What Is pH Balance?

A while back I had read a little bit about pH balance as it relates to our bodies (not deodorant) but never thought too much of it until my recent 3 month battle with indigestion.

In hindsight, the indigestion was a blessing in disguise because the effects of an unbalanced pH level can be horrible and I never would have known about it if I hadn’t tried to find a cure for my indigestion.

So I think it’s extremely important to understand this topic so we can become stronger, healthier Dads able to support our families for many years to come.

Plus, I’ve seen some really cool benefits like increased energy and lower body fat in just a short amount of time of working to correct my pH.

So, I am going to do my best to share everything I’ve learned about this topic in the hopes that you will at least find a small nugget of information that you find helpful and will impact your life in a positive way.

Here goes!

Why Is It Important To Understand Our Body’s pH Level?

Our bodies have a certain pH level which is in a constant state of flux.

On the one extreme our bodies can be too acidic and on the other extreme our bodies can be too alkaline.

The optimal place for our bodies to be is in the middle, however, most of us are more on the “acidic” side of the scale which can cause all kinds of health issues.

What are the Health Risks Associated With Becoming “Acidic”?

Here are just a few that I’ve gathered from my research so far…

• Osteoporosis
• Various forms of Cancer
• Higher blood pressure
• Fat gain
• Insulin Disorders
• Diabetes
• A weaker immune system
• Increased stress
• Neurological Diseases
• Auto-immune disorders
• Cardiac and vascular damage
• Liver, Bladder and Kidney conditions
• Premature aging
•  Frequent headaches
• Sinusitis
• Constipation
• Hormonal imbalances
• Prostate problems
• Low energy and chronic fatigue
• Acid indigestion

Fun stuff right?!

So how does our pH become Acidic?

The two biggest factors are Diet and Mental State.

1)      Diet: Unfortunately, the vast majority of the foods that make up the common American diet are acid forming in our bodies.

2)      Mental State: Stress and worry cause our bodies to become more acidic whereas peace and relaxation help our bodies to alkalize or become more alkaline.

Diet

Some foods are acid forming and some are alkaline forming in our bodies. However, although a food may be acidic in it’s raw form, it may not be acidic forming in our bodies and foods that are alkaline in their raw form may not be alkaline forming in our bodies.

Lemon is a great example of this as they lemons are acidic but are alkaline forming when we consume them.

Red meat on the other hand is alkaline but when we consume red meat it is acid forming in our bodies.

So How Do We Know What Foods Are Acid Forming?

This is a bit tricky but in my next post I will review what I have researched to be the top acid and alkaline forming foods and discuss how food can help us get our pH in balance.