The body regulates its acid-alkaline balance in a complex way, according to basic principles which relate to the daily discharge of waste products. You see, it is normal that all cells produce acidic waste products that must be eliminated. The wastes discharged are delivered to the blood stream which flows through the liver in its route of circulation. The liver filters the blood and catches the wastes in order to break them down (metabolize them.) Then the metabolized wastes are directed according to their makeup. Fat-soluble waste is send into the bile to be eliminated through the intestines. Water-soluble waste is sent to the kidney to be eliminated in the urine or to the pores of the skin to be eliminated as sweat. Gasses are eliminated by exhalation from the lungs.
These cellular waste products are actually toxic to the body, even though they are generated from the cells. In certain conditions, the toxins are metabolized into a more toxic form. One condition producing more acidic waste is the inefficient metabolism of cellular wastes due to insufficiencies of trace elemental minerals and vitamins. Another is from overwork and systemic fatigue. A third is when insufficient oxygen is able to be delivered to the cells due to a sedentary lifestyle, smoking, or chronic decreased microcirculation to the cells.
The acid/alkaline swing (the pH cycle) is a natural body cycle that occurs two times a day. When we cooperate with this natural cycle, we experience conservation of energy and an enhanced degree of health.
The pH is a logarithmic scale that runs from 1 to 14, with 7 in the middle denoting a neutral state. Any reading below 7 means an acid condition, any reading above 7 is indicative of an alkaline condition.
The acidity or alkalinity of our cells and fluids govern what metabolic activities can take place and how effectively they function. If pH is too acid, then our body’s chemical reactions and electrical responses are too fast. Consequently, we can wear out or “burn up.” The cliche phrases “adrenal burnout” and “stress burnout” are frequently used. On the other hand, if pH is too alkaline, then our chemical and electrical processes are too slow and we have autointoxication or self-poisoning. Thus, we have the expression “sluggish liver, “sluggish bowel”, and “congested lymphatics.” We find that pH controls how much fuel and oxygen are made available to the cell to operate its life fire. If a cell burns too hot, it burns up too quickly. However, if the cell burns too slowly, then the incomplete combustion results in excessive ash which burdens the lymphatic system with metabolic waste products.
The body has a preference for the pH of the blood, which is generally established at 7.4 on the pH scale, that is, slightly alkaline. If the pH deviates even a little bit, this creates great metabolic problems. Deviations too far from the body’s normal range result in convulsions and death. However, the body has several fail-safe mechanisms to regulate the blood pH and keep it suitable for life, primarily through buffer salts. Many other tissues that deal with the external environment (colon, living skin, vagina, stomach, lymph node fluid) rely on an acid pH for their proper function. Dr. Ted Morter, DC says: “We are alkaline entities by design, but acid-generating beings by function.”
Tissues and organs of the body may have innately different acid-alkaline levels or differences at times due to their function and the flow of acidic toxins. For example, the contents of the stomach is very acidic to kill swallowed micro-organisms and digest food. Skin tends to be somewhat acidic also as a first-line function of the immune system to kill pathological organisms. During normal function, the blood stream stays within a tight range of acid- alkaline balance, but it does vary, especially when considered as compared to the acid-alkaline status of the tissues it feeds.
When cells take in nutrients and process them to produce energy and rebuild their internal structures, an end product is acidic waste. The cells take in the nutrients when they are available, that is, after the food you have eaten is processed by the stomach and small intestine and absorbed into the bloodstream. When eating normal meals throughout the day, the bloodstream is relatively alkaline to facilitate the delivery of these nutrients during the day. This is partly due to the cells happily producing acidic metabolic waste from the use of these nutrients.
During periods of rest, the blood stream becomes relatively acidic as it accepts the toxins which come from the cells, in turn facilitating the further release of acid toxins. In turn, the cells lose their excess acidity and become relatively alkaline.
Let’s consider three types of rest: physical rest, physiological rest, and mental rest. Sleep is physical rest, and during that time the body takes the opportunity to regenerate starting with releasing stored-up toxins. Physiological rest occurs about 18 hours after the last meal when fasting. At this time, toxins stored up in the gastro-intestinal tract are able to be released. Finally, mental rest occurs when the brain waves are predominantly in deeper levels, such as during meditation, relaxation, and the dream state during sleep. At these times mental tensions are released. While fasting is only to be undertaken by the relatively healthy, we all have the opportunity to release toxins when sleeping and relaxing. In this context you can see that these activities are extremely important to health. They allow the metabolic wastes to be eliminated so the cells function like a well-oiled machine.
In summary, during the day, the blood is in an alkaline state in relation to the other tissues. When eliminating toxins during rest such as during sleep, the blood is acidic in relation to the cells which are eliminating. The acidic waste products shift from cells to the blood on the way out of the body.
Now, if we want to evaluate the acid or alkaline state of the whole organism, we see that on the cellular level it fluctuates tissue to tissue and day to night and during periods of therapeutic detoxification. Blood is often chosen as a tissue to test, since it strives to stay within strict limits under normal healthy operations. Since saliva and urine are filtrates of the blood, sometimes they are tested to determine the whole-body acidity level. Testing saliva or urine with pH paper will turn the paper a color corresponding to a number on the acid-alkaline scale.
Normal urine has the same acidity as blood, on the pH scale about 7.35. But, when do we expect to have normal urine? A normal urine pH in the morning will be very acidic, around 5 to 5.5, since the body is eliminating acid toxins all night. Meals can affect the urine pH in the short term, so if you test urine pH right after eating, it will tell you how alkalizing or acidifying your meal was, and not the general state of your body. However, if you test urine eliminated before lunch or dinner, it should be a fair estimate of your overall body pH. A pH of 6.8 to 7 is an expected normal level for urine before these meals, and a pH of 8 is ideal. When you are sick and when you are recovering by detoxifying, your urine will be acidic with a lower pH rather than normal. You now see how the timing of the testing tells us different things.
Now, there are some diseases in which the body is totally demineralized and cannot hang on to the minerals contained in foods eaten in meals. In this case, the pathological process will result in the elimination of all minerals through urine, making the pH of the urine alkaline (a higher number.) A pH reading of 8 in such a person only attests to their pathology, and not a healthy system.
Also, during therapies of cellular detoxification, a lower pH is expected because the acidic toxins released are being eliminated. If you analyze urine before lunch and dinner the week before a cellular detoxification treatment is begun, you will find it at a certain level. Then, checking the urine, it will become more acidic as the treatment progresses. Even if the treatment is simply extra pure water and mineral salts in a form the body can assimilate! As the treatment progresses further, the urine pH will then come back to around 7 when the acidic toxins have all been eliminated.
From this explanation, you can see that therapies that have their sole aim to alkalinize the body must be understood in terms of the diurnal rhythm of removal of acidic waste products as well as periods of cellular detoxification. Testing with pH paper can be a guidepost along the way of health, but is not an end in itself. I have seen patients so stressed out that their pH was acidic that they were probably producing more acid wastes from the stress response!
In his book, Alkalize or Die, Dr. Theodore A. Baroody, Jr. spends many chapters and pages discussing acid-producing and alkalinizing foods. It is at the end of the book that we find the gems “The Alkaline-Forming State of Being” and “Prayer: The Alkaline-Forming Sacrament.” In each one-page chapter he states that the realization of our inner inherent state of love allows proper alkaline balance to permeate the body continuously. Furthermore, he emphasizes that the Holy Spirit is the most powerful and rapid way of achieving an alkaline-forming reaction in the body.
As I have found in my practice, attitude is fundamentally important in health. That is why I teach The Ishayas’ Ascension as an easily accessible form of realizing that inner state of love and to learn to be “Praying without Ceasing.” Then programs of cellular detoxification can support the overly acidic body in gently releasing built-up toxins.
Due to government and FDA regulations the following must be stated: These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.
The information provided is not a substitute for professional medical opinion. It is provided for informational and educational purposes only.
