Alkaline Diet

[Guy665]

Hi Guys,

I have been keen to change my dietary habits and start eating a more healthy alkaline diet.

This is now something that I really must and want to do.

Can anybody give me some advise on firstly how to help make the change and secondly some recipes.

I really want to do it, the only problem is that I am very bad at cooking and all of the recipes I have seen appear to be overly complicated and a little bit bland.

Also what about eating out places like Chinese, Indians, Pizza, is it possible to eat alkaline foods in these places.

Cheers

[wolfgang]

I like the alkaline diet ideas and find it can be easy if you just eat tons of salad and not as much meat and stay away from alcohol and coffee. Sometimes when I read about a healthy eating plan that has lots of fruits and veggies, not processed/refined foods, little sugar/salt, raw foods, less or no dairy, I think - that actually turns out to be an alkaline diet.

I don't think complicated recipes are needed, just have lots of big salads with some small protion of chicken or salmon. Like a chicken ceasar salad with half the typical chicken. Also I've tried drinking "green drinks" - I liked "Emerald Balance" but have tried others too. Some seem to be more potent then others and take some ramping up to get used to taking since it makes your digestion move quicker until you body acclimates.

I like charts like these for guidlines (east to find with web search):
List of Alkaline Foods | Acid Alkaline Food
Food pH | Alkaline Foods

[eblight]

If you go into Google and search under the different vegetable names like broccoli, cauliflower and spinach you'll find heaps of info on these plus many very simple and easy to prepare recipes.

[DarkSociologist]

Mix 1 teaspoon (not a table spoon) of baking soda with a full glass of water and drink it. This neutralizes acids in your stomach. Make sure that it is fully dissolved or the chemical reaction may rupture your stomach. This gives you a lot of gas though

[escapee]

It's very important to not get fixated with the idea that "alkaline" food is somehow more superior than "Acidic" food. You need the best of both worlds for optimal health.

One of the misconceptions about PH is that lower value predipose us to cancer.The truth is cancerous cells produce enormous amount of lactic acid as a by product , this is why a cancereous patient will always have lower PH value but bare in mind that it's a symptom of the disease, not a cause. Trying to "alkalize" your blood would not fix the underlying cause of the problem.

CAT.INIST - tumor acidity

Solid tumours develop an acidic extracellular environment with high concentration of lactic acid, and lactic acid produced by glycolysis has been assumed to be the major cause of tumour acidity.

[DarkSociologist]

Originally Posted by escapee

Trying to "alkalize" your blood would not fix the underlying cause of the problem.

This is a good point to look for the source of the problem. I didn't really feel any different trying to alkalize myself, except gassy. Maybe I wasn't too acidic.

[wolfgang]

Originally Posted by escapee

It's very important to not get fixated with the idea that "alkaline" food is somehow more superior than "Acidic" food. You need the best of both worlds for optimal health.

One of the misconceptions about PH is that lower value predipose us to cancer.The truth is cancerous cells produce enormous amount of lactic acid as a by product , this is why a cancereous patient will always have lower PH value but bare in mind that it's a symptom of the disease, not a cause. Trying to "alkalize" your blood would not fix the underlying cause of the problem.

CAT.INIST - tumor acidity

I would think since a cancer cell makes lactic acid and makes you even more acidic - all the more reason to try to be more alkaline. Compare a renegade cell in an acidic environment versus an alkaline one - in which environment would the cell turn into cancer versus just dieing? It would have a better chance of dieing in the alkaline environment. The alkaline environment would neutralize the acidic nature of cancer cells, making it harder for the cancer cells to continue.

The article does not say acidic conditions don't cause cancer - it says latic acid acidity doesn't cause cancer (but I would say the extra latic acid of a cancer cell could make other neighboring healthy cells suffer and not have access to oxygen). Acidic conditions means less oxygen, low pH is also low oxygen. Once a cell can't breathe (have oxygen) it starts to try to stay alive by, instead of burning (oxidizing) glucose, frementing it and producing the lactic acid. That lactic acid causes the environment and cell to have even less oxygen because the pH goes down with more acid elements.

[escapee]

Blood Chemistry 101

Maintenance of acid-base balance
It is remarkable that the pH of most cellular fluids can be kept within such a narrow range, given the large number of processes that tend to upset it. This is due to the exquisite balance between a large number of interlinked processes operating at many different levels.

Acid-base balance in the body is maintained by two general mechanisms: selective excretion of acids or bases, and by the buffering action of weak acid-base systems in body fluids.
Over a 24-hour period, the adult human eliminates the equivalent of about 20-40 moles of H+ as carbonic acid H2CO3 which breaks down into CO2 (exiting via the lungs) and H2O (through the kidneys.) In addition, the kidneys excrete perhaps 5% of this amount of acid, mostly in the form of H2PO4– and NH4+. Owing to their electric charges, these two species are closely linked to salt balance with ions such as Na+ or K+, and Cl–.
The major buffering system in the body is the carbonate system, which exists mainly in the form of HCO3– at normal physiological pH. Secondary buffering action comes from phosphate, from proteins and other weak organic acids, and (within blood cells), the hemoglobin.

Disturbances of acid-base balance
Deviations of the blood plasma pH from its normal value of 7.4 by more than about ±0.1 can be very serious. These conditions are known medically as acidosis and alkalosis. They can be caused by metabolic disturbances such as diabetes and by kidney failure (in which excetion of H2PO4–, for example, is inhibited.)

Numerous other processes lead to temporary unbalances. Thus hyperventilation, which can result from emotional upset, leads to above-normal loss of CO2, and thus to alkalosis. Similarly, hypoventilation can act as a compensatory mechanism for acidosis. On the other hand, retention of CO2 caused by bronchopneumonia, for example, can give rise to acidosis. Acidosis can also result from diarrhea (loss of alkaline fluid f rom the intestine,) while loss of gastric contents by vomiting promotes alkalosis.

"Ionized" and alkaline water: snake oil on tap

I would think since a cancer cell makes lactic acid and makes you even more acidic - all the more reason to try to be more alkaline. Compare a renegade cell in an acidic environment versus an alkaline one - in which environment would the cell turn into cancer versus just dieing? It would have a better chance of dieing in the alkaline environment. The alkaline environment would neutralize the acidic nature of cancer cells, making it harder for the cancer cells to continue.

IF the above is true, then you do not need alkaline food to alkalize your body at all, all you do need is a severe dehydration then you destroy all the cancer cells with induced alkalosis.. A medical miracle.

Dehydration in Cancer Patients: To Treat or Not To Treat

Alkalosis - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Alkalosis refers to a condition reducing hydrogen ion concentration of arterial blood plasma (alkalemia). Generally alkalosis is said to occur when pH of the blood exceeds 7.45. The opposite condition is acidosis.

Metabolic alkalosis can be caused by prolonged vomitting, resulting in a loss of hydrochloric acid with the stomach content. Severe dehydration, and the consumption of alkali are other causes

[escapee]

Acidic conditions means less oxygen, low pH is also low oxygen.

The lack of cellular oxygen appears to be the cause of lactic acid ( which is responsible for the lower PH of the patient with advanced stage cancer ) build up and the poor prognosis of the disease . Of course the lactic acid could probably make matter worse as per your opinion but it isn't the primary cause in the first place. Otherwise, all of the pro athletes are at risk of contracting cancer due to frequent generation of lactic acid .

Hypoxia inducible factor-1{alpha} as a cancer drug target -- Powis and Kirkpatrick 3 (5): 647 -- Molecular Cancer Therapeutics

Mammalian cells have an array of responses that maintain oxygen homeostasis; a balance between the requirement for oxygen as an energy substrate and the inherent risk of oxidative damage to cellular macromolecules. The molecular basis for a variety of cellular and systemic mechanisms of oxygen homeostasis are now being identified and the mechanisms have been found to occur at every regulatory level, including gene transcription, protein translation, posttranslational modification, and cellular localization (1).

Hypoxic cancer cells occur for a number of reasons. Oxygen is only able to diffuse 100–180 µm from a capillary to cells before it is completely metabolized. Therefore, any cell located greater than this distance from a blood vessel will be hypoxic. Hypoxia may occur when aberrant blood vessels are shutdown by becoming compressed or obstructed by growth, a feature commonly observed during the rapid growth of tumors.

Cells that become hypoxic convert to a glycolytic metabolism, become resistant to apoptosis (programmed cell death), and are more likely to migrate to less hypoxic areas of the body (metastasis). Hypoxic cells also produce pro-angiogenic factors, such as vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), which stimulate new blood vessel formation from existing vasculature, increasing tumor oxygenation and, ultimately, tumor growth. For this reason, hypoxic tumors are the most pro-angiogenic and aggressive of tumors.

[wolfgang]

The lack of cellular oxygen appears to be the cause of lactic acid ( which is responsible for the lower PH of the patient with advanced stage cancer ) build up and the poor prognosis of the disease . Of course the lactic acid could probably make matter worse as per your opinion but it isn't the primary cause in the first place. Otherwise, all of the pro athletes are at risk of contracting cancer due to frequent generation of lactic acid.

I wonder if the causes are mixed up that they arise in concert. If a carcinogen gets a cell all confused, it starts to produce lactic acid which also cuts down on oxygen which then makes a feedback loop for the cell to divide as a cancer cell. Low oxygen is low pH. A cell doesn't like low oxygen and if it was in high pH would not have to deal with low oxygen.

I don't think lactic acid is a cause of cancer. I do think having not enough oxygen for cells would do it though. But I'm not about to study the root cause of cancer - I have not lab or skills or money. Sure I keep reading on the Internet.

Athletes that produce lactic acid are also breathing and releasing CO2 and all those other things you mention in a quote about how the body stabilizes the acid/alkaline balance. When someone works out, they produce acids becuase of burning oxygen and the body wisks it away as best if can. If the body is already more acidic, then it's harder to wisk the extra acid away since the body is already working on a pile of it.

Your quote on Hypoxic cancer cells: isn't that what I was saying about cells needing oxygen?

The interesting thing about the body trying to maintain pH is that it will do anything to keep a pH set point that is best for the body. I liked the quote on the various ways that is done. However it doesn't mention how the body will take calcium from bones and bring that into the mix when there's too much acid somewhere. These are all reasons to try to be more alkaline, don't you think?

Tissues on the verge of cancer can have calcium deposts. This is the action of the body trying to make that tissue more alkaline and using leached calcium from bones. The more acidic one's body is, the more likely the body will turn to leaching calcium to buffer the tissue. The more acidic the tissues or body is in general the more likley there will be cells that are hypoxic (low oxygen).

Cells that can't breath are going to use glucose with fermentation (which creates lots of lactic acid). That in itself can be ok if the cell doesn't divide, or dies or eventually gets oxygen before it divides into a bad copy. The pH of the cell goes down and that allows the cell to freak out and possibly divide in bad ways (cancer). What keeps a cell from getting oxygen? -> Too much acidicness around it mostly, the other ways a cell is oxygen deprived are, like your quote - too far away from blood vessels, or microbes getting into the cells or trans-fatty acids sticking to the sides of cells.

[cancersurvivor]

I recently renewed my membership for 2yrs. at Diamond Gym Fitness Center in Jamaica. Yesterday I went to the gym and there was a sign which said that Diamond Gym has officially closed it doors. If you have any question contact management at 718-297-2200. I call this number several times. It rung twice then it stops. Is there anything I can do to report this problem and possibly get my money back?

[beautyscientist]

I thought I had heard it all, but this alkaline diet is a new one on me.

This whole concept really is nonsense. Your body adjusts to maintain itself at the pH it needs to be. We have evolved over millions of years to cope with the food we eat.

If you ever did succeed in altering the pH of your body via your diet, which would take some doing, you would probably kill yourself.

I suggest you drop this notion straight away.

[wolfgang]

Originally Posted by beautyscientist

I thought I had heard it all, but this alkaline diet is a new one on me.

This whole concept really is nonsense. Your body adjusts to maintain itself at the pH it needs to be. We have evolved over millions of years to cope with the food we eat.

If you ever did succeed in altering the pH of your body via your diet, which would take some doing, you would probably kill yourself.

I suggest you drop this notion straight away.

I suggest you listen better.

It's not about trying to make you body alkaline. You are right the body does regulate the pH very well. But how does it do that? It uses minerals from your bones. Hello, osteoporosis. So, in other words if the food one eats makes one's body work to get pH where it should be, then one is stressing the body and it takes it to a certain degree. But there is a point at which the losses are too great and a casscade of issues start to happen.

I don't think we have evolved to eat the so called "food" we find in the processed food isles. It's mostly dead stuff that hasn't been around us humans long enough for any kind of evolution to tolerate that junk. Did cave men eat Captain Crunch? Canned food that has preservatives? The typical modern food fare is full of acidic producing food, to an imbalance, unless one is eating lots of salad and fruits as the main source, and meats, cheese, processed,preservered, dead things as side dishes. Humans evoled on food that was not so heavy on sodium (acidic for the body), and had way more potassium (potassium is alkaline helping) Now a days the typical diet is way into the salt zone without much potassium to balance that.

The pH Nutrition Guide to Acid / Alkaline Balance page 0 - Introduction

By the way, Steve's Jan 2008 30 day raw food experiement is probably a very alkaline diet. It has a much higher potassium to sodium ratio.

[impaul99]

Originally Posted by DarkSociologist

Mix 1 teaspoon (not a table spoon) of baking soda with a full glass of water and drink it. This neutralizes acids in your stomach. Make sure that it is fully dissolved or the chemical reaction may rupture your stomach. This gives you a lot of gas though

It's much safer and easier to just squeeze some lemon juice into the water, or purchase pH drops from Innerlight. (InnerLight LogIn)

[impaul99]

Originally Posted by beautyscientist

I thought I had heard it all, but this alkaline diet is a new one on me.

This whole concept really is nonsense. Your body adjusts to maintain itself at the pH it needs to be. We have evolved over millions of years to cope with the food we eat.

If you ever did succeed in altering the pH of your body via your diet, which would take some doing, you would probably kill yourself.

I suggest you drop this notion straight away.

I suggest you research it further before dismissing it. Here's a simple question. If you're body is "neutral" at this moment, meaning pH balanced, and you drink a neutral substance like pH balanced water, what happens to the body? Nothing, it the body maintains it's neutrality right? Simple.

Now, lets say that you drank a fluid that was acidic, like lets say pH 5.5. Your body would want to maintain balance so what would it do with that? Well it would try to neutralize that pH balanced liquid from 5.5 to 7 right? How would it do that? Well, it would take alkaline particles from it's storage, like lets say calcium or magnesium from the bones and use it to neutralize the acid right? You said yourself that if the body deviates from it's pH balance (which is 7.36 for the blood), it would go into shock and die.

Bottom like is that you can't continue to feed the body acidic foods and expect the body to continue to neutralize them indefinitely with alkaline materials that it doesn't have.

I've been studying the Alkaline diet since 2003, and nutrition for the last 2 years. I totally believe it works and there is a lot of scientific evidence that the diet works. Almost every single one of the text books I got with my nutritionist courses mentions alkaline/acid diet balance in them.

Oh, also, since I've gone on an alkaline diet I lost 4.9lbs of fat in the first 5 days and I feel great, and I don't feel hungry etc.

[impaul99]

Originally Posted by Guy665

Hi Guys,

I have been keen to change my dietary habits and start eating a more healthy alkaline diet.

This is now something that I really must and want to do.

Can anybody give me some advise on firstly how to help make the change and secondly some recipes.

I really want to do it, the only problem is that I am very bad at cooking and all of the recipes I have seen appear to be overly complicated and a little bit bland.

Also what about eating out places like Chinese, Indians, Pizza, is it possible to eat alkaline foods in these places.

Cheers

I am following an alkaline diet on my new blog HealthyFitGuy.com | No More Mr. Fat Guy . It might help. I'll be posting some recipes and pictures of the foods I make as I get a bit more creative.

First order of business, learn to make yourself a GOOD salad. Make it in a big bowl that you keep in the fridge so that it lasts you like 3-4 days. You don't want to be making a salad from scratch every day.

Dr. Robert Young has some recipe books from his Wife and some DVD's on his website. pH Miracle Living - Products

[beautyscientist]

I have just followed the links provided above. It makes a bit more sense now. The idea seems to be that in the stone age our diet was different, and that this diet was the one that we are best adapted to.

I can buy that - though it would still need to be proved. It sounds like a reasonable proposition.

What I don't see is the evidence for why this particular parameter should be singled out as a marker.

[impaul99]

Originally Posted by beautyscientist

I have just followed the links provided above. It makes a bit more sense now. The idea seems to be that in the stone age our diet was different, and that this diet was the one that we are best adapted to.

I can buy that - though it would still need to be proved. It sounds like a reasonable proposition.

What I don't see is the evidence for why this particular parameter should be singled out as a marker.

What kind of proof do you desire? For example, for weight loss you can pickup Dr. Young's book pH Miracle for Weight Loss and he has dozens of examples of people who went on the diet and lost varying amounts of fat on the diet after 12 weeks. I believe on Dr. Young's site there is also a video from a TLC special on cancer, showing a girl who had cancer go on his diet and then she goes back for another test and her doctor is really happy with the results.

Tony Robbins who makes $500 Million per year was diagnosed with a tumor in his brain a few years back which led him on a massive search to find out what health really is. With MILLIONS of dollars in resources at his fingertips he interviewed and scrutinized doctors from all around the world. He was basically looking for the "ultimate healthy diet". All this research later his conclusions are taught in his program "Living Health" which is basically 90% based on Dr. Young's teachings with some other stuff mixed in from Deepak Chopra etc.

Keep in mind that prior to meeting Dr. Young, Tony was already eating quite healthy but after years of doing public speaking on-stage all day his "batteries" felt like they were running out and he had diminishing energy. Once he alkalyzed his diet everything changed and he got his energy back.

In reality, the only way to really understand the diet is to study it, and then to try it out yourself and see how your body reacts. Dr. Young also has an email newsletter which is free and he'll email you something almost every day talking about the diet. Every few days I get something and he always shows examples of all kinds of different scientific studies and research around the world that is slowly but surely proving exactly what he's been teaching all along.

[escapee]

The interesting thing about the body trying to maintain pH is that it will do anything to keep a pH set point that is best for the body. I liked the quote on the various ways that is done. However it doesn't mention how the body will take calcium from bones and bring that into the mix when there's too much acid somewhere. These are all reasons to try to be more alkaline, don't you think?

That's because with a normal body, your body PH doesn't change much until you have massive change in your cellular structure ( Eg: cancer ). Otto warburg has proven that depreviation of cellular oxygen up to 35% lead to formation of cancer. Many scientists have reconfirmed the discovery. But no credible research has proven that low PH alone lead to initiation of cancer.

I'm advocator of healthy non-processed and balanced diet but i just don't buy into this "alkaline diet". The food in alkaline diet maybe healthy but it may not have alot to do with alkalinity. It has more to do with full spectrum of minerals that are in the whole food ( certified organic certainly has more )

Otherwise you may as well add sodium/ammonia in your trans fat ladden french fries and make it a healthy alkaline food to solve the cancer problem for millions.

[escapee]

Minerals ( respiratory coenzyme) and essential fatty acids


Zinc Deficiency Linked to Esophageal Cancer - National Cancer Institute


Copper sustains life

From available data on human exposures worldwide, but particularly in Europe and the Americas, there is a greater risk of health defects from deficiency of copper intake than from excess copper intake.1

Effects of low copper intake on dimethylhydrazine-induced colon cancer in rats -- DiSilvestro et al. 201 (1): 94 -- Experimental Biology and Medicine

CopperInfo.com - Copper Deficiency

Lemon juice PH = 2 ( Cancer causing ? )
Apples PH = 3 ( Cancer causing ? )
Tomatoes PH =4.5 ( Cancer causing ? )

Linus Pauling :" Every Sickness can be traced to a mineral deficiency "

NEXUS: EFAs, Oxygenation & Cancer

Dr Otto Warburg discovered and clearly stated that the prime, most basic, cause of cancer is too little oxygen getting into the cell. "We find by experiment about 35% inhibition of oxygen respiration already suffices to bring about such a transformation during cell growth," he stated at a 1966 conference of Nobel laureates in Lindau,

The body requires special fats that, among other important functions, make it possible for sufficient oxygen to reach the cells via the cellular membranes, which are the key. These special fats are highly oxygen-absorbing. Called essential fatty acids, or EFAs, these special fats must be supplied from outside the body every day, from foods and certain oils, because your body can't manufacture them on its own.

[beautyscientist]

My apologies to the original poster whose thread we have completely hijacked.

I don't have anything against Tony Robbins, but he is a motivational speaker not a cancer expert, or even a scientist. In any case, anectdotes don't count as strong evidence.

For me, I would accept that alkalinity of food was a factor in causing cancer if it showed up in a statistically valid study. I.e., fewer people on an alkaline diet get cancer than people on a conventional diet.

There does seem to be good support for the notion that eating processed food is generally less healthy than more natural food. It also seems to be the case that high levels of salt, sugar and fat in your diet can have undesirable effects on your health.

The alkaline diet seems to be a better diet for the reasons above - not because of its alkalinity.

With regard to the specific suggestion that the body needs to deplete the bone structure of calcium to counter the effects of acidity in the body - well that has really intigued me. I haven't found any study that suggests that this is actually observed, but I guess it is possible. I did find the figures for the alkalinity and acidity of some foods. As a chemist by training I may have a better feel for what the numbers mean than some, and I have to say that the notion does seem far fetched. Is there any evidence that this process actually goes on?

[impaul99]

If you're truly interested, it is not hard to find research studies, books, real life examples, etc. on the subject.

However, as with anything to do with the study of health, there is no "proof" of anything out there. Everything is a "maybe". We can't even agree if meat is good or bad for you, if cigarettes cause cancer, if alcohol in small quantities is good or bad for you, etc. Everything just gets twisted.

I've even heard of studies that claim that drinking water is not good for you.

Science is a weird thing. On one hand it's useful, but on the other hand it can't really prove anything.

[beautyscientist]

Originally Posted by impaul99

If you're truly interested, it is not hard to find research studies, books, real life examples, etc. on the subject.

However, as with anything to do with the study of health, there is no "proof" of anything out there. Everything is a "maybe". We can't even agree if meat is good or bad for you, if cigarettes cause cancer, if alcohol in small quantities is good or bad for you, etc. Everything just gets twisted.

I've even heard of studies that claim that drinking water is not good for you.

Science is a weird thing. On one hand it's useful, but on the other hand it can't really prove anything.

I sort of agree with you, but to misquote Winston Churchill "Science is the worst way to understand the World, except for all the others."

You have to at least try to work out what is going on by looking at the evidence.

[impaul99]

Originally Posted by beautyscientist

I sort of agree with you, but to misquote Winston Churchill "Science is the worst way to understand the World, except for all the others."

You have to at least try to work out what is going on by looking at the evidence.

Well, I've been eating an Alkaline diet for the last 8 days and I've lost 7.4lbs of fat, and I feel great. Here's my blog: HealthyFitGuy.com | No More Mr. Fat Guy if you're interested.

[wolfgang]

some links I found that relate to this thread.

pretty complete write up, covers lots of angles
The pH Nutrition Guide to Acid / Alkaline Balance page 0 - Introduction

with a bibliography for more digging
The pH Nutrition Guide to Acid / Alkaline Balance page 6 - Scientific Citations

this one debunks alkaline water but not alkaline diets
alkaline water fraud

[impaul99]

Originally Posted by wolfgang

some links I found that relate to this thread.

pretty complete write up, covers lots of angles
The pH Nutrition Guide to Acid / Alkaline Balance page 0 - Introduction

with a bibliography for more digging
The pH Nutrition Guide to Acid / Alkaline Balance page 6 - Scientific Citations

this one debunks alkaline water but not alkaline diets
alkaline water fraud

The water thing is not entirely correct. People think that all food is digested via hydrochloric acid, which is not true. Yes, drinking alkaline water while eating a steak will counteract the acidity in the stomach, however anyone who teaches a proper alkaline diet will teach you not to drink fluids with your meals (except maybe a few sips). I've been drinking alkaline water for 3-4 years now and I've never had any digestion problems.

Also, at my new place that I moved into last year, I'm on a private well with a filtration system I setup and the water I have here is WAY healthier than the chlorinated stuff that comes out of the tap on the public water system. Since the water comes out of the ground there are no chemicals added to it and it comes out at a naturally balanced 7.0 pH level when I last tested it.

Most bottled water is purposely made to be acidic because it prevents bacteria growth etc. Last time I tested the water from a bottle it was at 5.0pH level. Why would it be 5.0 pH when water coming out of the ground is 7.0 ph? Think about it. Water that's been made acidic is the same thing as pasturizing almonds, milk etc. It's a step to prevent lawsuits. It's not good for us.

You don't need to spend millions of dollars to alkalize your water. You can pH drops which are pretty inexpensive, or you can even just squeeze some lemon into it and it will make it more alkaline.

Works for me.

[beautyscientist]

Originally Posted by impaul99

Since the water comes out of the ground there are no chemicals added to it and it comes out at a naturally balanced 7.0 pH level when I last tested it.

Most bottled water is purposely made to be acidic because it prevents bacteria growth etc. Last time I tested the water from a bottle it was at 5.0pH level. Why would it be 5.0 pH when water coming out of the ground is 7.0 ph? Think about it. Water that's been made acidic is the same thing as pasturizing almonds, milk etc. It's a step to prevent lawsuits. It's not good for us.

You don't need to spend millions of dollars to alkalize your water. You can pH drops which are pretty inexpensive, or you can even just squeeze some lemon into it and it will make it more alkaline.

I think you'll find that adding lemon juice to water makes it more acidic not more alkaline. I don't think that bottled waters are pH adjusted to prevent bacterial growth. I routinely test products for bacterial growth and if adjusting the pH to 5 was enough to preserve them I would be both happier and richer.

I think it is great that you are taking the trouble to live consciously and I am sure you will do better for yourself that way than just drifting through life. But I think you need to look again at the science behind what you are working on.

[escapee]

I respect Mike Adam's effort in trying to educate the public about the danger of process food and so forth . But some of his articles are extremely unscientific and inaccurate. Well you can't expect everybody to be right all the time, can you ?


Copper & Osteoporosis

• Why osteoporosis is actually promoted by the consumption of acidic foods.

I wish to see real scientific proof to back up the claim on Mike's site

The real scientific evidence points to the deficiency of VIT D , amino acids from natural protein source, trace minerals (Ca, Mg,MN, CU, ZN ), alcohol abuse and etc as the most probable cause of Osteoporisis.

Are all of the said nutrients " AKALINE " ? Do u consider VIT D an alkaline nutrient ?? ahh whatever ....

Prehispanic burials from the Canary Islands are often well preserved. Many of the bodies are mummified, most of them were not interred, but deposited in caves. Bone histological and trace element analysis of 117 skeletons of the prehispanic period of the Canary Islands was performed. In some of the islands we have found a high prevalence of osteoporosis, whereas in others, histomorphometrically assessed trabecular bone mass (TBM) (in undecalcified iliac crest specimens) was in the normal range. Bone trace elements analysis have shown high bone S(r), Mg and Mn, and low Fe, Zn and Cu in those skeletons with a more reduced TBM. These facts speak for a relative protein-calorie malnutrition and a consumption of a mainly vegetarian diet. This is especially marked in the skeletons from Gran Canaria.

Gonzalez-Reimers-E; Arnay-de-la-Rosa-M
Anthropol-Anz. 1992 Sep; 50(3): 201-15

Osteoporosis is a multifactorial disease with dimensions of genetics, endocrine function, exercise and nutritional considerations. Of particular considerations are calcium (Ca) status, Vitamin D, fluoride, magnesium and other trace elements. Several trace elements, particularly copper (Cu), manganese (Mn) and zinc (Zn), are essential in bone metabolism as cofactors for specific enzymes. Our investigations regarding the role of Cu, Mn and Zn in bone metabolism include data from studies with animals on Cu- and Mn-deficient diets. We have also demonstrated cellular deficiencies using bone powder implants, as well as fundamental changes in organic matrix constituents. In clinical studies we have demonstrated the efficacy of Ca, Cu, Mn and Zn supplementation on spinal bone mineral density in postmenopausal women. Each of these studies demonstrated the necessity of trace elements for optimal bone matrix development and bone density sustenance.

Saltman-PD; Strause-LG
J-Am-Coll-Nutr. 1993 Aug; 12(4): 384-9

[impaul99]

Originally Posted by beautyscientist

I think you'll find that adding lemon juice to water makes it more acidic not more alkaline. I don't think that bottled waters are pH adjusted to prevent bacterial growth. I routinely test products for bacterial growth and if adjusting the pH to 5 was enough to preserve them I would be both happier and richer.

I think it is great that you are taking the trouble to live consciously and I am sure you will do better for yourself that way than just drifting through life. But I think you need to look again at the science behind what you are working on.

Maybe this will help explain what I meant by adding lemon to water.

Note that a food's acid or alkaline-forming tendency in the body has nothing to do with the actual pH of the food itself. For example, lemons are very acidic, however the end-products they produce after digestion and assimilation are very alkaline so lemons are alkaline-forming in the body. Likewise, meat will test alkaline before digestion but it leaves acidic residue in the body so, like nearly all animal products, meat is classified as acid-forming.

As for bacterial growth, the research I've seen shows that bacteria won't grow or last in water around or below 5.0 pH, and definitely not below pH 4.6. From what I understand, bacteria prefer an environment around neutral the best (ph 7.0). Am I wrong? Perhaps you could enlighten me.

Do you think that it's healthier for me to be drinking acidic bottled water at ph 5.5 or pH Balanced water at 7.0 with some lemon squeezed in it which, from my research, is supposed to be alkaline forming for the body. I'm not a chemist, perhaps you could enlighten me.

[escapee]

Impaul , if you trust me ( with background of Chemistry/Chemical engineering ) . I really encourage you to place more focus on Human Essential nutrients rather than locking yourself up to the PH values of the food in question. When you eat a piece of processed / non-organic vegetarian donut added with lemon juice for the sake of "alkalinity", does it contain the following nutrients in adequate level to sustain life ?

Essential nutrient - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Essential fatty acids:
Linolenic acid (the shortest chain omega-3 fatty acid)
Linoleic acid (the shortest chain omega-6 fatty acid)

Essential amino acids necessary for all humans:
Histidine
Isoleucine
Lysine
Leucine
Methionine
Phenylalanine
Threonine
Tryptophan
Valine

Essential amino acids necessary for human children and not adults:
Arginine
Vitamins:
Biotin (vitamin B7, vitamin H)
Choline (vitamin Bp)
Folate (folic acid, vitamin B9, vitamin M)
Niacin (vitamin B3, vitamin P, vitamin PP)
Pantothenic acid (vitamin B5)
Riboflavin (vitamin B2, vitamin G)
Thiamine (vitamin B1)
Vitamin A (retinol)
Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine, pyridoxamine, or pyridoxal)
Vitamin B12 (cobalamin)
Vitamin C (ascorbic acid)
Vitamin D (Cholecalciferol, Ergocalciferol, Calcitriol)
Vitamin E (tocopherol)
Vitamin K (naphthoquinoids)

Dietary minerals: Biochemical studies reported in 2006 indicate that the following elements (aside from H, C, N, and O) are required for human health:[2]
Calcium (Ca)
Chloride (Cl-)
Cobalt (Co)
Copper (Cu) [3]
Iodine (I)
Iron (Fe)
Magnesium (Mg)
Manganese (Mn) [4]
Molybdenum (Mo)
Phosphorus (P) [5]
Potassium (K)
Selenium (Se) [6]
Sodium (Na)
Sulfur (S)
Zinc (Zn) [7]