deacidification

Some naturopaths argue that acidifying foods are harmful to health. This applies especially to sugar, coffee, meat, wheat flour and eggs. Fruits and vegetables, on the other hand, are considered basic. In this notion, many diseases have their origins in acidification of the body, and the therapy that results from this assumption is to rebalance the acid-base balance.

contents

• The most important facts
• Acids interfere with the pH?
• The pH is different
• The kidney regulates the acid balance
• Acidification of the blood
• symptoms
• Deacidify in case of kidney weakness
• To eat healthy food
• stomach acidity
• home remedies
• Deacidify regularly?

The most important facts

• Deacidification is the name used to denote excess acid in the body.
• A healthy body deacidifies itself - through urine, defecation, exhalation and sweating.
• Hyperacidity of the stomach, kidneys or blood is a symptom that can cause various diseases - from diabetes mellitus to gastric ulcer.
• A healthy person does not have to neutralize regularly or needs an acid-base cure. Such methods are only suitable in an existing and disease-related hyperacidity to support the recovery process.

Body fluids have different pH values, for gastric acid, for example, it is less than three. (Image: Björn Wylezich / fotolia.com)

Acids interfere with the pH?

Our body even produces acids throughout - for example stomach acid. Without these acids digestion would not be possible. The organism has its own mechanisms that keep the pH constant. Nutritionists such as Prof. Dr. med. Therefore, Andreas Pfeiffer emphasize that a healthy body does not acidify, as it counteracts hyperacidity itself. Acidification would therefore not be the cause of a disease, but a consequence.

The pH is different

The body fluids are neutral or slightly alkaline in most parts of the body, in the blood and saliva the pH is just over seven. In the stomach, however, the pH is between 1.2 and three, so the acid level is very high. This is not a sign of lack of health - on the contrary: Without this stomach acid, we could not digest any protein. This pH level in the body's regions hardly changes in humans, whether the food contains more acid or more bases.

The kidney regulates the acid balance

Our kidneys excrete excess acid and the urine becomes acidic. But acid urine does not indicate hyperacidity, but proves that our regulation works. The lungs remove the acidic carbon dioxide from the body. Additional deacidification is therefore necessary if the lungs or kidneys are not functioning properly, because in such cases it can actually lead to hyperacidity.

Acidification of the blood

So acidification of the blood does not happen because we eat too much acid, but because of diseases such as kidney weakness or diabetes, which means that the body's own regulators fail and the pH in the blood drops.

symptoms

The main symptom of hyperacidity is a hasty and deep breathing with a breathy odor reminiscent of foul fruit. Here medical help should be sought, because diseases of the lung and kidney, which cause these symptoms, are very serious. Typical symptoms of chronic hyperacidity are:

• anorexia,
• nausea
• and general weakness.

Due to the increasing potassium content in the blood, hyperacidity can also promote tooth decay. (Image: New Africa / fotolia.com)

As a result of a prolonged hyperacidity

• Descale the bones and become brittle,
• decreases the cardiac output,
• less blood enters the circulation,
• increases the potassium content in the blood and
• Decay attacks the teeth.

Deacidify in case of kidney weakness

About one in three people who have diabetes mellitus suffer from kidney weakness and concomitant hyperacidity. This diabetic nephropathy is not inflammatory. But even old people who are not suffering from diabetes can become acidic as a result of kidney weakness. Kidney performance decreases by around ten percent from the age of 30 years per decade. This increases the risk of slowly over acidifying. Among the kidney diseases, this diabetic kidney disease is very common, after all, it affects 34 percent of all newly recorded dialysis patients affected. Doctors recognize the progress of the disease especially in terms of pH and potassium concentration.

Deacidification can help counterbalance the effects of kidney failure and stabilize protein metabolism, uric acid and disrupted hormones ... Basic therapy makes sense here, but not primarily by eating fruit and vegetables, but by using sodium carbonate in the form of enteric-coated tablets. The ingestion of bicarbonates slows the progression of kidney weakness. These should never be taken without medical advice in case of such a serious illness.

To eat healthy food

In case of existing kidney failure, a healthy diet is essential. Important are abundant:

• fruit,
• Vegetables (as varied as possible, for example with onions, leek or broccoli),
• Fish like salmon, herring or mackerel
• as well as linseed, rapeseed and walnut oil.

Fruits and vegetables are basic and should be part of the nutrition plan in case of kidney failure. (Image: Chinnapong / fotolia.com)

In addition, whole grains are good at kidney weakness. Sugar should be reduced, as well as fast food and ready meals. You should also drink a lot, making sure that the drinks contain little or no sugar. If it is a kidney infection, the food should be

• copper,
• selenium,
• zinc,
• Omega-3 fatty acids
• and vitamins A, C and E..

Also included are untreated milk, but also leaf salad and dried fruits such as figs and dates. Cold pressed oils are neutral.

stomach acidity

There is an acidic environment in the stomach. This can be critical for the health if the body functions fail, because firstly too much gastric acid is produced or secondly, the acidic degradation products are not repelled with the feces. It then comes to a hyperacidity of the stomach. The causes of this can be poisoning as well as infections, stress, nicotine, alcohol or excessive coffee with a concomitant permanent lack of fiber. Hyperacidity of the stomach is not a disease of its own, but can be a symptom of various diseases, for example an infection of the gastric mucosa with Helicobacter pylori. This can cause ulcers in the stomach, which are manifested by symptoms such as heartburn, stomach pain and a pressing pain in the stomach. The hyperacidity can be slowed down by proton pump inhibitors. You should avoid known triggers such as smoking, alcohol or very fatty foods.

In contrast to a chronic acidification of the stomach by an infection, an ulcer or permanent malnutrition, a temporary acidification of the stomach passes by itself, but is extremely unpleasant. This so-called irritable stomach is one of the most common diseases of industrial society and almost everyone is affected at least once in their lives. The cause is, for example, repeated vomiting if you have "spoiled the stomach". If the nausea persists when there is no more food in the stomach, the stomach continues to produce acid, the level of acidity increases, heartburn and the oppressive pain in the abdomen appear. Every breath hurts a lot - even if you just put your hand on your stomach, it hurts. You do not know if you should lie, sit or stand.

Unfortunately, there is no immediate solution here. You can drink a glass of water with a teaspoon of soda to balance the acid level and eat neutral food that calms the stomach and absorbs the acid. These include oatmeal with milk as well as slowly chewed white, cracked and wholemeal bread.

Artichoke also helps to deacidify the stomach. (Image: stefania57 / fotolia.com)

home remedies

A home remedy to deacidify the stomach is potato juice, freshly squeezed or from the pharmacy. If the cause of hyperacidity is a slower digestion, bitter substances that help in

• artichokes,
• centaury,
• candytuft,
• angelica root
• and are contained in vermouth.

Even chamomile flowers promote digestion. There are herbal medicines in the pharmacy that contain all of these phytochemicals.

Teas help with the symptoms of an over-acidified stomach

• peppermint,
• Caraway seed,
• licorice,
• balm
• and chamomile flowers.

To neutralize the stomach acid take a teaspoon of soda on a glass of water.

Deacidify regularly?

Many natural remedies recommend that you regularly acidify the body, for example, by a base cure or by fasting. These methods assume that the body needs acidification because we take too much acid in the long run. To put it plainly: A healthy person does not harm such base treatments, since they consist of healthy foods; but they are unnecessary. A normally functioning body is characterized by the fact that it removes excess acid - with the urine, the feces, the breath and the sweat. If the body is no longer able to do so, a low-acid diet can help alleviate the symptoms. But the cause has to be dealt with. (Dr. Utz Anhalt)