Acid-base balance: Balance your pH!
When you hear the term acid, you quickly think of a certain taste that makes your face contract.
An acid is a chemical understanding that says something about the property of a substance.
“Acids” split hydrogen ions (H +) into water. The contradictor of an acid is called a “base” (alkaline) (not sweet). A base is a substance that splits in water hydroxide ions (OH-).
The “pH value” is a measurement for the concentration of hydrogen ions in dissolutions and indicates how acidic or alkaline something is. The acidity level, or the pH value can be between 0 and 14.
All pH values of liquids from 0 to 7 are called acid (the lower the value the more acidic). All pH values from 7 to 14 are called alkaline (the higher the value the more alkaline). A pH value of 7 is neutral, so not too acidic or too alkaline.
Acidic substances include:
Uric acid, acetic acid, lactic acid, fatty acid, cholesterol, carbonic acid and phosphoric acid.
Alkaline substances include:
Sodium bicarbonate, potassium, bicarbonate, potassium carbonate, sodium hydroxide, potassium hydroxide, calcium carbonate and magnesium carbonate.
Alkaline substances neutralize acidic substance
An acidic substance is neutralized when it comes in contact with an alkaline substance. For example, “uric acid” is neutralized by “sodium bicarbonate” by converting it into carbon dioxide, water and neutral salts.
The acid-base balance is essential for the body
A good acidity level, or in other words a balanced acid-base of a harmonious body, is one of the most critical factors for good health. During the metabolism acidic end products are continuously formed. Small fluctuations in the pH of the blood and cells can result in drastic changes in the metabolism of the cells, which can cause disturbances.
Limits of pH values:
- Blood 7.35 - 7.45 (ideally 7.41)
- Saliva 6.00 - 7.50
- Stomach 1.35 - 4.20
- Urine 5.50 - 8.40
- Small intestine 6.50 - 7.50
- Large intestine 5.60 - 6.90
All our cells bathe in extracellular fluid that, like the blood, is lightly alkaline (pH 7.35 – 7.45). The extreme pH values for the blood and the extracellular fluid, in which life is still possible, is between 6.8 and 7.8. A low pH value (acid) can more often lead to life threatening situations than a high pH value (alkaline). Dr. Berthold Kern discovered that a reduced pH value (more acidic) led to a thickening of the blood. When the blood has a thicker composition, the heart must pump harder to direct it to the organs.
Alkaline water
Alkaline water is water with a pH value greater than 7. This means that the amount of hydroxide ions (OH) in water is higher than the amount of hydrogen ions (H+). You can safely create alkaline drinking water by adding a few drops of alkaline sodium hydroxide (NaOH) or potassium hydroxide (KOH) concentrate to the water. Sodium hydroxide (NaOH) then splits into sodium ions (Na+) and hydroxide ions (OH-), thus increasing the amount of OH in the water and increasing the pH value.
Drinking alkaline water stimulates the body to create, through the stomach wall cells, the alkaline substance sodium bicarbonate. Sodium bicarbonate is the “alkaline buffer” of our body that neutralizes the acid waste. Acid residues in the body are thus neutralized by the alkaline substance sodium bicarbonate. This is de-acidification!
Acidification is aging!
The famous French physician and biologist, Alexis Carell, kept a chicken heart alive for 28 years. He hatched an egg and took tissue from the developing chicken heart. He kept the heart tissue in a liquid nutrient medium that contained minerals of the same composition as in the blood. He exchanged the liquid nutrient medium every day, thus keeping the heart tissue alive for 28 years(!). When he stopped refreshing the liquid nutrient medium, the heart cells died. The secret of the 28-year surviving chicken heart is due to the fact that the extracellular fluid (liquid in which the cells were stored) was maintained at a constant quality (acidity level).
