17 Signs Your Body Is Too Acidic And 9 Ways To Quickly Alkalize It

If the pH balance in the body is toward acidic levels, it creates and unhealthy environment where bacteria, yeast and illnesses thrive. An acidic body takes minerals from vital organs and bones to neutralize the acid and balance the pH levels. This causes minerals like magnesium potassium and sodium to run low and cause damage which can eventually lead to acidosis.

Dairy products, meat, grains and sugar all form acid in our body. Since the body is already generating acidic waste from metabolism, these extra acids need to be excreted. In order to neutralize them, we need to eat more alkaline foods.

Doesn’t the body adjust pH levels on its own?

It does at a certain price. The normal pH levels in the body, except for the stomach, are alkaline. Except for the blood, all of our body’s systems have a wide pH range so they can shift and maintain the blood pH levels, which must be between 7.35 and 7.45. If the blood becomes too acidic, it will take alkaline forming elements from enzymes, which will create a less then optimal environment for proper digestion. That’s the price the body pays for adjusting its own ph levels, leaving organs without much needed elements, which can lead to serious health issues.

Know your pH

pH tests are important for allowing a person to get a numeric representation of the current level of acid in their body. The optimal pH level is at 7.36, while a healthy one is between 6.75 and 7.25.

You can’t tell alkaline or acidic food by taste

Most people think lemons are acidic, but they are actually an alkaline forming food. During digestion, the acids are oxidized in carbon dioxide and water, so they don’t create acid in the system.

The main alkaline minerals are calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium and sodium, and foods rich in these minerals are alkaline forming foods. Some foods have both acidic and alkaline minerals – if the acidic minerals have greater concentration the food is acidic and vice versa.

The body has limits

The body cannot compensate for acid imbalance indefinitely. Many diseases occur when the body attempts to re-balance its environment. In general, eating acid forming foods like bigger amounts of meat, sugar and dairy makes the body acidic. The same goes for eating alkaline forming foods. Keeping balance is very important.

How does your body respond to specific foods?

The body responds to certain foods in accordance to your constitutional type. If your dominant type is oxidative, then fruits and vegetables are more to the acidic side, while proteins are alkaline. If you are more dominant to the autonomic system (ANS), the proteins are more acidic for you and fruit and vegetable create and alkaline environment.

How to improve alkalinity

You can improve the alkalinity in your body by following these steps:

• Check your pH levels regularly
• Drink plenty of water
• Remove acidic foods from your diet
• Replace your traditional lunch with a green salad
• Use lettuce leaves and collard greens as wraps
• Don’t eat processed foods
• Try and eliminate soda, coffee and sugars from your diet, and replace them with herbal coffee, herbal coffee and green drinks
• Replace dairy products with coconut or almond milk
• Add green drinks and smoothies to your diet

What you eat matters

Improving the pH levels may require some work, but you will quickly appreciate the effects as you will start feeling more energetic and vibrant. What you eat has great impact on your health. Ann Wigmore, founder of the renowned Hippocrates Health Institute, once said: “The food you eat can be either be the safest and most powerful form of medicine or the slowest form of poison.”