The human body requires new energy every day: the food we eat and the oxygen we breathe provide us with the energy to work, think, do physical activity, etc., in short, to live.
To transform food and oxygen into energy, the body produces acidic metabolic waste products that are eliminated mainly through urine and respiration.
Acid metabolic waste
Acids that can be expelled from the body through lung respiration are called volatile acids , for example carbonic acid (which is reconverted to CO2 in the pulmonary capillaries).
Instead, we speak of fixed acids or non-volatile acids if their elimination occurs in another way, as in the case of sulfuric acid produced by the metabolism of methionine and cysteine, uric acid produced by the metabolism of nucleoproteins and organic acids produced by the incomplete oxidation of fats, which are usually excreted in the urine.
The body has 3 main systems to control PH:
- Use of buffering substances from body fluids (e.g. alkalizing minerals).
- Urine for the elimination of fixed acids (also called non-volatile acids).
- Breathing for the elimination of volatile acids.
When the amount of acidic metabolic waste exceeds what our buffer systems are able to counteract, acidosis occurs, which is an overload of acidic substances that our body tends to "park" inside some specialized tissues, waiting to be neutralized and disposed of.
If this situation persists in the long term, it can contribute to the development of diseases related to our genetic susceptibility. Furthermore, this situation also makes it difficult to maintain a correct body composition, as acidosis hinders both weight loss and the increase in muscle mass.
For this reason, it is important to build the right conditions so that the main organs (blood, kidneys and lungs) defined as “buffer organs” can correctly perform their functions through urine, sweat and breathing.
Acid-base balance in the blood compartment
The blood, in physiological conditions, always remains slightly alkaline PH 7.35-7.45 , to be able to neutralize acidic metabolic waste.
When these increase excessively, the body asks for help from other organs, which deprive themselves of their mineral reserves to give them to the blood compartment, which is forced to maintain a very stable pH.
For this reason , it may not be sufficient to analyze the blood pH to establish whether there is an acid-base imbalance in the body, therefore at a systemic level.
Alkalizing minerals such as sodium, potassium, calcium, and magnesium and other buffer systems help maintain the acid-base balance in the body.
Is drinking enough to eliminate excess acids?
Many people believe that drinking lots of water is enough to detoxify.
In reality, many subjects, especially women with acidosis, even if they drank an adequate quantity, would not be able to urinate sufficiently, as they would retain water in the extracellular environment, especially in the lower limbs (e.g. swollen ankles).
One of the main causes would seem to be linked to the subclinical deficiency of alkalizing minerals, in fact in these subjects it is possible to immediately appreciate improvements, simply by reducing the daily protein quota and introducing a correct supplementation of alkalizing minerals and essential amino acids .
Chronic subclinical hypoventilation
Place a hand on your belly and breathe normally. If you don't feel your belly swell when you inhale, you're probably using physiologically incorrect breathing: you're mainly using your chest.
Normally, you should inhale using the diaphragm muscle, while exhalation should occur passively due to the elasticity of the chest (unless you forcefully do it using the muscles of the abdominal wall).
The diaphragm is actually the most important respiratory muscle.
The constant daily pressures, anxieties, problems, stress, in short the modern lifestyle of many people, can make our way of breathing constantly dysfunctional, preventing the correct expulsion of CO2 and therefore consequently an inability to dispose of volatile acids , leading to a possible subclinical metabolic acidosis.
These changes can consequently lead to different metabolic, postural, visceral and emotional problems.
In these cases the body is able to implement a strategy called “ compensatory hyperventilation ” to decrease the partial pressure of carbon dioxide “PaCO2” and increase that of oxygen “PaO2”.
For this reason, most people tend to breathe 12 to 18 times a minute, but in a superficial way, as we only use a sixth of our lung capacity .
Deep and complete breathing is not only located at the thoracic level, but using abdominal breathing we will push the diaphragm down.
This type of breathing has a rate of approximately 5/10 breaths per minute , it is slow and also produces a calming effect on the subject.
Do you want to test your breathing conditions with a quick and easy test?
The “control pause” test developed by Dr. Buteyko measures the carbon dioxide tolerance threshold.
When you breathe healthily, you take 4-6 liters of air into your lungs every minute.
To independently test the volume of air introduced into the lungs, you don't need complicated equipment, you just need a watch with a second hand, and you proceed as follows:
- Sit comfortably on a chair with a straight back.
- Relax and exhale normally.
- Repeat a normal inhalation, exhale normally and after exhalation close your nose with your fingers and keep it closed.
- Also keeping your mouth closed, count how many seconds you can wait without much discomfort before having to inhale again.
Don't try too hard. The accuracy of the test depends on whether you stop before you reach the threshold of real discomfort. The number of seconds that pass before you feel the clear urge to inhale is the so-called "control pause."
Results:
- A check-pause of 50-60 seconds or more indicates that you are in excellent health.
- If you do not exceed 25 seconds , it means that there is something in your health that needs to be improved, even if no disease has yet manifested itself. It is good to urgently take preventive measures, in the form of improving breathing.
- If the control pause does not exceed 10 seconds you have a serious hyperventilation problem; you probably already suffer from asthma or some disease that has already manifested itself.
Do you want to measure your body PH?
There are all sorts of litmus papers available on the market, the simplest methods are to measure saliva or urine. For example, by immersing the paper in the urine flow for one or two seconds, it allows the color to change according to the pH level found.
You hold it up to the color scale provided and compare it with a similar color on the scale to find your corresponding urinary pH.
It is important to remember that measuring urinary PH can have a significant correlation in determining the acid-base balance of the soil, only if you monitor its dynamism during the day, it is not enough to measure it only once, for this reason we recommend that you measure it at 4 different times of the day, for 3-5 days.
Time of day Ideal value
- First urine of the morning Acidic
- Second urine of the morning Alkaline
- Before Lunch Alkaline
- Before dinner Alkaline
Depletion of alkalizing minerals in culture media
Decades of industrial agriculture, using “modern” techniques such as high-yielding, genetically modified crops, synthetic fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides, monocultures and irrigation, have led to a significant increase in crop yields. Worldwide, agricultural production has nearly tripled in the last 50 years.
At the same time, the same techniques, combined with shorter rotations and fewer rest periods, have caused the impoverishment of the soil and therefore also of alkalizing minerals .
Since the 1950s, agricultural production has gradually shifted towards a smaller number of species and varieties, selected to meet the demands of the global market.
Species and varieties that are not tied to individual territories, that can be produced in different environments and climates, that resist long journeys well and that have a uniform flavour.
For example, while there are thousands of varieties of pears selected over the centuries by farmers, only two commercial varieties represent 96% of the global market. Conventional crops require large amounts of fertilizers and pesticides, precisely because of the lack of a connection with local soil and climate conditions.
Man began practicing agriculture about 10,000 years ago, but it was not until 1947, when a colossal munitions factory in Alabama converted to the production of synthetic fertilizers, that the relationship with the soil was revolutionized.
Two factors fueled a strong push by governments to use nitrogen, in its various forms, as a fertilizer: the need to ensure greater crop yields for a rapidly growing population thanks to the population boom following the end of World War II, and the discovery that nitrogen produced in large quantities to support wartime needs could double agricultural yields.
In short, the market made synthetic fertilizers easily accessible to all farmers.
Their consumption worldwide has more than quintupled in the last 50 years.
Globally, nitrogen represents 74% of mineral fertilizers; in some countries it reaches 90%, with enormous negative effects on the environment.
Excess nitrogen leads to severe soil impoverishment because it reduces the release of nutrients useful to microorganisms by the roots and also accelerates the decomposition of humus.
The Importance of Alkalizing Foods
The impoverishment of the soil and the use of modern varieties developed through genetic modification (GMO, Mutagens, etc.), which are often distinguished by having smaller roots and an extreme need for large quantities of chemical herbicides.
This does not allow plants to optimally absorb minerals from the growing medium, consequently it is unthinkable to find them in food.
For this reason, in addition to introducing a considerable amount of vegetables and a small amount of proteins at each meal, it is important to choose foods produced with ancient varieties, such as durum wheat (also called wheat), which have long roots and do not require the use of any herbicides or synthetic fertilizers.
Monitor your diet-induced acid load, PRAL and NEAP
It is important to know the acid load potential induced by your diet, estimated on the basis of the renal acid load potential PRAL (Potential Renal Acid Load) and the net-endogenous acid production NEAP (net-endogenous acid production).
This way it will be possible to estimate the effect that your diet will have on the acid-base balance of the organism, once ingested, naturally absorbable and metabolizable in a healthy digestive system.
From a practical point of view, foods with a positive PRAL ( PRAL+ ) have a potential acidifying effect (e.g. meat, fish, cheese, egg yolk) , while foods with a negative PRAL (PRAL-) are able to alkalize (e.g. vegetables and fruit) , causing a lowering of the blood pH.
The PRAL of a food, according to the most commonly used formula, is calculated based on its content of proteins, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium and calcium.
Today, the association of positive PRAL with high blood pressure “1.”, high triglycerides, high cholesterol, diabetes, metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular disease, tumors “2” and a higher prevalence of weight gain and obesity “3.” seems increasingly clear.
High protein diets and acidosis
To correct a condition of Metabolic Acidosis it is also essential to adopt a healthy, non-sedentary lifestyle .
To help eliminate carbon dioxide, it is particularly useful to take a slow walk for an hour after dinner, preferably in a green setting, breathing deeply.
Moving and doing sports regularly is advisable, but not intense activities in which a metabolism defined as anaerobic is mainly activated, otherwise we risk increasing the accumulation of lactic acid instead of decreasing it:
- in sedentary subjects it will be necessary to plan a gradual start;
- in active people it should never be taken to excess to avoid it becoming counterproductive and perhaps plan a cool-down activity at the end of a workout (e.g. walking at 55% of the theoretical maximum heart rate 220-age)
Excessive sporting activity can even be harmful : we must not forget that competitive athletes are the first to show conditions of acute Metabolic Acidosis and oxidation which are sometimes even serious.
Food supplements based on alkalizing mineral salts
If dietary and lifestyle interventions are not sufficient, it may be useful to take food supplements based on alkalizing mineral salts that can regulate the pH and bring it back to optimal values. In this case, we recommend choosing minerals based on their best synergy and ability to maintain or restore the nervous system to physiology:
- Micronized potassium bicarbonate (e.g. POWERDAY ) dissolved in plenty of water in the morning, as it stimulates the nervous system in sympathetic mode, accelerating vital functions. It is also an excellent supplement to correct the dysfunctional relationship that most people have between Potassium and Sodium. Excessive daily intake of Sodium and low Potassium would seem to be one of the main causes of arterial hypertension.
- Sucrosomial magnesium , organic calcium + Vit. D + Vit.K2 + organic zinc + organic copper , organic selenium , saffron , Q10 and B vitamins both from vegetal fermentation in food matrix (e.g. IMMUNCARE & NIGHTRELAX ) in the evening because they are natural anxiolytics and therefore stimulate the nervous system in parasympathetic mode, reducing vital functions, promoting sleep, recovery, digestion. Furthermore, by regulating any micronutrient deficit, present in most people, we offer the immune system the possibility of returning to modulate correctly.
Sources:
- Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis. 2019 Mar 23. pii: S0939-4753(19)30094-8. doi:10.1016
- PLoS One. 2019 May 9;14(5):e0216547. doi:10.1371
- J Community Hosp Intern Med Perspect. 2019 Apr. 12;9(2): 165-167. Doi: 10.1080
- Appl Physiol Nutr Metab. 2017 Dec; 42 (12): 1330-1340. doi:10.1139
