Are You Acidic? And Why Should You Care?

Acidity is a big problem that causes even bigger problems.  So, do you have problems with acidity?  A lot of people do.

Before I get in too deep, I have to say here that I am not a doctor.  I don’t diagnose problems, prescribe anything, or treat anything.  Ask your doctor before you try anything new, especially if you already have real issues.

First, are you acidic?  It is easy to find out with a piece of litmus paper by testing your saliva.  It is best to do it first thing in the morning before you’ve had anything to eat because the chemicals in your food with throw off the results.

Why do you care if you are acidic?  An acidic condition is a huge burden on your body.  It has to maintain an environment that is slightly alkaline, between 7.2 and 7.4 on the pH scale.  Acidosis is the name for the condition when a person gets too acidic.  A person who gets too far out of this slightly alkaline range will die because certain life-sustaining chemical processes cannot take place.  It is that important.  Since the body’s first concern is self-preservation, it will do everything it can to maintain that pH balance.

Calcium and a few other minerals are used to buffer acid in the blood and those minerals are stored in the bones.  Calcium is also used by the body to build strong bones and to regulate the heart beat.  Here’s a good article about how calcium is used to beat the heart.  So, if the blood is using all of the calcium to buffer acid, what is going to build strong bones and beat your heart?  See the problem?

What are the causes of acidity and how do you fix them?

Diet and stress are two of the biggest causes.  Let’s deal with stress first because diet is the bigger topic.  Stress causes your body to flood itself with adrenaline, which is acidic.   Normally, this is a good thing because it gives us the heightened awareness to deal with a dangerous situation.  The problem for us is that we constantly put ourselves into stressful situations and never give our bodies that chance to flush the adrenaline out and take a break.  A good night’s sleep is the best solution.  I’m talking about a full 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep.  How often do you get that?  Meditation is another good idea.

Now let’s address diet.  Diet is what you eat, whatever that may be.  Most people have a highly acidic diet.  Fast food, processed food, meat, soft drinks, you name it.  If it isn’t a fresh vegetable or water then it is probably acidic.  Actually, the water a lot of people drink is acidic too if it is a purified bottled water or comes from a reverse osmosis or distillation system.  A lot of people don’t eat enough vegetables either.  So, how do you fix it?  It is simple.  Eat a lot more veggies, drink a lot more water, and cut back on the rest of the stuff.

Don’t get me wrong on this diet thing.  I’m still not a big fan of a lot of vegetables and I love a lot of acidic foods.  It is something that I’m still working on.  One thing I was able to do though, and I recommend you do too, is to cut out carbonated soft drinks and replace them with water, alkaline water.  The added carbon dioxide that makes the fizz also combines with the water to make carbonic acid.  I’ve heard that it takes 30 glasses of water to neutralize the acid in one can of soda.  It has become such a problem these days that teenagers are being diagnosed with osteoporosis, which used to be a disease you heard mostly associated with elderly ladies.

My recommendations:

• Drink good, clean, alkaline water.
• Cut out the soft drinks.
• Eat more vegetables.
• Reduce the amount of acidic food you eat.
• Get a good night sleep regularly.
• Meditate.

Once you have started to take control of your acid then you can think about a calcium supplement and other things to restore the proper balance to your body.  Also, check out my blog post about Kenzen BDZ, a bone density supplement.

Wayne Woodworth
I don’t need an acid trip