Balanced PH for the Body
Having the correct biochemical balance in the body is important for optimal health. The biochemical balance in the body depends in part on the pH of the body’s systems being at the right levels.
For athletes such as runners, weight lifters, and others, having the right balance of nutrients in the body is essential. And the body will reach that point most efficiently when the pH level of the body is what it should be. If your pH is out of balance, your body will be too. For this reason, athletes and physically active people, as well as anyone else who wants to be healthy, should pay attention to their body’s pH levels.
The key to understanding pH is understanding how foods that are eaten are translated into alkaline or acidic substances in the body. Digested food and nutrients leave behind what is referred to as “ash”. Ash can be seen as a residue left that could lead to a lasting effect from the food that was eaten. The ash will be either acidic, alkaline, or neutral. When it comes to the pH of the body, it isn’t so much the acidity of the food itself that matters, but instead what kind of ash the food leaves behind. If the food leaves behind an acidic ash, then it can be considered an acid producing food. If it leaves behind an alkaline ash, it can be considered an alkalizing food.
How do you know what foods do what? For starters, most fruits and vegetables increase alkalinity—leaving behind an alkaline ash. Most meats and animal products leave behind an acidic ash. Most experts on the subject agree that foods that produce an acidic ash should be balanced with alkaline-promoting foods in order to achieve optimal pH levels—and therefore optimal health.
One caveat is that everyone’s body is different, and that what produces one effect in one person may not produce that same effect in another. Consider the side effects of medication as an example: anti-histamines can and do make one person tired, and another hyper-active. Certain medications can cause depression in some people, and reduce or cure it in others. Foods, in terms of their effects on the body, are very much the same way. Because of this, what leads to increased acidity in one person may not have the exact same effect in another person. It is therefore important to pay attention to your own body, to your own responses to food, and to plan your diet in order to balance your pH accordingly.
