Acid and Alkaline balance

Acid and Alkaline balance

Published February 22, 2011

I am taking a course through the Trinity School of Natural Health and the first required book to read was called “Your Health… Your Choice…” by Dr. M. Ted Morter, Jr. I must say it is a most amazing book, especially the part about our pH…”potential of Hydrogen” It is a measure of the relative acidity or alkalinity of a solution. The pH scale runs from 0-14 Numbers below 7 are acid; numbers above 7 are alkaline. This is a logarithmic scale, so what does that mean? Wikipedia says this—A logarithmic scale is a scale of measurement that uses the logarithm of a physical quantity instead of the quantity itself. A simple example is when increments on the vertical axis of a chart are labeled 1, 10, 100, 1000, instead of 1, 2, 3, 4. so 5.0 is ten times more acid than 6.0; 4 is ten times more acid than 5; 9 is ten times more alkaline than 8 and so on.

Learning about this pH gives me a whole new level of respect, admiration and awe of our God in how He created us! He is SO amazing and always has a PLAN. Our bodies are alkaline by design by function. Blood, lymph, extracellular fluid, cerebrospinal fluid, etc., should all be alkaline—except for the parietal cells in the stomach as they secrete hydrochloric acid. Cells may operate in alkaline environment, yet produce acid as a by-product of their activity. This acid is not damaging because it is natural to how our bodies work and it is a weak acid that can be eliminated by the lungs quite easily. There is another type of acid however that is stronger and is not so easily dealt with. This acid results from eating acid ash foods and it needs to be neutralized before it can be eliminated by the kidneys or it will damage tissue and cells as it exits our bodies…such a grand design by our wonderful creator!

You may be wondering, what is ash? I am thinking about the ash that is in a fireplace or what is left in the fire pit after a campfire—well, kind of—After food is broken down, absorbed through the small intestine and then metabolized, there is a small fraction that is not utilized, this is described as ash. The pH of this ash is not necessarily, and is in fact unlikely to be, the same as the food that it comes from. A lemon, for instance, is a very acidic fruit with a pH of between 2.5-3. Yet it leaves an alkaline ash of pH 9. On the whole, fruits and vegetables leave an alkaline ash while most other foods (eggs, grains, animal protein, dairy food) leave an acid ash.

An excellant whole food supplement that I have been taking for years is called AIM’s BarleyLife. It is barley in the young and tender grass stage. Barley, once it is grown and becomes a grain, it will leave an acid ash, BUT IN THE GRASS STAGE IS LEAVES AN ALKALINE ASH. Anyway..My pH is normal and I believe it is due in part to the young Barley grass—I mix it into my water every morning, sometimes more than once a day if I want added natural energy and I drink it down. Tastes like I am drinking grass or spinach, but I don’t mind it…it is SO worth it to my cells. You could mix it with juice, if the taste bothers you. My family takes it every day—even myhusband and my 16 year old son! Find out more by going to my on-line store www.AIMForBalance.com