According to the theory, it is in our best interest to make sure we eat more alkaline foods than acid foods, so that we end up with an overall alkaline load on our body. This will supposedly protect us from the diseases of modern civilization, whereas eating a diet with a net acid load will make us vulnerable to everything from cancer to osteoporosis. To make sure we stay alkaline, they recommend keeping track of urine or saliva pH using pH test strips.
In this two-part series, I will address the main claims made by proponents of the alkaline diet, and will hopefully clear up some confusion about what it all means for your health.d
Will eating an alkaline diet make you and your bones healthier? #alkalinediet #bonehealth
Foods Can Influence Our Urine pH
Before I start dismantling this theory, I want to acknowledge a couple things they get right. First, foods do leave behind acid or alkaline ash. The type of “ash” is determined by the relative content of acid-forming components such as phosphate and sulfur, and alkalis such as calcium, magnesium, and potassium. (1, 2) In general, animal products and grains are acid forming, while fruits and vegetables are alkali forming. Pure fats, sugars, and starches are neutral, because they don’t contain protein, sulfur, or minerals.
It’s also true that the foods we eat change the pH of our urine. (3, 4) If you have a green smoothie for breakfast, for example, your pee a few hours later will likely be more alkaline than that of someone who had bacon and eggs. As a side note, it’s also very easy to measure your urine pH, and I think this is one of the big draws of the alkaline diet. Everyone can probably agree that it’s satisfying to see concrete improvements in health markers depending on your diet, and pH testing gives people that instant gratification they desire. However, as you’ll see below, urine pH is not a good indicator of the overall pH of the body, nor is it a good indicator of general health.
Foods Don’t Influence Our Blood pH
Proponents of the alkaline diet have put forth a few different theories about how an acidic diet harms our health. The more ridiculous claim is that we can change the pH of our blood by changing the foods we eat, and that acidic blood causes disease while alkaline blood prevents it. This is not true. The body tightly regulates the pH of our blood and extracellular fluid, and we cannot influence our blood pH by changing our diet. (5, 6) High doses of sodium bicarbonate can temporarily increase blood pH, but not without causing uncomfortable GI symptoms. (7, 8) And there are certainly circumstances in which the blood is more acidic than it should be, and this does have serious health consequences. However, this state of acidosis is caused by pathological conditions such as chronic renal insufficiency, not by whether you choose to eat a salad or a burger. In other words, regardless of what you eat or what your urine pH is, you can be pretty confident that your blood pH is hovering around a comfortable 7.4.
A more nuanced claim has been proposed specifically regarding bone health, and this hypothesis is addressed somewhat extensively in the scientific literature. It supposes that in order to keep blood pH constant, the body pulls minerals from our bones to neutralize any excess acid that is produced from our diet. Thus, net acid-forming diets (such as the typical Western diet) can cause bone demineralization and osteoporosis. This hypothesis, often referred to as the “acid-ash hypothesis of osteoporosis,” is what I will discuss for the rest of this article. I’ll address some of the other health claims in part two.
Like what you’re reading? Get my free newsletter, recipes, eBooks, product recommendations, and more!
The Kidneys—Not Bone—Regulate Blood pH
While more reasonable than the first claim, the acid-ash hypothesis seems to completely disregard the vital role the kidneys play in regulating body pH. The kidneys are well equipped to deal with “acid ash.” When we digest things like protein, the acids produced are quickly buffered by bicarbonate ions in the blood. (7) This reaction produces carbon dioxide, which is exhaled through the lungs, and salts, which are excreted by the kidneys. During the process of excretion, the kidneys produce “new” bicarbonate ions, which are returned to the blood to replace the bicarbonate that was initially used to buffer the acid. This creates a sustainable cycle in which the body is able to maintain the pH of the blood, with no involvement from the bones whatsoever.
Thus, our understanding of acid-base physiology does not support the theory that net acid-forming diets cause loss of bone minerals and osteoporosis. But just for argument’s sake, let’s say that our renal system cannot handle the acid load of the modern diet. If bones were used to buffer this excess acid, we would expect to see evidence of this taking place in clinical trials. Alas, that is not the case.
Clinical Trials Do Not Support the Acid-Ash Hypothesis of Osteoporosis
At first glance, some of the studies may look convincing, because higher acid diets often increase the excretion of calcium in the urine. Some researchers assumed that this extra calcium was coming from bone. (8) However, when calcium balance (intake minus excretion) was measured, researchers found that acid-forming diets do not have a negative effect on calcium metabolism. (9) Some studies found that supplementing with potassium salts (intended to neutralize excess acid) had beneficial effects on markers for bone health, which would tend to support the acid-ash hypothesis. However, these results were only observed in the first few weeks of supplementation, and long-term trials did not find any benefit to bone health from these alkalizing salts. (10)
Finally, even though the hypothesis holds that higher intakes of protein and phosphate are acidifying and therefore detrimental to bone health, multiple studies have shown that increasing protein or phosphate intake has positive effects on calcium metabolism and on markers for bone health. (11, 12) Summarizing the clinical evidence, two different meta-analyses and a review paper all concluded that randomized controlled trials do not support the hypothesis that acidifying diets cause loss of bone mineral and osteoporosis. (13, 14, 15)
So, it appears that neither physiology nor clinical trials support the acid-ash hypothesis of osteoporosis. But again, just for argument’s sake, let’s suppose that these trials are imperfect (which they are, of course; no science is perfect!), and thus we can’t depend on their conclusions. If the acid-ash hypothesis of osteoporosis were true, we would expect to see an association between net acid-producing diets and osteoporosis in observational studies. Yet again, this is not the case.
Observational Studies Do Not Support the Acid-Ash Hypothesis of Osteoporosis
Observational studies have not found a correlation between dietary acid load and bone mineral density (BMD) or fracture risk, nor have they found a correlation between urine pH and BMD or fracture risk. (16, 17, 18) Additionally, higher protein intakes are correlated with better bone health in multiple studies, even though high-protein diets are generally net acid forming. (19) In fact, animal protein in particular (the most acid-forming food of all) has been associated with better bone health. (20, 21) Imagine that! One study included in a recent meta-analysis did find an association between higher protein intake and greater risk for fracture (22), but compared to the numerous more recent studies showing the opposite, this evidence isn’t very strong. Overall, the acid-ash hypothesis of osteoporosis is not supported by physiology, clinical trials, or observational data.
Hopefully I’ve given you a decent understanding of how our bodies handle pH balance, and have reassured you that you don’t need to worry about the acidity of your urine with regards to bone health. Click here for part two, where I tackle some of the other claims of the alkaline diet!
Better supplementation. Fewer supplements.
Close the nutrient gap to feel and perform your best.
A daily stack of supplements designed to meet your most critical needs.
Hi James, Thanks for your willingness to share what you have found out about the acid-alkaline effect upon Osteoporosis. It has reached me in Australia. This subject is far more than just an intellectual discussion to me. I have been diagnosed with osteoporosis, and I have decided not to take the prescribed drugs, because of their serious side effects. Therefore, I need to understand my problem so that I can do some things to help myself. Up to reading your articles I thought that I could do something by following the acid- alkaline diet. However, you have shot that down. Now I do not have a reason for my problem such as an over acid diet that caused my body to rob minerals from my bones to keep my blood at the right ph level. Also, I do not have a plan of attacking my problem apart from taking several supplements to help me. I need a new reason why my body is naturally breaking down bone but not rebuilding it to the point that I on a road to diminishing bone density. Maybe I was deficient in K2, D3, magnesium, calcium, & other minor elements, and if I take them I will do all I need to do. Apart from not meeting the body’s Vitamin and mineral needs does science have another reason why peoples bones naturally break down but do not fully build up each cycle? This is what I need to know, and I am asking you have you seen any scientific info on this subject!
The effect of supplementation with alkaline potassium salts on bone metabolism: a meta-analysis.
CONCLUSIONS:
This meta-analysis confirms that supplementation with alkaline potassium salts leads to significant reduction in renal calcium excretion and acid excretion, compatible with the concept of increased buffering of hydrogen ions by raised circulating bicarbonate. The observed reduction in bone resorption indicates a potential benefit to bone health.
Hi, George, I too found I was suffering from severe Osteo at age 66. I’m now 69 and after my 3rd Dexascan I can say that things have improved, thanks to the diligent research of my partner, Cassie Bond (alkalinepaleodiet.com).
I was a vegetarian for many years and then adhered to the Alkaline diet but Cassie discovered that the absence of K2 in my diet meant the adequate calcium I was receiving was not able to deposit on my bones. My Dexascan results taken annually are improving. I’m 70 this year. I am now on what we like to call the new Alkaline Diet.
Hi George,
Calcium, magnesium, vitamin D and vitamin K will not reverse osteoporosis for a simple reason. A common misconception about osteoporosis is that this is a loss of bone minerals. A loss of bone minerals though is actually osteopenia or osteomalacia, not osteoporosis. Osteoporosis is the result of a a lack of bone collagen, which decreases mineral binding sites in bone. Without sufficient mineral binding sites bone density decreases.
Bone collagen formation is dependent on the amino acids lysine, hydroxylysine, proline, hydroxyproline and glycine as well as vitamin C, silica and traces of copper and zinc as catalysts.
The most common deficiencies that lead to a loss of collagen are silica and vitamin C.
Most of our silica comes from insoluble plant fibers. Brans and seaweeds are especially good sources. Herbally I prefer bamboo, which is the richest herbal source of silica and nettle leaf. I avoid horsetail grass (shavegrass) due to its vasoconstrictive properties, which can be dangerous for some individuals such as diabetics, those with Raynaud’s, heart disease, etc.
Silica is acid dependent for proper absorption since acid helps convert silica in to its absorbable form orthosilicic acid (OA). Stomach acid levels decline with age though, and stomach acid blockers, such as proton pump inhibitors, or stomach acid neutralizers such as antacids, baking soda, ionized alkaline water, calcium carbonate (oyster shell, coral, dolomite) and magnesium oxide/hydroxide (found in many supplements and Milk of magnesia) further decrease the conversion of silica in to OA. Many “aging” conditions are actually the result of OA deficiencies leading to a loss of collagen and the similar protein elastin.
Silica is poorly absorbed due to the poor conversion of silica in to OA, which declines even more if acid levels decline. Due to poor absorption most silica supplements do not do a lot of good since most of the silica in the supplement is not absorbed and people are generally not very good at taking supplements more than once a day. I prefer to get silica from diatomaceous earth (DE) in water. Any silica from the DE that dissolves in to the water forms OA. And since people drink water throughout the day drinking the DE water guarantees more silica being absorbed since a little is absorbed with each drink of water. I discuss how to do this here:
http://medcapsules.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=2800
As for vitamin C I prefer naturally occurring vitamin C sources since they tend to be more stable and effective. An exception is camu camu, which is rather unstable. Great food sources include papaya, kiwis, mangoes, berries and peppers. Recommended herbal sources include acerola cherry, amla, rose hips and nettle leaf.
James
I’ve read that drinking Kombucha is not advised while on a Candida cleanse due to the high acidity and fermented sugars which supposedly feed the yeast in the gut. Is this probably true? Just started experimenting with maple syrup/baking soda blend to attract the yeast and kill them. Wondering if adding baking soda to kombucha will help attract and kill Candida? Also thinking that adding baking soda to Kombucha might disrupt the acidity and unfortunately kill the good bacteria though…. I’ve been working very hard for months on getting rid of the overgrowth, from diatomous earth, bentonite clay, antifungal herbs, lemon water, aloe vera, paleo low car diet, but it hasn’t gotten better. Should Kombucha be consumed and will baking soda help get rid of Candida?
Hi CD,
Acids DO NOT feed Candida, they control Candida.
In short, Candida is a dimorphic microbe meaning it can exist in two forms. In the normal acidic environment the Candida growth gene is turned off and the Candida remains in its BENIGN yeast form. When our acid producing flora, which keep the Candida under control, are reduced the terrain becomes alkaline turning on the Candida growth gene and morphing the Candida in to its PATHOGENIC fungal from. This later state caused by the excess alkalinity is known as candidiasis. When the Candida morphs in to its fungal form from the alkalinity the Candida forms finger-like projections known as hyphae that allow the Candida to dig in to tissues causing tissue damage and inflammation.
This is why antibiotics lead to fungal Candida infections because they kill the beneficial acid forming flora alkalizing normally acidic tissues. This alkalinity then leads to candidiasis. Probiotics and prebiotics are used to treat candidiasis because they restore the natural acidity to these tissues thereby once again halting the Candida growth and converting the Candida back in to its benign yeast form. See:
http://curezone.info/forums/fm.asp?i=1452732#i
http://curezone.info/forums/fm.asp?i=1452739#i
http://curezone.info/forums/fm.asp?i=1452747#i
http://medproductreview.wordpress.com/2013/02/23/using-probiotics-to-treat-candida-yeast-infections/
Using baking soda is not going to help at all. Whether you mix it in the tea or ingest it the baking soda the baking soda is simply going to be neutralized by acids and therefore will no longer be baking soda.
Also keep in mind that many things are claimed to work based on Petri dish studies. But what happens in a Petri dish is not always the same as what happens in the body. There is no evidence that ingesting baking soda will control Candida.
James
I was encouraged to post and seek comment when I saw the dates on this article. I generally only seem to come across things posted ages ago. I have been struggling for some time now to grasp the true effects of acid/alkaline diets. Looking to add more probiotics to my diet, I started making my own kombucha about a year ago, but I struggled with the idea of drinking something acidic in order to lower my ph. I have a ph meter for canning so I started testing my urine ph. The numbers were disturbingly low (ie highly acidic). I understand that my blood ph will be kept within a tight range, but my urine had very large swings in acidity. Which lead me to ponder whether my kidneys were possibly being overburdened trying to pull my ph into range. I wonder, James, if you would comment on this.
Actually I’m hoping for your insights on two specific issues: 1) How is it possible that consuming things high in acid (ie lemon, apple cider vinegar, or kombucha) can work to alkalize us, and 2) Why shouldn’t a highly acidic urine be seen as an indication that our bodies are being asked to work extra hard to compensate?
I changed my urine ph from 5.5 to 8 in two weeks by drinking a glass of water with a level teaspoon of baking soda, the juice of half a lemon (squeezed by hand) and a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar…
this was to assist the healing of a UTI. I am not sure how long the lowering of the h took but the tests were two weeks apart.
I did not change my diet other than that and I eat a lot of sugar.
Rhys,
What reaction did you see occur when you added the lemon and vinegar to the baking soda? It foamed and bubbled, right?
Well, the drink you consumed was practically neutral– the acids and alkalines neutralized each other in the cup long before they could change anything in your body. <–(Were that not a myth.) You consumed a drink with some sodium and a little vitamin C and acetic acid, but even the vitamin C was reduced by the baking soda. After mixing the two together, if there were any such thing as acid or alkaline forming foods, both properties were neutralized, rendering them both useless.
Urine pH has no correlation whatsoever to blood and tissue pH.
Thank you, for being one of the few who actually possesses common sense & a REAL education regarding this subject matter.
So much anecdotal information floating around out there that people claim is “evidence”, I’ve been fighting this fight for YEARS and it just keeps getting worse and worse as time goes on.
Rhys,
Bacterial urinary tract infections are detected by a urine analysis because the bacteria alkalize the urine for their survival. They do this by secreting the enzyme urease to increase urinary ammonia alkalizing the urine.
Adding lemon juice and/or vinegar to baking soda simply neutralizes the baking soda. The lemon juice will form primarily sodium citrate and sodium malate. The vinegar reacts with the baking soda forming sodium acetate, the flavoring for salt and vinegar potato chips.
James
Hi De Aun,
Urinary pH does fluctuate normally. It is affected by hydration levels, certain supplements and medications, exercise, things in diet or by degradation of food products and by bacteria in the urine.
As for the acid foods question, they don’t. This myth stems from the fact that the so-called “alkaline response” is a normal part of the digestive process. But somewhere along the lines the supporters of the “alkaline diet” myth twisted this fact to make it sound like only acids stimulate this response and that this somehow alkalized the blood. Neither claim though is true.
All foods are made acidic or more acidic in the stomach as part of the normal digestive process. When the chyme (partially digested food, stomach acid and enzymes) is released from the stomach in to the intestines the pancreas releases sodium bicarbonate to neutralize the acid. This is the “alkaline response”. Therefore, the neutralization of acidity is only in the intestine, not the blood. And it does not matter if you eat greens, or steak or candy bars, or………. you will still get the same exact alkaline response.
As for your last question, a highly acidic urine is only an issue if it is higher than a normal acidity, which is below 4.6. This can be from something like diabetic ketoacidosis or starvation.
James
Bicarbonate is also released into the bloodstream when stomach acid is produced.
Actually the bicarbonate goes to the pancreas where it is stored and used later mainly to neutralize acids in chyme as it leaves the stomach.
What a relief! Now I can go back to drinking soda pop with reckless abandon and forget organic green smoothies. Thanks for clarifying how nutrition has nothing to do with acidic levels in your blood. Now to find a Dr. Pepper to add to my whiskey.
What a completely ignorant comment that was!!!!
I guess some people still have not caught on to the fact that even though you cannot alkalize the blood through diet the so-called “alkaline diet” is still healthy due to the higher nutritional levels including the high level of beneficial acids!!!
Someone’s sarcasm detector clearly needs fine tuning. Did you consider that the comment might have been made as a retort to the tone of the article? Why spend so much energy making the inane point how blood alkalinity is maintained at a constant level regardless of what you ingest? If an alkaline diet is beneficial (and I strongly believe that it is), why build a case suitable for a trial lawyer to prove an esoteric point that leads a casual reader to think alkalinity is not important in nutrition? Was that just to show off biochemistry acumen? If one believes organic green smoothies are better for overall health functioning than soda pops and alcohol, why not spend time writing an article that directly supports that premise?
Why make such a stupid statement in the first place? Did your comment serve some actual purpose other than to sound stupid?
For some reason though the supporters of the mythical “alkaline diet” keep using the same stupid statement. It is like they have some make the same dumb response playbook and they are going to play it out exactly.
As for diet, what is good for one person is not going to be exactly good for another person. And many of the so-called “healthy foods” are not always as healthy as people think. For example, how many people are aware of the fact that flax seed is nearly 4 times higher in thyroid suppressing phytoestrogens than raw soy? And even higher compared to fermented or cooked soy? Point is that it would take way more than a little article to cover the topic of what is considered a healthy diet. Maybe a book or two might cover a good majority of the topic.
Stupid, huh? Nice intelligent retort. Very thoughtful. You know, being constipated can make one especially grouchy. You might consider increasing the roughage in your diet, say for example with more green smoothies. From a blender, not a juicer. Think of that pulp as scrubbing bubbles for the colon. Not sure what to suggest about the judgmental attitude. Perhaps more meditation for you, grasshopper.
ROTFLMAO!!! I guess you don’t see the irony of your response.
http://bit.ly/1EeHMO8
TG…..I got your humor and I was trying to think of something to say to add to your sarcasm.
I was also going to warn you that there may be small number of people that won’t get it. I’m too late. Now you know.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Your next serious point is right on, plus you don’t have to only ‘believe’ the so-called, alkaline diet is beneficial, ….it IS beneficial. Without question.
Fortunately, I believe most people that read this blog, see it for what it really is and won’t be negatively influenced.
Thanks, Dennis. I appreciate that. Speaking of Organic Green Smoothies, I have to give props to rawfamily.com for great recipes (no, I don’t work for rawfamily.com or are affiliated in any way; just a fan). I also found Sergei’s 30 day green smoothie challenge where his youtube videos show a different recipe each day. http://bit.ly/1sFllAf
Good stuff!
Greg
P.S. Adding coconut water instead of plain water makes them especially delicious!
James,
good article!
I’m sad to see how many people are brain dead blindly trusting US government (or any government) and “official” studies.
It is probably a big surprise for many alkaline folks to know that there are other countries on the planet and other studies in many different languages.
US is the only country where they promote and sell alkaline-only water machines.
In Japan, Russia or EU you get dual action machines (acidic/alkaline).
They even call them “Live” (acidic) and “Dead” (alkaline) water machines.
Don’t be lazy! Learn other languages like Russian, German or Mandarin, for example.
You will find out why do you need both types of water and foods, plus so much more…
Hi!
I would simply like to let tell you left out some very important information in your article. Even though there are pH buffers in our blood, they do not correct our blood’s pH INSTANTANEOUSLY, so if you’re eating food that causes excess positive hydrogen ions in your blood all day every day, your blood is indeed going to be too acidic for a good part of the day, every day. Also, it would be an abusive use of your bloods buffers, which is energy demanding and could lead your body to fail at making enough of it or making it properly. It could also indeed cause your body to look for material to make buffers in places you don’t want it to, if it’s abused. Just like you shouldn’t eat too much sugar just because your body can produce insulin, because you’ll abuse it, and it can lead you to diabetes.
It is not a myth that it is a good thing to eat properly in order to keep your blood’s pH balanced without having to abuse the mechanisms that your body uses to keep homeostasis constant.
That is something you should have mentioned it your article, if you really wanted to make sure people would not be misguided.
Thank you! (and sorry for my bad english)
Have a nice day!
Ben
Ben: “Even though there are pH buffers in our blood, they do not correct our blood’s pH INSTANTANEOUSLY, so if you’re eating food that causes excess positive hydrogen ions in your blood all day every day, your blood is indeed going to be too acidic for a good part of the day, every day. ”
This is not true. The body’s main means of pH regulation is respiration. If the blood starts to become acidic at all the respiration increases to decrease the acidity instantly. If the blood becomes too alkaline the respiration slows down or even stops temporarily to allow an immediate increase in acidity to bring the pH back to normal.
Ben: “Also, it would be an abusive use of your bloods buffers, which is energy demanding and could lead your body to fail at making enough of it or making it properly.”
Again, the body’s main means of pH regulation is simply breathing. The second in line is the elimination or retention of hydrogen ions (protons) through the kidneys. These account for virtually all pH regulation in the body and neither of these require the production of buffers by the body that can be depleted.
James, are there any articles written by you?
You have an interesting thinking.
Hi Luis,
You can find a lot of my writings at these links:
http://www.medcapsules.com/info/
http://medcapsules.com/forum/index.php
James
Hello James,
Hope you have a great new year. I have little understanding of pH regulation in the body and how it may or may not help the human body.
But then I thought the idea should not be to get into technicalities, but to look at which of these food groups (alkaline vs acidic) has healthier foods. There is some classification on this page – http://greenopedia.com/alkaline-acid-food-chart I am sure google god would lead readers to others.
Needless to say, alkaline food camp has lesser items which are processed or meat products. I think that says everything! One should not miss out on the larger picture.
Andy,
I have pointed out various times that the benefits of the so-called “alkaline diet” are from the higher nutritional value. The diet DOES NOT alkalize the blood or tissues as so many people falsely believe.
James
hi
I liked your comments james. about PH I’m interested in health and nutrition from a personal standpoint as I’ve had adrenal fatigue and sugar addiction issues. I’m even putting together a short article for my blog to sharre with others
I’ve heard both sides of the ph issue but my question concerns something I heard about terminally ill cancer patients. The cancer wards for the terminally ill supposedly smell like ammonia. Can this be because the bodys going thru it’s last stages of shutting down ie the organs are failing and giving out the smell. Has nothing to do I assume with the ph of the body and I’ve heard esp paleo people that It’s an last ditch attempt of the body to get rid of the cancer by changing its ph. What are your thoughts on this subject. Thanks
rudy ferrara
Hi Rudy,
I have spent a lot of time working in cancer wards and never experienced the ammonia smell some people claim.
If there is an ammonia smell from a patient I would suspect liver failure since ammonia levels can reach toxic levels in cases of liver failure.
James
Respiration is primarily for oxygen / carbon dioxide interchange which is why you can’t breathe your way out of diabetic ketoacidosis.
Totally agree with you, Ben.
Yeah, even though you were just debunked Ben, this person still believes in what she believes in so she totally agrees with you.
I read this article with no previous knowledge of either camp. Now I know so much more about it because I bothered to look at both sides. I’ll have to go with the evidence which is that Ben is wrong.
How have I been debunked?
It did forget to mention respiration, but I also didn’t say it wasn’t true.
My point is still valid. Your body’s means to keep the balance is like an air bag; you’re glad it’s there but you’d prefer not to have to use it. Hyperventilating or choking to correct your blood’s ph because you use respiration as an excuse to have an unbalanced diet is unwise.
Like I said, why not also eat a lot of refined sugar until you become diabetic and realise you can abuse your body, also eat a lot of unhealthy fats until you realise your weight is a problem and you can also abuse your body that way. My point was simply that there is some important information missing in this post, it should’ve been added, unless the objective wasn’t t inform people so they can make better choices.
You don’t have to hyperventilate or choke to maintain your proper pH. The body maintains that on its own primarily through normal respiration. If you hyperventilate you throw off your pH, causing the blood vessels to constrict from the alkalinity and you pass out from a lack of blood flow to the brain. When you pass out respiration slows or even stops temporarily to restore the proper pH by building CO2 levels back up. If you are choking and cannot breathe this will lead to an excess build up of CO2 and hydrogen ions. If the ability to breathe is restored respiration will be increased temporarily to blow off that excess CO2 and hydrogen ions until the proper pH is restored then the respiration slows back down to normal.
First with TG and now with me, you really are bad with people, and with explaining what you think you know. That was sarcasm James, I know the blood’s pH doesn’t cause sudden hypoventilation or hyperventilation.
That’s the point, when people eat junk they usually don’t compensate by working out or entering in deep medidation. after eating, you won’t start breathing faster to regulate your pH because even though you need to balance it, you don’t need the extra oxygen/hyperventilation. If you’re at rest The kidneys do most of the work most of the time (and that needs proper hydration too).
Acidosis is real, Renal tubular acidosis is real, you CAN abuse your system defense, slowly or rapidly.
You didn’t address that, you just give some partial information (misinformation) to try to debunk the supposed myth of ingestion-pH balance. Anyway good luck James! I’m done with this thread.
Hi-Five, Ben! Have a great day. 🙂
Ben,
You obviously do not understand how things really work in the body so let me try to give you a very basic explanation in regards to the topic.
You mention when people eat “junk”. But the fact is that ALL foods, even greens are metabolized in to acids in the long run. So junk foods don’t make you any more acidic than any other food including greens. This is part of the reason that the whole “alkaline diet myth” is just that, a myth.
Secondly, if the blood does start becoming too acidic then your respiration will increase automatically. See, we don’t need to think about breathing, our breathing is regulated all by itself without our having to think about it.
And just because respiration increases this does not mean the person is hyperventilating. A person can have an increase of 16 to 20 respiration per minute and this is still an increase even though it is not hyperventilation. Generally, fluctuations in our blood pH are very slight and so only require slight variations in the respiratory rate to make adjustments
As far as your claim about acidosis being real, nobody ever claimed it was not. All I said is that true acidosis is EXTREMELY rare due to all the redundant systems the body has to maintain its normal pH. Respiration being the primary means.
It is not that hard to understand. All you have to do is a little actual research to verify all this. Here are a few articles I wrote a while back explaining this:
https://medreview.wordpress.com/2013/03/07/top-5-worst-internet-health-information-sites-curezone-org-part-3-alkalineacid-support-forum-part-1/
https://medreview.wordpress.com/2013/03/08/top-5-worst-internet-health-information-sites-curezone-org-part-2-alkalineacid-support-forum-part-2/
It’s pointless telling me that you think I don’t understand how things really work in the body, I think the same of you.
Not to mention we’re not talking about how things work in the body, but only about one very specific thing.
You’re wrong, not all food is acid-forming, not even ultimately in the long run. Breathing is not always enough, not for those who abuse acid-forming junk. The buffer systems can be overworked. This can cause health problems such as kidney stones. I really don’t find a lot of literature that support your claims, especially the “there is no alkaline-forming food”. Now, your immense immaturity and “no lifeness”, expressed through your constant replying to every comment here in a very immature way with insults, and by not admitting that you don’t know everything, that you might be wrong, that you don’t address a lot of things in regards to this topic, makes it impossible to take anything you say seriously, including when you say you’re a health professionnal. If you are one, you’re the kind I would never consult, and would never recommend. You’re like a child. You could say I’m immature too, even though I only reply to your replies directed to me, not to every single comment here, and I don’t use insults, but most of all, I don’t have to be credible here cause and I don’t pretend to be a health professionnal and some sot of authority in the subject, so nobody as the rely on me or on what I say. Also, I am indeed still an undergrad teen. But what’s your excuse? Even I can point out all that is wrong or incomplete in what you said here. Honestly, I think you’re quite lame.
I said I was done with this thread, I thought you would understand it was pointless to keep replying to me, but I see I have to make it clear for you: Please don’t reply anymore, its pointless.
Again, sorry for my bad English, good luck and, I suggest you rethink your attitude and life in general.
Don’t believe anyone that tells you you cannot get smarter and better as a person!
Good bye!
Ben: “You’re wrong, not all food is acid-forming, not even ultimately in the long run. ”
I’m not wrong at all. Tell you what, name even one specific food that does not get metabolized in to acids and I will show you why you are wrong.
Ben: “Breathing is not always enough, not for those who abuse acid-forming junk.”
Again, ALL foods get metabolized in to acids. And many of the so-called “alkaline foods” already have an acidic pH to begin with.
Ben: “The buffer systems can be overworked. This can cause health problems such as kidney stones. ”
It is almost impossible to overwork the buffer systems. That is why acidosis is so extremely rare.
Also, if you use a little common sense here. You will generate more acid from heavy exercise that you do from the acids formed from eating a salad or steak. Does this mean exercise is dangerous for the health? Does exercise cause kidney stones?
Also keep in mind that alkalinity can cause kidney stones as well.
Ben: “You’re like a child. You could say I’m immature too”
I did not have to since you already pointed out that fact yourself and as is evidenced by your long drawn out childish tirade.
But neither of us are the topic. So let’s get back on topic by your answering my questions above and I will explain the facts.
Hi Ben,
I just wanted to drop in and say I support you in believing choosing an alkaline diet can alter your health drastically. Recently a 60 yr old male coworker of mine was going through stage 3 colon cancer and was being treated at Roswell Park Institute. After going through extensive chemo with no improvement he was given 6 months to live. He decided to take his health into his own hands, and after some research decided to 1 ) adopt an alkaline diet 2 ) exercise rigorously to send oxygen to cells and 3 ) cut out all sugar from his diet. After some time, his health improved but following a clinical evaluation, his results were withheld. It became a battle he wasn’t expecting just to receive his results but eventually, one of the head doctors at Roswell reluctantly gave him his cancer free diagnosis. He beat his cancer and nobody wanted him to know it. Since then he has begun studying law so that other people don’t have to fight as hard as he did to prove that cancer is treatable by natural means.
The moral of the story is don’t let these kinds of articles fool you. There is a major giant out there that only makes money when people are sick and destitute. It is an industry, not a practice.
A
Once again, nobody claimed the so-called “alkaline diet” is not good. We only pointed out that the diet DOES NOT alkalize the body. The benefits of this diet actually come from the higher level of nutrition, which includes various beneficial ACIDS!!!!!
Big difference in natural healthy sugars and GMO sugars….seem to like to argue about anything… I will never bet my life on your nonsence….you must believe in chemo…radiation and Big Pharma too…Dead Doctors never lie…..good luck…
My post said nothing about sugars. Why do people keep making up crap about something never said. Are they just that desperate for attention?
And NO, I do not believe in chemo, radiation or big pharma. I have written extensively and done videos explaining the massive quackery behind these numerous times.
Alexander,
It is great that your friend “beat” cancer. It is likely that eliminating sugars from his diet and regular exercise were what “cured” him, not some fad “alkaline” diet.
The ketogenic diet has had amazing results similar, with focus on high quality fats and elimination of all sugars.
Eliminating sugar does not cure cancer for several reasons.
One is that virtually anything you eat, including meats contain sugar. Secondly, if you body needs sugar it simply produces it. And finally, cancer cells can use other fuel sources other than sugars. This includes some amino acids, lactate and ketones.
It may help other readers here (and maybe even James) to watch Thomas Seyfried: Cancer: A Metabolic Disease With Metabolic Solutions available on You Tube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SEE-oU8_NSU
THE IHMC have other videos providing more information relevant for those fighting cancer
Dominic D’Agostino: Metabolic Therapies: Therapeutic Implications and Practical Application
Colin Champ: Augmenting Cancer Therapy with Diet
You can also learn more by reading
“Starvation of Cancer via Induced Ketogenesis and Severe Hypoglycemia” Adam Kapelner and Matthew Vorsanger
available online free here
http://arxiv.org/pdf/1407.7622.pdf
Ted,
I am not going to sit through a nearly hour long video and try to guess what point you are trying to make. If you want to debate something specific about cancer then be specific in your claims and stop posting vague references that supposedly support your vague claims.
I did skip through a little of the video though and found the guy really does not have a clue about cancer when he first claimed Warburg was right when Warburg’s hypotheses were disproven decades ago. Note I said hypotheses. Warburg NEVER made those claims as fact. He merely hypothesized (an educated guess) about cancer cells having a respiratory defect and producing all their energy from glycolysis. Again, these hypotheses were disproven decades ago. Today we know that cancer cells derive at least 50% of their energy production from oxidative phosphorylation. In fact, just like healthy cells cancer cells utilize both glycolysis and oxidative phosphorylation for energy production.
And even more when he started claiming cancer cells “ferment lactic acid”. First of all lactic acid is not fermented it is a byproduct of fermentation. But not in cancer cells, which DO NOT secrete lactic acid. They secrete lactate, which IS NOT the same thing. In fact, look at the chart he shows at 23:49. Do you see the words “lactic acid” anywhere? Of course not. But we do clearly see the word “lactate”, which is what is being released. Yet even with this chart he still continues to erroneously stating “lactic acid”, then goes on further erroneously claiming that the non-existent lactic acid is making the microenvironment around the tumor acidic. Again, this acidic microenvironment is due to a build up or protons, not non-existent lactic acid nor non-acidic lactate. This guy needs to stop getting his information from the 1930s and get current in his research!
We don’t build up lactic acid either during exercise either as he implies. Again, we build up lactate. The “burn” is from a build up of hydrogen ions (protons), not lactic acid. Another hypothesis that was disproven decades ago.
One thing he did get right is that viruses can cause cancer. But NOT from interfering with the respiration cycle of cells. Cancer viruses have been shown to lead to cancer through altering or genes to turn off apoptosis, increasing growth hormone output and by turning off tumor suppressor genes.
He is also overlooking the fact that ROS also kill cancer cells. This is the basis for most chemo drugs and for radiation therapy, which kill cancer cells in the well oxygenated regions of tumors through ROS generation. These therapies are ineffective in the hypoxic regions of tumors due to the inability to generate ROS.
And what in the hell is he talking about our immune cells fusing to cancer cells leading to metastases?!!!!!! First of all our immune cells have a very difficult time even detecting cancer cells, which is why they can grow from a single cancer cell in to a tumor in the first place. One of the main reasons for this is the formation of HCG coatings that shield the tumor from the immune system. Anyway, back to the point. Metastases is the result of proteolytic enzymes that are activated by the acidity from the hydrogen ions (protons) released by the cancer cells during their energy production.
He also falsely claims that the cancer cells cannot utilize the ketones. I already posted the titles of more current research disproving his hypothesis. Cancer cells can and do in fact utilize ketones as a fuel source.
I am not going to sit here and address every mistake this guy is making because he is relying on antiquated research. So again, if you want to debate this subject then use your own words to state your opinion instead of posting links to other people’s claims where I have to guess as to what the point is you are trying to make.
James
This article is excellent. I can’t stand people trying to spread all their pseudoscience nonsense. If anyone wants to read more about this alkaline diet myth, I’ve written a post about it on my new blog. Would love to get some comments/feedback!
http://skepticsguidetopseudoscience.weebly.com/blog/the-myth-of-the-alkalising-diet
James,
You are sounding very defensive!
I was recently diagnosed with a return of Prostate Cancer. This was found after 4 years of a rise in mt PSA from Post Prostatectomy of 0 to 1.18. Established medicine, of which you subscribe,wanted to perform 42 Radiation treatments over a period of 7 weeks. I chose the PH Diet and after 3 weeks my PSA dropped from 1.18 to 1.04. I have remained on the diet and I am due for my next blood test in a week.
When is your profession going to stop killing people with old methods that don’t work just so you can take the money from the drug companies.
With all due respect, all those miraculous ‘we cure cancer’ diets are killing people…
John: “You are sounding very defensive!”
Gee, why would I become defensive sounding when there are so many fools on here trying to make this personal against me instead of sticking to the topic of the blog article? And when they keep falsely accusing me of being associated with allopathic medicine when I have been working in HOLISTIC medicine for the last 24 years?!!!!
John: “I was recently diagnosed with a return of Prostate Cancer. This was found after 4 years of a rise in mt PSA from Post Prostatectomy of 0 to 1.18. Established medicine, of which you subscribe,wanted to perform 42 Radiation treatments over a period of 7 weeks. I chose the PH Diet and after 3 weeks my PSA dropped from 1.18 to 1.04. I have remained on the diet and I am due for my next blood test in a week.”
And once again, I DO NOT subscribe to “established medicine” so stick to the topic instead of trying to make this personal.
By the way PSA counts are garbage. They can rise for a variety of reasons including BPH, infection and even caffeine!!!
Have you ever heard of the phrase; “post hoc ergo propter hoc”?
Look it up, and stop trying to pretend to yourself that you can generalise from one case to another.
You apparent positive seeming change my have nothing to do with your diet.
Hi James. I’ve been reading nutritional info since I was 16. I’m 58 now. I agree with you. Thanks for the info!
Anyways, could you advise me as how to make a facial toner using citric acid.
Thank you,
Helen
Hi Helen,
I have not mixed this in quite a while but if I recall right I was using a quarter teaspoon of the citric acid in a gallon of water. You don’t want it strong as fruit acids can be irritating to the skin if too concentrated and the skin only needs to be slightly acidic to keep healthy.
James
The lower the ph the more acidic stuff is the higher the ph it is it becomes a base people dont seem to realize 7 is a ok ph its neutral a strong base is dangerous look at bleach get some on you and do nothing about it your skin could start peeling off
James,
I read some of your comments and am especially interested in the one where you talk of hydroxides. I make magnesium water from magnesium hydroxide and carbonated water and use it regularly. I’m wondering now if this is safe after seeing your comments. I do dilute the magnesium bicarbonate with distilled water before drinking but am wondering if it might be working against me. I’ve been trying to correct a magnesium deficiency with the magnesium bicarbonate water. Now I’m thinking it may be creating other issues. Please give me you take on this. Thanks in advance.
Reacting the magnesium hydroxide with carbonic acid will form a magnesium carbonate and carbonates are a lot safer than the mineral hydroxides. Although both neutralize stomach acid, which is not a good thing, the carbonates are not caustic like the mineral hydroxides and do not chemically burn the tissues like the mineral hydroxides formed in ionized alkaline water or formed from mixing certain metal oxides in water.
Overall though the best thing to do would be to mix the magnesium hydroxide with malic or citric acids to form magnesium malate or citrate. Both are found in lemon juice.
Hydroxides and carbonates are very poorly absorbed to begin with. The acidified salts such as the malates and citrates are much better absorbed.
Also, another thing. Would you prefer to drink a mixture of 10grams magnesium hydroxide with 100gwater or 10g of potassium carbonate with water?…
I would not ingest either one. Both can be caustic.
In fact, I have known for a long time that some forms of potassium salts could be corrosive to the stomach lining. In the earlier days of the medical establishment using potassium salts in treatment they found that some forms could actually burn a hole through the stomach. That is why the main sources of potassium seen on the market for ingestion are potassium chloride or potassium gluconate.
Ok, so tak a sodium carbonate (not bicarbonate) instead, compare it with magnesium hydroxide. Which mixture would you dring (assuming you HAVE to drink one)?…
Add some lemon juice to the magnesium carbonate and drink the solution . It won’t make your blood more alkaline 🙂 but will be absorbed more easily; though some studies ( http://www.jle.com/fr/revues/mrh/e-docs/study_of_magnesium_bioavailability_from_ten_organic_and_inorganic_mg_salts_in_mg_depleted_rats_using_a_stable_isotope_approach_267774/article.phtml?tab=texte )show that carbonates are absorbed quite good as well.
Also, one thing in mind: the more magnesium in food, the lesser percentage of it is absorbed – so ensure you have a little magnesium in all foods you eat.
There are also some
I haven’t read all the comments, but i have read a lot. I am not a scientist but I have a laymans understanding of some things. James, you could be wrong. Science is and always will be flawed. True scientists talk in ‘odds’ and not ‘facts’. Just because your science doesn’t indicate something, it doesn’t mean it can not be. Placebo is most likely a very real ‘thing’. Faith in a lifestyle has strongly indicated positive results in many studies and this is probably as true of the blinkereed scientist as it is of the health fad fanatic. The truth is that we don’t really ‘know’ anything and everything falls in to infinite decreasing/increasing half lifes of posibility. I don’t trust the medical profession, the cancer charity industry, the meat and dairy (and food) industry or any establishment with financial/political interests in what I think, say and eat. What I am more likely trust is my own personal observations and the very impartial trials of this diet in the un-regulated real world. Wheather or not we can explain it with food-science or not at this point in time, if it’s improving people’s diet, lifestyle and quality of life then I think we should let it be and work out the science afterwards. MAny thanks xxx
Hi Keiron,
“Could be wrong” is far from “am wrong”.
Science is evolving all the time but we have to go with what science has “proven” at this point. Just because you think science is flawed does this mean that we should just claim gravity may not really exist? Maybe we should just regard all the claims made about healthy nutrition since science has proven this but according to you science is flawed. At what point do we stop throwing out all that science has taught us just because it MAY be flawed?
I will agree that SOME science is flawed. For instance there are all sorts of manipulated medical studies out there. How do we know they are manipulated? Because science gives us the evidence to weed through what is real and what is obviously quack science.
For example, there was a study that claimed vitamin C increased the risk of heart disease. Was this claim true or were the study results misinterpreted? How would we be able to tell the difference without science? Answer, we could not. So how did I know these study results were misinterpreted. Simple, science told me. According to the findings of the study the claim of increased risk of heart disease because it thickened the arterial wall. What science told me is that this was not a bad thing and it was not increasing the risk of heart disease. Vitamin C is needed for the formation of the structural proteins collagen and elastin in the blood vessels. This makes the arterial walls thicker so they can handle the higher pressure the arteries are exposed to and prevents aneurysm. The thicker walls DO NOT mean decreased circulation since the elastin allows the arteries to expand and contract to maintain proper circulation and blood pressure. Therefore, science told me that even though the walls were thickening just like they are supposed to for health of the artery this would not decrease circulation since the muscle of the blood vessel would simply relax to compensate.
We should not fear science, we should embrace it and learn from it.
As for the so-called alkaline diet as has been pointed out diet does not alkalize the blood. But this does not mean the so-called alkaline diet is bad. People benefit not from a pH adjustment but rather better nutrition, which includes a variety of beneficial acids.
James
Two things I noticed: your first statement said eating alkaline foods to leave an acid ash. Not necessarily. Limes have a low pH but leave an alkaline ash. Also, thickening of the arteries is detrimental to cardio health in that the function of elastin depletes as we age and therefore it becomes more difficult for our bodies to compensate…leaving us with hardened thick arteries. I really enjoyed your chemical explainations on magic and citric acids!
Tomatoes and avocados also leave an alkaline ash. I would like to learn more about the different combinations of foods and how that changes the chemical process our bodies have to use in order to compensate for the types of foods we eat as individuals. I am sure it also very much depends on the activity level and lifestyle of the individual. I think it is nearly impossible to come up with a perfect set of guidelines for everyone to follow.
Morgan: “Tomatoes and avocados also leave an alkaline ash.”
Again, the metabolism of foods DOES NOT leave an ash residue as is obtained by the thermal burning of foods used to create the ash that is being analyzed.
Morgan: “I would like to learn more about the different combinations of foods and how that changes the chemical process our bodies have to use in order to compensate for the types of foods we eat as individuals.”
Compensate for what? As pointed out there is NO such thing as an alkalizing food. ALL foods get metabolized in to acids. And pH is regulated almost exclusively through respiration followed by hydrogen ion retention or elimination by the kidneys. Not diet.
Morgan meant by ‘ash’, I guess, the metabolism products of lemons. Still, I won’t believe it until I see WHAT ‘ash’ is it.
However – methyl alcohol is chemically neutral, but drink it and you can be sure of severe acidosis… so there MAY be some point in ‘alkaline ash’ theory. Not believing it though, unless I see WHAT metabolite of lemon is ‘alkalizing’ blood.
Morgan: “Two things I noticed: your first statement said eating alkaline foods to leave an acid ash”.
I never said that. What I said is that the alkaline myth is based on the measurement of alkaline ash only. And that this is extremely misleading since it totally ignores the naturally occurring acids within these foods and the acids that ALL foods metabolize in to.
Morgan: “Not necessarily. Limes have a low pH but leave an alkaline ash. ”
Limes have a low pH because of the various acids in them, which again is not considered when foods are considered alkalizing. But these foods do not burn in the body in the same sense as they are burned to obtain the ash residue. So no, they do not leave an ash when digested.
There is a lot of potassium in limes, but this DOES NOT alter the blood pH. First of all keep in mind that the potassium is going to react with stomach acid forming potassium chloride salt. The potassium is alkaline, but the chloride is acidifying. And has been pointed out so many times virtually all pH regulation is maintained by respiration followed by ion retention or elimination by the kidneys. Not by salts.
People do often talk about the so-called “alkaline response” from ingesting citrus juices. Again, this has absolutely nothing to do with the potassium in the citrus juice. In addition, this same exact alkaline response occurs with EVERY food you consume including steak, candy bars, lettuce, cake, etc. The alkaline response is nothing more than the release of pancreatic bicarbonate to neutralize the acid in chyme leaving the stomach as part of the normal digestive process. So again, this occurs with ALL foods.
Morgan: “Also, thickening of the arteries is detrimental to cardio health in that the function of elastin depletes as we age and therefore it becomes more difficult for our bodies to compensate…leaving us with hardened thick arteries.”
Not really.
First of all the arteries need to be thicker for a very simple reason. They are subjected to much higher pressures than the veins. Without the thicker walls they are more prone to problems such as aneurysm and rupture.
The loss of elastin comes primarily from the decline in stomach acid people tend to develop with age. This leads to less production and absorption of orthosilicic acid that is essential to the formation of collagen and elastin.
“Hardening of the arteries” results from inflammation leading to the deposition of cholesterol that calcifies. One of the major factors that can lead to atherosclerosis is elevated homocysteine levels. And the most common causes of high homocysteine are low or absent stomach acid and hypothyroidism.
Bottom line is that the arteries need to remain thick throughout our lives. And hardening of the arteries is really a separate issue from the natural and essential thickening of the arteries.
Long before science came along there were medicine men who cured many body ailments. They probably jacked a few up along the way in a trial and error manner, but still, healing properties were observed and used to cure disease… science has its value, but science around health is highly manipulated. Healthy people do not produce profits for the medical industry. Thus, things that truly improve health tend not to be studied or done so in a manner which can skew the perception of the truth. Your article fits, so I see why you were assumed to be allopathic. Great feedback for you.
I for one, have witnessed 100′ s of anecdotal stories of massive health improvement through pH. My own health is top notch in every single test that can be run. I eat about 80% alkaline forming foods and drink alkaline water.
The bogus thing I notice about your article is that you keep making it about blood pH. The point of an alkaline diet is to make the interstitial fluids of the body more alkaline. The blood pH is highly regulated, as you suggest. It’s not going to change much. Further, you don’t talk about the quality of blood on an alkaline diet.
Many microorganisms form in the blood of a body that is too acidic and often the negative charge around the red blood cells is lost, causing them to clump up and distort in shape, making one feel more lethargic due to the lack of quality of the blood… alkaline forming foods create the opposite. Red blood cells are round and bounce off of each other with fewer microorganisms present.
Debunking a pH diet based on blood pH alone is kinda like what a magician does when he directs your attention to only part of what he is doing to make something explainable look like magic. You aren’t even covering how an alkaline diet affects the body… just using one little piece of the puzzle which will never change much because the body self regulates it, and omitting what an alkaline diet actually does to improve health. It’s kinda shady. I feel bad for the people you are misleading. You make some true statements, but what you use as a means to debunk the value of managing body pH is misleading. Stop the magic tricks and give people sound information.
Just goes to show you, anyone can write online and it doesn’t mean it’s true… this article has many truths in it, but a VERY faulty conclusion based on half truths. Dangerously misleading.
Excellent Amber. You’re the only person to allude to Zeta Potential of the blood – that is the state of the ionic charges – induced by mineral adsorption onto the three formed elements of the blood (white/red blood cells and platelets). Zeta potential determines the degree that red blood cells may either be optimally suspended and discrete or tend more toward coagulation. The blood is in CONSTANT flux. This is NOT classic blood chemistry – chemistry in terms of biochemical cascade reaction – but electrostatic. Old science actually. But overlooked in significance. Congrats on the some of the highest thinking I’ve seen in these comments over the months.
Amber: “science has its value, but science around health is highly manipulated.”
Some is, but not all. And there is bogus information on both sides of the fence. For example, all the bogus information about being able to alkalize by diet, “liver flushes”, cesium chloride or “oleander soup” for cancer. All have been proven to be bogus.
Amber: “I for one, have witnessed 100′ s of anecdotal stories of massive health improvement through pH.”
Fantastic example of skewing science to fit a personal view.
Amber: “My own health is top notch in every single test that can be run.”
Wait, those tests are based on that manipulated science you talk about. So how do you know you are really healthy since you cannot base this on those manipulated tests? Or is science only acceptable when you feel it fits your view?
Funny thing is that I am seen so many alkaline diet supporters claim that they are 100% healthy. But the more you question them all of a sudden they start taking about all their health problems.
Amber: “I eat about 80% alkaline forming foods and drink alkaline water.”
There is NO such thing as an alkaline forming food. As has been pointed out so many times ALL foods are metabolized in to acids. And many of the so-called “alkaline foods” are acidic already from their naturally occurring acids.
As for alkaline water this does not alkalize the blood any more than the so-called “alkaline foods” that do not alkalize the blood either.
Amber: “The bogus thing I notice about your article is that you keep making it about blood pH. The point of an alkaline diet is to make the interstitial fluids of the body more alkaline. ”
How is it bogus when it is the blood and even more alkaline lymph that maintains the alkalinity of the interstitial fluid? This is a great example of why people need to stop relying on propaganda sites to get their health information and need to start getting their health information from real scientific sites.
Amber: “The blood pH is highly regulated, as you suggest. It’s not going to change much. Further, you don’t talk about the quality of blood on an alkaline diet.”
Yes, the blood pH, and thus the pH of interstitial fluid is highly regulated.
And the blog article was about the alkaline myth, not the nutritional aspects of the so-called “alkaline diet”, which includes a number of beneficial acids we need to survive and function properly.
Amber: “Many microorganisms form in the blood of a body that is too acidic and often the negative charge around the red blood cells is lost, causing them to clump up and distort in shape, making one feel more lethargic due to the lack of quality of the blood… alkaline forming foods create the opposite. ”
More bogus claims found on various alkalizing propaganda sites.
First of all most pathogens thrive in an ALKALINE environment. This is one of the reasons pathogen induced diseases still occur despite the fact that the blood is maintained in an alkaline state as even Amber admits.
Pathogens elsewhere in the body also need alkalinity to survive and thrive. The ulcer and cancer causing pathogen Helicobacter pylori for example secretes highly alkaline ammonia to protect itself from the stomach’s acidity. The bacteria that lead to urinary tract infections use the enzyme urease to split urea forming the highly alkaline ammonia that creates the alkaline pH it needs to survive. The dimorphic microbe Candida albicans remains in its benign yeast form in an acidic environment. Acidity also turns off the Candida growth gene. In an alkaline environment the Candida growth gene is turned on and the Candida morphs in to its pathogenic fungal form. In this fungal form the Candida forms hyphae that allow the Candida to dig in and damage tissues. These are just a few examples of the numerous pathogens that rely on alkalinity to survive.
As for the red blood cell clumping claim again this bogus claim is based on a real misunderstanding of human physiology. What this refers to is a process known as rouleaux. The claim being made here is the same as I saw on a video pushing goji (lycii) berries, so here is a copy of my response:
“The clumping of the blood cells shown in the slide is known as rouleaux and has NOTHING to do with the blood being acidic or alkaline. Rouleaux most commonly occurs from dehydration, excessive sodium and some medications.
Another company selling enzymes claims that the rouleaux is not from acidity but rather a lack of enzymes, which is also untrue. But of course they were selling the enzymes they claim you need just like this company is selling the goji berries at outrageous prices. You can buy these berries at China Town under the name lycii berry for a fraction of the cost.
Also pay close attention to the slide where they claim the black spots are bacteria and cholesterol. Notice how they do not move when the red blood cells shift. This is because they are not in the blood, they are artifact on the slides. Again they are lying to their audience to sell their product.
Then they claim the light colored centers of the red blood cells indicate anemia. More BS. They are lighter because if you ever look at the structure of red blood cells they are concave in the center making the cells thinner in the center and thus the light passes through the center easier.
Note where they claim there are uric acid crystals in the blood but again they are not moving, which leads me to believe these are again artifact on the slide. Even if uric acid is present, which is in everyone, uric acid is one of the body’s primary antioxidants. Its present DOES NOT mean the blood is acidic. The uric acid is formed in everyone as a protective mechanism against the highly alkaline and highly toxic ammonia. The ammonia is converted in to uric acid to protect the body from ammonia poisoning.
Fungi in the blood is also EXTREMELY rare.
Basically the video is loaded with lies and misrepresentations because its sole purpose is to push sales.”
As we can see people twist real science all the time to make up whatever “facts” they feel fits their needs. This DOES NOT make those claims they are making up true.
Amber: “Red blood cells are round and bounce off of each other with fewer microorganisms present.”
Again, not true.
Amber: “Debunking a pH diet based on blood pH alone is kinda like what a magician does when he directs your attention to only part of what he is doing to make something explainable look like magic.”
Not at all. The topic was the myth of the alkaline diet, and so that is what was being discussed. If the topic was about the beneficial acids and other nutrients supplied by the so-called “alkaline diet” even though none of them alkalize the blood then those nutrients would have been discussed. Your analogy is like saying if someone is discussing rockets that they are diverting attention if they don’t discuss all the planets in the universe.
Amber: “You aren’t even covering how an alkaline diet affects the body”
Again, because that WAS NOT the topic!!!
Amber: “and omitting what an alkaline diet actually does to improve health. It’s kinda shady. I feel bad for the people you are misleading. ”
Some people really amaze me, and not for good reasons.
Read the title of the articles so you can figure out what the topic of the article is.
And how about your various misleading statements I addressed above?
Amber:You make some true statements, but what you use as a means to debunk the value of managing body pH is misleading. Stop the magic tricks and give people sound information.”
The information was sound. Just because it debunks what you read on various bogus propaganda sites this does not make Kessler’s information non-credible. The fact that anyone would think differently that what science has already proven only shown how gullible some people can be.
Amber: “Just goes to show you, anyone can write online and it doesn’t mean it’s true…”
Yes, what you posted is proof of that since the information you presented is bogus.
Amber: “this article has many truths in it, but a VERY faulty conclusion based on half truths. Dangerously misleading.”
If you are going to claim the article is full of dangerous half truths then why don’t you present REAL evidence to the contrary instead of just regurgitating the same bogus information you read somewhere on propaganda sites?
IMHO the Alkaline Diet is a bit of a problem when you get right down to trying it out.
All foods have different acid and alkaline mineral content, but the charts most websites offer don’t take into account that many so-called alkaline foods also have large amounts of acid-forming minerals or substances. A banana is a perfect example. Although high in potassium, it’s also loaded with fructose, a highly acidifying form of fruit sugar.
We’ve been helping people over come this difficulty for years now. First step was to find a good source of alkaline food lists. The only one we found was Dr Susan E Brown’s Acid Alkaline Food Guide, because she has based her easy-to-use lists on the work of Dr Russell Jaffe, who spent countless hours measuring the acid/alkaline balance of foods, but also ‘calibrating’ his findings based not just on pH but also on the biological effect of the particular acid or alkali.
We designed our Alkaline Food Chart based on their work.
So if you look at my lunch yesterday, that I absolutely enjoyed, by the way, it may not look particularly alkaline balancing.
Let’s take a look at yesterday’s lunch!
1. Cos lettuce picked straight from our garden: Medium alkalizer
2. Wild caught Salmon: Medium acidic
3. Kalamata Olives: Medium acid-forming. If I’d chosen green olives, they would have been medium alkaline forming.
4. Tiny Tom tomatoes from the garden: Low acid forming.
5. Cucumber from the Farmers’ Market: Low alkaline forming ability
6. Fresh Snow peas: Low alkaline forming ability
7. Cassie’s home made Mayo: Low acid forming.
8. Dill Pickles: Medium alkaline forming
(see it here: http://www.alkaway.com.au/blog/alkaline-lunch/)
Now… looking at this, the simple way would be to say that I consumed a total of 4 alkaline forming foods, and three acid forming foods. But.. what about how MUCH I ate? And what about whether I am deficient in the minerals that are being replenished. We Aussies, for instance, are almost all deficient in Magnesium. So what looks simple isn’t simple at all. But there’s something else on my plate. Did you notice? Fresh Lime, straight from our own tree! Highly alkaline forming! So my quarter lime could have easily tipped the balance to alkalizing. We use either lime or lemon with almost every main meal. I have even trained my palate to use the squeezed lime as a mouth refresher after my meal. Wow! It’s amazing!
Summarizing, my alkaline forming ‘secret strategies’ make it easier for me to avoid this balancing act. Here they are; the result of 15 years of deep and meaningful alkalizing. I just use lime and lemon any time I can, as often as I can, and I also consume leafy greens as often as I can.
With Cassie’s support, and because I found I had severe osteoporosis, I’ve also eliminated the BIG acidifiers, sugar grains and bread, which also happen to be seriously addictive. Once my addiction eased up i found I was also eating far less, including meat. As an addict I would eat anything in front of me. Anytime. Anywhere. A walking vacuum cleaner. Now meat doesn’t ever become the big acidifier it can when you consume too much. Dr Susan Brown points out in her Guide that excess meat converts directly to acid and is stored in our fat!
Raw? Vegetarian?
I have watched some alkaline diet advocated who have somehow ‘arranged’ the alkaline science to suit their own diet preferences – usually raw or vegetarian. however a diet high in fresh fructose-laden fruit, especially juices, is an acid time bomb. Ask me – I was a vegetarian for 14 years and I directly attribute my osteoporosis to the diet. They are slowly coming around, leading em to wonder if they ever really examined thew science in detail.
A Non-Radical Approach
|So an alkaline diet doesn’t have to be radical. You can also supplement your food with alkaline electrolytes, or alkaline green powder which easily takes you up to the recommended 6 serves of green vegetables a day without the bulk. Cassie eventually gave our diet a name; The Alkaline Paleo diet, and although she doesn’t post much on her blog today, the info there is still excellent and still helping a lot of people.
Water Support
Of course, I support it with alkaline ionized water from our mighty UltraStream, but although it’s a great alkaline water producer, its great benefit is its ability to supply me with a constant supply of molecular hydrogen, which in turn (may) assist me with issues such as free radicals, inflammation and allergies. (and perhaps a huge amount more, according to the 400+ studies!) I sincerely believe that any diet without good hydration is like having a good car with bad oil. Dumb and dumber.
The first problem with your comment is that as has been pointed out so many times there is no such thing as an alkaline forming food. ALL foods, including those incorrectly considered “alkaline forming” are metabolized in to acids in the body. So it does not matter if you are eating eating cucumbers or candy bars they will all be metabolized in to acids.
This is one of the reasons that diet does not alkalize the blood. Blood pH is maintained primarily by respiration followed by kidney excretion or retention of hydrogen ions. These account for virtually all the pH regulation in the body. Diet has virtually no effect.
As for the comment on the ionized water there are some problems with the statement.
First of all the alkaline water is a free radical source, not antioxidant. Alkaline ionized water is formed by the electrolysis of water with minerals in it. On the alkaline side the hydroxyl (OH) radical binds with the minerals in the water forming caustic mineral (metal) hydroxides such as calcium hydroxide, magnesium hydroxide, potassium hydroxide, etc. Hydroxides are not safe to ingest or even get on the tissues because they dangerously neutralize stomach acid and hydroxides chemically burn the tissues. Magnesium hydroxide for example is used as a laxative because it chemically burns the intestinal wall. This leads to an influx of water in to the intestines and increased peristalsis. Bags of calcium hydroxide used to make cement among other things have clear warnings not to allow contact with the tissues since again it can burn the tissues. Potassium hydroxide (Drano) and sodium hydroxide (Red Devil Lye) also have these same warnings due to severe chemical burns they can cause to the tissues. So I find it hard to phantom that anyone would recommend ingesting these dangerous chemicals and do so while falsely claiming ionized alkaline water is health promoting. How can chemicals that repeatedly burn the tissues increasing the risk of diseases like cancer be considered healthy by any means?
As these mineral hydroxides disassociate they re-create the hydroxyl radical, which is a free radical.
This free radical is damaging to the cells and IS NOT antioxidant. Anti-oxidant means “anti-oxygen”. The hydroxyl radical DOES NOT mop up singlet oxygen radicals. In other words it does not form HO2.
It is the acidic water, not the alkaline water, that provides molecular hydrogen that mops up the oxygen radicals. In other works: H (molecular hydrogen) + H (molecular hydrogen) + O (singlet oxygen radical) forms H2O (water).
Therefore, the ionized alkaline water is a dangerous and disease forming free radical source while the acid water is antioxidant.
There are no hydroxyl radicals produced in the alkaline side. It is hydroxide (OH-) ions that are produced.
At a low pH 8-10 the hydroxide ions do not bind to the those minerals, except for a small amount that makes up some of the white flakes in the water (although that is primarily carbonates)…mineral hydroxides are only toxic when at a molar concentration above 0.01 M or so, not 0.0001 pH 12 vs10, respectively.
Ian Hamilton: “There are no hydroxyl radicals produced in the alkaline side. It is hydroxide (OH-) ions that are produced.”
Incorrect. Hydroxyl radicals are formed from the disassociation of the mineral hydroxides that are formed when the water is split by electrolysis to make the alkaline water.
Ian Hamilton: “At a low pH 8-10 the hydroxide ions do not bind to the those minerals, except for a small amount that makes up some of the white flakes in the water (although that is primarily carbonates)”
First of all a pH of 8 to 10 IS NOT “low”. Those are high pH levels.
Secondly, the hydroxide group does in fact bind to the minerals. I hate to say it but this is very basic chemistry. Ever hear the term “opposites attract”? The negatively charged hydroxyl group needs to be balanced. So it binds to the positively charged metals from the minerals such as sodium, potassium, calcium and magnesium forming the corresponding mineral (metal) hydroxides.
And these DO NOT form white flakes as is being claimed. These hydroxides are water soluble. To form white flakes they would either have to insoluble or the water supersaturated with the mineral (metal) hydroxides to allow them to precipitate out.
And how could they be carbonates? Where are the carbonates coming from? They would had to have been in the water to begin with such as calcium and magnesium carbonates. So this brings up the very obvious question, if these carbonates were insoluble why were they not in the water to begin with before the electrolysis?
Ian Hamilton: “mineral hydroxides are only toxic when at a molar concentration above 0.01 M or so, not 0.0001 pH 12 vs10, respectively.”
First of all source on your claim?
Secondly, studies showing the mineral hydroxide content of various ionized alkaline waters for an average.
And finally, what SPECIFICALLY are you deeming to be toxicity? In other words SPECIFICALLY what side effects from the toxicity?
Just a few points:
….. If you Google “electrolysis of water” you will see that it is OH- hydroxides that are produced are not toxic hydroxyl (OH) radicals
….pH 8 -10 is relatively low compared pH 12-14.
….Some people’s home water has a pH near 10
….if mineral hydroxides are soluble then they don’t bind to each other, if they do then they are called insoluble. Again google that.
…. wikipedia. …the carbonates are coming from the tap water, their is always some dissolved CO2, which forms CO3^2- and HCO3-, their solubility is a function of pH and as the pH increases they bind to calcium to form insoluble calcium carbonate, which is the white flakes. …
James, I’ve followed your posts over the last months. You have a good mind and good knowledge in your specialities. I won’t be posting on this again.
Ian hamilton: “Just a few points:
….. If you Google “electrolysis of water” you will see that it is OH- hydroxides that are produced are not toxic hydroxyl (OH) radicals”
Read what I said again because that is not what I said. As we can see I CLEARY stated:
“Hydroxyl radicals are formed from the disassociation of the mineral hydroxides that are formed when the water is split by electrolysis to make the alkaline water.”
So I DID NOT say that the hydroxyl radicals were formed from the electrolysis. What I pointed out was that the negatively charged hydroxyl group formed during electrolysis is attracted to the positively charged metals from the minerals in the water forming mineral (metal) hydroxides. These dangerous, caustic hydroxides are what make this disease promoting water alkaline. It is the disassociation of these mineral hydroxides that form the dangerous hydroxyl radical making the alkaline water a free radical source.
And again, for this water to be antioxidant the water would have to react with oxygen radicals neutralizing them. But the dangerous free radical, the hydroxyl radical DOES NOT do this since we cannot form O2H (O+OH). The antioxidant properties of electrolyzed water would come from the ACID water, which contains reactive hydrogen that reacts with reactive hydrogen to form water. Thus H+H+O forms H2O otherwise known as water.
Ian Hamilton: “….pH 8 -10 is relatively low compared pH 12-14. ”
I almost fell out of my chair laughing when I red this. What a way to stretch things to cover up a major error. By your same reasoning we could say that a pH of 1 or 2 is “relatively low” compared to a pH of 12 to 14. But my statement stands, a pH of 8 to 10 ins widely accepted as being a HIGH pH value, not a low one.
Ian Hamilton: “….Some people’s home water has a pH near 10”
And?!!!! So what? Naturally alkaline waters are alkaline due to naturally occurring carbonates, not dangerous caustic and free radical providing mineral (metal) hydroxides.
Ian Hamilton: “….if mineral hydroxides are soluble then they don’t bind to each other, if they do then they are called insoluble. Again google that.”
Again, you missed my point. The mineral (metal) hydroxides in ionized alkaline water are SOLUBLE!!! Look up the solubility of sodium, potassium, calcium and magnesium hydroxides. All can be dissolved in water in small amounts.
Yes, you can get precipitate if enough hydroxide is ADDED to supersaturate the water or if you use a cobalt, iron or aluminum hydroxides, which are insoluble. Of course I never mentioned those last three hydroxides.
Ian Hamilton: “…. wikipedia. …the carbonates are coming from the tap water, their is always some dissolved CO2, which forms CO3^2- and HCO3-, their solubility is a function of pH and as the pH increases they bind to calcium to form insoluble calcium carbonate, which is the white flakes. ”
But in your original statement you said “At a low pH 8-10 the hydroxide ions do not bind to the those minerals, except for a small amount that makes up some of the white flakes in the water”.
And I reponded:
“And these DO NOT form white flakes as is being claimed. These hydroxides are water soluble. To form white flakes they would either have to insoluble or the water supersaturated with the mineral (metal) hydroxides to allow them to precipitate out.”
So the primary question is how can these white flakes be the mineral hydroxides when they are soluble in the water in those amounts? The question still stands.
Then I went on to say:
“And how could they be carbonates? Where are the carbonates coming from? They would had to have been in the water to begin with such as calcium and magnesium carbonates. So this brings up the very obvious question, if these carbonates were insoluble why were they not in the water to begin with before the electrolysis?”
You kind of answered that question with a reasonable answer I was hoping you would answer since this provides the evidence to what could be yet another danger to ionized alkaline water.
Now, as you pointed out the solubility of this calcium salt decreases with increasing pH, which is true. Therefore, using the reasoning by the ionized alkaline water supporters, if their claims were true that drinking this water actually alkalizes the blood then this would also mean that the higher alkalinity would decrease the solubility of calcium salts in the body leading to calcifications. For example, calcified arterial plaque, bone spurs, calcified gallstones, etc. So thanks for answering that question so that everyone will know that the claims by the alkaline water supporters claiming the water is alkalizing is either bogus or the water can lead to disease causing calcifications in the body.
Ian Hamilton: “I won’t be posting on this again.”
Oh, but we are making so much progress discrediting ionized alkaline water. Don’t give up yet. There are still more questions on of your claims I am still waiting for answers on. You have not backed up these claims you made yet:
Ian Hamilton: “mineral hydroxides are only toxic when at a molar concentration above 0.01 M or so, not 0.0001 pH 12 vs10, respectively.”
First of all source on your claim?
Secondly, studies showing the mineral hydroxide content of various ionized alkaline waters for an average.
And finally, what SPECIFICALLY are you deeming to be toxicity? In other words SPECIFICALLY what side effects from the toxicity?
Don’t leave us hanging Ian, we need evidence and answers to your claims!!!
Oh lord, I’m so confused now. James, I don’t know if you’re still commenting on this thread or not, but I need to ask this.
My family has been drinking purified/distilled water (mostly because we don’t want to drink our city water, and also because it just tastes better). Over the past few weeks, I had gotten increasingly worried, because I kept reading about how distilled water is “acidic” and will leach minerals from your bones via osmosis, etc. People have recommended adding pink Himalayan salt to the water to remineralize it.
In your opinion, is it necessary, or even crucial, to do this? I have begun to do it, but remain worried about the years we’ve been drinking distilled water (without even realizing there were any arguments against it!). And if there is no such thing as “alkalinizing” by way of diet…what would remain possible costs or benefits to adding pink Himalayan salt to distilled water? Does it make a difference at all? Or would you recommend it?
This article you wrote has been very informative, and I appreciate what I’ve learned in reading it. I hope your still commenting on this thread, because this topic has, literally, kept me up at night! Lol.
I’ve heard the same about distilled water. Nature abhors a vacuum… the water stripped of minerals and dissolved solids tries to reconstitute as it passes through you by collecting your trace minerals. In effect, stripping you of minerals right back.
There is some truth to that as any refrigerator repair man can tell you. Through the door water dispensers dispense charcoal filtered water on many new refrigerators. The hose, from the filter to the dispenser that fills your glass, must be plastic. The supply line to the actual filter is often still copper. Why is this? Because the stripped water slowly eats away at the inside of pipe until pin holes appear. I’m not going to call it acidic… I’m going to just say its what water does. A river of water flowing over rocks collects minerals.
Distilled water would logically leach and collect as it passes through you. I would certainly would not be drinking distilled water long term or at least I’d be adding trace minerals to each glass of it I consume.
By the way, James did not write the article… Chris Kresser did (or at least his people). James is still here lurking. Just try saying his name 3 times in a mirror and poof there he is. 🙂
I guess James would go crazy if he would see your comment. Now let us go back to Chemistry 101. If you drink pure water, it will consume everything on its path till it reaches equilibrium since its osmotic pressure is different. Now it is not related with acidity. If you get this, if you drink acid or alkali water but with different osmotic pressure, same applies. So what you drink in pure water is a neutral sponge. It will suck its minerals out of you. If you drop a piece of pure water on your eye (DONT DO IT!!! It is an example of its effect.) your eye would be blurred immediately and you will need to get it removed like a cataract if you are lucky.
Last, if your parents are not using a pure water machine, then what they use should be filtering the water with active carbons. That is not the same thing. It is purified water, not pure water and they should have salt (in its general meaning) additive section.
Hi Chris,
They are partially right. Purified waters will absorb carbon dioxide, sulfur oxides and nitrogen oxides from the air making the water acidic. But this has NOTHING to do with taking minerals from the body.
Water is the universal solvent so it will dissolve substances in an attempt to reach some type of saturation. A simple way to understand this is if you take a glass of water and start stirring in sugar it will dissolve the sugar until it reaches a saturation or in some cases a supersaturation.
It is this solvency that also allows vitamins and minerals to be dissolved and carried both in to and out of the body.
Now, the more pure the water is the more solvent it becomes, and ultrapure waters are so solvent that they are actually highly corrosive. Of course we are not going to drink ultrapure water anyway and reverse osmosis and distilled waters are far from ultrapure waters.
Regardless, as I said the more pure a water is the more solvent it becomes. In addition, water does not have a brain to say I will take the bad stuff and leave the good stuff. It will dissolve both and again can carry both out of the body as easily as it can carry these in to the body.
I actually did some videos on the subject a while back:
http://medcapsules.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=6357
Therefore, drinking purified waters will rob the body of nutrients, but NOT from acidity.
And this is not the only danger issue with purified waters.
The other factor goes to the osmosis factor. Water will go from a level of higher purity to a level of lower purity to try and reach equilibrium. If you want to research examples study the difference between hypotonic, isotonic and hypertonic IV solutions.
When people drink a purified water the water RAPIDLY enters the bloodstream since the concentration of of purer water is greater in the stomach than the blood. But this sudden influx of water in to the blood can raise blood pressure and dangerously hyper-dilute the electrolytes. Therefore, the body has to work extra hard to rapidly remove this sudden influx of water to prevent problems. This is why when people drink a purified water they need to urinate so much sooner than with a mineralized water. This can also lead to a rebound dehydration if the body over reacts in trying to eliminate that sudden influx of water.
There are expensive, trendy water on the market claiming to hydrate cells faster using bogus claims like the water molecules are smaller. Great sales hype. Again, these are nothing more than purified waters so the water enters the bloodstream faster, but again can lead to rebound dehydration.
If drinking a lot of purified water, such as on a hot day there is also a greater risk of death from water intoxication ( selling of the brain due to hyper-dilution of the electrolytes) for the same reason.
So to answer your question about adding Real Salt (Himalayan Salt) to the water, yes this is one way to help re-saturate purified waters to reduce the dangers mentioned above. You do not need to make the water taste salty. I add a pinch to a bottle or glass of water.
I also like to use food grade diatomaceous earth to my water as an alternative to get the benefits of the silica. See:
http://medcapsules.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=2800
http://www.medcapsules.com/info/Silica.htm
http://www.medcapsules.com/info/Silica_Diatomaceous%20Earth%20vs%20Horsetail%20Grass.htm
Magnesium hydroxide isn’t caustic; its solubility is so low, that the pH of saturated solution is around 10 (that is similar to typical soap). it can ‘irritate’ intensinal wall but not burn.
Also, magnesium sulphate or chloride have a laxative effect as well…
Great comment Ian!
Interesting reading…any suggestions for an AB+ kidney transplant recipient, non diabetic, seeking to provide kidney longevity through diet & not giving kidneys more stress through acidic diet? I am strongly considering an alkaline diet vegan life change.
As for diet more foods high in silica such as oat bran or rice bran and foods high in natural vitamin C such as papaya, kiwis, mangoes, berries, etc.
The herb nettle leaf is also highly supportive of the kidneys and is not an issue with the anti-rejection drugs,
Dear James
Brilliantly explained
Keep it up but I’m afraid there is no educating or convincing some people
really nicely explained
Thanks Andrew.
I agree, some people will never figure it out. But there are those who will listen and will research the claims. Then hopefully they will start spreading the correct information and the correct information will start to snowball drowning out the bogus “alkaline diet” misinformation.
Forget about blood ph. People should be looking at saliva and urine ph and how they relate to health. People with systemic chronic illnesses have more acidic saliva and urine. Pathogens produce the acid present in the saliva and urine of people who are significantly acidic long term – directly and indirectly. Taking bicarb does over time have a similar effect on the pathogens involved as antimicrobials do – they do not thrive in an alkaline environment and their numbers decrease. Yes, the typical alkaline diet will provide better nutrition than the average diet.
Though I would like to see some studies of blood ph in seriously chronically ill people vs healthy people to see how well the body’s buffering systems keep up. Not much point in arguing about blood ph without knowing that.
Salivary and urinary pH are not a reflection of blood pH.
Salivary pH actually tells us very little. Salivary pH is affected by the amount of bacteria in the mouth so things such as brushing your teeth will make the saliva more alkaline. So will drinking water, thinking of certain foods, etc. Dry mouth increases acidity as alkaline saliva normally washes away acid forming bacteria in the mouth.
Urinary pH is affected by hydration levels, certain supplements and medications and by bacteria in the urine. Urinary tract infections lead to highly alkaline urine as the bacteria use the enzyme urease to split urea in to highly alkaline ammonia. The alkalinity helps the bacteria, as with most pathogens, to survive.
Ingesting baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) does not really alkalize the blood in most cases and even if it does it is very temporary. Ingesting baking soda can actually cause acidosis since as it reacts with the stomach acid it forms carbonic acid and sodium chloride. Carbonic acid can cause acidosis as well as excess sodium chloride, which can cause hyperchloremic acidosis.
Another common myth is that most pathogens cannot survive in an alkaline environment. Actually most pathogens cannot survive in an acidic environment and thrive in an alkaline environment. Look at H. pylori bacteria, which secrete highly alkaline and highly toxic ammonia to neutralize stomach acid and protect themselves. In addition, roles of both stomach acid and the acids produced by the beneficial bacteria that inhabit our bodies is to destroy pathogens. Same reason people exposed to food poisoning pathogens are more prone to the pathogens when they have low stomach acid and acid producing flora.
The acid producing flora also keeps Candida under control. These acids turn off the Candida growth gene and keep the Candida in its benign yeast form. When the flora numbers are decreased the environment becomes alkaline turning on the Candida growth gene and morphing the Candida in to its pathogenic fungal form (candidiasis). It is in this fungal form that the Candida forms finger-like projections known as hyphae that allow the Candida to dig in to tissues causing damage and inflammation.
what would you suggest for someone having a candida problem? diet, supplement wise?
Hi Kayla,
I want to start by pointing out that everyone has Candida. It is a normal part of the body. But not everyone has candidiasis, which is the overgrowth of fungal Candida. And again, the overgrowth is due to an alkaline environment, which turns on the Candida growth gene and morphs the Candida in to its pathogenic fungal form.
Therefore, you cannot really kill off the Candida. This is the most common mistake people make. For example, using enzymes to try and digest the Candida, which will not work and can make things worse. See:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMPoie_16ns
What people with candidiasis need to do is to restore the naturally acidic environment in the areas of the body where Candida naturally exists.
To do this the first thing I recommend is eating more cultured foods such as kefirs, cultured vegetables, miso, tempeh, etc. These provide a good source of probiotics to jump start the growth of the beneficial bacteria to restore the acidity.
A side note here. I generally do not recommend yogurts unless homemade since most are not live culture even if they claim they are on the package.
The second thing I recommend are prebiotics, which are the fibers that feed the flora. My favorites are rice or oat bran since they are also great sources of B vitamins and silica and do not cause severe bloating like psyllium does. Other good sources include vegetable gums (guar, glucomannan, xanthan, etc.), fructooligosaccharides (FOS) and inulin. More high fiber vegetables in the diet is also good. The bacteria feed on these fibers breaking them down and fermenting the resultant sugars forming the acids that control the Candida.
You cannot cut out sugars from the diet since basically all foods contain sugars. Even meats contain sugars. But try to stay away from high glycemic foods.
Please advise on the following info: “Osteoporosis Around the World: Throughout the world, the incidence of osteoporosis correlates directly with animal protein intake. The greater the intake of protein, the more common and more severe will be the osteoporosis. In fact, world health statistics show that osteoporosis is most common in exactly those countries where dairy products are consumed in the largest quantities – the United States, Finland, Sweden and the United Kingdom. Nathan Pritikin studied the medical research on osteoporosis, and found no basis at all for the Dairy Council viewpoint:
African Bantu women take in only 350 mg. of calcium per day. They bear nine children during their lifetime and breast feed them for two years. They never have calcium deficiency, seldom break a bone, rarely lose a tooth… How can they do that on 350 mg. of calcium a day when the (National Dairy Council) recommendation is 1200 mg.? It’s very simple. They’re on a low-protein diet that doesn’t kick the calcium out of the body’.
At the other end of the scale from the Bantus are the native Eskimos. If osteoporosis were a calcium deficiency disease it would be unheard of among these people. They have the highest dietary calcium intake of any people in the world – more than 2000 mg. a day from fish bones. Their diet is also the very highest in the world in protein – 250 to 400 grams a day. The native Eskimo people have one of the very highest rates of osteoporosis in the world.
In March, 1983, the Journal of Clinical Nutrition reported the results of the largest study of this kind ever undertaken. Researchers in Michigan State and other major universities found that, by the age of 65 in the United States:
•Male vegetarians had an average measurable bone loss of 3%
• Male meat-eaters had an average measurable bone loss of 7%
• Female vegetarians had an average measurable bone loss of 18%
• Female meat-eaters had an average measurable bone loss of 35%
This is from the website Food Maters.
A big part of the problem is that people keep confusing osteopenia and osteomalacia, which are bone mineral loss with osteoporosis. Osteoporosis is not a loss of bone minerals but rather a loss of collagen matrix, which reduces mineral binding sites.
And taking calcium is not going to treat osteoporosis since it DOES NOT build the collagen matrix. Silica and vitamin C deficiencies are the most common reasons for collagen loss. Silica is also responsible for the deposition of minerals in to the collagen matrix.
Exercise promotes bone mineralization by putting pressure on the silica in the collagen matrix. The resultant piezoelectric effect electrodeposits minerals in to the collagen matrix.
See:
http://medcapsules.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=3575
http://medcapsules.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=3463
http://medcapsules.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=3461
Concepts of ketosis and Ktoatzidosis?
Hey Chris,
I love your blogs and I find them really informative and I loved the studies. I’m an almost RD, and so I’m familiar with ketoacidosis, which I know is what happens in type 1 diabetics who neglect to use their insulin. In the case of the diabetic, their blood sugar spikes, cells starve, hydroxy butyrate (ketones) are formed, but again, ketones aren’t taken into the blood, and they are acidify the blood…causing acidosis. I can’t remember how they acidify, I keep visualizing my notes from medical nutrition and keep thinking they are broken down, released H+, but I can’t remember the little details. In this case, why do the kidneys not balance Ph? Is it just an overload they can’t handle? Also, if you’ve seen the documentary forks over knives you know all about anti meat because of the carboxylic acid of the protein: again, why does eating more meat (intaking more carboxylic acid) not effect serum Ph in the same way? I’m always learning new things in nutrition, and I’ve decided I’ll be reading articles and studies until (or after) I retire -thanks
I have donated a kidney to my son 7 years ago. A couple of years post transplant I have developed a few health issues like high blood pressure, elevated cholesterol , weight gain etc.
The kidney specialist suggested to start with medications. I decided to reverse my health issues by following a vegan lifestyle, and I make sure the urine is never than 8.
All the issues have been reversed.
I run a wholistic clinic, and I witnesses many reversals with clients following the Alkaliney lifestyle. E.g. cancer, diabitis, auto immune diseases, shrinking of fibroids etc etc etc.
I also read Dr. Colin Campbell book “The China Study” and it confirmed my beliefts. I do believe that by not touching any animal protein, I am allowing my one and only kidney to have an easier time filtering all the toxins, and the results are my best witness.
Thank you.
Confirmation bias (also called confirmatory bias or my-side bias) is a tendency for people to favor information that confirms their preconceptions or hypotheses regardless of whether the information is true. As a result, people gather evidence and recall information from memory selectively, and interpret it in a biased way.
They also tend to interpret ambiguous evidence as supporting their existing position. Biased search, interpretation and/or recall have been invoked to explain attitude polarization (when a disagreement becomes more extreme even though the different parties are exposed to the same evidence), belief perseverance (when beliefs persist after the evidence for them is shown to be false), the irrational primacy effect (a stronger weighting for data encountered early in an arbitrary series) and illusory correlation (in which people falsely perceive an association between two events or situations).
https://www.princeton.edu/~achaney/tmve/wiki100k/docs/Confirmation_bias.html