Acid/Alkaline Balance in Body
Body's acid vs. alkaline balance
of prime importance in health
Over-acidity (called acidosis )
in the body has become a health
crisis
"We are facing the largest health crisis in recorded history"
- Dr. Theodore Baroody, author
of "Alkalize
or Die "
Acidosis in the body is linked to all kinds of illness and disease.
It is the result of the typical Western diet and lifestyle (Alkalosis is usually only
seen in someone with kidney disease, or one taking too many alkalizing supplements
or drugs intended to have an alkalizing effect). The body deals with excess acid
by employing its alkalizing mechanisms, which if overused, can eventually deplete the
body's stores of alkaline minerals (e.g. sodium ,
potassium ,
magnesium and calcium ), paving the way
for chronic and degenerative disease.
Levels of acidity or
alkalinity in various body fluid are measured by
their pH value
Water (H2 O) ionizes into hydrogen (H+ ) and hydroxyl
(OH- ) ions, which when in equal proportion have a neutral pH value of 7
If there are more H+ ions
than OH- ions then the water is said to be
acid.
If OH- ions outnumber the
H+ ions then the water is alkaline.
The pH value represents
a fluid's acidity or alkalinity level by indicating
its concentration of hydrogen ions (H+ ) - The most acid pH value
is 1, and the most alkaline pH is 14.
By indicating its concentration of hydrogen ions (H+) and therefore
its potential for attracting more hydrogen ions. A solution with a pH of 0 has
no ability to attract hydrogen ions.
pH values of fluids range from 0 to 14 (i.e. very strong to very weak acids or bases/alkalis)
For optimal body
function, the pH level of blood plasma and external and internal cellular fluids
must be kept in the narrow pH range of 7.35 - 7.45 -
acidosis occurs when this pH drops lower than 7.2 on a regular basis, and has
detrimental consequences to health.
Acidity Health
Problems - What happens when the body is too acidic?
Symptoms that may indicate excess body acididty
Causes of acidosis
For health, we need an appropriate balance between
acids and alkalis (a.k.a. bases) in blood plasma and body tissues
Chronically imbalanced pH levels in your body will
lead to any of the now commonly observed degenerative diseases.
Any slight decrease in pH will result in lower oxygen levels
in the blood and, therefore, in the cells. A healthy acid -alkaline
balance is decisive
to the structure and function of proteins, the permeability of membranes, the distribution
of electrolytes (charged particles) and the functioning of connective tissue.
Examples of physiological processes
affected by pH :
Cleansing and healing processes
Beating of heart
Firing of nerves
Ability to absorb nutrients
Ability of muscles to contract decreases as
body becomes more acidic, while hormones like adrenaline increase.
Metabolic enzyme activity and chemical reactions
Oxidation rate in ATP cellular energy production
Transport proteins that move substances across
cell membranes
Signaling systems that transmit messages between
cells or intracellular compartments
DNA-RNA synthesis
Body processes tend to produce a slightly acid
pH - due to acidic end-products, i.e. CO2 and metabolic
acids (e.g. sulfuric acids from protein consumption):
Digestion/Cellular respiration process -
which creates energy for a cell to perform its specific task, creates acid
end products (waste), which must not be allowed to build up. E.g. lactic acid is
created through exercise and can cause pain.
Breathing;
Circulation;
Hormone production
The pH level of the blood plasma and of the external
and internal cellular fluids must be kept within a small range of fluctuation under
all circumstances. The body is ~70% water-based,
and the pH level of the various body fluids inside and outside of cells must be
kept within narrow limits in order for many different body processes to be carried
out in a controlled way.(E.g. to sustain life, blood plasma pH must be 7.35 -7.45).
Some pH levels of the body fluids
There are 3 main compartments of body fluids, each separated
by selectively permeable cell membranes:
Internal Cellular Fluid - 2/3 of body fluid is INSIDE cells
(1) Intracellular fluid
Plasma membranes of individual body cells separate intracellular
fluid from interstitial fluid
Extracellular Cellular Fluid (ECF)
- 1/3 of body fluids is OUTSIDE cells
(2) Interstitial fluid
(also called intercellular fluid)
Bathes outside of cells;
~ 80% of ECF;
Endothelial cells separate interstitial fluid from plasma
(3) Plasma (yellow-colored liquid component of blood, in which
blood cells are suspended)
~~ 20% of ECF
Other ECF fluids
Include lymph, CSF, synovial fluid, humors of the eye, endolymph,
perilymph, serous fluids, and glomerular filtrate
Body Area
pH
Comment
Tissues that deal with the external environment
Acidic
Colon, skin, vagina, stomach, lymph node fluid need an acid pH
for proper function
Extracellular fluid (Blood plasma and interstitial fluid)
Alkaline
Venous blood;
Interstitial pH is ~7.35 (H+ = 40 nmol/l)
Intracellular fluid
Slightly alkaline
~7.0 (H+ = 100 nmol/l);
Urine
Acidic
Ideal morning urine pH should be 6.4 - 6.8
Saliva
~Neutral
First morning saliva pH should be 6.8 - 7.2
All other organs and fluids will fluctuate in their
range in order to keep the blood at a strict pH between 7.35 and 7.45
((slightly alkaline). This process is called homeostasis.
The body makes constant adjustments in tissue and fluid pH to maintain this very
narrow pH range in the blood. A normal pH of all tissues and fluids of the body
(except the stomach) is slightly alkaline. The stomach pH is much more acid than
the intestinal pH because the stomach needs an acid environment (hydrochloric acid)
to break down food for digestion. Whereas, the flora (good bacteria) of the intestine
need a more alkaline environment to assimilate and process the nutrients from the
foods digested by the stomach.
Measuring pH of body fluids
Using pH paper. We can
get a pretty good idea of the pH of our body tissues and internal fluids by using
pH paper in saliva and urine.
Saliva pH reflects your success in
creating an alkaline condition within your body. It should be 6.5-7.5
all day for someone in a healthy state. pH readings should be taken one hour before
or two hours after a meal. A pH below 6.0 indicates that you should pay immediate
attentionto alkalizing your diet.
Urine pH
reflects
the pH corrections by the kidney buffer systems .
E.g. An alkaline urine simply shows that some alkaline minerals are being discarded
by the body.
People in North America tend
to consume too much calcium and sodium andinsufficient magnesium and potassium.
This is often reflected in urine tests which show calcium
and sodium being excreted while magnesium and potassium are being retained.
Regulatory buffering systems in the body compensate for any excess acid or
base
These are the three main systems that buffer acids and
bases by functioning in equilibrium with each other:
Chemical
buffer systems. Act within seconds
Respiratory
compensation. Respiratory center in the brain stem acts
within 1-3 minutes; This system is in play when you become "out of
breath "after exercise - your muscles produce lactic acid, which is breathed
out in the form of CO2 with a stepped up breathing
Require hours to days to effect pH changes
Renal mechanisms (excretory kidney function).
The body's pH-regulating organs, LUNGS, LIVER and
KIDNEYS, remove acidic end products. These would
otherwise "corrode" tissues and disrupt cellular activities and functions.
For more technical information on how the body buffers excess acid so prevalent
today:
Body's 3 main
acid-alkaline buffering systems
More technical information on pH
The pH scale goes from 0 to 14 and is logarithmic.
This means
that each step is ten times higher that the previous. (E.g. pH of 4.3 is 10
times more acid than 5.3, and 100 times more acidic than 6.3)
pH = -log
(H+ conc.) On the logarithmic scale the difference between each pH
number is a factor of 10.A pH of 5
means 10-5 (i.e. 1/105
) g/L of H* ions. i.e. 10 x more acidic than a pH of 6 (10-6 g/L)
The STRENGTH of an acid or base is determined by how fast and how much of it
dissociates into ions - E.g. A strong acid will have lots of H+
ions, a weak acid not so many.
Ionization occurs when
molecules are "pulled"apart in solution, creating negative and positive ions - E.g. Water (H2 O or HOH) is
usually very weakly ionized, but certain substances can "pull" at the water to
separate it into electrically charged H+ and
OH- ions
(When these ions are in equal proportions, the pH is a neutral 7). Most organic
acids are weak, but mineral acids (e.g. HCl) are much stronger.
An acid can be
neutralized by adding an alkali
Acidic
solution
Contains more H+ ions than OH- ions;
Can donate protons
Or
Accept electrons/negatively charged ions
Alkaline solution
Contains more OH- ions than H+ ions
Can accept protons Or Donate electrons/negatively charged ions.
Proton -
positively charged ion e.g. Hydrogen ion ( H+ ); Electrons /negatively charged ions - carry a negative charge e.g.
hydroxyl ion (OH- )