When it comes to your health, something that you may not have considered is your pH balance, which greatly affects your body’s ability to function, especially if there health issues. What exactly is pH?  Aside from seeing it mentioned, perhaps, on the labels of your bottles of shampoo and conditioner, the pH level of a substance refers to the degree of acidity or alkalinity of that substance. It stands for the potential of hydrogen, which is a measure of the positive hydrogen ions in a substance, the accumulation of which leads to creating an acidic environment.

These positive ions take place are neutrally charged hydrogen (H) atoms that have each lost an electron, and have thus become positively charged ions. These positive H+ ions are what combines with negatively charged metals or minerals to create greater acidity within the substance. This corresponds to pH values that are less than 7.0.

This is significant because the pH level that exists in your body is critical for enzymes to function properly.  Enzymes are proteins that speed up the different metabolic processes in your body and can affect everything from detoxification to digestion.  If your pH is not in that optimal window, the enzymes become less effective and may even entirely cease to function.

The higher the pH, the less H+ ions and the more the negative hydroxyl (OH– ions, where O represents oxygen). This corresponds to pH values that are higher than 7.0. It’s important to note that this scale is logarithmic, which means that a difference of 1 along the scale is actually a difference of 10.

Therefore, the less oxygen and more H+ ions present in the body’s extracellular fluid (the fluid surrounding the body’s cells that is comprised of plasma and interstitial fluid), the more acidic the body becomes, corresponding to a lower level on the pH scale. On the higher end of the spectrum, more oxygen and less hydrogen lead to an increased alkaline state. For optimal function, your blood pH should be at 7.365, which is just slightly alkaline. Any variation can be the difference between life and death.

It is important to understand that saliva pH, which will be slightly more acidic than your blood, and urine pH can be used as an indicator of your body’s balance of minerals since the urine is produced as a result of the kidneys working together with the lungs, adrenal glands, and your ovaries (women), or your testes (male).  While the blood is maintained at a fairly constant 7.365, realize that the pH varies within the body  For example, the pH in the stomach is closer to around 2.0 due to its production of hydrochloric acid to kill the bacteria that may be present in the foods that you eat, along with helping you to digest your foods. On your skin, the pH is closer to around 4.0 and is known as the acid mantle, which once again, serves to keep bacterial growth to a minimum and allows your skin to act as a barrier.

When the body is too acidic, your cells are not able to produce energy in the form of adenosine triphosphate (ATP)—the body’s currency of energy—through aerobic cellular respiration, where oxygen is present. Instead, the cells produce energy anaerobically, through glycolysis, which involves the fermentation of sugar1 in the body for energy. Although the body is still able to produce energy through glycolysis, I view this as more of a survival mechanism. Cells unable to produce enough energy to support their function, in concert with other cells within tissues and organs, will die.

According to Dr. Otto Warburg, Nobel Prize winner for his research back in 1931, summarized that  “the prime cause of cancer is the replacement of the respiration of oxygen in normal body cells by a fermentation of sugar.”2. This is why it’s so significant to gain an understanding of the pH levels for your body. Cancer cells essentially thrive in an acidic environment.  Therefore, to make this shift of oxygenating the cells in the body, it’s necessary to shift the pH towards a level that is just slightly alkaline.

After receiving a cancer diagnosis, I began to consume more foods that would create greater alkalinity within the body.  Within three months of making this change, I witnessed my elevated cancer markers drop back to normal levels. While I was successful in maintaining this diet and lifestyle change for a year, when I traveled for my job overseas, I was unable to maintain this diet and regimen. Upon returning back to the United States, I learned the hard way that my decisions on diet and lifestyle had a big impact on health. That night that my flight landed, I began hemorrhaging every two weeks. The tumor that had been dying began to grow aggressively, tripling in size within three months, and then, rapid edema ensued, leading both my lungs to collapse and fill with fluid. When I eventually was admitted into hospice, it sure felt like the beginning of the end. Despite immediately getting back on the diet and lifestyle that I had been practicing, it seemed to be of no avail. Yet, because I believed so strongly in the ability of the body’s condition to change, I continued on.

Perhaps you’re on your own healing journey where you may feel that occasional culinary indulgences have no impact on your health. Perhaps you’ve heard occasional comments like “Just one bite won’t hurt.”  I learned from my own personal experience that this couldn’t be further from the truth.

In testing my own pH levels, I learned that, for my body, it took just one bite of a highly acidic food to shift my body’s pH from neutral to acidic. Several years ago, over one Christmas holiday, despite dealing with cancer, not wanting to offend my host, I decided to take just a single bite of salmon, thinking that this amount would probably have no impact on my pH. Was I ever surprised to find that my normal pH, which averages around 7.0, dropped to an acidic level of 4.5. This was a stark reminder for me of the importance of staying the course when trying to heal from a serious health condition.

Moreover, in addition to the impact of food,  how you feel—especially negative emotions–can also play a role. When you’re afraid, stressed, or anxious, if you’re paying attention, you can feel how your body immediately reacts to your situation, along with your thoughts and feelings. Long-term stress can negatively impact your body, leading to conditions like acid reflux, ulcers, and insomnia. According to Dr. Candace Pert, author of Molecules of Emotion: The Science Behind Mind-Body Medicine, “A feeling sparked in our mind or body will translate as a peptide (small protein chains) being released somewhere. [Organs, tissues, skin, muscle and endocrine glands], they all have peptide receptors on them and can access and store emotional information.”3 In an interview with Joshua Freeman, CEO of Six Seconds, Dr. Pert further explained that “As our feelings change, this mixture of peptides travels throughout your body and your brain. And they’re literally changing the chemistry of every cell in your body.”4

Dr. Robert O. Young, MS, D.SC., PH.D., co-creator of pHMiracle®, and author of the pH Miracle: Balance Your Diet, Reclaim Your Health, adds that “Your mental state, in many ways, if it’s negative, can create more metabolic acids than the food that you’re eating. In fact, you can create two or three times more metabolic acids from your thoughts, your mental state, then[sic] from ingesting acidic foods, such as dairy or animal protein. So your thoughts are critical.5 ” Therefore, when making changes to your diet to improve your condition, keep in mind that your thoughts and emotions also play a role in the success of your overall health goals.  I often explain to my clients that regardless of how much healthy foods you eat, if you have “stinkin’ thinkin,” or negative, critical thoughts, you may not necessarily reap the benefits of all those wonderful health foods.

If the body’s pH is constantly acidic, acidosis (the condition of chronic acidity in the body) will result, which can lead to inflammation, osteoporosis, cancer, diabetes, and a host of other chronic conditions6. When acidosis occurs, your body lacks the buffering minerals needed to neutralize the acidity. This may result in your body leeching minerals from your bones and teeth, which can lead to osteoporosis. This is because of the what I had mentioned earlier with regard to the importance that the blood pH remains at 7.635.

Monitoring your pH values will allow you to gain greater awareness of how your thoughts and actions affect your body. Since each person’s body is unique, doing initial daily monitoring will provide you with quantitative data that can be tracked, which will guide you in making the required changes your body needs for optimal function.

To measure your pH levels regularly, you can use strips to test your urine or saliva. Activity in saliva closely resembles that of the extracellular fluid that surrounds the cells in the body. According to the findings in a study published in 2012 by the NCBI, testing saliva is a valid noninvasive method for extracellular fluid assessment7.  In testing your urine or saliva, I recommend testing first thing in the morning because after sleeping, your body has been rebuilding and removing toxins, so looking at your pH as soon as you arise can be a helpful gauge for how well your body is able to counteract the acidity that is generated as part of your body’s natural metabolic processes.  The optimal pH range for urine is normally 6.5 or higher.  For saliva, it’s between 7.2 to 8.4. Many functions of the body rely on a relatively neutral pH between the range of 6.8 to 8.0. Having too high of a pH, or being too alkaline can cause the body’s normal processes to slow down or cease8. It can also allow certain bacteria to proliferate. If your pH becomes too low, or acidic, it can lead to inflammation and chronic conditions.

To maintain an optimal pH balance:

  1. Ensure that your diet is comprised of alkaline foods such as organic leafy greens, sprouts, and green juices. Interestingly enough, despite lemon being quite acidic outside of the body, it has been shown to have an alkalizing effect in the body.
  2. Eliminate or significantly reduce sugar, meat, dairy, and grains, which will help to keep your body’s pH in a healthy functioning range. By monitoring your own pH levels, you will know which foods help to keep your body in a healthy, neutral range.
  3. You may consider drinking alkaline water, although I would recommend natural spring water that has a natural pH that is slightly alkaline.
  4. Spend time outdoors in nature, where breathing in fresh air with negative ions helps to balance out the positive ions that you’re exposed to, especially when indoors . Additionally, sunlight is a natural source of photonic energy, which provides electrons for our body’s many metabolic processes.
  5. Get adequate rest by retiring early enough in the evening to help support the hormonal and detoxification processes in your body.
  6. Monitor the pH of your urine or saliva. You can use something like Hydrion pH Paper to measure your pH.

By monitoring your pH levels regularly, you’ll quickly learn which foods and behaviors are detrimental or helpful for you. By maintaining a healthy range, you assist your body in its normal processes and functions as well as its natural healing function in order to prevent the onset of chronic disease. The good news in all of this is that you can proactively make decisions to support your health. Some of the challenges that we experience with our health may not be as random as they may first appear.  The body is incredibly adaptive, especially when we become aware of how what we put into our bodies and how our thoughts and feelings can affect it at a cellular level.  As you continue to become more acquainted with the intricacies of your body, you’ll be well on your way to loving your life and living in health.

Ready to make your health a priority? Contact me here to schedule your consultation.

References:

  1. Won, D. (2017, October 24). The link between sugar and cancer | Keynotes to Life | Love Your Life, Live In Health. Retrieved March 13, 2018, from http://deannawon.com/the-link-between-sugar-and-cancer/
  2. Brand, R. A., MD. (2010, August 25). Biographical Sketch: Otto Heinrich Warburg, Ph.D., MD. Retrieved March 13, 2018, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2947689/
  3. Where do you Store your Emotions? (n.d.). Retrieved March 13, 2018, from http://candacepert.com/where-do-you-store-your-emotions/
  4. Freedman, J. (2017, January 03). The Physics of Emotion: Candace Pert on Feeling Go(o)d • Six Seconds. Retrieved March 13, 2018, from http://www.6seconds.org/2007/01/26/the-physics-of-emotion-candace-pert-on-feeling-good/
  5. Young, R., Ph.D. (n.d.). Questions on Emotions Causing Acidity. Retrieved March 13, 2018, from https://www.phmiracleliving.com/t-faq-emotions.aspx
  6. Axe, J. (n.d.). Balancing Act: Why pH is Crucial to Health. Retrieved March 13, 2018, from https://draxe.com/balancing-act-why-ph-is-crucial-to-health/
  7. Matias, C. N., Silva, A. M., Santos, D. A., Gobbo, L. A., Schoeller, D. A., & Sardinha, L. B. (2012, November 26). Validity of extracellular water assessment with saliva samples using plasma as the reference biological fluid. Retrieved March 13, 2018, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22275182
  8. Mac, R. (2017, April 24). Why Is a High pH Bad in Your Body? Retrieved March 13, 2018, from https://sciencing.com/high-ph-bad-body-6344527.html

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Deanna Won