Most Americans eat the type of foods that leave an acidic residue within the body (see pH color table on back page).
This occurs when food is metabolized by the body, leaving chemical and metallic residues which yield either acid or alkaline
potentials of pH. These residues most strongly influence the body's cellular pH levels. When the diet is imbalanced with a
continual excess of these acidic residues, body pH is directly impacted, causing body fluids to lie constantly within the
acidic range. Just like acid rain upon a forest, an imbalanced pH slowly compromises cellular integrity and can lead to numerous
health problems.
What Is "pH"?
The body is largely made up of water, a medium which is biologically useful in
allowing nutrients, oxygen and biochemicals to be transported from place to place. This water-based medium can have either
acid or alkaline properties which are measured by a graduated scale called pH (for "potential hydrogen"). The lower
the pH number, the greater the acidity, and the higher the pH number, the greater the alkalinity.
Why Should I Be Concerned About My pH Levels?
Since most of the body is water-based (making up 50-60% of our total body weight),
the pH level has profound effects on all body chemistry, health and disease. An imbalanced pH describes the pH level of the
body when it becomes too acidic or too alkaline for long periods of time. Extended pH imbalances of any kind are not
well tolerated by the body. Indeed, the management of "pH" is so important that the body has developed strict accounting
procedures to monitor acid-alkaline balances in every cell. Fundamentally, all regulatory mechanisms (including breathing,
circulation, digestion, hormonal production, etc.) serve the purpose of balancing pH by removing caustic metabolized acid
residues from body tissues without damaging living cells. If the pH deviates too far to the acid side or too far to the alkaline
side, cells become poisoned by their own toxic waste and die.
Is An Imbalanced Body pH Really That Dangerous?
Yes,
it is. Nothing does well in an overly acidic or alkaline pH medium. Just as acid rain can destroy a forest and alkaline wastes
can pollute a lake, an imbalanced pH continuously corrodes all body tissue, slowly eating into the 60,000 miles of our veins
and arteries like corrosives eating into marble.
Can
An Imbalanced pH Cause Serious Problems?
Yes, especially
as a person grows older! Although it may generally go unnoticed and undetected for years, an imbalanced pH can lead to the
progression of most, if not all, degenerative diseases including Cardiovascular Disease (the #1 killer in the U.S.), Cancer
(the #2 Killer in the U.S.), and Diabetes, as well as the never ending frustration of excessive systemic weight gain.
What May Be Causing My pH to Become Imbalanced?
Most diets cause an unhealthy acid pH. In fact, diet appears to be the major influence in maintaining appropriate
pH levels throughout the body. Research demonstrates that when food is metabolized and broken down, it leaves certain chemical
and metallic residues, a noncombustible "ash" which, when combined with our body fluids, yields either acid or alkali
potentials of ph. Certain foods are "acid-|forming" in nature, whereas others are known to be "alkali-forming."
1. A Balanced pH Allows…
Proper Fat Metabolism, Weight Control and Healthy Insulin Production: An imbalanced pH has considerable influence over
the majority of metabolic problems, including Weight Gain, Diabetes and Obesity. A habitually acid pH can directly cause immediate
weight gain by triggering a condition known as Insulin Sensitivity which causes erratic insulin production by the body. When
the body is flooded with insulin, it diligently converts every calorie it can into fat. Thus, an acid pH will likely direct
more insulin to be produced, and subsequently demand the body store more fat than usual.
Acidosis is thus thought to be an important precursor to Diabetes Mellitus, and
before the advent of synthetic insulin, diabetes was treated historically by buffering the system with base or alkaline causing
powders. With increased pressure to continually produce insulin, beta cells lose phase with one another (cellular communication
is thwarted and the Immune System begins to over-respond) and stress within the cells increases, making it difficult for them
to perform adequately, and further, survive. In a very real sense, they simply burn out!
And, to add to the problem of weight gain, although we commonly diet to lose weight, fasting and dieting are known
acid-producing conditions that trigger our body's predetermined genetic response to starvation, wherein insulin floods
the body so calories can be converted and stored as fat to prepare for the pending "famine." So, unless you balance
your pH level, your best attempts at dieting will be thwarted by your body's own metabolic response to the acid produced by
a lower caloric intake.
2. A Balanced pH Allows…
Healthy Oxygen Flow to Tissues to Flush Toxins and Protect Against
Premature Aging:
Acidosis
decreases the oxygen affinity of hemoglobin in the blood. All biochemical functions are severely compromised if oxygen supplies are decreased to living tissue. An acid pH decreases the amount of oxygen that can
be delivered to cells, making normally healthy cells become unhealthy, deteriorate and eventually die.
Acidosis also
causes partial lipid breakdown and destructive oxidative cascades, accelerating Free Radical Damage of cell walls and
intracellular membrane structures, which then unravel, killing cells in the process. Acidosis is thus thought to be the first
step towards premature aging, interfering with eyesight and memory, and creating wrinkling, age spots, dysfunctioning
hormonal systems, and a host of other age-related phenomena.
3.
A Balanced pH Allows…
Smooth Blood Flow Throughout Arteries, Veins
and Heart Tissue:
The cardiovascular system may be thought of as one large working "system of
tubular muscles" designed to carry blood and nutrients to every living tissue in the body and is directly affected by
blood plasma pH. The heart is the muscular pump at the center of everything, driving blood through the arteries, veins and
capillary beds and helping to regulate the pressure and flow of circulation.
All living tissue is sensitive to its chemical environment
and the muscle cells of the cardiovascular system are no different. When blood plasma habitually becomes more acid, it acts
as a chemical irritant which slowly attacks and eats away at the smooth muscle tissue of the inner walls of arteries and veins,
as well as the heart itself. Like acid eating into marble, a continually acid pH erodes and eats into cell wall membranes
of the heart, arteries and veins, weakening the structural composition of the heart, arterial and venous walls, causing
lesions of plaque and microscopic tearing throughout its framework, and creating irregularities of blood pressure.
4. A Balanced pH Allows…
Proper Blood Pressure Regulation:
As pH becomes acidic, arteries become dilated but
the caliber of blood vessels decreases (venous vasoconstriction). When this happens, peripheral blood is shifted more centrally:
the more acidic the patient, the greater the fractional redistribution of blood to the central vessels. This central redistribution
of blood adds to the heart's workload when its con-tractability is compromised. This may potentially have cardiovascular effects,
making it difficult to control high blood pressure/hypertension.
5.
A Balanced pH Allows…
Critical Lipid, Fatty Acid and Hormonal Metabolism:
Acidosis
disrupts general lipid and fatty acid metabolism within the body which could lead to neurological problems, as well as hormonal
imbalances within the endocrine system, leading to urinary incontinence and tract infections, especially in women.
6. A
Balanced pH Allows…
Cellular Regeneration and DNA-RNA Synthesis:
For DNA-RNA synthesis
and the body's natural cleansing and healing processes to occur, cell pH cannot be acidic. Also, cancerous cells grow well
in acidic mediums, and therefore an acid pH actually accelerates and increases the possibility of cellular mutations.
7. A
Balanced pH Allows…
Proper Electrolyte Activity:
Life-essential functions, like electrolyte Potassium
(K+) and Sodium (Na+) channels, are inactivated by acidosis. This has far reaching effects cardiovascularly since without
extended sufficient electrolyte management, the heart's ability to contract and pump efficiently and rhythmically is compromised.
Inhibition of electrolyte activity also affects the way we feel and behave, and is intimately involved in the energy levels
we experience.
8. A
Balanced pH Allows…
Access to Energy Reserves:
An acid pH inhibits efficient cellular and body metabolism
by causing chemical ionic disturbances that interfere with cellular communications and functions, such as the ability of each
cell's Sodium-Potassium Pump to work efficiently.
Each cell has its own Sodium-Potassium Pump which regulates the amounts of sodium
and potassium the cell stores, while using up to 25% of daily total caloric input to run. In an acidic environment, less sodium
will be present, slowing down the processing and induction of nutrition going into cells. This may cause a bevy of problems
not the least of which is the fact that the Sodium-Potassium Pump slows down, burning less fat for energy, and thus, the inability
for the body to access its stored energy reserves, leaving us feeling lethargic.
9. A Balanced pH Allows…
Appropriate Cholesterol Levels so Plaque Does Not Form:
As
research has shown, simply reducing the amount of cholesterol in the diet isn't enough. The amount of cholesterol ingested
daily has not been found to be a major factor in cholesterol plaque formation. Rather, it is because of the fact that an acid
pH allows the binding of cholesterol with heavy metals and other cellular debris that pH status appears to be more directly
involved.
An acid-induced malfunction of the body's Sodium-Potassium Pump causes an increase in sodium and calcium buildup
within the plasma, making it more available to electro statically bond with LDL-Cholesterol (the "Bad" Cholesterol)
and line the vascular network at an accelerated rate. Specifically, an acid pH initiates electrostatic potential,
damaging arterial walls, causing cholesterol oxidation and the bonding of plaque with heavy metals.
10. A Balanced pH Allows…
Proper Calcium Utilization to Lessen the Possibility of Osteoporosis
and Osteoarthritis:
While there may be an increase in calcium build-up due to an acid-induced malfunctioning
of the Sodium-Potassium Pump, that free calcium, being in an acidic environment, will most likely bond with LDL-Cholesterol
and therefore be unavailable for use by the body. With free calcium populations and channels disrupted, calcium may become
inordinately leached from bone mass and teeth (as the only other available source), causing Osteoporosis, and Tooth Loss.
Which Foods
Are "Acid Forming" And Which Are "Alkaline Forming"?
Most high protein foods (such as meat, fish, poultry and eggs), nearly all carbohydrates (including grains, breads
and pastas) and fats are "acid-forming." And most fruits and vegetables are "alkaline-forming." Although
citrus fruits, such as oranges and grapefruit, contain organic acids and may have an acid taste, they are not acid-forming
when metabolized, leaving no acidic residue. Similarly, Free Form Amino Acids are not acid-forming, but instead offer unique
buffering capabilities to the body to help offset acidic wastes.
How Can I Find Out My Body pH?
By testing your pH with Vaxa's pH test strips, you can determine quickly and easily, in the privacy of your own home,
what your pH is. Vaxa's pH-Test Strips determine your urinary pH, which is generally a good indicator of how acid or alkaline
your total body pH is. When urinary pH is continuously between 6.5 in the A.M. and 7.5 by evening, you're functioning in a
healthy range; when continuously above this range you're too alkaline, and when continuously below it, you're too acid.
Why is urine
used instead of saliva in testing pH+ levels?
Urine
is an end metabolite of digestion and reflects the foods eaten over the past 48 hours. The urine pH test strip closely
mirrors the blood, and produces reliable results. Conversely, saliva testing does not result in consistent pH values.
This is primarily due to the salivary enzymes and microorganisms present in the mouth and oral mucous.
Will the
pH Test Strip be Accurate on My First Reading?
Not
necessarily. For a more accurate reading, test your urinary pH 5 to 6 times within 24 hours. If you've had an ongoing acidic
pH, your body may overcompensate and flood itself with buffering alkalizers in an attempt to rebalance pH. But because
your pH is truly acidic, it will drop again swiftly into the acid range, again causing the flood of alkalizers and taxing
your body's pH balancing systems. If you test your pH during one of these alkalizing periods, you may incorrectly assume your
pH is alkaline.
How Do I Rebalance My pH?
Watching your diet
and eating a proper balance of alkaline and acid-forming foods can help. But an easier way is to take Vaxa's buffer-pH+ daily
to help balance your system while continuing to eat the foods you enjoy!
How Can Vaxa's Buffer-pH+ Help?
Vaxa's Buffer-pH+ is a homeopathic medicinal formulated to help the body naturally
and safely balance an overly acid or overly alkaline system. The alkalizing complexes and phytomedicinals within Vaxa's Buffer-pH+
help buffer and remove overly acid and alkaline residues from the body, aiding the body's ability to cleanse and repair tissues
more quickly.
If You're Eating Acid-Forming Foods, You Need the Alkalizing Support of Buffer-pH+
Dietary habits appear to be the major influence of maintaining appropriate pH levels throughout the body. When food
is metabolized and broken down, it leaves certain chemical and metallic residues which yield either acid
or base potentials of pH for the body. Certain foods are acid-forming in nature, whereas others are known to
be base forming.
Although there are exceptions, most of the mineral elements found in fruits and vegetables, including potassium,
calcium, sodium and magnesium, are base (or alkaline) in solution and leave an alkaline residue when metabolized by the
body. On the other hand, chlorine, sulfur and phosphorus are acid forming elements abundant in high-protein
foods, which are generally metabolized to yield acidic residues.
Extremely high-protein (body builders beware) and/or high in fat diets that produce
a predominantly acid mineral residue when metabolized may tax the body's ability to remain in acid-base balance if consumed
over long periods of time. But ironically, strict vegetarians must be just as wary as meat-eaters because a pH often over-extended
into the alkaline range is Just as caustic, taxing the body's abilities to maintain a proper acid-base balance, just as an
overly acid system does.
The Bottom Line: Short of completely changing your diet, your best health care strategy is to take Vaxa's
Buffer-pH+. It's the one way to ensure a buffered system and avoid the acidic environment that so many degenerative
diseases thrive in.