top of page
Search
Writer's pictureAlice Palmer

Alkaline diets

Updated: Mar 9, 2020

Today I was reading some 'nutri-nonsense' about 'body pH' it doesn't exist as the pH varies from organ to organ. You can't as I saw suggested get some sticks from the pharmacy and measure your body's pH and change it by eating more fruit and vegetables. PH measures how acidic or how alkaline a substance is. An acid has a low pH and an alkali a high pH. Water at room temperature has a neutral pH of 7. Your saliva in your mouth has a pH of 6 to 7.5 to enable your salivary enzymes to function. Your stomach is very acidic (about 1.5-3) due to the presence of hydrochloric acid to allow enzymes to break down proteins. In your intestines your bile neutralizes the acid to ensure the enzymes do their job. In the large intestine ( which doesn't have any digestuve enzymes) the pH goes back to being slightly acidic (5.5-7). Your blood pH is very tightly controlled (pH 7.35 -7.45) below 7.35 this is called acidosis and above 7.45 is called alkalosis. Any variation from this range is fatal. The lungs, gut, kidneys and liver all take part in the regulation to maintain pH because enzymes function in narrow pH ranges otherwise it is rendered useless, won't function, whether it's food digestion, building hormones from scratch or deposition of bone material. There are various systems in the body that work to ensure that each part works at the correct pH; it is a very complex and intricate process. Being 'too acidic" or 'too alkaline' doesn't involve eating more fruit and vegetables it involves hospitalisation and intravenous lactate (too acidic) or intravenous chlorine solution (too alkaline). When you eat food the pH of the food is changed in different parts of the body to match the ideal conditions of digestive enzymes in the body, first acidic in the stomach and then more alkaline in the intestines. (The Wellness Rebel; P, Turner)

Want to read more?

Subscribe to evolve-fitness.club to keep reading this exclusive post.

21 views0 comments

Recent Posts

See All

Healthy diet in menopause

Menopause Often the term menopause is used as a catch-all term to cover three distinct stages of a women’s life. It is a time of great...