| The Importance of pH | | Print | |
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What is pH? “pH” stands for “power (or potential) of Hydrogen”. It is a logarithmic scale from 0 – 14 that measures the concentration of hydrogen ions. It is used to determine how acid or alkaline (or basic) something is. Water is considered neutral, so its pH is 7. As the pH decreases from 7, it becomes more acidic. Stomach acid has a pH of about 2. Vinegar has a pH of about 3. As the pH increases from 7, it becomes more alkaline. Baking soda has a pH of about 8.5. Ammonia in household cleaners has a pH of about 12. pH and the body pH plays an extremely important role in the body. Depending on the organ or body fluid, pH is very strictly controlled. Any variation in pH can mean life or death for cells. Certain enzymes and proteins can function only within a certain pH range. The following are some examples of the pH values for different body components: Skin surface: pH 5.5 (The “Acid mantle” acts to protect the skin from bacteria. Most soaps, including anti-bacterial soaps, are very alkaline with pH values of up to 14) How is pH regulated? pH is regulated by the lungs, digestion, metabolism and the kidneys. Most of the ions come from the end product of normal cellular metabolism. The following ions affect pH: Bicarbonate, calcium, potassium, magnesium, ammonia, sodium – alkalinize The body has alkaline reserves to help tightly maintain the slightly alkaline pH of blood, lymph and spinal fluid. As a baby, our alkaline reserves are high and full. With age they become depleted. pH and disease Maintaining proper pH is vitally important for health. Any variation in pH due to environmental influences (diet, stress, viruses and bacteria), biochemical or physical influences (disease or injury) means the body must use up reserves and energy to compensate. This may mean using up calcium from the bones, diverting potassium from the nervous system and using up magnesium from the muscles and bones. An acidic pH is associated with disease. Cancer, inflammation, diabetes, heart disease, kidney disease, arthritis, auto-immune conditions and respiratory conditions create and exist in an acidic environment. These conditions accelerate cell aging and destruction, generating more acid ions and in turn use up the alkaline reserves in the body. Acidifying and Alkalizing Foods When foods are eaten they are metabolized in the body to form a residue that can have a acidifying or alkalizing affect on the body. Acidifying foods form negative radical residues (sulfur, phosphorus, chlorine and organic acid radicals). Alkalizing foods form mineral dominant residues (sodium, potassium, calcium & magnesium). A predominantly acidifying (or acid-ash forming) diet promotes degenerative diseases such as heart disease, diabetes type 2, arthritis, cancer etc because body resources are depleted to neutralize the effects. Breathing Breathing influences your acid-base balance because breathing out carbon dioxide is a way of releasing acidic ions. In fact, if the carbon dioxide content in your blood goes above a certain level, your brain will prompt you to breathe. Shallow or inhibited breathing is acidifying. Monitoring your pH Monitoring your pH will help give you a sense of how well you are maintaining your health. Because blood, lymph and spinal fluid will show very little variation in pH, measuring the pH values of saliva and urine can give a better sense of how your body is coping to maintain that pH (ie: Are you using up your alkaline stores because you eat an acidic diet?). Saliva: Saliva is composed of mostly water, electrolytes (sodium, potassium, chloride, phosphate, and bicarbonate ions), enzymes, proteins, anti-bodies, and urea and uric acids. In optimal health, saliva pH should be close to blood pH ~ 7.4, but can range throughout the day (6.5 – 7.5). Saliva in the morning tends to be a little more acidic than saliva in the evening. The daily average, however, should be slightly alkaline. Urine: Urine is the end product of blood filtrate that has been processed by the kidneys. The kidneys are high volume processing machines, processing about 180 L of blood filtrate per day (that is the equivalent of filtering your total blood volume more than 60 times per day). Of the 180 L of fluid being processed, only about 1.5 L is lost as urine. The kidneys, under the influence of hormonal and electrolyte concentrations, reabsorbs ions (sodium, potassium, magnesium, calcium, chloride, bicarbonate, urea and water) thus affecting the overall concentration and pH of the urine. Unlike most other body fluids, urine can have a very wide pH range (4.0 – 8.0). However, in optimal health, urine pH should be slightly acidic to slightly alkaline (6.0 – 7.5). Acidic saliva or urine readings may mean that your diet is predominantly acid-ash forming. This means your acidic results are due to your body trying to eliminate the excess acid AND your alkaline reserves are being used up. Saliva or urine readings that are consistently acidic despite adopting an alkalinizing diet may indicate the influence of other health conditions such as poorly controlled diabetes, heart disease, kidney disease, respiratory conditions and cancer. You may require further medical help to return to a healthy pH value. Slightly alkaline saliva or urine readings may mean that your diet has a balanced ratio between acid-ash forming and alkaline ash-forming foods AND your alkaline reserves are adequate. Saliva or urine that is too alkaline (consistently above 7.5 – 8 or higher) may mean that you are not getting enough protein or you have an on-going digestive or eating disorder. Your immune system may not be strong enough and you may become susceptible to infections. pH testing is a useful tool that a naturopath may use, along with assessing your diet, medical history and relevant test results, to help determine your body’s state of health. |