Regular pH Levels in the Body
When talking about the alkaline diet, it is important to understand the meaning of the pH value.
Put simply, the pH value is a measure of how acidic or alkaline something is.
The pH value ranges from 0 to 14:
- 0-7 is acidic.
- 7 is neutral.
- 7-14 is alkaline (alkaline is often called basic).
However... it's important to note that the pH value varies greatly within the body. Some parts are acidic, others are alkaline. There is no set level.
The stomach is loaded with hydrochloric acid, giving it a pH value between 2 and 3.5 (highly acidic). This is necessary to break down food.
On the other hand, human blood is always slightly alkaline, with a pH between 7.35 and 7.45.
The blood pH value falling out of the normal range is very serious and can be fatal if untreated. However... this only happens during certain disease states, and has absolutely nothing to do with the foods you eat from day to day.
BOTTOM LINE:The pH value is a measure of how acidic or alkaline something is. Stomach acid is highly acidic, while blood is slightly alkaline with a pH value between 7.35 and 7.45.
Food Affects the pH of Your Urine, But Not Your Blood
It is critical for health that the pH of your blood remains constant.
If it were to fall outside of the normal range, your cells would stop working and you would die very quickly if left untreated.
For this reason, the body has many effective mechanisms to closely regulate the pH balance in your body. This is known as Acid-Base Homeostasis.
Fortunately for us, these mechanisms make it near impossible for outside influences to change the pH value of the blood. If that wasn't true, we would surely be in trouble.
The fact is... food simply can not change your blood pH. Period.
However, food can definitely change the pH value of the urine, although the effect is somewhat unreliable (3, 4).
This is actually one of the main ways your body regulates blood pH... by excreting acids in your urine.
Eat a large steak and several hours later your urine will be more acidic as the body removes it from your system.
That being said, urine pH is actually a very poor indicator of overall body pH and general health. It can be influenced by many factors other than diet.
Therefore, even if you're using test strips and seeing that your urine has become alkaline, this has very little (if any) relevance to the alkalinity of your blood, or your overall health.
BOTTOM LINE:The body tightly regulates blood pH levels and it is not possible to affect it via diet. However, diet can change the pH value of urine.
Unlike many other strange diets, the alkaline diet is actually quite healthy.
It encourages a high consumption of fruits, vegetables and healthy plant foods, while restricting processed junk foods.
However, the claims about the mechanism behind the diet are NOT supported by evolutionary evidence, human physiology or any reliable study in humans.
Acids are actually some of the most important building blocks of life... including amino acids, fatty acids and your DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid).
The alkaline diet is healthy because it is based on real and unprocessed foods. It has absolutely nothing to do with being acidic or alkaline. Period.
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