Calcium, Schmalcium!

What's pH Got to Do With It?

I knew a bone once, this is his story.

In the beginning, life was grand. He proudly spent his days attaining a very buff and fit matrix, loaded with happy osteoblasts (bone building cells). All the sexy young red blood cells wanted to be with him. He had major calcium mojo. Time wore on and he settled into a nice, handsome bone, filled with strong and sturdy osteocytes (bone maintaining cells). He kept a permanent lodger around to help with the chores (namely calcium stocking, which is a big job) called Calcitonin, who was a son of one of his good friends, the Thyroid Gland.

Then something happened. He was asked by the Parathyroid Glands (via their secretary Parathyroid Hormone, or PTH in casual circles) to loan out some calcium to help balance The Body's increasingly acidic state. Being generous and abundant in this vital mineral, he donated a fair amount to this worthy cause, safe in the knowledge that this minor deficit was of a limited duration. He knew he would be able to stock up on more calcium when the next nutrient shipment arrived. He high-fived Calcitonin and waited for the next calcium truckload.

Only, something very different happened. PTH showed up again, just as the bone and Calcitonin high-fived the end of their sweaty day unloading and stocking the latest calcium load (delivered on time by Vitamin D directly from the intestines).

€œThe Body needs to borrow some more calcium to assist with its acidity levels, PTH announced, clipboard in hand. Reluctantly, he gave in and made another donation. After all, The Body was the bog boss€¦and besides, PTH was kind of cute, who could resist her?

These loans soon became commonplace, and the bone and PTH began a lifelong affair. With such little work to do, Calcitonin got bored and disappeared. Years later it was suspected the Kidney Kadets found him living as a drifter in the bloodstream and pissed him out into the universe.

Fast forward 20 years.

My friend the bone eventually stopped caring about mineral shimemts. He stopped shaving, cutting his hair, and the years were not kind. The Body, in what became a War, sucked his precious calcium reserves nearly dry. His once brawny and thick frame withered away to a porous, hollow one, and gypsie osteoclasts (cells that break down bone tissue) moved in and took over.

Tired and exhausted from the War, when The Body recently lost its balance and tripped over a step, he had not the strength to withstand the impact. He snapped in half from the pressure like a dry spaghetti strand. The osteclasts (who also repair bones after injury) tried to make things right, and the truth was, he just wasn't the same bone anymore, and never would be again.

*Sniffle.*

So, you might be thinking, "what the pHuck?!"

The Scoop on pH

Our bodies subsist on a very fine battleground between acidity and alkalinity. pH is a measure of the acidity or alkalinity of a substance.

• Water is neutral on the scale and rates a 7.0.
• Acids are rated as numbers less than 7.0. The stronger the acid, the further from 7.0 it will be. Cow's milk is slightly acidic at 6.5. Soft drinks rate a 3.0 and are highly acidic. The acid in your stomach is an eye-watering 1.5.
• Alkaline substances are rated as numbers higher than a 7.0. As with acids, the further from 7.0, the more alkaline the substance. Slightly alkaline substances include your blood, which is a carefully controlled 7.35-7.45. Your pancreas yield strongly alkaline juices of 8.0 into your intestines, and baking soda produces a highly alkaline 12.0.

Your body constantly monitors and adjusts this balance all over your system. Saliva is slightly alkaline. Urine is acidic. Your intestines and stomach require their own unique pH. Of all the juggling and policing, the most critical balance lies in your blood.

Blood that alters even 5/10ths of a point from its normal pH induces likely death. This is some serious stuff.

Why is pH so important?

Balanced pH remains crucially vital for two main reasons:

• Enzymes. You "technically' could say that they are in charge of the whole show. They are the Chairmen of the metabolic processes unceasingly in business in every cell in our bodies. The immune system holds them in ultimate regard. A bit pernickety, they function at specific pH and temperature, and anything beyond those limits makes them go on instant strike.
• Oxygen, yum. Since oxygen is so compulsory to our survival, less of it getting to our cells definitely compromises health. Acidic states decrease available oxygen in our body. It sort of "binds it' like a child refusing to let anyone else play with her toys, which she is clutching for dear life. The toys, like oxygen, are still there. Just not available. Give the girl a lollypop, and suddenly the toys are free for amusement all around. Same for oxygen. Raise your pH, and suck up the oxygen tidal wave.
• What proves a fascinating and telling observation is this: the higher the pH, the harder it is for cancer to survive.

What Happens When We're in an Acidic State?

The pH Patrol in your body uses various mechanisms to counteract an acidic state. Poisonous to the body, it shuffles minerals around your system to damper the toxic acids and bring them to a more alkaline state. This keeps them from damaging organs and makes elimination possible.

So, how does your body do this? Like the government, it borrows alkalising monies from mineral banks. Several minerals play a part, such as sodium, potassium, and magnesium. For simplicity, we will focus on calcium since it's the most important one.

Remember that your blood comes up trumps - all other organs are sacrificed to maintain this pivotal pH. Your body would steal from its blind, decrepit granny to maintain the pH of your blood.

And sacrifice they do. It starts with your saliva. Healthy, pH balanced saliva tests at 7.45. When you reach a 6.5-7.0, you might notice increased susceptibility to colds and sickness. Saliva is a fantastic first indicator of an acidic state. In fact, virtually all cancer patients test strongly acidic on a saliva pH test.

Once your saliva mineral store (which admittedly is low to start) empties, your body bullies its way to your bones. You know this story. My friend the bone described his sad life to me before he gave up, riddled with osteoporosis. Bones are our primary mineral stores, and your body will leech these proud organs of their mineral surplus to maintain the pH balance of your blood so you avoid death. It's initially a happy story for you, a sad story for your bones.

Eventually, it becomes your sad story, too. There is accumulating evidence that certain chronic diseases and disease states are influenced and induced by dietary acid-alkaline balance. Diseases such as osteoporosis, cancer (particularly breast, prostate, pancreas, and colon), obesity, heart disease, hypertension, high cholesterol, diabetes, kidney stones and kidney failure, macular degeneration, arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, and gout, among countless others including the autoimmune diseases such as lupus.

Where Does the Acid Come From?

There are many by-products of our metabolism. A living, morphing organism, we manufacture a lot of our own fuel and waste. Some of it gets exported, and some of it gets recycled. We recycle like crazy - our bodies are true eco-warriors! We also buy nutrients to add to our internal fuel warehouse, and these things we call "food' in the form of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. Our magnificent tissues and organs all symphonise together to metabolise and utilise the circulating and stored nutrients and fuel to keep us healthy and standing.

This constant metabolising of the imported and existing fuels equates into some of the poisonous acids we keep chatting on about:

• Proteins produce sulfurinc acid and phosphoric acid.
• Carbohydrates and fats produce acetic acid and lactic acid.

As we mentioned, the body will take many mineral loans from the bones to dampen acidic waste so that it can arrange to have it safely removed. To neglect this would cause insurmountable damage to your poor kidneys and large intestine - sort of like rubbing battery acid on your bare skin.

How Can I Help My Body Become Less Acidic and More Alkaline?

This is really simple.

AVOID ACID-FORMING FOODS. CONSUME MORE ALKALINE FOODS.

What determines a food's pH is the metabolic end-products when it is digested. Please note the difference between acidic foods and acid-forming foods. Lemons and citrus foods are acidic, AND they have an alkalising effect on the whole body. Citrus acid in citrus fruits metabolises in the body to its alkaline form, citrate. It then may even be converted to bicarbonate, another alkaline compound.

The Acid-Forming Foods your bones and body despise are:

• All meats
• Fish
• Poultry
• Eggs
• Dairy
• Refined sugars
• Cooked grains
• Peas and Lentils

The Alkaline-Forming Foods your bones and body love are:

• All fruits
• All vegetables
• Fruit teas
• Vegetables juices
• Soy products
• Herbs and Vinegar

The top two winners and losers are:

Winners: Raisins and Figs

Losers: Cheese and Eggs

So, give your bones a break (no pun intended) and next time you eat, think to yourself €œWhat the pHuck?€ and make the Alkaline Investment. Your bones will pay you back in 20 years with a hefty Calcium Trust Fund!

This article is dedicated to my dear friend Hena, who makes me laugh my tush off and naturally induces a happy alkaline state. Thanks for your support H!!!!

References:

Starr, Cecie, Evers, Christine A, Starr, Lisa. (2008). Biology: Concepts and Applications. Thomson Brookes Cole. 7th Ed.

Cohen, Barbara. (2005). Memmler's Human Body in Health and Disease. Lippincott Williams and Wilkins. Baltimore, Maryland USA. 10th ed.

Murray, Michael and Pizzorno, Joseph and Lara. (23 Dec 2005). The Encyclopaedia of Healing Foods. Atria Books, New York.

Balch, James F. and Phyllis A. (30 Sep 2000). Prescription for Nutritional Healing. 3Rev Ed edition. Avery Publishing Group Inc. U.S.

Barron, John. (February 2002). Lessons from the Miracle Doctors. E-book Publication. www.jonbarron.org