What's pH got to do with it? The Connection to Disease & Cancer

​Did you read my post The Importance of a Healthy Acid/Alkaline Balance?  It explains that having a balanced pH is good for your health and how to alkalize the body to achieve Homeostasis, which means balance and a relative state of equilibrium (the goal in regards to health).  

In today's post, let's dig a little deeper...
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​What causes acidity in the body?

Having balanced homeostasis and a slightly alkaline pH is good for health. Disease thrives in both an overly acidic or overly alkaline body, and unfortunately, most Americans have a slightly acidic environment in their body due to an excess acid load.  This is due to several factors:

• Stress:  Chronic stress is typical in the American lifestyle, unfortunately.  The hormones secreted by glands due to stress will acidify the body.  In addition, stress causes breathing to become shallow and/or faster, or to hold the breath, all of which cause a decrease in oxygen intake and makes a person prone to acidity. This is because oxygen alkalizes the blood, as well as all of its tissues and organs. 
• Toxins: There are more than 80,000 industrial chemicals in use today, which are found in the air, soil, water, and our food.  They are in our home cleaning products, perfumes, cosmetics, lotions, air fresheners, detergents, carpets, clothing, furniture, plastics, and many more places.  The majority of these toxins acidify the body. 
• Infections/ immune system reactions:  When the body trends toward a slightly alkaline state, germs cannot survive.  However, an acidic body is more vulnerable to germs like bacteria, viruses, fungi, yeasts, molds, amoebas, and other microbes; in fact, it is a perfect environment for them to thrive.  Even worse, once the body is infected with germs, their byproducts of metabolism are acidic. Sugary foods, which are also acidic, lower the immune system and can make a person susceptible to infection. 
• Metabolic regulations that create acid by-products: The normal metabolic body processes produce acid waste that must be eliminated or they will be recirculated in the body. 
• An acid-forming diet: According to Michelle Schoffro Cook, in her book, The Ultimate pH Solution, this is potentially the worst culprit affecting our pH balance.  Acidic foods are prevalent in the Standard American Diet (SAD), and include staples such as sweets, carbonated sodas, meat, dairy, trans fats, white flour, and fried foods. In addition, also acidifying are the chemical additives, preservatives, insecticides, herbicides, colors, flavorings, waxes, conditioners, firming agents, heavy metals, gasses, and bleaches.  Plus, the molecularly and chemically altered fats, sweeteners, and amino acids found in “foods” today.  There are also thousands of pollutants in drinking water, which can make it acidic, especially with the addition of chlorine and fluoride.  Refined salt, which is just processed sodium chloride, has been stripped of potassium and other naturally occurring minerals, and contributes to the acid load on the body.  (Read my post HERE about how to alkalize the body through diet.)

Research done on the diets of Paleolithic peoples, who lived in pre-agricultural times, concluded that they ate an alkaline producing diet, based on alkaline plant foods.   In modern times, the SAD diet is comprised of cereal grains, simple sugars, low fiber, high sodium, and nutrient-poor foods, which are rather acidic.  It is no coincidence that there also has been an increase in disorders and “diseases of civilization”, including atherosclerosis, hypertension, type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis, and cancer.

There are tests to determine a person’s pH using blood, saliva, urine, or hair mineral analysis, however, they may not be reliable depending on the amount of wastes in the cellular fluid at a particular time, and does not determine the quality of a person’s tissues, organs, glands, skin, etc., all of which will have various pH readings.  According to Paula Bartholomy at Hawthorn University, “The best barometer for evaluating general acid alkaline levels may very well be just the overall health and well-being of an individual.”

Print the Alkalizing/Acidifying Chart

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​How Does the Body Try to Achieve pH Balance?

The ideal state of the blood and lymph fluids is slightly alkaline. The blood needs to maintain a pH range of between 7.35 and 7.45 at all times. The body works hard to maintain this acid-alkaline balance; however, it was not designed to handle huge quantities of acidic foods and toxins, nor a chronically stressful life.  

The body has two main ways it deals with acid and attempts to restore pH balance:  

• First, it excretes toxic acids from the blood, mainly via the kidneys in the form of urine. Other detoxification organs involved also include the lungs, liver, intestines, skin, and lymph system.  
• Secondly, the body tries to neutralize acids and restore pH balance by using calcium, potassium, bicarbonate, glutamine, and magnesium mineral stores taken from the bloodstream and lymphatic fluids. The minerals buffer the acids. Ideally, these mineral are provided from a nutrient-rich diet. However, if the mineral stores from the bloodstream and fluids are all used up, the body must pull them from its tissues, organs and glands, and then the bones. Poor health can result. If the minerals "borrowed" from bones aren't replenished, the long-term effects could be osteoporosis and osteoarthritis. Contrary to popular belief, dairy foods, which are acidifying to the body due to the fat and protein content, may contribute to bone demineralization and osteoporosis, not prevent it.

Disease can be a result of: 
a) acidity itself, or 
b) taxed organs, systems, and depleted mineral reserves, which are due to the body’s inability to keep up with an excessive acid load. ​
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What are the health ramifications of an acidic body?

• Your cells react to an acidic environment by becoming sluggish; wastes build up, toxins aren't excreted, and nutrients aren't utilized. When excess acid wastes (from foods, lifestyle, or metabolism) are not cleared from the body and eliminated, they become reabsorbed.  Circulating bodily waste generates free radicals, which damage our cells, tissues, and organs.  
• Unhealthy, acidic, toxic, weak cells lead to a sick body and organs. Acidity has been linked to arthritis, mental problems, asthma, allergies, constipation, diarrhea, kidney and liver problems, fatigue, and many chronic diseases.
• If the minerals "borrowed" from bones aren't replenished, long-term effects could be osteoporosis and osteoarthritis.
• Bacteria, fungi, and parasites flourish in an acidic environment, yet cannot thrive in a neutral environment.

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​What are Some Symptoms of a Body Out of Balance?

• The common, early signs of an acid-alkaline balance may be headaches, pain, allergies, skin issues, a weak immune system, breathing disorders, fatigue, inflammation, indigestion, and muscle cramping.  
• Over time, larger organ and gland systems are affected and symptoms worsen.  These often include the thyroid, adrenals, and liver.  
• When pH is chronically acidic, oxygen levels decrease and chronic illness can form.  
• Infections from Bacteria, fungi, and parasites. 
• An acidic diet can also reduce enzyme activity in the body.  This impacts digestion and most bodily functions.  
• The toxic burden of an excess acid load can cause accelerated aging and the accompanying health problems due to high metabolic acid creation in the body, such as gout, osteoporosis, cystic fibrosis, thyroid problems, fibromyalgia, IBS, and cancer.

Read the book:

The Ultimate pH Solution: Balance Your Body Chemistry to Prevent Disease and Lose Weight
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By Michelle Schoffro Cook

Buy it on Amazon

​What is the pH/Cancer Connection?

World Health Organization (WHO) research suggests that approximately four percent of cancers are genetic; which means the rest are linked to lifestyle, diet, and/or environment and may be preventable.  Cancer cells also exist in healthy bodies, but healthy bodies are able to naturally kill and remove diseased cells before they can take hold or grow into tumors.  Many holistic health experts believe that cancer is an effect of deep imbalances in the body.  The imbalances may grow larger over time, and are caused by metabolic acids that build up in the blood and are released into cells, tissues, and organs (Cook, 2008).  

Some pH/cancer connections explained:

• An acid-producing diet, environment, and lifestyle cause the body to have a compromised or overburdened immune system and an unbalanced pH at the cellular level.  Unhealthy cells open the door to possible mutations.  Cancer cells form when DNA and/or RNA is mutated.  This can happen spontaneously or result from factors like radiation, toxins, chemicals, pathogens (bacteria, fungi, parasites, viruses), and the food and water one consumes.

• The human body has a natural, negative, electromagnetic charge.  However, cells that are in an oxygen deprived, acidic environment have a positive charge.  These positively charged, unhealthy cells are electromagnetically attracted to negatively charged, healthy cells.  Therefore, healthy cells are pulled into an acidic environment and damage may occur. As a mass of unhealthy cells grows, the body often defends itself by isolating the tissue to prevent it from spreading.  This is a cancer tumor.

• Acidity reduces oxygen. Healthy cells cannot thrive or divide in an acidic environment, and cell respiration is compromised.  Yet, cancer thrives in an oxygen-poor, acidic environment.  Instead of oxygen, cancer can use glucose fermentation for energy, which is anaerobic.  Worse yet, the fermentation process produces more acid and lowers the pH even further.  Research has shown that both acidity and lack of oxygen are factors in non-malignant tumors all the way to invasive cancers.  Researchers also found very low pH levels in the veins of cancerous tumors and that the cells of most solid tumors are surrounded by acid.

• The mitochondria in cells are what convert food to energy.  In an acidic environment, the mitochondria have inadequate energy and impaired capacity to stave off cancer cells.

​References

Cook, M. S. (2008). The ultimate pH solution: balance your body chemistry to prevent disease and lose weight. New York: Collins.

Bartholomy, P. (Director) (2014 a). Diet Plan, Homeostasis. MSHN lecture. [Format of file]. Lecture conducted from Hawthorn University, California.  http://www.hawthornuniversity.org.

Bartholomy, P. (Director) (2014 b). Food Characteristics/Diet Direction. MSHN 106 lecture. [Format of file]. Lecture conducted from Hawthorn University, California. http://www.hawthornuniversity.org.


The Au Naturale Nutrition series on Cancer:

• What is Cancer?  The Hallmarks of the Disease.
• Factors that Trigger Cancer &  Steps to Avoid the Disease
• What's pH got to do with it?  The Connection to Disease & Cancer.
• An Integrative Approach to Cancer: Use of Supplements alongside Conventional Cancer Treatments

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