Acidity-Alkalinity
When our body is in good health, our Blood is slightly alkaline and Urine slightly acidic. The delicate acidity alkalinity balance in our body largely depends up on the food we eat. The acid forming types of food are chiefly all the animal proteins, such as meat, egg, fish and cheese, the starchy or sugary food such as cereals and sugar. The alkali-forming foods are vegetables and fruits. Phosphorous, Sulphur, Chlorine, Iodine, carbon dioxide, Lactic acid, Uric acid present in the food contribute to the acidic effect. Sodium and its salts, Potassium, Calcium, Iron, Copper, Magnesium, and manganese present in the food contribute to the alkaline effect.
It is the correct balance between the acidity and alkalinity which leads to good health. Acidic and basic are two extremes that describe a chemical property. Mixing acids and bases can cancel out or neutralize their extreme effects. A substance that is neither acidic nor basic is neutral. The pH scale measures how acidic or basic a substance is. The pH scale ranges from 0 to 14. A pH of 7 is neutral. A pH less than 7 is acidic. A pH greater than 7 is basic. Human blood stays in a very narrow pH range right around (7.35 - 7.45). Below or above this range means symptoms and disease. If blood pH moves too much below 6.8 or above 7.8, cells stop functioning and the patient dies. The ideal pH for good health the balance should be around 7.4pH that are slightly alkaline. A change in the balance leads to various diseases. It is told that extreme acidity causes diabetes and extreme alkalinity causes cancer.
What does pH mean? pH is the abbreviation for potential hydrogen. The pH of any solution is the measure of its hydrogen-ion a positively charged atom of hydrogen; that is to say, a normal hydrogen atomic nucleus concentration. The human body is composed of various organs and parts, which are made up of tissues and cells. These tissues and cells are composed of chemical elements. The balance or equilibrium of these chemical elements in the body is an essential factor in the maintenance of health and healing of disease. The acid-alkaline balance plays a vital role in this balanced body chemistry. The higher the pH reading, the more alkaline and oxygen rich the blood is. The lower the pH reading, the more acidic and oxygen deprived the blood is. The normal body chemistry is approximately 20 per cent acid and 80 per cent alkaline. This is the acid-alkaline balance.
When unbalanced diet is taken, toxins are formed, and when these toxins are not completely eliminated by the body, they damage various organs of the body. One must eat right food in right proportion to keep the blood purified and to maintain the correct acidity-alkalinity balance. All foods, after digestion and absorption leave either an acid or alkaline ash in the body depending on their mineral composition. In normal health, the reaction of the blood is alkaline and that is essential for our physical and mental well-being. The preponderance of alkalis in the blood is due to the fact that the products of the vital combustions taking place in the body are mostly acid in character. Carbohydrates and fats form about nine-tenths of the normal fuel of the body. IN normal health, this great mass of material is converted into carbon dioxide gas and water. Half of the remaining one-tenth fuel is also converted into the same gas and water. Thus toxin is a by-product as constant and necessary as life itself. This huge amount of toxin is transported by the blood to the various points of discharge, mainly the lungs. When the organism is normal by virtue of alkalinity, the blood is able to transport the acid from the point of production to the point of elimination the discharge points and eliminated as fast as produced. Hence at no time the organism free from toxin acid in the blood. In a normal amount it is gently stimulating; but when the organism is enervated, elimination is checked. Then the amount retained will be over stimulating- toxic-acidic ranging from a slight excess to an amount so profound as to overwhelm life.
Whenever the alkalinity of the blood is reduced, even slightly, its ability to transport the carbon dioxide gets reduced. This results in the accumulation of acid in the tissues. This condition is known as acidosis or hypo-alkalinity of the blood. Its symptoms are hunger, indigestion, burning sensation and pain in the pharynx, nausea, vomiting, headache, various nervous disorders and drowsiness. Acidosis is the breeding ground for most diseases. It seriously interferes with the functions of the glands and organs of the body. It also lowers the vitality of the system, thereby increasing the danger of infectious diseases. The main cause of acidosis or hypo-alkalinity of the blood is faulty diet, in which too many acid forming foods have been consumed. In the normal process of metabolism or converting the food into energy by the body, various acids are formed in the system and in addition, other acids are introduced in food. Whenever there is substantial increase in the formation of acids in the system and these acids are not properly eliminated through the lungs, the kidneys and the bowels, the alkalinity of the blood is reduced, resulting in acidosis.
Acidosis can be prevented by maintaining a proper ratio between acid and alkaline foods in the diet. Certain foods leave alkaline ash and help in maintaining the alkalinity of the food, while others leave highly acid ash and lower the alkali reserve of the blood and tissue fluids to a very large extent. Our daily diet should consist of four-fifth of alkaline-forming foods such as juicy fruits, tubers, legumes, ripe fruits, leafy and root vegetables and one fifth of acid-forming foods containing concentrated proteins and starches such as meat, fish, bread and cereals. Eating sensibly in this manner will ensure the necessary alkalinity of the food which will keep the body in perfect health. Whenever a person has acidosis, the higher the ratio of alkaline- forming foods in his diet, the quicker will be the recovery. Acids are neutralized by alkalis. It is, therefore, imperative that persons suffering from various ailments are given adequate alkaline ash foods to offset the effects of acid-forming foods and leave a safe margin of alkalinity.
The most agreeable and convenient means of alkalizing the blood are citrus fruits and fruit juices. It is an error to presume that because a food tastes acid, it has an acidic reaction in the blood. The alkalizing value of citrus fruits is due to large percentage of alkaline salts, mainly potash, which they contain. Each pint of orange juice contains 12 grains of potassium, one of the most potent of alkalis. Lemon juice contains nine grains of the alkali to the pint and grape seven grains. When the acids are burnt or utilized in the body, the alkaline soda or potash is left behind. The acid of the citrus fruits do not increase the acidity of the body, Acid salts of organic acids lose their acidity when they are oxidized within the body and only their alkaline carbohydrates are left. Hence the effect of the natural fruit acids is to increase the alkalinity of the blood rather than reduce it. In this way all citrus fruits have an alkaline effect.
As discussed above the effect of food stuffs upon the alkalinity of the blood depends upon their residue which they leave behind after undergoing oxidation in the body. Major food groups leaving an Acid Ash after oxidation in the body (One-Fifth Class) are Barley Eggs, Bananas (unripe) Grain Foods, Beans Lentils, Bread, Meats, Cereals, Nuts except almonds, Cakes Oatmeal, Chicken Peas, Confections Rice, Corn Sugar, Chocolate Sea Foods & Coffee Tea
Major food groups leaving an Alkaline Ash ( Four-fifth class ) are Almonds Melons, Apples Milk, Apricots Onions, Banana (ripe), Oranges, Beets Parsley, Cabbage Peaches, Carrots Pears, Cauliflower Pineapple, Celery Potatoes, Coconuts, Pumpkins, Cottage, Cheese, Radishes, Cucumbers, Raisins, Dates Spinach, Figs (Fresh and Dry), Soya beans, Grapes, Tomatoes, Lemons Turnips, Lettuce.