Dynamic pH balance

Section from data gathering form

To start off this section, we would like to first clear up some rapidly spreading misinformation regarding pH balance. It has become a popular health fad to promote the idea that alkalinity is somehow “better” than acidity. To this, we’d like to respond by siting the astute words of Dr. Guy Schenker, D.C.:

“In truth, excess alkalinity is just as harmful as excess acidity. To clear the confusion, all physiological systems are maintained through a negative feedback mechanism that operates in a dualistic manner. Dualistic means that for every normal condition, there are 2 abnormals – abnormally high and abnormally low. To say that there is only one abnormal with respect to pH balance is to display total ignorance of the most basic fundamentals of physiology.”-‘An Analytical System of Clinical Nutrition’, -Guy Schenker, DC, 1989-2010

When we talk about Dynamic pH Balance, its important for us to remember that the body is made up of many different fluid compartments and types of cells that are meant to have very different pH’s. To say that someone is simply too acidic or too alkaline is a gross and usually erroneous oversimplification of the situation. While this can get complicated, its important to understand the nuances of what’s going on here in order to really sort this out, after all, your health & vitality, and for some of you possibly even your life may depend on it.

The Reality is this:

There are numerous kinds of acid/alkaline balances in the body:

• Respiratory alkalosis
• Potassium depletion alkalosis
• Metabolic alkalosis
• Metabolic acidosis
• Potassium excess acidosis
• Respiratory acidosis

Your blood pH is reflected in your personality, or as I like to say your behaviour range.

Acidosis

When in a state of metabolic acidosis, the enzyme systems of the body are running on high speed. This pushes the sympathetic nerves of the body, and forces the adrenal glands into overdrive. In this state a person will:

• Have Agitation
• Feel Nervousness
• Have Anxiety
• Feel more like the 'hare', less like the 'tortoise'
• Feel physically tired but mentally wired
• Compensate by tending to take deeper inhalations
• Have a low tolerance for carbon dioxide and can hold breath for less than 45 seconds in metabolic acidosis
  
  

Alkalosis

When in a state of metabolic alkalosis, the enzyme systems of the body are running sub-par. This pushes down pulse and blood pressure, inhibits sympathetic activity and can contribute to low thyroid activity. In this state a person will:

• Have a difficult time getting out of bed in the morning
• Feel more like the 'tortoise', less like the 'hare'
• Feel sluggish
• Feel burned out and tired
• Have a much higher tolerance for carbon dioxide, and should be able to hold breath for 60 seconds or more.
• In metabolic alkalosis and in potassium depletion alkalosis, the saliva pH will be less than 6.6 and the urine pH will be greater than 6.3. In respiratory alkalosis, the saliva pH will tend to be higher than 6.8.

Acid imbalance

If your tests gave some indications that you have an Acid Imbalance (or Acidosis), you should know that there are multiple causes of acidosis. One cause can be an imbalance in potassium or an inability of the kidneys to properly excrete the acid and balance is lost. The breathing rate in these individuals becomes accelerated because the kidneys, being unable to easily control the acid levels in the blood stream, can be helped by the lungs huffing off Co2, because Co2 acidifies into the blood stream. These individuals will normally have a short breath-holding time and a rapid breathing rate, exposing the fact that the kidneys are not having an easy time controlling the pH of the blood.

This can be remedied (depending on the cause) by assisting the system to buffer the acids more effectively and excrete them. But this is not just a failure to excrete acids, it's a failure to buffer them. An inability to properly digest protein can often be an issue in these cases since the biggest buffer of acids in the body is protein.

This imbalance may show itself in the form of a number of different symptoms or "conditions". The outcome may be different depending on the individual, but you may have already found yourself experiencing one or more of the following issues at some point:

• Shortness of breath
  
• Rapid heart rate
  
• Allergies
  
• Poor retention of important mineral nutrients
  
• Fluid retention
  
• Poor function of your kidneys, lungs, adrenal glands and many other organs and glands
  
• Digestive Issues 

Alkaline imbalance

If your tests gave some indications that you have a Metabolic Alkalosis.  In a metabolic alkalosis, there are increasing levels of bicarbonate ion in relation to H+. There are 3 main causes of bicarbonate increase:

1. Direct administration or production of alkaline-sodium bicarbonate, or other antacids, can lead to metabolic acidosis. Excess bicarbonate is absorbed and the Co2 levels begin to rise.
   
2. Acid-Losing Alkalosis - The loss of H+ from stomach from chronic vomiting or pyloric stenosis is a major cause of acid-losing alkalosis.
   
3. Potassium Deficient Alkalosis -This is most often caused by an excessive loss of potassium from the kidney. Intracellular potassium will move out of the cells to replace the potassium being lost in the plasma and urine. Sodium and H+ move into the cell to replace the potassium that has moved out. This leaves a deficit of H+ in the plasma. Also, H+ is excreted from the kidneys along with potassium. The net result of renal excretion and extracellular H+ loss is an increased production of H+ to replace that which has been lost. This results in a concomitant rise in bicarbonate or Co2 levels (Guy Schenker).
   

The blood stream has a very narrow pH value that it must stay within in order for our body to function properly. If it moves too far acid or too far alkaline, we can literally die. The body doesn’t want this to happen so it does whatever it can to keep the blood stream at a balanced pH level. Alkalosis is an imbalance where the blood stream is too alkaline. When the blood leans alkaline, oxygen can’t leave the bloodstream and go to the tissue level where it needs to be to help your body create the energy it needs to run properly. In science, this is known as the "Bohr effect".

If a doctor checked your oxygen levels, he would put a pulse oximeter on you and say, your oxygen is great… you have plenty. But because the blood stream is too alkaline, the oxygen cannot be released from the blood stream and go into the tissues where it needs to be and we can often feel wiped out. So, when the blood stream is too alkaline, the body will slow the rate at which you breathe. Carbon dioxide (Co2) is acidic so the body tries to reduce the amount that you breathe so it can hold on to more Co2 allowing it to acidify the blood stream so that some oxygen can be released from the blood stream and make it to the tissue level.

This imbalance may show itself in the form of a number of different symptoms or "conditions". The outcome may be different depending on the individual, but you may have already found yourself experiencing one or more of the following issues at some point:

• Chronic fatigue
  
• Sleep apnea
  
• Joint and muscle pain; arthritis
  
• Allergies; asthma
  
• Muscle cramps
  
• Fluid retention