From The Home Test pH Kit by Deborah Page Johnson, BFA
Some doctors and complementary practitioners believe that to be healthy and disease-free, it is important to have a healthy pH balance in your system. I, too, am interested in this approach to health. According to Deborah Page Johnson, BFA, author of The Feel Good Food Guide (www.feelgoodfood.com) and Home Test pH Kit, “our body’s pH is the benchmark for measuring health”. I have excerpted much of her information below.
pH stands for “potential of Hydrogen” which is the acid to alkaline ratio existing in all matter. Normal blood pH is slightly alkaline at 7.35-7.45. On a scale of 1-14 (the lower numbers being acidic, the higher numbers alkaline), note as an example that battery acid is 1.0 and ammonia is 11.0. Hydrochloric acid is 0.0 and sodium hydroxide is 14.0. Don’t try to ingest these caustic substances! The scale used for measuring acid/alkaline in saliva or urine is 5.5-8.0. A good marker for a balanced body is for both our urine and saliva to be maintained within a 6.8-7.2 range .
Our body creates acidity at the cellular level. However, the fluids surrounding our cells must be alkaline. It’s this dance of acid and alkaline that produces energy. Alkalinity is anabolic building up systems, and acidity is catabolic tearing down systems, both are necessary. However, the acidic metabolic waste products must be released from the body. An acid condition if left unchecked over a long period of time will block the body’s absorption of much needed vitamins and minerals and can cause an overgrowth of microforms, yeast and bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract. If the microforms leak into the blood system, such problems as inflammation, autoimmune disorders or cancer can result.
Note that phosphoric acid found in sodas has a pH of 2.8 and it is said that it would take 32 glasses of water at 7.0 to neutralize one glass of soda! All the calcium and magnesium supplements in the world will not help if our body pH is running acidic and not metabolizing the nutrients. Maintaining proper alkalinity is essential for life, health and vitality and can be maintained through healthy eating.
I highly recommend “eating your colors”, all those bright, earth-grown foods found in the produce department of every market and preferably organic. Food that is artificially colored, fried, sweetened and processed is highly acidic. Acidic foods, such as processed carbohydrates (just about anything found in a bag or box at a fast-food mart), are also fattening. So, stick to your natural colors, preferably green!
Deborah Page Johnson recommends “eating green”, that green is the color of the heart chakra and the color of a lush forest or a life-giving oasis. The very vibration of the color green is soothing. Green leafy vegetables are healthy for everyone no matter what the blood type, ethnicity, age or gender. Green is also the color to look for when testing urine or saliva with the paper pH strips, available at most health food stores or with Deborah’s book.
There is action you can take. Take steps to reduce stress that can cause the body to release inflammatory hormones that adds more acid to the system. Eat less acid-forming foods such as protein, starch, sugar and those salty or sugary, greasy carbs found in a bag. Avoid coffee, cola beverages, alcohol, soft drinks, milk chocolate and non-herbal teas. However, green tea, oolong tea, red wine and dark, bittersweet chocolate consumed wisely can actually be beneficial. The key is eating wisely, simply and nothing to excess.
Recommended reading:
- The pH Miracle, by Robert O. Young, PhD, and Shelley Redford Young (Note: they recommend a vegan diet and offer some very good recipes)
- Death by Diet, by Robert R. Barefoot (A little extreme but worth exploring)
- Healing with Whole Foods-Oriental Traditions and Modern Nutrition, by Paul Pitchford