It’s a basic concept in chemistry that anything under pH 7 is considered acidic and if it’s above pH 7, it’s considered alkaline. To maintain our health, we need to maintain a slightly alkaline condition of our body. The normal pH level of our body is around 7.36 and the pH level of body is consistently 7.0, we could have a condition known as acidosis. It’s a condition when there’s too much acidity in our body, even if it’s only slightly. Acidic blood could slowly weaken our arteries and this could cause various health problems. The acidity level of our body is largely caused by our food intake. As an example, the pH level of Coke is around2.5, which is acidic enough to alter the pH balance of our body. On the other hand, various green vegetables have pH level of 6.5 or above, which are good for our body. When we eat something, acidic substances will be absorbed by our digestive system and it will enter our blood.
Typical Western diet can be very acidic, as they eat meat, coffee and soda all day. The amount of acidic substance that we consume can be too high for our body to get rid of easily. It would be helpful if we consume more alkaline food, so our body can have higher level of alkalinity. If there are not enough alkaline reserves from our food, our body will grab calcium for our bones, which could increase the risks of osteoporosis.
Another way our body fights acidity is by producing a higher quantity of cholesterol to surround acidic substance. They will be removed to areas far away from our essential organs. These places may include fat layers in the back of arms, thighs, butts and hips. It means that our body will be no different than a landfill, where waste products continue to accumulate. Higher production of cholesterol can be quite dangerous, because it could form plaque inside the artery.
Acidity could also affect blood cells. In a normal situation, blood cells have negative charge outside and positive charge inside. It means negative charge on the outer layers will push away other blood cells that have similar negative outer charge. However, negative charge can be stripped away by acidic substance. When red blood cells start to clump together, clotting will likely to happen. When blood cells clump, it is easier for us to feel tired and lethargic all the time. Clots could keep oxygen from reaching important parts of our body. When clots become big enough, it could clog blood flow to our brain. This could cause life-changing disability or even death.
When our body becomes slightly acidic, it would encourage the growth and multiplication of microorganism. The waste products of these germs are also acidic, which could make our condition worse. If you include too much seafood, dairy products, sugar and meats in your body, then increased acidity will be a real health problem. Fruits and vegetables should become common parts of your daily diet.
