How To Balance Your Blood PH

Blood pH is defined as the acidity or alkalinity of blood in a person. The meaning of "pH" is "Potential of Hydrogen", which is used to measure acidity and alkalinity. Any solution is considered acidic or alkaline. Solutions include body fluids such as blood and acid in the stomach and beverages such as coffee and wine or sea water. The pH scale ranges from 1 to 14, where the most acidic is 1, and 14 means most alkaline. The ideal scale for the body should be between 7.35 to 7.45 on the alkaline side.

Foods are the source of acid or alkaline in our bodies. Hydrogen ions are produced from foods that form acids making the body acidic, and foods that form alkaline remove these hydrogen ions, making the body more alkaline. Classifying whether a food has acid or alkaline, is usually done by observing the effects a food has on the body, after it is digested.

There are several misconceptions regarding acidity though, one of the most common being that foods such as citrus fruits, which taste acidic can form acids in our body. This is a incorrect because citrus fruits actually remove hydrogen ions, thus creating alkalinity in the body.

Another common misconception, is that foods that form into acids are "bad". This illusion is false, though it is a logical conclusion, as many healthy lifestyle professionals focus only on the negative effects of overly-acidic diets. The truth is that many foods containing acids are beneficial to the body. Acidity is not the negative twin of alkalinity, they are siblings of the same system, the system that keeps your body HEALTHY, and it is only when they are in BALANCE, that we are truly "healthy". The disorders, illnesses and chronic pains only set in, when an imbalance between acidity and alkalinity occurs and persists on either side of the scale.

When you have an unbalanced pH level in your body, various symptoms can be experienced at any given time. These can include a feeling over-fullness after a small meal, stomach burning sensation (Heart Burn), acid-tasting burps (GERD), belching and feeling bloated. Worse effects could include constipation, diarrhea, insomnia, migraine, ibs and chronic fatigue. Arthritis, Cancer, Alzheimers, Heart Diseases, Dental Diseases and Diabetes Type II (just to name a few) are diseases that are believed to result from an unbalanced pH level.

Obviously, it's important to maintain a correct balance of acidity-alkalinity in your body to have good health. In order to do so, you must maintain a healthy and balanced diet that works to achieve balanced blood pH all of the time. The natural ratio of one part acid to four parts alkaline is ideal for our bodies.

Be aware of the foods you eat, and start to learn about which ones produce acidity and alkalinity. Acid-forming foods are commonly meats, dairy, dried beans, oats, bread, sugar, corn and some nuts. Alkalinity can best be derived from vegetables such as cucumbers, bell peppers, chili peppers, fresh tomatoes, onions, garlic and broccoli. The lists of foods are too numerous to mention in this hub alone, so I have provided it in one of my blog posts that you can read HER: Alkaline and Acidic Foods