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Ed Martin
Ed Martin is owner of Healthy Choices, Inc. of Wichita. Ed has been involved in the energy and health fields for over 30 years, focusing on pioneering new technologies and bringing cutting-edge products and services to the marketplace. You can reach Ed at; 316-207-7343, or by e-mail at healthychoices1@cox.net
Health & Wellness
2012-02-27 13:56:46
Promoting better health
A: In order to answer your question, I need to make sure you understand the condition of being acidic or alkaline and that means explaining some terminology. I will try not to make this complicated, but I will need to get a little scientific. Please bear with me. It won’t take long. What do you think of when you hear the word “acid”? Many people think all acids are hash liquids that burn your skin, eat away at metals and stone, and make holes in your clothes. However, that is true of only a few strong acids in their concentrated forms. In fact, you put acids into your body whenever you eat pickles or apples, snack on a banana, or drink orange juice. Acids are classified as strong or weak. Strong acids can be dangerous and must be handled very carefully. However, weak acids are very common in many foods and plants. For example, citrus fruits and tomatoes contain citric acid. Things like vinegar and lemon juice taste sour because they are acidic. The opposite of “acids” are “bases”. Like strong acids, strong bases are dangerous and must be handled with care. Oven cleaner and drain cleaner are examples of products that are strong bases. We know that both acids and bases can vary in strength from strong to weak. Also liquid solutions containing these acids or bases can also vary from strong to weak. A measurement called “pH” ranks the strength of the solution and tells us how acidic or basic it is. Another word for “basic” is “alkaline”. Both words have the same meaning. pH is measured on a scale that ranges from 0 to 14. The number 7 is the midpoint and is neutral. It is neither acid nor base. The numbers descending below 7 are acidic, with a pH 6 being mildly acidic and a pH 0 being the strongest of acids. The numbers above 7 are basic, or alkaline, with a pH 8 being mildly alkaline and a pH 14 being the most alkaline. Also, each number on the pH scale is 10 times stronger than the number preceding it. For example, pH 9 is 10 times more alkaline than pH 8. pH 10 is 10 times more alkaline than pH 9, and it is 100 times more alkaline than pH 8. The strength of acids also increases by a factor of 10 for each lower pH compared to the number above it on the pH scale. OK, the science lesson is over. I hope I haven’t lost you. I promise to keep it lighter from here on. When it comes to understanding pH, most people know more about why pH matters in a pool or aquarium than in their own bodies. But did you know that our bodies are over 70% water? In fact, our blood is 83% water and has a very specific pH of 7.365. If our blood varies more than .1 pH from that level, illness and death quickly follow. Our bodies work constantly to maintain the correct pH balance. The foods we eat and the liquids we drink have a pH level also. The problem is that most of what we eat and drink is acidic. Here are a few common examples: •Cola carbonated beverages – pH 2.0 •Standard coffee – pH 4.1 •Ground beef – pH 3.2 So the critical question is this: If 90% of the average American diet is made up of acidic foods and beverages, how does our body manage to dispose of all this acid? Our bodies deal with this problem in three ways: Respiration, Perspiration, and Urination/Defecation. These three functions work so well because the average person gets plenty of fresh clean air every day, either gets plenty of cardio exercise or performs manual labor to the point of exhaustion every day, and has a finely tuned digestive system that processes and eliminates everything not required for a healthy life. …Wait, does that sound like the average American? Definitely not! The lifestyle of average Americans adds to acid buildup in their bodies, which over time can lead to unnecessary health issues. Our bodies do have a way of dealing with accumulated acid. It’s called neutralization. Our bodies steal calcium and magnesium (alkaline minerals) from our bones to help off-set the acid buildup. Even worse, the acid that can’t be eliminated or neutralized is stored in our cells as solid waste. The theory of many acclaimed research scientists and medical doctors is that all disease can be traced back to two simple problems: 1. Dehydration – Water is the fluid of life. Not drinking enough easily absorbable water leads to dehydration. When we become dehydrated, we reduce our body’s ability to process nutrients, vitamins and minerals. Further, we starve the body of the fluid by which it cleanses and detoxifies the organs and the blood, leaving toxins running rampant in our bodies. 2. Over-Acidification – Our bodies prefer an alkaline environment. When acid builds up, it robs every available resource from the body to maintain pH balance. Excess acid is stored in the body and slowly poisons us over time. In an ideal environment, we each would have plenty of fresh air and physical activity. We would also have a diet consisting of green leafy vegetables, unrefined whole foods, and plenty of fresh, pure water. Living like this would help keep us pH balanced, properly processing foods and expelling wastes. Through proper nutrition alone, it is possible to maintain a healthy and disease-free lifestyle. However, that would mean giving up much of what we like, and most people are not willing to do that. We have all heard the expression, “You are what you eat (and drink)”. When we look at the diet of countries that rank highest in overall wellness, lifespan, good health and low disease rates, they all have something in common. The people all eat lots of green things and they drink water as their key beverage. Also, their local water is naturally much cleaner than the water in America, without many of the harmful chemicals commonly found here. We all want to enjoy good health and a long life. We also know some of what we should be doing to be healthier and more fit, but we don’t want to do it if it means giving up foods or activities we enjoy. Besides, there is no one thing that anyone can do to live a perfectly healthy life. However, most complementary health experts (and many mainstream doctors) now agree that the best place to start is by drinking high pH alkaline water from a home water ionizer. Drinking high pH alkaline water promotes good health by super-hydrating the body, neutralizing acids, reducing acid buildup, and flushing toxic wastes from the cells. The high pH water also promotes good health by being a natural antioxidant. As an added bonus, flushing accumulated waste from the cells aids in weight loss. We will cover these topics and more in future columns.
 
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