Ph Balance Diet

[*Charis*]

So glad to have found this section of the forum.

I've recently purchased a book on the benefits of pH
balance in the body, and how it attributes to health,
and weight loss. The idea is to keep the body nutural
or slightly alkaline by eating mostly vegetables and
fruit that produce alkalinity in the body.

Has anyone tried it (for either health or weight issues)?

 

[*Charis*]

I heard a statement that peaked my interest in this diet...
most disease (and weight issues) are the result of having
an 'acidic' body system.

I've been eating according to the book for about a week.
My clothes fit alittle looser, my moods are happier (always
a plus ), and I have much more energy and motivation.

It's a lifestyle I'm beginning to think I could embrace.

* Edited to add *
Please move this thread, if I placed it in the wrong section.

 

[DaisyDay]

Why do you think that changing what you eat will change the ph of your body?

You should read up on how digestion works - it's based on acid (pun!).

The placebo effect is real and may account for the benefit you feel.

Check out Quack Watch's Urine/Saliva pH Testing: Another Gimmick to Sell You Something

 

[Moxie123]

Yes, I am a big fan of keeping the body in a balanced Ph state as cancer cannot live in an alkaline environment.

I try to eat raw foods with every meal and limit high-acid foods like steak, pasteurized dairy, milk chocolate, etc.

 

[Mling]

I've heard of this before, but have always wondered, how is ph of the body determined? Certainly different organs would have different ph levels--your stomach and saliva should be acidic, bit i dont know about blood. The ph of your flesh (meaning muscle) would change throughout the day in response to activity levels. I've heard good things about keeping your ph level.in check, but i just don't really know what it means. What is being measure and how do you measure it?

 

[bhillyard]

The body is very good at maintaining its own preferred levels of any quantity that can vary - temperature, acidity of various organs, fluid levels. The effect of attempting to alter the level of a particular variable is that the body works to alter it to the level that your body "wants". I would guess that eating alkaline or acid food will just cause the body to increase its acidity or alkalinity to counter your intake'

 

[Lion Hearted Man]

Your body will always attempt to maintain a pH of 7.4. If you go beyond ±0.05 pH units, your lungs and kidneys go to work to get you back to 7.4

A pH too low or high is incompatible with life. Anyone telling you that pH is a variable that can be changed in your body to accomplish weight loss or health is lying to you or ignorant of the facts. pH is one of the most tightly regulated chemical concentrations in the body.

 

[Incariol]

Your body already maintains a constant pH. If it didn't, you'd be dead. Homeostasis - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Body pH is not variable in any fashion that doesn't land you in a hospital intensive care unit or a morgue.

 

[Lion Hearted Man]

I've heard of this before, but have always wondered, how is ph of the body determined? Certainly different organs would have different ph levels--your stomach and saliva should be acidic, bit i dont know about blood. The ph of your flesh (meaning muscle) would change throughout the day in response to activity levels. I've heard good things about keeping your ph level.in check, but i just don't really know what it means. What is being measure and how do you measure it?

pH is tightly regulated by chemoreceptors that feedback on to the respiratory centers in the brainstem. Hydrogen ions are buffered with bicarbonate, which is volatile and can be breathed off as CO2. The kidney can perform long-term adjustment by altering the amount of bicarbonate that is reabsorbed and how much acid is excreted.

In the GI system, typically speaking, the generation of acidic or basic fluids is controlled by ion pumps. Cells lining salivary glands and the pancreatic ducts have bicarbonate pumps, and parietal cells in the stomach have acid pumps. They sort of counter each other out as far as serum pH goes. All organs are bathed in liquid that has the same pH as blood, which is 7.4. The stomach and the pancreas' secretory ability is controlled by the autonomic nervous system and hormones.

 

[Lion Hearted Man]

Yes, I am a big fan of keeping the body in a balanced Ph state as cancer cannot live in an alkaline environment.

I try to eat raw foods with every meal and limit high-acid foods like steak, pasteurized dairy, milk chocolate, etc.

You can't either. You live at 7.4

 

[serenedi]

So glad to have found this section of the forum.

I've recently purchased a book on the benefits of pH
balance in the body, and how it attributes to health,
and weight loss. The idea is to keep the body nutural
or slightly alkaline by eating mostly vegetables and
fruit that produce alkalinity in the body.

Has anyone tried it (for either health or weight issues)?

Yes!
I eat 50-75% raw diet (including daily juicing and/or green smoothies). I drink 2 tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar in water every day.
I feel fantastic. Just like any habit, it's easy once you keep at it for a few weeks. I've been on this diet for about 3 years.

 

[miss-a]

While it may be true as some have stated that body is always working it's way back to 7.4 ph, that's the point of eating alkaline food. Stress levels, polution, madications, etc. will push a 7.4 body back to a lower ph,, an unhealthy disease-promoting state. Then you will have an out-of-balance body which is already weak having to do the work of correcting ph. This can involve some pretty nasty physiological processes, essentially the body robbing Peter to pay Paul.

Eating alkaline foods will halp offset the factors that pull ph down, save the body all the hard work of trying to correct itself, and result in a body that is prepared to fight disease, rebuild tissue and function at an optimum level.

Green smoothies and juicing? You go, God's girl!

 

[Steve Petersen]

It's all baloney. According to John's Hopkins, the only PH that will be affected is your urine.

Acid/Alkaline Theory of Disease Is Nonsense

 

[miss-a]

Guess we'll just have to agree to disagree. I feel soooooo much better when eating on the alkaline end of things.