A correct pH balance is essential for the health of our body and crucial to obtain the weight loss we want.

Doctors stress the importance of pH because a balanced pH protects us from the inside out. They advise that disease is less able to develop in a body whose pH is in balance.

When the body is acidic, it retains body fat to protect itself. It is more difficult to lose weight when the pH balance is acidic

According to Atlanta Classical Homeopathy, acidic pH can cause excessive weight:

“When the human body is in an acidic state, it will try to shield itself from the damaging acid by storing the acid in fat cells. The body attempts to prevent the acid from eating holes in tissues. When the acid level is high in the body, calcium is also depleted. Your body may make fat cells to store unwanted acid for its protection. This process may save your vital organs from severe damage. By returning to a balanced pH level, you may lose unwanted fat cells.”

The reason a balanced pH is Crucial to your Health?

An imbalance of acid and alkaline in the body allows unhealthy organisms to flourish. This disparity damages tissues and organs and can compromise the immune system.

pH is short for the ‘potential of Hydrogen’. It is a measure of our body’s acid and alkaline level in our body’s fluids and tissues. It is measured on a scale from 0 to 14. The more acidic a solution is the lower its pH. The more alkaline, the higher the number is.

A pH of 7 is perfectly neutral and balanced. The healthiest pH is one that is slightly alkaline. Optimally, we want a pH of 7. 5. Your pH number may fluctuate slightly throughout the day depending on your food consumption and stress level.

What affects our pH level?

The kidneys maintain our electrolyte levels, and when we are exposed to acidic substances, it can force our bodies to rob minerals from the bones, cells, organs and tissues. Cells end up lacking minerals to dispose properly of waste. Vitamin absorption is compromised by the mineral loss. Toxins and pathogens accumulate in the body, and the immune system can become suppressed.

Our body often retains fat cells to protect us from this internal acidic environment.

What causes acidity in your body?

There is a list attached to this article to enable you to understand the highly acid and highly alkaline foods. To provide a quick guide here is some of the most acidic substances we consume

• Alcohol
• Animal meats
• Antibiotics
• Artificial sweeteners
• Diet soda drinks and foods
• Food colouring and preservatives
• Low fibre and processed foods
• Pesticides and herbicides

Other reasons we can increase our acidic levels are:

• Shallow breathing
• Chronic stress
• Lack of exercise
• Inadequate chewing and fast eating
• Lack of sleep

As you can see, there are many ways to make an adjustment to balance our pH levels. It is important to understand with just some changes you can have the positive affect on your body and your weight.

Those people who seem to be on continued diets usually struggle with the pH level being acidic. People consume more diet foods, that are so highly acidic, their intake is completely counter productive as the body becomes more acidic and retains the body fat for protection.

Having a higher acidic body over an extended period can cause health problems. The effects of a highly acidic body include:

• Allergies
• Asthma
• Fatigue
• Frequent colds
• Indigestion and heartburn
• Headaches
• Inflammation within the body
• Joint and muscle pain
• Poor metabolism
• Skin problems
• Ulcers
• Weight gain

Long term highly acid systems can result in many medical problems including:

• Arthritis
• Cancer
• Fibromyalgia
• Heart disease
• Osteoporosis
• Stroke

Easy Fix

There are some simple ways to reduce your acid levels to attain that balance our body needs. The foods and drinks we consume affect this level so with some changes you have the control over your acid level. This is one area we all have complete control over.

Most fruits and vegetables contain potassium which is a natural defence against acidity. The western diet contains little in the way of fresh and raw fruits and vegetables.

Eating too much animal protein causes sulfuric acid to build up in the blood as amino acids are broken down. Processed foods contain loads of salt which constrict blood vessels and therefore creates acidity.

It is not that we can never eat any refined or processed foods or ever drink alcohol or eat meats again. What we need to do is balance our food intake to ensure the alkaline foods are consumed more than the acid foods. This enables the body to have a balance. The problem is more a matter of not taking in enough alkaline foods to balance our consumption of acidic foods.

Surprisingly, acidic fruits such as lemon, lime and grapefruit don’t create acidity in the body. They do just the opposite and contribute to an alkaline environment. Once ingested they change to be very alkaline, in fact, if you can include a tablespoon or two of lemon or lime juice in some water every day you are doing something very positive for your body’s alkaline level. When out, ordering some soda water with slices of lemon is refreshing and delicious.

Have you ever wondered why Asian foods typically come to the table with a slice of lemon? This is to balance the acidic food you are about to consume.

Cooking foods can deplete alkaline minerals, therefore, increasing our intake of raw foods, such as salads, can have a positive effect.

Supplements that can assist to balance pH

1) Probiotics to help break down food

2) Magnesium

3) Calcium

4) Vitamin D3

How to test your pH level

You can test your pH by purchasing pH strips at your local health foods store or pharmacy. You can measure your pH with saliva or urine. Our second urination of the day gives us the best results. You then compare the colours on your test strip with the provided chart.

During the day, the best time to test your pH is one hour before a meal and two hours after a meal.

There is also some great pH test strips available from eBay where you can often get 5 packs of 25 for about $10.

Elle McPherson uses an alkaline based diet to ensure her weight remains stable. Read the Body & Soul article

More Information and Blogs can be read from Dr Karen Here