DAY SIXTEEN, ALKALINE YEAR:Defining pH

DAY SIXTEEN ALKALINE  YEAR

DEFINING pH

October 11, 2009 Meaning “power of Hydrogen,” pH means “potential for hydrogen,” and indicates the numbers of hydrogen atoms in a fluid.  The more hydrogen ions are present, the more acidic the fluid.  There is near-universal agreement that a pH reading of human blood needs to be between 7.365 and 7.45 for a body to be healthy.  Below that is dangerously acidic, above is the potential threat of being too alkalinic.  Is it possible that other disease states might occur if that pH goes above 7.45?  Could be, but very unlikely, given our SAMs and preferred snacks. 

Browsing CNN Online this morning, I saw what has become standard swine flu advice for what is coming to be called the “fall flu season,” as though it were a fashion show. Here’s the CNN advice, displayed after a story about a young woman who had “come down” with flu.  In defining pH and how it relates to you, I’ll try to show why the admonitions are nearly useless:

           

Most effective way to fight flu, including H1N1 virus, is to get vaccinated

Eat lean protein, fat-free dairy products and good fats to boost immune system

      Moderate, regular exercise and adequate rest are necessary to keep healthy

In the first place, vaccination is a highly questionable treatment for flu and, contrary to opinions expressed in mainstream media and by the Centers for Disease Control, may actually increase the risk of flu. Most vaccines, because of the way they are prepared, are acidic.  [Articles of Health, posted on Articlesofhealth.blogspot.com by Robert O. Young, D.Sc., PhD, NMD, Oct. 1, 2009, concerning the 347-man crew of a U.S. Navy ship, vaccinated with H1N1 Swine Flu Vaccine shortly after putting to sea, of whom 333 became so ill that other ships needed to provide aid. The Navy’s response was to classify the information, which came to Dr. Young from whistle-blowers and wives of the afflicted men.]  Second, better than lean protein or fat-free dairy products would be fruits and vegetables and lots of water. As “acidosis is at the heart of many negative health conditions” according to medical textbooks [Susan E. Brown, PhD, CCN, and Larry Trivieri: The Acid Alkaline Food Guide, NY: Square One Publishers, 2006], changing the alkaline balance of what we eat may well be a better way to treat such states than vaccines, which can vary in quality from batch to batch. Third, moderate regular exercise is the last thing anybody would want do if they are sick, a statement so obvious that it shouldn’t need a footnote.

Reading over the last paragraph, I think it was very sensible of the Navy to classify the information, probably on the grounds that it could give aid and comfort to an enemy.  It was interesting that the official Navy response, posted as a comment on Dr. Young’s Articles of Health, did not confirm or deny that the incident had occurred.  The comment focused solely on reassuring everybody that the Navy’s ability to defend its country was not compromised by any such incident as officially had not occurred.

As Susan Brown points out in her above reference, which serves me as a staple guide to acid-alkaline balance of my food choices, health and disease begin in the cells, which need nutrients and oxygen from the bloodstream and also to release wastes.  She writes:  “As it turns out, both of these interactions can optimally take place only when the body is in a slightly alkaline state, which allows for an easy flow of oxygen and nutrients into the cell walls and an equally easy disposal of cellular wastes.”

Another major contributor to these optimal interactions is water.  There’s a tsunami of literature on the subject.  My only experience with this is through several popular writings, so I’ll skip it for the time being except to say that I do use a water filter and try to drink water that’s fairly alkaline, adding baking soda to it occasionally if, as in the days before This Alkaline Year, I’d drunk too much coffee or wine.  Not so incidentally, I’ve not had a headache since the second day of this blog, when caffeine presumably was leaving my systsem.  No tiredness, either; walked the dog for her usual 2.7-3-miles this AM.