You may have heard or read about testing the pH of your body and that it is better for health for your body fluids to be slightly alkaline. But do you know what pH really means?
pH is an abbreviation for the "power of the concentration of the Hydrogen ion" present in a solution. It is expressed as a number on a scale of degrees of pH, from 0 to 14.
The pH scale indicates the acidity or alkalinity of a solution, which is an indicator of the number of hydrogen atoms present. A pH of 7 is neutral, a pH of less than 7 indicates an acidic solution, and a pH greater than 7 indicates an alkaline solution.
This is a very important thing to know about our bodies because the pH of our body fluids affect how healthy we are and how long we will live.
In order to function, our bodies need to maintain the proper concentration of hydrogen ions in the body fluids. Even though hydrogen ions are present in only trace amounts, they are extremely important because they are so reactive. A hydrogen ion is a positive charge that can easily attach to various molecules, changing their charge and how they interact. This is especially important for the metabolism of proteins.
The normal pH level for healthy human blood is pH 7.4, slightly alkaline. Maintaining this pH is so important to the body, that it has complex mechanisms to regulate the concentration of hydrogen ions in body fluids.
If the blood becomes more acid or alkaline than normal our health is affected. A pH above 7.7 or below 7.0 is incompatible with life. So it's very important to keep the pH range of the body fluids within the range of 7.0 - 7.7, and as close to 7.4 as possible.
Acid/alkaline balance can be affected by many factors, including the food you eat, the water you drink, chemicals that come into your body via various types of exposure, the amount of sunlight you are exposed to, how well you sleep, the amount of stress in your life, and how often you get physical exercise. Most people today have lifestyles that result in acidic bodies, the perfect environment in which cancer cells, disease-causing bacteria, fungus, viruses and parasites thrive.
In today's world, most people's bodies are too acid, the result of eating refined foods, meat, and drinking polluted tap water. But a body can also be too alkaline. Including natural salt in your diet, with its full spectrum of minerals, can help bring body pH into balance.
Hilde Bschorr is the Owner of Himalayan Living Salt, an online purveyor of natural, unrefined, living salt products. Read more about the health benefits of natural salt at http://www.HimalayanLivingSalt.com | |
