|
Excess
acidity is a condition that weakens all body systems. Excess
acidity forces the body to borrow minerals – including
calcium, sodium, potassium and magnesium – from vital organs,
bones and teeth to buffer (neutralize) the acid and safely
remove it from the body.
As a result, the body can suffer severe and
prolonged ‘corrosion’ due to high acidity – a condition that
may go undetected for years.
Acidosis leads to serious
problems with major organs such as the liver, heart or kidneys.
In this article, we will be looking into some of the reasons
as to why we should avoid acidosis.
1.) It leads to weight
gain and diabetes.
An acidic pH may result in
weight problems such as diabetes and obesity.
When our body is too acidic, we suffer from a
condition known as Insulin Sensitivity. This forces
excessive insulin to be produced. As a
result, the body is flooded with so much insulin that it
diligently converts every calorie into fat.
It is very likely that an acid pH, from an
imbalanced diet, produces a condition, which stimulates the
predetermined genetic response to starvation and famine.
Thereafter, the body will have to increasingly hoard every
calorie consumed and store it as fat.
Some people
reckon that an acid pH immediately signals the powerful
genetic response to an impending famine,directly interpreting
with the all important and very sensitive Insulin-Glucagon
Axis. When this happens, it makes thebody produce more insulin
than usual, and in turn, produce more fats and store it.
On the other hand, a
healthy and slightly alkaline pH will yield normal fat burning
metabolic activities, making no demands on the body to produce
extra insulin and make fats.
As such, this allows fat
to be burned and naturally lost. A healthy pH diet is also
less likely to have any yo-yo effects, or rebounding from a
diet with additional weight gain.
We
should try to maintain a healthy slightly alkaline
pH so
as to allow fats to be burnt normally for energy, rather than
hoarded and stored under the mistaken biochemical belief of an
impending famine.
Acidosis also disrupts
the insulin producing pancreatic beta cells.
These beta cells are especially sensitive to pH and cannot
survive if the body is too acidic. When this occurs, beta
cells will lose phase with one another. Their cellular
communication will be thwarted and the body's immune system
will start to over-respond. Stress within the cells will
increase, making them more difficult to perform adequately and
survive.
2.) It accelerates free-radical damage and
premature aging.
Acidosis leads to partial lipid
breakdown and destructive oxidative cascades accelerating free
radical damage of cell walls and intracellular membrane
structures. In this process, many healthy cells are
destroyed.
Acidosis is the first step towards premature
aging and accelerated oxidative cascades of cell wall
destruction. Signs of acidosis may include wrinkling, age
spots, failing hormonal systems, interfering with eyesight,
memory, and a host of other age-related phenomena.
Unwanted wastes not properly eliminated from the body
actually poison the cells.
3.) It disrupts lipid and fatty acid
metabolism.
Acidosis generally disrupts
lipid and fatty acid, which are involved in nerve and brain
function.
This disruption causes neurological problems
such as MS, MD as well as problems with hormonal balance
within the endocrine system.
An acidic environment also causes
LDL-cholesterol to be laid down at an accelerated
rate in
the heart, inappropriately lining and clogging up the
vascular network.
In other words, an acid pH initiates
electrostatic potential, damaging arterial walls, which in
turn initiates a PDGF-dependent immune response, causing
cholesterol oxidation and the formation
of plaque with
heavy metals.
4.) It corrodes arteries, veins, and heart
tissues
Like acid eating into marble,
acidosis erodes and eats into cell wall membranes of the
heart, arteries and veins. During this process of erosion, our
heart structures and inter connective tissues are weakened.
All living tissues are sensitive to their chemical
environment. The muscle cells of the heart are no different.
The entire cardiovascular system is directly affected by blood
plasma pH and works as one large working "system of tubular
muscles" to carry blood and nutrients to all living tissue in
the body.
The pumping of the heart drives blood through
the arteries, veins and capillary beds and helps to regulate
blood pressure and the flow of blood circulation.
The
heart is normal when the pH of blood plasma is slightly
alkaline, having a pH of 7.35 to 7.41. When the heart plasma rises to an acidic pH of
more than 7.35, it gradually erodes away the smooth muscle
tissues of the inner walls of the arteries and veins,
as well as
the heart itself. This process will start to weaken the
structural composition of the heart, arterial and venous
walls, causing lesions and microscopic tearing throughout its
framework.
At the same time, an acid pH destabilizes
free ionic balances within circulation, increasing the
populations of positively charges particles (cations, an ion
with a positive charge of electricity: H , Ca ) which directly
interfere with the muscle contractility (contraction and
relaxation) of the heart and arteries.
Acid pH
changes of blood are now thought to result in the
following:
A.
Development of arteriosclerosis (hardening of the
arteries)
B. Aneurysm (widening and ballooning of artery
walls)
C. Arrhythmias (abnormal rhythms of the heart
including tachycardia)
D. Myocardial infarction (heart
attacks)
E. Strokes (a cardiovascular accident).
The structural
weakening of the cardiocascularity also creates irregularities
of
blood pressure, which further exacerbates the above
problems.
5.) It alters the
energy metabolism and reserve.
When your body has an acidic pH, it
will prevent efficient cellular and body metabolism. Acidosis
results in chemical ionic disturbances, interfering with
cellular communications and functions. Acidosis reduces plus
calcium binding of plasma proteins, therefore reducing the
effectiveness of this intracellular signal. It also
results in a disease of calcium cations (positive calcium)
entry through positive
calcium channels.
This leads to
a reduction of cardiac contractibility, or the ability of the
heart to pump efficiently and rhythmically.
Positive
calcium and hydrogen regulate the activities of intracellular
proteins and are driven out of the cells by the
"Sodium-Potassium pump" (Na-K pump).
This pump provides a
strong incentive for sodium to be driven into cells. It also
regulates the amount of both sodium and potassium in the body
stores, and uses as much as 25 percent of our caloric input
daily.
Positive calcium exchanges the plus sodium,
being forced out of cells, but naturally, the electrochemical
gradient for positive calcium favors both positive hydrogen
and positive calcium entry into cells, as there is less
calcium and positive
hydrogen in cells than in the
extra-cellular fluids. In extra-cellular fluids, there is 10
times more the amount of positive sodium.
In acidic
solutions, less plus sodium is available, therefore slowing
down the processing and induction of nutritional items going
into the cells. This increases positive hydrogen and calcium
buildup within the plasma, making it more available to
electro-statically bind with LDL-Cholesterol.
As a
result, with free positive calcium populations and channels
being disrupted, calcium may become inordinately leached from
the bone masses.
This causes osteoporosis. In a
nutshell, an acidic pH drains us of energy and disallows
stored energy reserves to be used.
6.) It slow the delivery of oxygen into the
cell.
Acidosis reduces oxygen in the blood. As all
living tissues, especially the heart and brain need oxygen to
function; a lack of it will lead to eventual death.
Having
an acidic pH will reduce the amount of oxygen that is
delivered to the cells. They will eventually
die.
Diseases Associated with
Acidosis.
It is important to note that the body's
biochemistry is an important but just one of many tools to
help the physician understand the whole body..
pH in an of itself is not a diagnostic
tool and is not a medical diagnosis as a disease
entity.
What then happens when
the body is too acidic? An acidic balance will:
1. Decrease the body's ability to
absorb minerals and other nutrients
2. Decrease energy
production in the cells
3. Decrease the body's ability
to repair damaged cells
4. Decrease the body's ability
to detoxify heavy metals
5. Enable tumor cells to
thrive
6. Make the body more susceptible to fatigue and
illness.
Some people who have high
acidity levels tend to exhibit these symptoms such
as:anxiety, diarrhea, dilated pupils, extroverted behavior,
fatigue in early morning, headaches, hyperactivity, hyper
sexuality, insomnia, nervousness, rapid heartbeat, restless
legs, shortness of breath, strong appetite, high blood
pressure, warm dry hands and feet.
Most of the time,
the body becomes acidic due to a diet
rich in acids, emotional stress, toxic overload,
and/or
immune reactions or any process that deprives the cells of
oxygen and other nutrients.
When this happens, the body
will try to compensate for acidic pH by using alkaline
minerals such as calcium. As a result, calcium is
removed from the bones, causing osteoporosis.
Acidosis, which is an extended time in the acid pH
state, can result in rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes,
lupus, tuberculosis, osteoporosis, high blood pressure and
most cancers.
Two main factors leading to
cancer are an acidic pH and a lack of oxygen.
As such, are we able to manipulate these two
factors so as to prevent and control
cancer?
Everyone knows that cancer needs an acidic
and low oxygen environment to survive and flourish. Research
has proven that terminal cancer patients
have an acidity
level of 1,000 times more than normal healthy people.
The vast majority of terminal
cancer patients have a very acidic pH.
Why is
this so?
The reason is simple. Without oxygen,
glucose undergoing fermentation becomes lactic acid. This
causes the pH of the cell to drop to 7.0.
In more
advance cancer cases, the pH level falls further to 6.5.
Sometimes, the level can even fall to 6.0 and 5.7 or
lower.
The basic truth is that our bodies simply
cannot fight diseases if our pH is not properly
balanced.
About The
Author
Michael
Lam, M.D., M.P.H., A.B.A.A.M. is a specialist in Preventive and Anti-Aging
Medicine. He is currently the Director of Medical Education
at the
Academy of Anti-Aging Research, U.S.A. He
received his Bachelor of Science degree from Oregon State
University, and his Doctor of Medicine degree from
Loma Linda University School of Medicine, California. He
also holds a Masters of Public Health degree and is
Board Certification in Anti-aging Medicine by the
American Board of Anti-Aging Medicine. Dr. Lam pioneered
the formulation of the three clinical phases of aging as
well as the concept of diagnosis and treatment
of
sub-clinical age related degenerative diseases to deter the
aging process. Dr. Lam has been published extensively in
this field.
He is the author of The Five Proven
Secrets to Longevity (available on-line). He also
serves as editor of the Journal of Anti-Aging
Research.
|
