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More Proof That Alkaline pH is Essential for Your Health
Science Shows that Alkaline Minerals Reduce Risk of Disease
by Robert Ross, May, 2012

 

The human body is naturally intented to be mostly alkaline. Your blood, for example, must stay between 7.35 and 7.45 pH or you could get seriously ill, or even die! This is so important that your body has an alkaline buffering system to make sure your blood stays in that range. But even within that range there is a huge difference in health factors. Most importantly, with a 1/10th difference in higher, more alkaline pH your blood can carry as much as 300% more oxygen! Imagine the additional energy and endurance you would have if your blood was always as that optimum level!

Yet, the sad truth is that virtually everything in modern civilization and lifestyle is conspiring against you to make your body more acidic, or less alkaline! Environmental toxins are acid forming. Toxins in the water supply are acid forming. Most bottled waters are below optimal pH levels, some even slightly acidic. And the toxins created by cooking and processing what you eat are acid forming!

It is natural, of course, for your metabolism to produce some acidic toxins. Over millions of years the body has evolved an acid buffering system that is more than up to the task of handling those. But a vast toxic overload has enveloped our entire planet in less than 50 or 100 years, depending on when you start counting. From pesticides and preservatives to water pollution and Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO's), our bodies cannot adapt to handling these, resulting in what we euphemistically like to call today's "diseases of civilization" - cancer, diabetes, osteoporosis and many more.

This is all because there is just a slight change in the chemistry of our bodies at the cellular level. For example, in a healthy body your cells convert glucose into a chemical called ATP to store energy at a very efficient level (16:1)l. But the chemistry for that only works in a slightly alkaline environment. In an acidic environment the chemistry is entirely different - obviously! Now your body can't make ATP! Instead, it uses a backup emergency mechanism to directly convert glucose into energy. That is also part of our "flight or fight" mechanism, and though it does that quickly it is very inefficient (2:1) and burns energy quickly so you can't store much in the way of energy reserves. That's why some people need constant stimulants like coffee, tobacco, colas, sports drinks, etc. to keep going throughout the day. If your body was truly healthy you would have all the energy you need without those crutches!

Now, keep mind that I am not talking about a full fledged "diet-induced acidiosis" in the blood. Some raw foodists are confused by this and doctors use this confusion to discredit raw food in general! Actual diet induced "acidosis" can be a life-threatening condition and is rather rare. The more subtle lowering of blood pH towards the lower end of the normal range isn't called acidosis at all, but is called "acidemia." Though that isn't ideal for health your body can handle it. In my opinion, the thing that is really destroying our health is much more subtle - the slight change of our biochemistry at the cellular level from an excess of acidic toxins, making normal cellular respiration impossible.

This phenomena is subtle and hard for medical doctors to quantify let alone diagnose, but modern science is proving the truth of it more and more. Here are just a few references on the relationship to acid-forming toxins and the diseases of civilization we now take for granted!

Research has shown that the effects of acidosis can directly contribute to cancer, arthritis, osteoporosis, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, depression, Crohn’s disease, kidney disease and much more.

In 2009, Robey, Baggett, Kirkpatrick et al published a paper in the American Association for Cancer Research Journal proving that alkaline minerals (sodium bicarbonate) that raise the extracellular pH of cancer tumor cells and prevent metastasis. Their research shows that the pH of the tumors are always acidic and by using highly alkaline minerals to raise the pH – the growth of the cancer (and involvement of lymph nodes) is prevented.

In 2006, Gatenby, Gawlinski et al published research in the Cancer Journal showing that “chronic exposure of normal tissue to an acidic microenvironment produces toxicity by: (a) normal cell death… and (b) extracellular matrix degradation”. They proffer that glucose imbalance (an acid lifestlye) leads to a chronically acidic microenvironment (the normal cells and molecules that surround a tumor cell) which provides the perfect base for cancer.

A 2009 study in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism has shown that consumption of and supplementation with alkaline minerals is essential for good health. The objective of the study was to understand the effect of alkaline minerals on bone health. The participants who were taking the bicarbonate supplements had significant reductions in urinary N-telopeptide and calcium excretion when compared to the control group. This means that when taking the alkaline minerals, bones remained stronger and healthier.

In a 1995 issue of the Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine, Joseph Campbell provided a review of the scientific literature on minerals and disease. The article shows that the alkaline minerals magnesium and calcium are critical to the prevention of cardiovascular disease. He also shows that acid-forming foods cause the leaching of calcium from bones and teeth to buffer excess acidity.

The above studies prove, without question, that having sufficient alkaline mineral buffers to neutralise dietary, lifestyle and metabolic acids is critical to maintaining excellent health, energy and vitality and to the prevention of degenerative disease.

It is also highlighted in several of these studies that using an alkaline mineral supplement is an effective way of guaranteeing your daily intake of alkaline minerals is sufficient.

The efficacy of using a mineral supplement (and these supplements providing a usable form of these minerals) is further supported by this June 2009 study published in the Nutrition Journal, “Effect of a supplement rich in alkaline minerals on acid-base balance in humans”. The study concluded “that the ingestion of a multimineral supplement is associated with both a significant increase in blood and urinary pH”.

You should always aim to get an abundance of nutrients from whole, organic raw foods and healthy alkaline mineral water! There are no acceptable shortcuts on this. It is essential. Here are some whole food sources of the mineral essential for good healths:

1. POTASSIUM: Avocado, Spinach, Soybeans, Lentils, Swiss Chard, Tomatos, Broccoli, Squash, Cucumber, Sweet Potato, Beetroot, Greens, Carrots
   
   
2. MAGNESIUM: Pumpkin Seeds, Spinach, Soybeans, Swiss Chard, Broccoli, Cucumber, Sunflower Seeds, Pumpkin, Tomatoes, Celery, Quinoa, Almonds, Brown Rice
   
   
3. CALCIUM: Basil, Turnip, Thyme, Spinach, Greens, Kelp, Broccoli, Swiss Chard, Romaine Lettuce, Kale, Celery, Cabbage, Squash, Green Beans, Asparagus, Brussel Sprouts, Garlic
   
   
4. SODIUM: Avocado, Carrots, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Kale, Lettuce, Greens, Parsley, Peppers, Radish, Sunflower Seeds, Sweet Potato, Turnip, Beets (only the sodium found in whole raw food, not table salt or the salt added to refined foods which is NOT healthy at all)

As you can see, consuming sufficient alkaline minerals is essential to good health. Your body needs you to minimize acid-forming toxins and maximize alkaline-forming minerals. When you consume acid-forming toxins your body uses up alkaline buffers like the calcium in your bones causing many of the most common modern diseases. The most important alkaline minerals are calcium, magnesium, potassium and sodium. These are abundant in fresh, organic raw foods (particularly greens), as well as alkaline mineral water from a water ionizer!

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Selected References:

1. Diet-induced acidosis: is it real and clinically relevant? British Journal of Nutrition Cambridge University Press; Joseph Pizzornoa, Lynda A. Frassettoa and Joseph Katzingera
2. Acid-Mediated Tumor Invasion: a Multidisciplinary Study; Cancer Research 66, 5216-5223, May 15, 2006; Robert A. Gatenby, Edward T. Gawlinski, Arthur F. Gmitro, Brant Kaylor and Robert J. Gillies
3. The Potential Role of Systemic Buffers in Reducing Intratumoral Extracellular pH and Acid-Mediated Invasion; Cancer Research 69, 2677, March 15, 2009; Ariosto S. Silva, Jose A. Yunes, Robert J. Gillies and Robert A. Gatenby
4. Alkaline Mineral Supplementation Decreases Pain in Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients; The Open Nutrition Journal, 2008, 2, 100-105; Regina Maria Cseuz, Istvan Barna, Tamas Bender and Jurgen Vormann
5. Treatment with Potassium Bicarbonate Lowers Calcium Excretion and Bone Resorption in Older Men and Women; The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism Vol. 94, No. 1 96-102; Bess Dawson-Hughes, Susan S. Harris, Nancy J. Palermo, Carmen Castaneda-Sceppa, Helen M. Rasmussen and Gerard E. Dallal
6. Minerals and Disease; Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine Vol. 10, No. 3 & 4, 1995; Joseph D. Campbell
7. Preservative Effect of Electrolyzed Reduced Water on Pancreatic b -Cell Mass in Diabetic db/db Mice; Biol. Pharm. Bull. 30(2) 234—236 (2007); Mi-Ja KIM, Kyung Hee JUNG, Yoon Kyung UHM, Kang-Hyun LEEM, and Hye Kyung KIM
8. The Effect of Acid/Alkaline Nutrition on Psychophysiological Function; Int J Biosocial Res. Vol. 9(2); 182-202, 1987; Rudolf A. Wiley
   
9. Severe Osteomalacia Associated with Renal Tubular Acidosis in Crohn’s Disease; Digestive Diseases & Sciences, Vol 31, No 3, March 1986; Rui MM Victorino, Margarida B Lucas, Miguel Carneiro de Moura
   
10. Metabolic acidosis of CKD: diagnosis, clinical characteristics, and treatment; American Journal of Kidney Diseases, Volume 45, Issue 6, Pages 978-993 J. Kraut, I. Kurtz
    
11. Lean Tissue: Alkaline diets favor lean tissue mass in older adults; American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 87, No. 3, 662-665, March 2008; Bess Dawson-Hughes, Susan S Harris and Lisa Ceglia