL & WINTER cleanses. This is the real deal for a lifestyle upgrade—-in awe I am!” Anonymous
“To dear Ingrid, I honestly would not be where I am today without you, your knowledge, your authenticity, your support and your love. I am feeling the best I ever have and loving everything about it. I love the healthy foods, I love making your recipes and trying new ones, I love the tapping, I love your quotes and I love the poem you sent us today. I am ready to begin the next chapter of my life with excitement, joy and the wonderment of what each new day will bring
my way. I now realize the importance of having one’s body in balance. After this week, I can do ANYTHING!!!! “ Paula
“Ingrid, you have outdone yourself with this cleanse! The recipes are amazing – I could literally dive into the corn chowder. It’s sooo delicious and very satisfying. The mind and spirit processes are right up my alley – simple and effective. I really AM thrilled. Thank you, once again, for a marvelous experience.” Kirsten
I invite you to join us on the cleanse, your body will thank you. Click here to sign up.
