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Want to feel better? Drop acid.
| January 23, 2010 | |
| Dr. Gary Huber : Head Medical Ego |
The foods that we eat are either acidic or alkali. The biggest offenders are processed foods, sugar, white flour, meat and SOFT DRINKS. Did I say it loud enough? We know soft drinks are just flavored battery acid . . . nuf said.
So to counteract this we need to understand what foods are alkali and we should try to make at least 60% of our diet alkali foods. Of course you know that green leafy vegetables are going to be on that alkali list but do yourself a favor and look up a pH list of foods and familiarize yourself with a few of your favorite alkali foods. Make them a steady part of your diet. The more, the better.
The simple answer is vegetables are alkali in general and the highest acidic players are coffee, alcohol, dairy, animal products, and some nuts.
So how do you know if YOU are acidic right now? Go to your local pharmacy or health food store and buy some pH paper. You will also be required to purchase a pocket protector just so you look like a geeky scientist and then go home and measure your urine and saliva. Note: Do not perform these tests in the parking lot as I did, they really frown on that.
You would like to see your saliva between 7.0 and 7.4 first thing in the morning, before drinking anything. Your urine will be slightly more acidic in the morning as you have been clearing acids from your body all night so a reading between 6.0 and 7.0 is appropriate and it should increase slightly during the day. If however your pH is lower than this it is time to take action.
Studies have shown that cancer cells actually giggle with giddiness when they hear the familiar pop of a soda can being opened. They know that acid sweet acid is soon coming their way. Cancer loves an acid environment so don’t make yourself a fertile garden for cancer.
First hydrate yourself with filtered water to dilute and alkalinize. Next add lots of your favorite alkali foods like cucumbers, raspberries, nectarines, sweet potatos, lentils, almonds and other great foods to your diet. And if you are looking for the master blaster of all foods then take in some wheat or barley grass. Did he just say eat GRASS? Yes I did.
Wheat and barley grass are two of the most alkali foods on the planet and they come conveniently prepared in a little product called “Kyo-Green” from a company called Wakunaga. I own no stock in this company, I don’t work for them, and I get paid nothing to endorse them. There are other “green drinks” on the market and I encourage you to shop them all and find one you like.
Good ol’ fashion Arm & Hammer baking soda is a good way to add a lot of alkali to your body and in fact nephrologists have discovered that is a great way to improve the health of your kidneys.
A study published in 2009 in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology states that taking baking soda orally slowed the progression of disease in chronic kidney failure patients. They also showed that this change in pH aided the study participant’s ability to absorb and assimilate protein which led to better lean body mass measures. The study concluded that the sodium in baking soda did not raise blood pressures in these patients and improved their kidney function.
I recommend measuring your pH and if the average is low or in the acidic range then add ½ teaspoon of baking soda to water and drink it twice a day. Monitor your pH and if it is still low then increase your water intake and increase the baking soda to as much as 4 times a day as needed to normalize the pH. After it normalizes then you should be able to maintain it with good dietary habits, increased vegetable intake and less acidic food.
If you exercise very aggressively and create a lot of lactic acid then this is a great way to reduce that acid load and recover. Attention all bikers (the ones in lycra not leather), you know who you are, I’m talking to you.
So go pHind a pHriend, share the good word and drop your acid.
This post is proudly submitted for the Body Basics category of our 12 Weeks of Wellness
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[13 Comments] [13 Comments]
so what’s a sample daily diet to get acidity down???
Hi Debi,
In my view, the simple daily diet is one that contains plenty of vegetables. The body knows how to regulate itself given the simplest of elements. We are the ones that make it difficult by over-consumption of coffee, alcohol, soda pop and animal foods. If you only eat 2 to 3 servings of fruit and vegetable per day but eat lots of bread, pasta, potato and other high glycemic foods as well as dairy and animal proteins then you body will need to pull calcium out of you bone to neutralize it. If you have one or two cups of coffee, but lots of water and 8 servings of vegetables per day then the odds are much more likely to favor a balanced pH.
Is a discrepancy between a urine measure of 5.5 (first void) and saliva measure of 6.75 (before drinking or eating) too great? Is it useful to measure urine after the first void? What are the implications of my low urine measure.
Also, is there a difference in acidity between raw milk and pastuerized?
Hi Rose,
The low urine pH reflects the bodies natural tendency to pull acid during the night, making the first morning void acidic. Both your salivary and urine pH are low so I would look at your diet for offending agents, include more alkali vegetables in your meal plan (greens), increase your water intake and recheck the pH over the next few days. If you still struggle to get a pH reading near 7.0 (salivary) then add sodium bicarb in the form of baking soda for a couple of days. You are looking for an overall average. there will always be highs and lows.
I don’t know if raw milk is any less acidic. It is still an animal food and I would suspect that the pH is still around 6.6.
“soda is just flavored battery acid ”
Aw, come on, why did you have to say that while I’m sitting here drinking my Diet Coke? Isn’t aspartame an essential nutrient, right up there with MSG , HFCS and BPA?
The50BestHealthBlogs.blogspot.com
I found this article very interesting. I could hardly wait to test my saliva and urine. While I knew the results would probably be acidic I was surprised at how low the levels were (5.5)
I visited various websites to learn more. One site that I found helpful is http://www.thewolfeclinic.com. However, they list yogurt, eggs, and chicken breast as alkaline producing foods. The other websites group all animal products and dairy as acid producing. What are your thoughts..I would really like to keep all 3 items.
Thanks
Hi Michele,
You should keep all three, provided your yogurt is organic and low sugar. You should eat animal products and even wine and coffee if you like, you just need to balance them out with plenty of alkali foods. I have seen countless pH charts and I have always found inconsistencies comparing one to another. Here are some general rules to follow: all vegetables are alkali, all animal foods are acidic. Try to get at least 60% or more of your foods from an alkali source which means that the bulk of your diet should be vegetable. Well that works out perfect because this will also offer you lots of phytonutrients and fiber.
With a pH of 5.5 you need to take some immediate action. 1. Drink 100 ounces of water a day and more if you exercise or drink caffeine. 2. Avoid coffee, soda pop, and alcohol until your pH responds and rises over 6.6 salivary. 3. Drink wheat grass/ barley grass, or bicarb to quickly elevate your pH. I recommend 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda in water three times a day for three days and then recheck your pH. Keep me informed about how this works for you.
Dr. Huber
Dr. Huber,
I am finally getting back to you. In a nutshell, I kind of half heartedly tried changing my diets and implementing your suggestions. Not surprisingly I did not see any real change in my urine ph. About 3 weeks ago I picked up a book about The Hallelujah Diet. Since then I have eliminated all soda pop, most meat, dairy, refined sugar and processed food. Now I am eating more fresh vegetables, salads, and fresh juices (vegetable and fruit). My ph this past week has been consistently 7.5. My diet is still not perfect, but I am doing a lot better.
Thanks for website, I always learn something new and interesting.
Michele
Hey Michele, nice work getting that pH to normalize. I’m glad to see you found the power of food to alter your physiology. It’s quite empowering isn’t it?
Dr. Huber
I suffer fromm constant heart burn and belching. I have not said any thing to my doc i think he would give me another script for meds. I think i might have a hernia because when I bend over or pick up my dogs I get the burning feeling. Would baking soda help?
Hi S.J.,
Sounds like you have acid reflux into your esophagus. Baking soda may ease the discomfort but it is not a true treatment for reflux. You should see your doctor for assistance as untreated reflux can lead to bigger problems and over time my even increase risk for cancer. Your bowel issues may benefit greatly from a probiotic, zinc carnosine, and an evaluation of your diet for possible allergens. There could be any number of things contributing to your reflux and belching.
Dr. Huber
Thanks for the baking soda tip! A friend had recommended the pH tape to me a while back. Not surprisingly, my pH was 6.0. I have changed my diet to mostly raw vegetables. Still clinging to my diet Dr. Pepper but when the last one is gone, no more! My question: Is the sodium level a problem for hypertension? I am on 30 mg. of Benzaperil at the moment. Also I am on other meds. I read that all pharmaceuticals are acidifying. I hope to get off some if not all of them by dropping the acid and my dietary changes. Thanks!
Hi Diana,
Nice question and very insightful. The answer is a resounding ‘No.” Studies looking at this issue have not found the sodium in bicarb to create any problem in hypertensive patients. It seems the benefit of the bicarb is in it’s ability to aid kidney function more than offsets any load sodium my cause. The article listed below reported that no rise in blood pressure was witnessed even in patients with kidney disease:
From Medscape Medical News
Baking Soda May Slow Progression of Chronic Kidney Disease
Deborah Brauser
Take care and keep an eye on pH,
Dr. Gary Huber