.jpg)
Holistic Living
Balancing Our pH Levels
by Christine Dreher, CCN, CCH
Stress, resentment and other toxic emotions are some of the biggest culprits behind disease and imbalance in our physical health. Our pH levels are often the first to be affected by negative emotions, resulting in higher levels of acidity in our bodies. By practicing healthy emotional release, meditation and forgiveness, we can bring our pH levels back into balance before they cascade into adverse health conditions.
What is the pH Balance of the Body?
The pH level is one of the most important balance systems of the body. It is a measure of acidity or alkalinity, on a scale of zero to 14, with zero being most acidic, 14 being most alkaline and seven being mid-range. The pH levels of our bodies vary from one organ or system to the next.
For example, the stomach pH is much more acidic than the intestinal pH because the stomach needs an acidic environment (hydrochloric acid) to break down food for digestion. On the other hand, the flora (good bacteria) of the small intestine needs an alkaline environment to assimilate and process the nutrients from the foods digested by the stomach.
The Evolution of Disease
Our modern-day lifestyle presents a challenge to our health and wellbeing. Most of our diets include many refined and highly processed foods and sugars, not to mention the chemical pollutants in the air we breathe and the food we eat. I believe these factors, along with excessive stress and toxic emotions, are the main reasons that the occurrence of illness continues to escalate in our society.
Disease is our body’s way of telling us that something is out of balance. It’s a cry for help. I believe that the body is capable of healing itself when given the right tools, care and attention. The problem is that we tend to treat the symptoms of the imbalances, rather than addressing the causes.
An example would be the overworked, stressed out manager. Plagued with afternoon fatigue (maybe due to depleted adrenal glands, hypoglycemia or candida), he/she rushes off for the “sugar fix” of a candy bar or cup of coffee to keep going. This is like putting a band-aid on a volcano. It may create a short term remedy, but in the long run, it makes matters worse. What started off as a small annoyance tends to escalate over time, requiring more drastic band-aids to quiet uncomfortable symptoms. Eventually this can grow to become a chronic problem or disease.
What Causes These Imbalances?
One of the major causes of an imbalanced system is the food in our pantries and refrigerators. The amount of processed and refined foods we consume has continued to increase over the last several decades, including foods treated with preservatives, chemicals, pesticides and hormones. Not only are these chemicals creating havoc and toxicity in our systems, but the continual consumption of processed and refined foods is also throwing off the delicate pH balance of our bodies.
How Does Eating Affect our pH Level?
In order to maintain a balanced pH level, we need to eat about 75 percent alkaline-forming foods. The average American diet consists of about 80 percent acid-forming foods! Because processed and refined foods are extremely acidic to our systems, the body creates a buffering system to protect itself from being harmed by the acids. This process requires the use of many nutrients from the body, including electrolyte minerals (organic potassium, magnesium, sodium and calcium, to name a few). Electrolyte minerals are not minerals from the ground. They are minerals from plant sources that have gone through the process of photosynthesis.
Why Are Electrolyte Minerals Important for our Bodies?
Electrolyte minerals are vital to the metabolic functions of our systems. When we have a sufficient reserve of electrolyte minerals, the buffering process is not a problem. When we are young, we usually have sufficient electrolyte mineral reserves. Over time, the reserves can become depleted by ingesting too many processed and refined acid-forming foods, or from excessive mental or emotional stress. When we run short of electrolyte minerals, our body is no longer able to maintain an efficient homeostasis, or state of equilibrium.
The body has a hierarchy of priorities for survival. Second only to breathing and sustaining our heartbeat, the most important metabolic function that our bodies perform is maintaining a specific pH. The most important pH level that the body must regulate is the blood’s pH level, which must be maintained at 7.4 (slightly alkaline). If it varies more than a point, death can result from a coma or seizure. In order to maintain the blood’s critical pH balance, the body will compromise less important functions. Once electrolyte reserves become depleted, the body begins to rob these electrolytes from the various organs and systems of the body to maintain the blood’s pH level. This is where the imbalance begins.
For example, when the body becomes depleted of organic sodium (an essential electrolyte mineral, not table salt), the body may not be able to manufacture enough hydrochloric acid in the stomach. This can create an imbalanced digestive system where foods are not being processed properly.
These imbalances can be aggravated further because our body’s systems will generally deplete electrolytes from the weakest areas first. So if someone already has a weakened system, the further depletion of electrolyte minerals will cause greater imbalance and more dysfunction. When our bodies become too depleted, overall functioning becomes weakened, affecting the immune system and the body’s ability to fight off bacterial and viral infections.
The Good News
We can begin to reverse this depletion process by replenishing the electrolyte minerals in our bodies. By eating more alkaline-forming foods (fresh fruits, vegetables, and juices, along with sprouted seeds and alkaline grains), we can begin to increase our reserve supply of electrolyte minerals. I also recommend a natural goat whey mineral powder by Mt. Capra because it is a natural source of electrolyte minerals and can help with acidic conditions.
pH Testing Tools
pH testing provides us with a way to take a more proactive role in our health. pH papers can be a very effective tool for monitoring your pH balance system. Specially coated papers that come on a roll or in strips, pH papers can measure the saliva and urine pH levels of your body. They measure not only your pH levels, but can determine if you are deficient in electrolyte minerals.
We can detect and correct pH imbalances and electrolyte deficiencies in our systems before they manifest as symptoms of disease. As a cleanse coach, I have seen dramatic health improvements in so many people who simply get their pH levels balanced and their electrolytes replenished. The pH tests are easy, quick and painless. All you need are the correct pH papers and the instructions for interpreting your results. You will need pH papers that measure between 5.5 and 8.0 for proper testing.
By working on our pH balance, we can achieve greater health in our lives. We can also address our wellbeing in holistic terms by exploring our physical, mental, emotional and spiritual levels of being. It is truly our choice. We can choose lifestyle habits that promote balance and health. We can choose to be conscious of our thoughts and let go of our judgments of others. We can choose to forgive others and ourselves, thereby releasing resentment and other toxic emotions. We can choose to live fully in the present moment, thereby freeing ourselves from our addiction to stress. We can simply choose to trust and live in divine harmony and flow with our universe, instead of resisting it. In making these conscious choices, we create health, wellness, and balance on all levels of our being.