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Articles
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Your Acid / Alkaline Balance
What are alkalinity, acidity and pH, and
what do they mean to my health? |
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pH is the abbreviation for potential hydrogen, measuring the
hydrogen-ion concentration.
The higher the pH reading the more alkaline and oxygen rich
a substance is.
A reading of 7 is neutral. Anything below that is acidic and
higher is alkaline. One of the benchmarks of a healthy physiology
is a balanced pH that is mildly alkaline. There are different
optimal pH levels for different parts of the body, for instance
the stomach needs to be quite acidic. The easiest pH to keep
track of is saliva, read with a pH strip or paper which is
ideally between 7.2 and 7.4.
High acidity is associated with diseased state. It can result
in cancers, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, high blood pressure,
fatigue, rashes and skin conditions, high candidias and chronic
yeast, allergies, fibromyalgia, and many other conditions.
The majority of Americans are way too acidic. This comes from
consuming the very acid forming Standard American Diet, with
high amounts of meat, starches, sugar, processed, fast, canned
and microwaved foods; alcohol, soda and caffeine, as well
as chronic stress and worry. We ingest too many chemicals
such as artificial sweeteners, which are poisons and extremely
acidic; preservatives and artificial flavors in our food.
Other outside toxins contribute.
An acid body pulls minerals from itself, like calcium from
bone to neutralize the acids. People crave heavy, clogging
food to buffer acids, but it backfires because these foods
are also acidic.
From an Ayurvedic viewpoint, an acidic body comes from every
form of ama (toxins). Simple ama causes blockages, amavisha
is trapped, fermented and burning ama, garvisha is slow poison
or outside toxins; and chaotic electromagnetic energy contributes
as well. More importantly, it points to the depletion, imbalance
or blockage of Prana, the life force. A person looses several
ounces of weight at death when prana leaves the body.
Prana is made of three components: soma, agni and merut, which
are the precursors to the three doshas. We are chronically
deficient in Soma, the cooling nurturing energy of moonlight
that brings Kapha into the body; and we all have too much
Agni, the fiery heating solar energy that brings Pitta. Merut
is the circulatory factor, an expression of air and space
elements of Vata.. These energies are all very high and available
at our marma points.
We have moved away from a fresh, natural diet rich in alkalizing
vegetables, fruits, whole grains and more neutral seeds, nuts
and legumes. This kind of fresh diet is abundant in intelligence
and Prana.
Ideally, 70% of the diet taken in should be alkaline and only
20 to 30% mildly acidic foods. Alkaline foods include vegetables,
most fruits, greens, herbs, lentil, seeds and nuts, with mildly
acidic whole grains and fresh dairy.
Activities that lower stress are also alkalizing, good belly
laughter being one of the best. Sattvic, or harmonic activities
such as meditation is also very alkalizing. Dr. Mishra's transdermal
creams applied at the wrist pulse, marma points on palms and
soles of feet, have been shown to raise pH levels significantly
because of the amount of prana brought in.
To rebalance a very acidic system, stronger measures may be
needed such as consuming coral calcium, soma salt, specific
herbs and foods and cooling the liver. You should never try
to 'push' the body to alkalinity by taking strong supplements
or baking soda.
It is important to note that the pH value of a food talks
about its post -digested or burned state, not fresh. For instance,
a lemon is quite acidic in its fresh state, but the post digestive
effect in the body is alkalizing.
Keeping an eye on your pH levels is an important way to measure
the balance and health of your whole system. As you embrace
intelligent, fresh and whole organic foods, connect with nature
whenever possible and engage in Sattvic activities, your being
will vibrate with abundant Prana, have lovely pH level, and
you will feel great!
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