Acid-Alkali Balance
Immunity, Energy, Mental Clarity and Weight are Related to Body pH
The human body has a normal "healthy" range for pH, but the balance of acid and alkali "ash" foods in the diet can affect health and almost every chronic condition.
A relatively recent concept in the field of natural healthcare, the pH or acid-alkali balance of the body has an impact on almost every aspect of well-being and health. Acidity is a major factor in congestion and inflammation, weakens the immune system and aggravates most chronic conditions. Body pH is affected by what we eat and is key in preventative medicine.
What is pH?
pH is the scientific term representing level of acidity. It is a calculation based on the concentration of hydrogen (“H” or “H+”) ions present in a liquid. The pH scale runs from 1 (or lower, for extremely strong acids) to 14.
- 7 is neutral pH (neither acid nor alkali);
- pH under 7 is acid;
- pH over 7 is alkali.
Water is generally considered safe to drink so long as the pH is between 5 and 9.
The human body operates within a normal, “safe” pH range. Within that range, however, there can be some change due to diet and stress factors. When pH is at the acidic end of the safe range, the body becomes more inviting to viruses and bacteria, as well as more vulnerable to mucus, congestion, and other chronic or “mysterious” recurring health issues such as sore throat, persistent headaches, cold and flu, fatigue, gout, chronic pain and achiness or arthritis.
What Makes the Body Acidic?
Most scientific models conceive the ideal pH of the human body as 7.4, slightly alkaline, although hair, skin, and saliva are all normally acidic.
Internal biochemical factors can combine to alter pH, but in most cases it is dietary factors that imbalance the pH of the human body. Every food has a specific impact on the pH of the body, due the pH of that food’s “ash.”
Acid Ash and Alkali Ash
If you’re thinking that acidic foods like coffee, oranges, vinegar and lemons make the body acidic, you’re right in part, although it’s not quite so simple.
Almost every food we consume enters the body as an acidic substance. Yet many foods have the ability to increase alkalinity by absorbing or neutralizing acidity.
Lemons, in particular, are remarkably able to balance the pH of the body. They enter the body as an acid – but through the digestive process, are transformed into an alkali-ash food, so named because the process of digestion is similar to combustion. When lemon juice is “burned” or digested, the product is an “alkali ash.”
The impact of a food on the pH of the human body is due not to its original chemical composition, but its acid or alkali ash.
Foods that Promote Acidity and Alkalinity
Acid-forming or Acid-ash Foods & Substances: AVOID
- Sugar
- Artificial sweeteners
- Sweet foods
- Coffee
- Tea (black, green)
- Juice
- Pop
- Alcohol
- Vinegar
- Meat, cheese, animal products
- Antibiotics, pharmaceutical drugs
Acid-binding or Alkali-ash Foods & Substances: INCREASE
- Lemons, limes
- Apple Cider Vinegar (the exception)
- Soy and tofu
- Avocado
- Most vegetables and vegetable juices
- Most spices and essential oils
For more on foods that promote alkalinity in the body and improve pH balance, see Tips to Balance pH.
