Disease and pH - how do they relate?  If you have read the previous two articles in the Acidosis series (May and June), you should have a pretty good understanding of pH and acidosis, as well as, the effects of acidosis upon your body.  Now let's go one step further and talk about our modern day "diseases" and how they relate to an acidic body pH.

What is a disease?  Webster's definition is: "a condition of the living animal or plant body or of one of its parts that impairs normal functioning" [1].  Based on this definition, I'd say you can rename just about any ailment as a disease.  And guess what, the medical establishment has done just that.  Many ailments previously considered symptoms are currently classified as "diseases".  Many of our "diseases" are being treated by giving us drugs to mask or "treat the symptoms".  Unfortunately the true root cause of the symptom (or "disease") is never treated and we enter into a viscous cycle of illness.

Let's take a look at a few of our modern day "diseases".

Diabetes
Diabetes is at epidemic proportions, especially amongst children and adolescents.  Of those with diabetes, 90% to 95% have Type 2 Diabetes (non-insulin dependent) which generally, can be controlled through wise diet choices and exercise.

Some researchers believe an acidic pH signals an impending famine which then causes your body to go into preservation mode.  As a result, your pancreas over-produces insulin,  which causes your body to store all calories as fat instead of using them as energy. 

Normally, insulin produced in the pancreas is used to escort glucose to your cells so it can be converted into energy.  Unfortunately, in an acidic environment, glucose ferments and turns into lactic acid which only makes it more difficult for insulin  to deliver glucose to your cells.   Now you end up with excess glucose in the blood and insulin resistance.  I'm sorry to say it doesn't end there.  Your body still needs energy, especially your muscles, so your body's inability to utilize glucose efficiently causes even more insulin to be produced and released from the pancreas.  Unless you get a firm hold on it, diabetes will cause a continual and possibly permanent deterioration of your physical body.

"A number of researchers believe that acidosis, or too much acid in the body tissues, is a major contributing factor to insulin sensitivity problems that lead to insulin resistance and diabetes." [2]

Osteoporosis
As discussed in A Different Point of View (article one in the acidosis series), osteoporosis is defined as weak, brittle bones.  A typical modern day treatment for osteoporosis would probably include some weight bearing exercise and a prescription along with several follow-up doctor visits.  Unfortunately,  very few medical professionals teach their patients the most probable cause of osteoporosis which is  acidosis. 

When your diet consists of mostly acidic foods, your system eventually becomes overwhelmed.  Initially, your body buffers the acids with minerals in the blood, the most common being calcium, magnesium, and sodium.  When your blood pH is out of balance, it is literally a life or death situation.  Your body does what it must to return the blood pH to homeostasis.  Your cell pH can vary greatly but your blood MUST remain very close to the optimum range of  7.35 to 7.45, otherwise death is just around the corner.

Therefore, when the blood is no longer able to neutralize the acids, your body will use other methods to counteract them.  The most common, is leaching minerals from another part of your body, and your bones are definitely a popular place to pull calcium from.  The more calcium leached from your bones, the weaker they become.

So, if you are facing osteoporosis, face it head on.  Do the weight bearing exercise, avoid acidic foods (small list is included in article two of the series), take supplements with calcium, magnesium and other minerals, and get plenty of vitamin D - FROM THE SUN- not a supplement.  By the way, the sun is actually good for you!

High Cholesterol
The ever popular statin type drugs are used to inhibit the amount of cholesterol your liver creates and is the standard treatment for high cholesterol.  Do you think the pharmaceutical industry would get a little bent out of shape if no one needed statin drugs anymore?  Cholesterol has been made out to be the bad guy - but is it really the enemy?

Acidosis wreaks havoc on your body.  The heart's arteries and veins are actually eaten away by the acids.  Guess who comes to the rescue?  One of the duties of cholesterol is to repair the damaged cell membranes of the arteries and veins.  So you can see cholesterol is not the enemy it actually is the hero. 

Cholesterol also plays another role which is just as important.  When the buffers in the blood can no longer neutralize the acids, another self-preservation method employed by the body it to have the liver produce more cholesterol which has the duty of neutralizing and binding the acids.  It is a pretty basic formula.  Too much acidic food = more cholesterol production.

Do you still think cholesterol is the enemy? 

Cancer
To start, let's look at a tumor in a slightly different way.  Most people (and doctors) see a tumor as a physical mass and the cause of cancer.  In actuality, the tumor is your body's solution to cancer.  A tumor is formed to keep a grouping of acidic cells from spreading into nearby healthy cells. 

From the previous articles on pH and acidosis, you know that an acidic environment lacks sufficient levels of oxygen.  Acidosis and the resulting lack of oxygen inhibit cellular regeneration.  Successful DNA/RNA synthesis and healthy cell multiplication is only possible in an alkaline environment.  Acidosis actually increases your risk of cellular mutation and cancer.  Plus, an acidic environment lacking oxygen is the perfect breeding ground for cancer.  Cancer cells can not survive in an alkaline, oxygen rich environment but flourish in an acidic, anaerobic one.

Once your body becomes acidic, illness can easily snowball.  For instance, the role of glucose in your body is to provide energy.  In an anaerobic environment (without oxygen), fermenting glucose becomes lactic acid which then causes the pH of the cells to drop even further.  As the pH of our body drops further and further, our body no longer has the ability to fight off disease.  "Research has proven that terminal cancer patients have an acidity level of 1,000 times more than healthy people." [3]

Please keep in mind the effects of acidosis contribute to many, many more "diseases" than are mentioned here - Rheumatoid Arthritis, High Blood Pressure, Restless Legs, Lupus, Tuberculosis, Allergies, IBS, Kidney Stones, Hypothyroidism, Candida, Obesity, Multiple Sclerosis, Macular Degeneration, Heart Disease, Liver and Kidney Diseases,  Dementia, Alzheimer's, Prostate Problems, Premature Aging, and on and on.  In addition, acidosis interferes with the absorption of most vitamins and minerals.  Some minerals actually need an almost perfect pH in order to be assimilated such as iodine.  So first things first, stop eating acidic food and get your body healthy.  It will definitely not happen overnight though.  You can not expect a lifetime of stored acids to be removed on a six week detoxifying cleanse. 

If you have a serious illness your need to make a commitment to a permanent lifestyle change.  A diet of healthier, mostly alkaline foods can only improve your odds no matter what treatment plan you are on.  In addition, regular, moderate exercise (which is alkalizing), alkalizing water, and alkalizing supplements should all be included in your new lifestyle.  Of course, it goes without saying, always talk to your doctor about the changes you plan to make so (s)he is fully aware and can make any adjustments or suggestions necessary.

Read the next article in the series: One Final Note on pH and Acidosis