The Way The Body’s Deals With Acidification

The body really does know how to protect itself. A perfect example is what the body does when too much acid is present. Regardless of whether the acidification is affecting the entire body or just one organ, the body has two ways to deal with the excess. The first is simple; the body begins to eliminate the excess acids by way of the lungs, kidneys and skin, thereby reducing the overall amount that is present.

In addition to the process of elimination, the body can attempt to neutralize the acids by creating neutralizing salts. The body begins this process by identifying the troublesome acids and then calling upon the elements that counteract the particular acid for use in building these salts.

The respiratory system is the fastest way to eliminate excess acids. The problem with this method is that only weak acids can be eliminated. The weak acids are oxidized and then released as breath moisture and carbon dioxide with every single breath. To expedite the elimination process, all that is necessary is to increase a person’s rate and volume of breathing. The body knows how to easily adjust to these short-term needs.

Strong acids, because they are not volatile, cannot be turned into a gas. They cannot be exhaled by the lungs so they have to be eliminated by the kidneys as solids. The kidneys begin the process by actually filtering out the uric acids, the sulfuric acids and other like acids from the blood. Next, urine dilutes these filtered acids and they then are eliminated. The kidneys do have a limit as to how much acid they can process each day. They cannot adjust the elimination rate as the respiratory system can.

Fortunately, the body has one other tool available in its self-defense arsenal: The skin. Because it is covered with sweat glands, the skin is a very effective (although frequently overlooked) means of elimination. The more than 2 million sweat glands function much in the same way as the kidneys. Like urine, sweat can flush strong acids from the body. The difference between the kidneys and the sweat glands is the capacity. Roughly one quart of sweat is lost per day whereas urine removes up to one and a half quarts each day. Urine also removes more toxins than sweat.

Measuring pH