Acid pH Dangers

At The Budwig Center we do regular pH testing when you come to our center in order to test the saliva and balance the pH to a neutral state

When we were born and in our younger years our body was naturally in an alkaline state. In its natural, healthy state, our body is slightly alkaline - the opposite of acidic. In fact, our blood and cells depend on remaining in this slightly alkaline state for our very survival. For example, to produce energy from the food we eat, a healthy cell requires abundant oxygen-an alkalinizing element. A healthy cell also contains alkaline minerals like potassium.

The Importance of Acid and Alkaline Balance for Health

Virtually all degenerative diseases including cancer, heart disease, arthritis, osteoporosis, kidney and gall stones, and tooth decay are associated with excess acidity in the body. While the body has a homeostatic mechanism that maintains a constant pH 7.4 in the blood, this mechanism works by depositing and withdrawing acid and alkaline minerals from other locations including the bones, soft tissues, body fluids and saliva. Therefore, the pH of these other tissues can fluctuate greatly. The pH of saliva offers a window through which you can see the overall pH balance in your body.

All forms of illnesses are associated with excess acidity. Acid in the body dissolves both teeth and bones. Whatever health situation you are faced with, you can monitor your progress toward a proper acid/alkaline balance by testing your saliva pH.

What are Acid and Alkaline?

Water (H2O) ionizes into hydrogen (H+) and hydroxyl (OH-) ions. When these ions are in equal proportions, the pH is a neutral 7. When there are more H+ ions than OH- ions then the water is said to be acid. If OH- ions outnumber the H+ ions then the water is alkaline. The pH scale goes from 0 to 14 and is logarithmic, which means that each step is ten times the previous. In other words, a pH of 4.5 is 10 times more acid than 5.5, 100 times more acid than 6.5 and 1,000 times more acid than 7.5.

The perfect ph balance for the human body is 7.3 to 7.4. Our health lies in our hands. We must strive to maintain a ph balance of 7.4. There are many ways to prevent this ideal ph balance from tilting to the acidic sides. To maintain the ph balance of the body one must consume lots of fresh vegetables, greens, grasses and fruits. Green grasses such as barley or wheat grass are of the lowest-calorie, lowest-sugar and most nutrient-rich foods on earth, and contain high amounts of fiber.

The Budwig protocol for Acid/Alkaline balance is as follows:

Start the morning with a 1/2 a lemon in a glass of water. Believe it or not we might think lemon is acidic, but it rates amoung the highest on the Alkaline side of the chart.

The alkalinity of the tissues is different from that of the blood. The blood pH must be maintained within a narrow range of 7.35 to 7.45. (This is usually achieved by taking out alkaline minerals from the tissues, commonest being Calcium from bones) this is the true cause for Osteoporosis which usually leads to Osteoarthritis later and Magnesium from muscles, as a desperate measure to maintain the pH within the narrow normal range. Keep in mind that if you measure Blood pH-result will be normal unless the patient is very, very sick.

The pH of saliva or of the urine (both morning samples) are a fairly good indicator of the reaction of your body to the diet you are taking on a short term basis (if you take a diet rich in dairy and meat on a particular day-your saliva may show an acidic pH the following morning!)

And also for long standing illnesses like cancer-where the cells produce a lot of Lactic acid after metabolizing glucose in absence of Oxygen (which is the main difference between a cancer cell and a normal cell). Budwig's diet helps restore the cell membranes and thus facilitate the entry of oxygen into the cells. With oxygen reaching a cancer cell, it either has to become normal or it undergoes apoptysis or self-programmed suicide. So the Budwig program helps with ALL cancers as it also balances the pH levels.

A range of around 6.5 to 7 should be good for the saliva if you are taking extra care to avoid most acidic foods in your meals. The urine pH should be around 6.5.

Vegetable juices are very alkaline so they help to raise pH. If you are looking for a quick-fix then one tablespoon apple cider vinegar (diluted) with meals three times a day can help.

Related Pages

The Budwig Diet

The Budwig Protocol

Johanna Budwig Biography

Budwig Diet Home Program

Budwig Diet Fees and Courses