How pH Levels Impact Health

On the pH scale, the midpoint, or the number 7 represents a perfect balance of acid and alkaline. The body needs balance to function optimally, but the number 7 is not necessarily the magic number for all parts of the body. Inside, the body’s biochemical environment, as it was designed, prefers to be on the slightly more alkaline side. The optimal measurement here actually is 7.39.

The blood however, functions properly only as long as the pH measurement falls within the range of 7.36 (a bit more acidic) to 7.42 (a bit more alkaline). Measurements outside this range significantly compromise the blood’s ability to function properly and can even result in death. Alkalosis results when the blood’s pH measurement falls between 7.42 and 7.8. Acidosis results when the blood’s pH measurement ranges from 7 to 7.35.

Anytime alkalosis or acidosis strikes, some type of physical or mental illness will also be present. Fortunately, the body takes swift action to correct any imbalance in the blood’s pH levels. It has to. The blood is one part of the body that must maintain stability if it is to maintain the life of a physical organism. Interestingly, acidosis affects more than 50% of the population!

Like the blood, the body’s internal biochemical environment functions best when pH levels fall within the range of 7.36 and 7.42. This internal environment is more capable of dealing with measurements outside this range, but will function optimally, as it was designed, when this range is maintained.

Most other organic fluids inside the body as well as body tissues function at different pH ranges. The exceptions are the lymph fluids and the fluids that are inside or that surround the cells. These fluids prefer the 7.39 measurement. The pH of urine can go as high as 6 and as low as 4.5 to 5. The reason that urine can tolerate such a range is because it does not stay inside the body very long. It is regularly eliminated. Which other parts of the body are acid? The skin’s outer layers have a pH of 5.2. This makes sense considering one of the primary responsibilities of the outer skin is to kill microbes so that they do not enter the body. The body’s gastric region has a pH of 2 primarily because it must digest proteins. The colon also is acid, with a pH of 6.8.

Other parts of the body are more alkaline. For example, the inner layers of the skin have a pH of 7.35, the small intestine has a pH of 8, and the body’s pancreatic juices have a pH range between 7.5 and 8.8.

It would not make sense to attempt to bring balance to the parts of the body that need to function at different acid and alkaline levels. Doing so would cause them to cease functioning as they were designed. What is important is to take steps to return the body’s internal biochemical environment to the proper pH level. Every single one of the health problems that are caused by acidity can be traced back to the acidification of the body’s internal environment.

The Way The Body Deals With Acidification