|
Different
fluids in the human body generally have a delicate
range of acid-alkaline balance they maintain for
optimal functioning. Human blood has a normal
pH of about 7.41. The pH of urine has a wider
range. Normal ranges for urine pH are from 4.5
to 8. Urine pH tends to have wider variations
based on the acid or alkaline forming potential
of foods eaten during the course of the day. First
morning urine before any foods are eaten is often
considered the most accurate indicator of true
urine pH because it is not influenced by the acid
or alkaline forming potential of recent meals
or snacks.
When
the pH levels of blood or other key bodily fluids
fall out of optimal pH range due to adverse metabolic
or respiratory conditions, the human body goes
through a variety of adjustments to try to correct
the acid or alkaline imbalance. If the body is
too alkaline, a condition called alkalosis results.
Conversely, an overly acid condition results in
acidosis. Checking urine pH is one way doctors
look for imbalances in the pH levels of the body.
Testing blood pH levels is another option.
Holistic
doctors often recommend self testing your urine
pH or saliva to determine the pH levels and then
adjusting your diet accordingly to try to balance
your overall body pH. That is, if your urine is
too alkaline to eat a more acid forming diet,
or if it is too acid to eat a more alkaline forming
diet. Conventional medical doctors are often skeptical
at the idea that diet can influence anything but
your urine pH levels and that diet has no impact
on stomach acid or blood pH. This view is no longer
as wide spread as it once was, and in recent years
it has been suggested by some researchers that
a low grade acidosis among the general population
of industrialized countries caused by cereal grains
and other refined foods common in modern diets
may be partly responsible for many of our modern
diseases.
Studies
on animals do tend to support the holistic view
that diet can influence the body's acid-base balance.
A paper that appeared in the European Journal
of Nutrition entitled Animal
nutrition and acid-base balance cited
multiple examples of nutrition induced acidosis
or alkalosis induced through dietary intervention
in animals that could prevent various diseases.
In one example, dietary induced acidosis has been
used to prevent hypocalcemic postparturient paresis
in dairy cows. An another example, dietary induced
alkalosis has been induced to prevent mineral
loss and subsequent stress fractures in athletic
horses.
Links:
Acid
and Alkaline Diets: What are they used for?
Sources
1.
Haas, Elson, Staying Healthy with Nutrition,
Celestial Arts, Berkeley, California, 1992.
2.
Mayo Clinic Diet Manual, 3rd Edition, Philadelphia,
W.B. Saunder Company.
3.
Balch, James F. and Phyllis A., Prescription for
Nutritional Healing, Third Edition, Avery, New
York. 2000
4.
Riond JL., Animal nutrition and acid-base balance,
European Journal of Nutrition, 2001 Oct;40(5):245-54.
5.4.
Cordain, L. et al. "Origins and evolution
of the Western diet: health implications for the
21st century", American Journal of Clinical
Nutrition, Vol. 81, No. 2, 341-354, February
2005
|
