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If you can remember back to your basic chemistry class, acidity and alkalinity is measured by PH values.  A PH value of 7.0 is neutral, values below 7.0 are acidic and PH values above 7.0 are alkaline or basic.  What a great subject to start with, because what could be more basic to health than this (no pun intended).

PH balance is so fundamental to health that it is often overlooked.  PH affects a myriad of functions and processes and when our system starts to move to a more acidic condition there is more inflammation, dysfunction and cell death.  This can and often does lead to more opportunistic infections, organ stress and disease.  One example is the PH of the blood and extracellular fluids, which are slightly alkaline at 7.4.  If the PH of the blood drops under 7.0 and becomes even slightly acidic this is extremely serious and life threatening.

Any drop in the PH of the blood or extra- cellular fluid results in fatigue because more carbon dioxide and thus carbonic acid is being retained and less oxygen is making it to the cells.  The usual causes of this are overwork, overeating – especially acidic forming foods- constipation or diarrhea, and kidney or liver problems.  Some simple solutions to this include:

  1. Eating less and chewing more
  2. Eating plenty of salads and green leafy vegetables and
  3. Practicing breathing exercises (see Breath)

Acid forming foods include animal products, processed carbohydrates like sugar, white flour, pasta, and liquor or beer.  We are not advocating a vegetarian diet per se.  This is a personal choice, and some vegans don’t get enough protein.  What we are advocating is a balanced diet.  The Western diet is often top heavy with meat, chicken, milk products, etc. with not enough alkalinizing foods.  It’s also important to know which foods might be inflammatory when there are issues of gluten intolerance or other food sensitivities.