Did you know that you cannot alter your body’s pH balance? Despite popular misconception, the goal of an alkaline diet is not to alter the body’s pH levels. Because so many diets claim to alter pH levels, the result is that doctors assume that the entire diet is flawed. You are not actually meant to alter your body’s pH, however. In fact, the body knows exactly what it needs to do to maintain its regular pH, which is around 7.365.
The true goal of an alkaline lifestyle or diet is not to change your pH, but rather support the body’s natural state. Most people live a highly acidic, sedentary lifestyle that is high in acidic food and beverages, alcohol, cigarettes, sugar, yeast and other acid-forming habits. Because of this, the body has to work extra hard to maintain a healthy pH level. Very often, it is the cost of maintaining this level that causes problems.
Our Bodies Need Help Maintaining a Healthy pH Balance
As humans evolved, we developed a small alkaline buffering system within the body. This system is able to buffer a small number of acids that are created each day by regular body functions. Sadly, we have evolved away from healthy, naturally alkaline diets and lifestyles, towards high-acid lifestyles and diets that cannot easily support the buffering of acids any longer. What that means is that the body has to work harder than ever to neutralise what it can, with the rest often spreading into our bodies when it cannot be buffered.
That means that instead of seeing the health benefits that come from a healthy pH balance, we are at risk of various health issues. The body does what it can, with the excess acid putting us at risk of…
- Alkaline minerals being leached from our bones and organs (putting us at increased risk of osteoporosis)
- Acidic wastes in fat being built-up and stored in the body (putting us at increased risk of obesity)
- Acidic waste being pushed into the least important areas of the body (putting us at increased risk of arthritis)
- Acidic waste being locked up internally, where they become yeasts and bacteria that can easily grow (putting us at increased risk of IBS, fibromyalgia, candida, fatigue, reflux and other issues)
These are just some examples of what excessive acidity can do to the body. Rather than trying to increase the body’s natural pH, we need to give the body the tools it needs to maintain a healthy pH balance instead so that we can truly thrive.