Do you believe in the theory of alkalinity in the body?
Our beliefs shape and mold us.
For some of us, beliefs are difficult to change.
This is because beliefs are thoughts we keep thinking programmed by parents, relatives, and the media.
I remember the first time a belief I held was shattered into a million pieces.
When I was a child, I decided I wanted a ten speed bike.
I put a request into Santa Claus so I knew I’d have it on Christmas day.
Christmas Eve eventually came and my excitement went through the roof.
I was so excited it was hard to fall asleep.
As I lay in bed, my mother probably thought I finally dosed off.
I could hear from my bedroom as she walked to the front door.
She was going outside but for what reason?
I didn’t think much about it until I heard a “ticking” sound.
What was it and what was making that sound?
Curiosity was getting the best of me so I stood up and peered out my bedroom window.
Almost instantly, I saw my mother wheeling an orange ten speed bike into the house.
I was disappointed and ecstatic at the same time.
How could she lie to me?
Why did she lie to me about Santa Claus?
I had the very same feeling when I found out the truth of alkaline acid balance.
Acid Alkaline Figments
Nutrition and health can be an intricate game of bait and switch.
You’re lured in seeking truth only to find out things change.
Sometimes it changes in a moment’s notice.
We all become victims of fabrication and I’m no exception to the rule.
I came into nutrition with “guns blazing,” ready to shoot down anything challenging my beliefs.
One of those beliefs hit me as hard as finding out my mom was Santa Claus.
I fell for the the alkalinity in the body theory hook, line, and sinker.
The theory states “disease can’t exist in an alkaline body.”
It’s the whole logic behind eating alkaline foods and drinking alkaline water but does it hold weight?
FoodAlkaLies
The premise behind having acid alkaline balance is to prevent disease.
Cancer and other diseases supposedly can’t survive in an alkaline environment.
In an effort to create alkalinity, we’re told to eat foods to make the body alkaline.
Since meat is acidic, vegetables (which are alkaline) should dominate our plates.
If you were to test this using ph strips, the alkalinity theory would prove to be true…for a short time.
Because the body is complex, alkalinity is too simplistic to explain its processes.
Eating an alkaline diet can’t make the body alkaline long term.
The way to provide a sustaining alkaline environment is not through food but respiration.
Breathing provides an alkaline environment but only if you’re in a hyperventilated state.
That’s right, expelling enough carbon dioxide would make your body’s ph more alkaline!
Who wants to do this?
Ain’t nobody got time for that!
If being alkaline isn’t the right state then what is?
Benefits Of Acids
The mere mention of acid gives thought to something being eaten away, doesn’t it?
It scares us to think something could be eating at us from the inside.
Acid and acidity doesn’t have to be bad, it can also be beneficial.
The skin, hair, stomach, and intestines are all acidic.
Fulvic acid, folic acid, and even essential fatty acids are beneficial.
Acidity in the stomach is responsible for killing bacteria in food.
It also helps to break down food so nutrients can be absorbed.
So…acid can’t be all bad can it?
Could it only be bad when it comes to disease?
Disease And Acidity
Supposedly, disease or diseases can’t exist in an alkaline environment.
This is the whole premise behind eating alkaline foods.
We would like to believe an alkaline diet protects us from life threatening ailments.
What if I told you, cancer cells prefer alkalinity over acidity.
Would you believe it?
Cancer cells prefer alkalinity so does Candida and Heliobacter Pylori (H.pylori).
H. pylori. often associated with stomach ulcers love the alkaline state.
It loves it so much, it creates ammonia as a buffer to neutralize stomach acid.
The ammonia creates alkalinity to insure the bacteria’s survival.
Pathogens are no dummies.
They know how to survive and thrive.
The Alkaline Body
On a recent podcast, David Sandoval, author of the Green Foods Bible stated the body was complex.
Since the body is complex it has its own mechanism for buffering acidity and providing balance.
The mechanism is known as bicarbonate transport.
Bicarbonate transport assists in balancing the body’s ph.
When bicarbonate transport systems are defunct disease exists.
Why does the body lose its ability to regulate its own ph?
This is the question we should ask ourselves instead of insisting on eating alkaline foods.
While the theory of eating alkaline is a myth, so is the theory on an alkaline body.
Our bodies have various ph levels and indeed some are acidic.
This is for good reason.
The body is like a finely tuned scaled; it prefers balance over extremism.
If balancing means having some parts acidic and some parts alkaline, I can dig that!
I’d rather have a balanced body over alkalinity in the body any day.
Wouldn’t you?
Now its your turn, what do you think about alkalinity in the body? Did you fall for the alkaline theory as well? Leave your comments below and please share with someone who makes a fuss about alkalinity!