A good acidity level, or in other words a balanced acid-base ratio of a harmonious body, is one of the most critical factors for good health. During the metabolism acidic end products are continuously formed. Small fluctuations in the pH of the blood and cells can result in drastic changes in the metabolism of the cells, which can cause disturbances. Click here to read how to measure your pH value.
All our cells bathe in extracellular fluid that, like the blood, is lightly alkaline (pH 7.35 – 7.45). The extreme pH values for the blood and the extracellular fluid, in which life is still possible, is between 6.8 and 7.8. A low pH value (acid) can more often lead to life threatening situations than a high pH value (alkaline). A reduced pH value (more acidic) led to a thickening of the blood. When the blood has a thicker composition, the heart must pump harder to direct it to the organs.
What are acids and bases?
When you hear the term acid, you quickly think of a certain taste that makes your face contract. But an acid is a chemical understanding that says something about the property of a substance and not the taste.
“Acids” split hydrogen ions (H +) in water. The contradictor of an acid is called a “base” (alkaline, not sweet). A base is a substance that splits in water hydroxide ions (OH-).
The “pH value” is a measurement for the concentration of hydrogen ions in dissolutions and indicates how acidic or alkaline something is. The acidity level, or the pH value can be between 0 and 14.
All pH values of liquids from 0 to 7 are called acid (the lower the value the more acidic). And all pH values from 7 to 14 are called alkaline (the higher the value the more alkaline). A pH value of 7 is neutral, so neither too acidic nor too alkaline.
Alkaline substances neutralise acidic substances
An acidic substance is neutralised when it comes into contact with an alkaline substance. For example, "uric acid" is neutralised by "sodium bicarbonate" by converting it into carbon dioxide, water and neutral salts. Sodium bicarbonate is our body's "basic buffer" that neutralises acidic waste. Acid residues in the body are thus buffered, or neutralised, by the base sodium bicarbonate. This is de-acidification.
Our body has not one but several acid degrees.
Our body has different pH-values depending on the organ and its function. The acidity of the blood is tightly regulated between pH 7.35 and 7.45. Below is an overview with limits of pH-values:
Limits of pH values:
Blood 7.35 - 7.45 (ideally 7.41)
Saliva 6.00 - 7.50
Stomach 1.35 - 4.20
Urine 5.50 - 8.40
Small intestine 6.50 - 7.50
Large intestine 5.60 - 6.90
Acidification is aging!
The famous French physician and biologist, Dr. Alexis Carell, kept a chicken heart alive for 28 years*. He hatched an egg and took tissue from the developing chicken heart. He kept the heart tissue in a liquid nutrient medium that contained minerals of the same composition as in the blood. He exchanged the liquid nutrient medium every day, thus keeping the heart tissue alive for 28 years(!). When he stopped refreshing the liquid nutrient medium, the heart cells died. The secret of the 28-year surviving chicken heart is due to the fact that the extracellular fluid (liquid in which the cells were stored) was maintained at a constant quality (acidity level).
*Dr. Alexis Carrel, “Man, The Unknown" pagina 92, 93
