# Acid Ashing, Alkaline Ashing.



## hackskii (Jul 27, 2003)

I want to store this here.

Good article, a bit controvercial but none the less a good read but long.

I dont want to lose this so I guess this is the best place for future refrence.

*pH - YOUR, POTENTIAL FOR HEALTH *

*
by Dr. Ted Morter, Jr.B.S. M.A. D.C. *

Personal responsibility for personal health. That's the 21st century way. Proactive for health rather than reactive to disease. Disease is painful, activity limiting, and costly. That's why checking personal pH - the acidity or alkalinity of some easy-to-get-to body fluids - will become as routine as checking your weight, credit card balance, or smoke alarm. Why? Because it can help you be an active participant in your personal health process. Keeping tabs on your personal pH can help you keep tabs on your personal health.

This pH guide explains how to check the pH of readily accessible body fluids and interpret the results. It also gives a brief overview of what we might call "The Scope and Limitations" of pH monitoring. Knowing what you can't expect is as important as knowing what you can. And, perhaps most important, you will see how monitoring pH can help you be a more effective, active participant in your personal pursuit of health.

This guide is about evaluating your potential for health. It's not about diagnosing or curing disease. It's about monitoring signs of your body's ability to handle your diet and lifestyle. Diagnosing and curing are reactive. Monitoring is proactive. We are accustomed to focusing on disease care. Our usual perspective on health is to wait for disease to "strike," then try to combat it. Here we're presenting a different perspective - making disease unnecessary. Rather than identifying a disease to fight, the objective is to find out if your diet and lifestyle are giving your body a fighting chance to be healthy.

This perspective on health is new to a lot of people. It's not the perspective of most of the medical community. Most health care is designed to help people control symptoms in order to "get better" or "feel better." Our objective here is to help you understand how you can "be better." The concepts and procedures presented here have developed over my thirty-plus years of clinical practice. They are not universally accepted by those whose job it is to diagnose, evaluate, and treat disease. However, the concepts presented here are a cornerstone for monitoring your health. Your health is your responsibility.

For too many years, we, as a nation, have had a tendency to leave the responsibility of our health to others. The general attitude has been, "I'll just do what I want and let the doctor fix it if something goes wrong." Our health care has been remedial. We wait until a problem crops up, then try to remedy it. We have proved that this system doesn't work. It's too painful for our bodies, too disruptive to our lifestyles, and too hard on our personal and national wallets. So, with the dawning of a new century, we also have the dawning of greater personal responsibility for our own health. Part of that responsibility is fulfilled by following the current trend of reducing fat intake and increasing the amount of fruits and vegetables we eat.

You have probably already taken steps to improve your diet. You probably eat fewer foods that are lower in fat, cholesterol, and sodium than you used to. The next step is to adopt a habit of regular self-administered pH checks to see if your health improves along with your diet. Keeping track of how your body is withstanding your diet and lifestyle can be a major part of your newfound freedom that comes with taking personal responsibility for your personal health.

Notice that we are talking about keeping track of your health. We're not talking about diagnosing or treating. The concepts presented here are not intended to be used as a substitute for competent professional health care. They are to help you recognize clues that your body is being overstressed by your diet and lifestyle. Part of your responsibility for your health is to seek good professional care when you need it.

So, we'll begin with the basics of the what's and why's of pH, then move into the how-to and what-does-it-all-mean.

WHAT IS pH?

In the scientific world, pH stands for "potential of Hydrogen." Or, you could be really scientific about it and say that pH represents the negative logarithm of the hydrogen ion concentration. Instead, we'll just say that, in your body, pH stands for your potential for Health.

pH is the value given to indicate the acidity or alkalinity of a substance. It's a value - an intangible, not a thing. You can't pick it up, use it to buy a Jet Ski, or dip it in your soup. pH values are to acid and alkaline what temperature degrees are to heat and cold.

The pH scale of values runs from 0 to 14. At the low end, 0 indicates really strong, complete acidity. At the high end, 14 indicates really strong, complete alkalinity. In the middle, pH 7.0 indicates that the substance is neither acid nor alkaline - it's neutral. Very few substances are completely neutral. Most substances test out on either side of neutral. The pH of most substances falls somewhere from very strong to very weak acid, or from very weak to very strong alkali. For example, at pH 2.5, vinegar is a strong acid, and at pH 8.0+, baking soda is mildly (that's more than "slightly") alkaline. But we're not concerned with vinegar or baking soda here. We're talking body fluids. We're concerned with the pH of your "internal environment" - the potential for health of the fluids in and around your cells. When we talk about the pH of your body, we mean the pH of the fluids inside and outside your cells.

INFORMATION FOR THE READER

The information presented in this article is a compilation of concepts and principles I have developed over the past thirty years. These concepts and principles relate to maintaining and promoting health, not to treating disease or other physical complaints. The information in this article is not intended as suggestions for self-diagnosis or self-treatment of mental, emotional, or physical symptoms or complaints. The reader is cautioned against applying the concepts in this article for therapeutic purpose in lieu of seeking professional health care. The reader is urged to consult licensed health care professionals for diagnosis and treatment of health problems mentioned in this article and for all other physical, mental, or emotional complaints. This article deals with the concepts that the body functions as a unit, that various elements of lifestyle can influence physiology, and that physiological processes respond in a predetermined manner to specific stimuli. The concepts and ideas presented are intended to offer the reader suggestions for examining facets of his or her lifestyle that can impact physiology.

No guarantee or assurance is given for obtaining specific results from the use of any of the suggestions given. The reader is reminded that regular professional health care examinations are important to early detection and treatment of all diseases. THIS ARTICLE DEALS PRIMARILY WITH THE PREVENTION OF DISEASE RATHER THAN WITH THE TREATMENT OF DISEASE.

Certain persons considered experts may disagree with one or more statements in this publication. However, the author is of the opinion that such statements are based upon reliable, sound report and authority. Nothing stated in this publication shall be construed as an offer of any product for the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, or treatment of any disease.

Dr. M. T Morter, Jr.

GUIDE TO MONITORING pH FOR YOUR POTENTIAL HEALTH

BODY CHECK

To find out how the pH of your internal fluids is faring, specially treated test paper is used to check some of the fluids your body generates. pH test paper is designed specifically to indicate pH values. The paper you'll use registers pH values, essentially in two-tenths increments, from moderately strong acid of pH 5.5 to mildly alkaline pH 8.0. The thin strip of pH paper changes color when it comes in contact with moist or wet acid or alkaline substances. A color guide comes with the pH paper dispenser. This guide shows the colors the paper can register. Each color represents a particular pH value. The numerical value is shown above each color sample.

So that's the test equipment you'll use - pH paper. And what do you use it on?

Even though your blood is the most important fluid in your body, you don't "open a vein" to check your internal pH. Tears and perspiration take effort to generate, so they're out. Other more readily available fluids are urine and saliva. The details of the checking procedure are given later. For now, you need to understand what you are trying to accomplish by checking the pH of either urine or saliva.

The purpose of checking urine pH is to find out if your body has a healthy store of the minerals that keep its internal environment slightly alkaline. Alkalizing minerals neutralize, or counteract, strong acid. Another term for the neutralizing process that means essentially the same thing is "buffering." In other words, alkalizing minerals make strong acid weaker or not acid at all. This store of alkalizing minerals is your alkaline reserve - the workhorse of a very important buffer system. The minerals that contribute to your alkaline reserve are sodium, calcium, potassium, magnesium, and iron. Your alkaline reserve isn't a single cubbyhole within your body where these important minerals loll around waiting to be summoned. Your alkaline reserve is scattered throughout your body in various organs.

Urine pH values are your clue to whether or not your alkaline ****nal has been, or is being, used up or overwhelmed. The pH values indicate whether or not your body is overburdened with too much acid from too much high protein food - toxic. Saliva pH values, on the other hand, are your guide to whether or not your body is overburdened with emotional stress.

Urine pH and saliva pH results are valid only if checked under controlled conditions. That is, you set the scene first. Random or willy-nilly checks of the pH of either of these fluids may be interesting, but they're meaningless. With a little planning before you whip out your pH paper, you get something to hang your health on.

As a preview of coming instructions, you set the scene for checking your urine pH by eating particular types of foods for two days immediately before the big check. To prepare for your saliva pH test, don't eat, drink, chew gum, suck on a cough drop, or put anything else in your mouth except water for at least two hours.

pH AND HEALTH

Monitoring your pH gives you an indication of how well or how hard your body is working to survive your lifestyle. Notice that I said, "it gives you an indication. . . ." The results of your pH tests are indicators of how your body is responding to the foods you eat and to other stresses. The actual acid or alkaline level of your internal environment affects how your body functions. The pH values you get when you test your urine or saliva are indications of how your body is functioning.

When your body is at its pH best, it hums along smoothly and easily. And when your body hums along smoothly and easily, your life has a good chance of doing the same. When your body is at less than its pH best, its hum may turn into an exhausted moan as it works overtime to survive. And when your body is exhausted, you are exhausted.

The pH of your internal environment is a good indicator of how hard your body is working just to survive. The ideal pH for most of the fluids of your internal environment is just above pH 7.0. That's slightly alkaline. Your body functions best when the pH of most of its fluids hover in the pH 7.0 neighborhood. Your blood must be a slightly alkaline pH 7.35 to pH 71.45 all the time. That's a "must," not an "it-would-be-nice." If the pH of your blood falls much below 7.35 or rises much above 7.45 for more than a few hours, you can't survive. When your pH values are too far below or too high above pH 7.0, your potential for health plummets.

Although your blood is slightly alkaline, the fluids in your stomach are usually quite acid. Digestive fluids may be as low as pH 1.0. That's strong acid. This strong acid helps to "break down" the foods you eat as they begin their journey through your body. When we talk about the pH of the body, we're not talking about stomach pH. We're talking about the fluid in and around your cells.

CHECKING pH IS NOT A DIAGNOSTIC TEST

As a rule, we go to a doctor when we have a specific pain, problem, or symptom. Rarely does a doctor hear the complaint; "I'm feeling great. Fix it." Our health focus is usually on identifying symptoms and trying to get rid of them. When a doctor orders lab tests for you, these tests are to find out if a problem exists in a particular organ or system. We concentrate on identifying parts of the body that are the source of our misery. Not so with a pH check.

Monitoring your pH helps you evaluate how your whole body is doing. It's a health index evaluation process, not a disease identifying process. Your pH doesn't tell you whether or not you have a life-impairing or life-threatening disease. You can't look at your pH results and correctly conclude, "Mercy me, I have galloping graphospasm!" pH tests don't diagnose!

Your pH checks are not diagnostic tests. They are evidence to use in evaluating your overall health. Your internal pH concerns your whole body. Not parts. Knowing the pH of your body won't tell you if your liver is functioning perfectly. It won't tell you if your pancreas is struggling to produce insulin. It won't tell you if your blood pressure is running amuck. It won't tell you if you are anemic or overweight or nearsighted. Checking your pH is not a diagnostic test. This cannot be emphasized too strongly.

If you find that your internal pH is higher or lower than "ideal," you won't know any more than you did before about which, if any, disease you may have. However, you will have a strong indication that your body's systems and organs are working under extreme stress of toxicity - its internal fluids are being "poisoned" by too much acid. But that doesn't mean you have a particular disease. It means that unless you change your ways (probably starting with the types of food you eat), you could develop a disease. Remember that pH is an indicator of the condition of your internal environment. And your internal environment affects your overall health.

Perhaps a disease label has already been attached to your symptoms. If so, the chances that your organs and systems are living in an ideal pH neighborhood are about as good as your chances of being the first person to hit a golf ball on Jupiter. And knowing the pH value of your internal environment won't cure your disease any more than knowing your blood pressure will cure hypertension. However, it can give you a clue that your body is "fighting stress" rather than "fighting disease." The disease is an effect of the stress your body copes with in a "tough neighborhood."

THERE GOES THE NEIGHBORHOOD

Some types of foods you eat can mess up your internal neighborhood. They leave an acid "mess" that the body must neutralize and eliminate. These messy foods are essentially high-protein foods - meats, poultry, fish, and grains. They are acid ash-producing foods. Most of us eat a lot of acid ash foods. That's our custom, tradition, and a large part of our economy. But acid ash foods leave the internal equivalent of blowing trash, beer cans, drug paraphernalia, derelict cars, and graffiti. In other words, junk! Messy junk that pollutes the internal area and environment.

The "junk" from acid ash foods is in the form of an acid residue that's left after high protein food has been digested. We might say it's the physiological equivalent of toxic waste. During digestion, the usable parts of food are absorbed to help nourish the body. But a residue that can't be used is left. This residue is acid. The body doesn't need it. The acid of this residue can be quite strong. The residue itself will eventually make its way through the kidneys or bowel and out of the body. However, before it is eliminated, it must be neutralized - weakened, buffered. If it isn't neutralized, it can fry delicate kidney tissue. That's not good.

However, our bodies are smarter than we will ever be. Your own smart body has all sorts of ways to protect itself. The primary protection against strong acid is alkalizing minerals. These vital minerals can neutralize, or tone down, the acid from "quite strong" to "slightly strong." Pretty clever. Unfortunately, in the process of neutralizing the acid, the minerals are eliminated right along with the residue. The vital neutralizing minerals tag along with the acid all the way out of your body. Gone forever. That's the bad news.

The good news is that these lost minerals are easily replaced. Replacements come from the fruits and vegetables you eat. No problem - acid in the body is neutralized by minerals, replacement minerals come along in fruits and vegetables to take their place.

But suppose you don't eat fruits and vegetables - well, not much, anyway.

Your intelligent body isn't going to let a little thing like your negligence keep it from doing what needs to be done. Your body is a survivor. It was designed to survive. It wasn't designed to be healthy or sick. If minerals that were lost aren't replaced, other minerals jump in to do the job - survival. But these substitute minerals weren't just sitting on the bench waiting to be called into the game. They have important full-time jobs, too. When they are called on to handle the emergency, they are taken from their primary jobs. For example, calcium is a "substitute" neutralizing mineral. Where do we keep our biggest calcium supply? Our bones. If you don't replace neutralizing minerals by eating fruits and vegetables, calcium is taken from the bones. You know what happens when you lose a lot of calcium from your bones. The disease label is "osteoporosis." The practical effect is weak bones. And it's hard to hold your head up when your spine is gradually collapsing.

Your diet can be so top-heavy with acid ash foods that your neutralizing, or buffering, systems are overwhelmed. There is just too much acid for them to handle - acid saturation. When acid-laden materials arrive at the kidneys, the kidneys must act to neutralize the acid fast. It's another backup system. Ammonia. The kidneys generate ammonia, which has a pH of about 9.25. A little ammonia mixed with strong acid raises the pH value. A lot of ammonia in a strong acid raises the pH value a lot.

So when your body is too acid for too long, it plays the game of life with a lineup of backup systems. These backups are either substitute minerals, or ammonia. When your body is too acid - when your internal pH is too low - the systems and organs of your body work overtime just to stay even. But systems and organs aren't designed to function flat-out in red-alert mode all the time. They need rest just as you do. If the red-alert goes on for months or years, systems and organs become exhausted. An exhausted body can't compete with disease. Eventually, disease wins the game.

What does all of this have to do with checking pH?

Monitoring your pH periodically gives you a status report on the quality of the environment of your internal neighborhood. Remember that pH monitoring doesn't report on how the systems, organs, and processes are doing. It is your personal "neighborhood watch."

Of course, that's not a scientific explanation of how your physiological processes work. However, it may give you an idea of how the pH of your body affects your potential health and how the environment of a perfectly good internal neighborhood is ruined. And it gives you a picture of some of the things that go on in your body that allow pain and disease to take up residence. The process boils down to ...

1. Acid ash from many of the foods you regularly eat must be neutralized (buffered) before the acid is eliminated through the kidneys.

2. Vital minerals are used to neutralize the acid, and in the process these minerals are lost through the kidneys and bowel.

3. If the neutralizing minerals aren't replaced, other minerals will be taken from other functions to neutralize the acid.

4. If the neutralizing (buffer) systems aren't up to the task, or if the body is saturated with acid, the kidneys generate ammonia as a last-ditch effort.

5. The body is over-acid, buffer systems are overwhelmed, and systems, organs, and processes are overstressed.

6. The body's systems and organs aren't able to perform at their best because they have become exhausted.

7. Exhaustion opens the door to disease.

That's principally what you learn from checking your urine pH - whether or not the foods you eat regularly leave the door open to disease.

MORE ACID

Your body works constantly to get rid of acid no matter where it comes from. Acid ash-producing food isn't the only source of acid in your body. Two other prominent sources contribute to your internal acid level: (1) cellular activity, and (2) naturally acid foods. First, self-generated acid from cellular activity.

Your cells produce acid as they function. As long as cells are alive, they work and produce acid. As cells die off, other cells replace them. The new cells also produce acid. So, as long as you are alive, new cells are being produced, and cells are producing acid. In addition, when you exercise, cells produce more acid than when you're resting. Acid production is a standard procedure for your body.

That's strange! The body works best when it is slightly alkaline. Staying alkaline is so important that the body uses and loses vital minerals as it gets rid of acid. Yet the body produces acid.

That's right. Your body is alkaline by design and acid by function. That is a very important concept. Alkaline by design; acid by function: However, there's a big difference between the acid your cells produce and the acid that you get in high-protein acid ash producing foods. In the first place, the acid from cells - physiological acid, it's called - is a lot weaker than acid from high-protein acid ash foods. And in the second place, self-produced cellular acid doesn't need to be neutralized by vital minerals before it is sent out of the body. Self-produced cellular acid is easily eliminated through your lungs when you breathe and when you talk. Do you suppose there's a connection here with the saying "full of hot air"?

You also get acid from foods, such as oranges and lemons, that are acid in their own right. This acid is also different from the acid you get from acid ash-producing foods. And it is as easily eliminated as the acid cells produce. This concept gets a little tricky, so we'll clear it up a bit.

We have talked a lot about acid ash-producing foods that leave an acid residue after they get into the body. By now you know that acid ash foods are generally high-protein meats, poultry, fish. and grains. Now we're talking about acid foods that are acid when they go into the body. They are naturally acid. Lemons, oranges, and grapefruit are obviously acid. In fact, they are so acid that many people can't eat them without suffering discomfort. In general, fruits and vegetables are naturally acid foods.

In their natural state, acid foods - fruits and vegetables - have more built-in acid than do high-protein acid ash-producing foods - meat, poultry, fish, and grains. Fruit acid especially may be fairly strong going into your body. However, your body can get rid of fruit and vegetable acid very easily. The tag-along acid from fruits and vegetables is eliminated the same way as the acid generated by your cells. You just blow it off.

The acid from acid ash-producing foods is different. This is the kind of acid that needs to be neutralized before it is eliminated from your body. You can't just blow it off. It must be weakened and escorted by neutralizing minerals out of the body through kidneys or bowel.

The acid of fruits and vegetables is no problem. The acid from ash of meats, poultry, fish, and grains can be a problem.

Just as high-protein foods leave a residual ash, fruits and vegetables also leave an ash residue. However, despite the naturally acid nature of fruits or vegetables, generally, the ash they leave is not acid. There's a big difference between the ash left by fruits and vegetables and the ash left by high-protein acid ash-producing foods. The ash left by most fruits and vegetables is alkaline. It contains minerals that help alkalize your body.

Fruits are pretty neat additions to your body. They're not big stress producers. They are easily digested. The acid that comes in them is easily eliminated through the lungs. And the ash they leave contributes needed minerals for your body to use. Great system design! Fruits have no obvious character flaws. Instead of acid fruits being a problem for your body, they contribute much needed alkalizing minerals that help keep your internal pH under control. They help clean up the neighborhood.

Now let's get down to the nitty-gritty practical application.

We'll now list some specific foods that are acid ash-producers and some that are alkaline ash-producers. Then we'll explain how to test your urine to tell if you have been overloading your alkalizing life-support system with too much acid.

THE GOOD, THE NOT-SO-GOOD, AND THE NEUTRAL

We've talked about acid ash-producing foods and alkaline ash-producing foods. You now know that, in general, acid ash foods are high protein meat, poultry, fish, and grains. You can top off that acid menu with some nuts - chopped or whole. You also know that, in general, fruits and vegetables are alkaline ash-producing foods. But notice that both groups are generalizations. There are exceptions in both. In addition, there is a small group of neutral ash foods that have an acidifying effect on the body. (Is nothing clear-cut?) These neutral ash foods include refined sugar, corn syrup, corn oil, and olive oil.

The following lists of the alkaline ash-producing foods and acid ash-producing foods are in alphabetical order. They aren't in "strength" order. Some foods are more acidifying or alkalizing than others. But these lists will give you the information you'll need when you prepare to check your urine pH. You may be surprised at how many acid ash foods you eat every day. You will also find these lists as tear-outs in the appendix section.

SOME COMMON ALKALINE ASH FOODS

(Help to control acid in your internal environment)

Almonds Dates, dried Parsnips

Apples Figs, dried Peaches

Apricots Grapefruit Pears

Avocados Grapes Pineapple

Bananas Green beans Potatoes, sweet

Beans, dried Green peas Potatoes, white

Beet greens Lemons Radishes

Beets Lettuce Raisins

Blackberries Lima beans, dried Raspberries

Broccoli Lima beans, green Rhubarb**

Brussels sprouts Limes Rutabagas

Cabbage Milk, goat* Sauerkraut

Carrots Millet Soy beans, green

Cauliflower Molasses Spinach, raw

Celery Mushrooms Strawberries

Chard leaves Muskmelons Tangerines

Cherries, sour Onions Tomatoes

Cucumbers Oranges Watercress

Watermelon

* Recommended for infants only when mother's milk is not available

** Not recommended: has properties detrimental to the body

SOME COMMON ACID ASH FOODS

(Leave strong acid in your internal environment)

Bacon Eggs Pork

Barley grain Flour, white Prunes *

Beef Flour, whole wheat Rice, brown

Blueberries Haddock Rice, white

Bran, wheat Honey Salmon

Bran, oat Lamb Sardines

Bread, white Lentils, dried Sausage

Bread, whole wheat Lobster Scallops

Butter Milk, cow's* Shrimp

Carob Macaroni Spaghetti

Cheese Oatmeal Squash, winter

Chicken Oysters Sunflower seeds

Cod Peanut butter Turkey

Corn Peanuts Veal

Corned beef Peas, dried Walnuts

Crackers, soda Pike Wheat germ

Cranberries Plums * Yogurt

Currants

* These foods leave an alkaline ash but have an acidifying effect on the body.

NEUTRAL ASH FOODS THAT HAVE AN

ACIDIFYING EFFECT

Corn oil Corn syrup Olive oil Refined sugar

THE URINE pH CHALLENGE

The purpose of checking the pH of your urine is to evaluate how your alkaline reserve is holding up and if your ammonia backup system must take the role of key acid neutralizer.

The first step of the pH challenge is to eat only acid ash-producing foods for two days. That means lots of meat, eggs, pasta, rice, chicken, bread, peanut butter, and anything else listed on the Acid Ash Foods list. But no fruit, no fruit juice, no salad, no potato chips, no banana splits, no strawberry jam - nothing listed on the Alkaline Ash Foods list.

There's no need to check your urine pH until after you have been on a strictly acid ash diet for two days. Knowing the pH of your urine doesn't tell you how your body handles excess acid if you don't know what foods your body has been processing. The "pH challenge" taken after eating a controlled diet is different from conventional pH urine tests that focus on gathering other information.

Recall that your alkaline reserve is made up of neutralizing minerals that keep strong acid left by high-protein foods from sizzling your innards. After the acid has been neutralized, it and the minerals leave your body in your urine. Your urine holds clues to whether or not, or how seriously, your supply of alkalizing minerals has been drained. If your alkaline reserve is in good shape, even though you have eaten great quantities of high-protein foods, your urine should show evidence that alkaline minerals have been the principle acid neutralizer. The condition of your alkaline reserve depends on how much high-protein food your body has had to contend with over time.

Keep in mind that we all need protein in our diets. Protein is a building block of cells, body, and health. We need protein. We don't need too much protein. That's what we're talking about here - too much protein!

Your pH challenge checks your alkaline reserve's ability to handle strong acid from a lot of protein. So, to make sure it's a valid test, you need a lot of protein in your body before you check your urine. That's the challenge - to see if your alkaline reserve can still handle great quantities of acid from great quantities of acid ash foods. Your alkaline reserve is being pitted against a concentrated dose of dietary acid. No point in trying to see how well dietary acid is being neutralized if you haven't eaten much high-protein food recently. This is why it's important that you eat only foods from the Acid Ash list for two days before you check your urine pH. You are going to flood your body with excess acid ash-producing protein. You might say the pH challenge is the acid test.

BUT WAIT!!!

If you are seriously ill with a life-threatening disease - or any major illness - do not go on a diet of high-protein foods. Once more, just to make sure you get that. IF YOU ARE SERIOUSLY ILL, DO NOT EAT A LOT OF HIGH-PROTEIN FOODS!!!!

Remember that the purpose of monitoring pH is to evaluate an individual's health. The health of the really sick has already been evaluated - it's not good. Those who are seriously ill already have too much acid in their systems - their bodies are quite toxic. Putting more acid ash-producing foods in a body that's already toxic from too much acid could have disastrous results. DON'T DO IT!! If you are in the seriously ill category, don't worry about your pH at this point. Just eat brown rice and as many servings of cooked vegetables as your body can tolerate.

Back to the procedure for those who are not seriously ill.

After your two full days of gluttonous gorging on steak, hamburgers, pasta, bread, rolls, eggs, cheese, sausage, biscuits, oatmeal, chicken, seafood, and any other high-protein foods you can fit in, you are ready to check your urine pH. This is done on the morning of the third day at the first voiding, preferably after you have slept for at least five hours. However, if you get up several times during the night, you may not rack up five non-stop hours of sleep time. Do your pH challenge when you get up to start the day. The reason you use the first voiding of the morning is that during the night your body has been doing basic "housecleaning." First thing in the morning you get rid of most of the remnants of the previous day's food and physiological activity.

The actual procedure is simple. Reading these directions takes longer than the pH test itself.

On the morning after your two-day protein binge, as soon as you get up and go to the bathroom, tear a two- to three-inch strip of pH test paper from the roll. You will see that there is a color chart on the pH paper dispenser. This is the chart you'll use to get your urine pH number. Now, using your two- to three-inch strip of pH paper, direct one end of the paper into the urine stream very briefly - for about a second. All you need to do is get the paper wet. The paper will respond. Then match the color of the wet pH paper with a color on the dispenser chart. Note the number designated above the matching color. Dispose of the used pH paper, and write down the pH number and the current date. Take my word for it: if you don't write down your pH score, you'll forget the number before your next urine pH check, and you want to compare the two. One of the purposes of all of this is to evaluate the progress of your health - health is a process, not a one-time thing.

That's all there is to the actual pH testing. Now comes the important part. Interpreting the results. The interpretations that follow are based on clinical results gathered over thirty years of clinical practice with thousands of patients. These interpretations may not agree with your medical doctor's interpretation and understanding of urine pH. Medical urinalysis may be directed toward different evaluations. The urine pH numbers you are interpreting are intended to help you monitor your health, not to tell you how sick you are or what disease you have.

WHAT THE NUMBERS MEAN

Your urine pH numbers are alkaline reserve indicators. The "Urine pH Results" chart in the appendix gives a synopsis of the meaning of the numbers. But a little more explanation might be helpful.

Urine pH 5.5 - 5.8

If your urine scored pH 5.5 or pH 5.8, your alkaline reserve is adequate. It's holding its own. You have enough alkalizing minerals in your body to handle a concentrated load of dietary acid. That's good. It shows that you have enough alkaline minerals to protect your kidneys from being fried by strong acid from excess protein.

You can rejoice. But don't get smug or complacent. Maybe you did well because you're still young enough that you haven't had enough meals to make major inroads into your alkaline reserve. Maybe you aren't a big meat-eater. Maybe you just like vegetables and fruit. Whatever the reason you fared so well, you need to make sure that you continue to re-equip your alkaline supply for the future.

Although your urine pH indicates that your body can handle great gobs of protein, you don't need to press the point. If you make a habit of overloading with high-protein foods, your supply of neutralizing minerals will dwindle slowly. Your alkaline reserve is adequate - now. Keep it that way. Make sure you eat enough alkaline ash foods to keep it well stocked.

Now that you know your body can handle excess dietary protein, go back to your regular diet. After a couple of days, check your first voiding urine pH again. If it registers pH 6.2 or below, you are eating too much acid ash food. You need to reduce the amount of meat, poultry, fish, cheese, and grains and increase the amount of alkaline ash vegetables and fruits. No big deal, just an adjustment in quantities. You don't need to stop eating meat or other acid producers completely. Your body can handle moderate amounts of dietary acid as long as you bolster your alkaline reserve with generous amounts of replacement minerals from vegetables and fruit.

If your regular diet follow-up pH test checks in at above pH 6.2, keep doing what you're doing. You are on the right road. You probably already eat generous amounts of vegetables, fruit, and grains, and minimal amounts of meat. If you reduce the amount of grains in your diet, your pH numbers will rise even higher. That's even better.

Keep in mind that these follow-up, regular diet urine pH numbers apply only if you scored pH 5.5 or 5.8 on the acid challenge test.

Urine pH 6.0 - 6.6

Urine pH challenge test results of 6.0 to 6.6 tell a different story. It's not "good," but it's not "horrible." This is the "warning" stage. Although it would appear that your neutralizing reserves are better equipped at pH six-something rather than pH five-something, actually, the reverse is true. Your alkaline reserve is running low. However, you still have some alkalizing minerals available.

Very briefly, it works like this: The workhorse mineral of the alkaline reserve - sodium - can weaken strong acid enough to protect your delicate internal tissue. Your alkaline reserve can neutralize moderate amounts of acid from protein. It can't handle tremendous amounts of acid from protein. But for two days, you filled your digestive system with excess protein. There was a lot of rather strong acid to neutralize - around pH 4.5. Consequently, if your urine pH is 6.0 or above after eating a lot of high-protein, something besides alkalizing minerals is working on the acid to bring the numbers up that high. Your alkaline reserve supply either isn't adequate to do the job by itself, or it's just overwhelmed by the volume of acid that needs to be neutralized. So backup systems begin to contribute to the neutralizing (buffering) to get the job done.

If you are in pH 6.0 - 6.6 category, in the past few months, you may have noticed more "signs of aging." You may be stiff in the morning but loosen up as the day goes on. You may tire easily or be short tempered. Your joints and muscles may be painful, and you may be more "sickly" than you once were. These annoying symptoms are easily passed off as signs that you're getting older. In reality, you are not only getting older; you are speeding the aging process by eating too much protein. Your alkaline reserves are so low that your body has called on backup systems to help neutralize too much strong dietary acid. It's beginning to get tired no matter how old you are.

However, your health outlook can be improved rather easily. Reduce the amount of high-protein acid producing foods and increase the amount of cooked vegetables in your daily diet. Since you probably don't regularly o.d. on vegetables and fruit, you should reintroduce them to your body gradually. With a morning urine in the pH 6.0 - 6.6 range, cooked vegetables do better than raw vegetables and raw fruit. That won't always be the case. As your body becomes accustomed to handling more plant food, you'll be able to eat raw vegetables and raw fruits without suffering "dietary distress" - that's the politically correct term for "belly ache."

Urine pH 6.8 - 8.0

A high urine pH seems to indicate a vast store of alkalizing minerals at work. However, that's not the case when you've challenged your body with two days of protein overload. A urine pH score of 6.8 to 8.0 when the body is saturated with dietary acid is very significant. It indicates that your supply of available alkaline reserve is virtually zilch - gone, depleted, kaput. You may be sick frequently or chronically ill. You may be tired most of the time, have stiff joints, sore muscles, and burning on urination. This is the natural progression after the pH 6.0 - 6.6 stage if your regular diet consists mostly of acid ash foods.

A high urine pH following the acid challenge test of acid ash foods indicates that the important emergency neutralizing backup system of ammonia is the principle neutralizer. Instead of minerals neutralizing the acid from dietary protein, ammonia is doing the job.

Ammonia is produced naturally in the body through an assortment of chemical activities in almost all cells. Ammonia is also produced in the kidneys. Ammonia is a strong alkali that can give the urine a pH as high as 8.0 or more. A strong alkali (high pH numbers) can weaken a very strong acid (low pH numbers) such as sulfuric acid. And a strong alkali such as ammonia can overwhelm the kind of acid in your body that comes from acid ash (protein) foods.

The ammonia in your body is physiological ammonia. Physiological ammonia is made in your body and useful to your body. You don't put ammonia - especially household ammonia - into your body to neutralize acid. Commercially produced household ammonia - the kind you keep under lock and key so little children can't get to it and poison themselves - is strong, dangerous stuff. Your body produces physiological ammonia in specific quantities for specific uses.

Physiological ammonia produced by the kidneys helps neutralize excess acid. When the fluid in the kidneys contains too much protein due to long-term over-consumption of high protein foods, ammonia is produced as a by-product in eliminating the excess protein. The more protein in the kidney fluid, the more ammonia is produced and the higher the pH goes. When the body is overwhelmed with acid and protein, the kidneys have a lot of acid to handle. They must generate greater quantities of ammonia to handle the greater quantities of acid and protein.

But the kidneys are nearly the end point of your digestion-elimination process. By the time fluids get in the kidneys, they should have already been neutralized by your handy-dandy alkaline reserve.

Aha! You've found the key to unlock the mysteries of (1) why you can have an alkaline urine from a body that's been saturated with acid ash food, and (2) why urine smells like ammonia. And the two go together.

Your urine pH can range from quite acid (pH 4.5) to slightly alkaline (pH 8.0+) immediately following the acid challenge. Low urine pH indicates some alkaline reserve minerals are still available. High urine pH is a warning that:

1. your alkaline reserve is shot and can't neutralize the flood of acid sufficiently before it gets in the kidneys, or

2. your body is overwhelmed with large quantities of protein by-products, so ammonia is produced on the spot for last chance neutralization.

Ammonia goes out with your urine and therefore your urine pH numbers are high. And that's why if you have an alkaline urine after eating a lot of high protein foods, you have burning on urination and/or your urine smells of ammonia. It is ammonia. And ammonia is your body's last ditch effort to keep your innards from being stewed by excess dietary protein. Drinking cranberry juice will relieve the burning of urination. Cranberries are acid ash foods. In juice form, the acid of cranberries travels quickly through the digestive tract and "neutralizes" the strong alkali of ammonia. Most people think the odor of ammonia is "normal" for urine. Not so. Even in children, ammonia in the urine is crisis intervention. If your urine has an ammonia odor, you know your body is fighting excess protein. And it doesn't even need to be animal protein -just too much protein.

The urine pH of strict vegetarians can be an ammonia 8.0 just as can the urine of avid meat-eaters. Many vegetarians are heavy into grains. Their diets revolve around grains. Grains in all forms and most grains are acid ash-producers. Most nuts are also acid ash producing. Nuts are also big favorites of most vegetarians. Your body doesn't care whether it's fighting too much dietary acid from meat or from grains and nuts. It still goes through the same survival tactics.

So, what to do if you "flunked" the urine pH challenge?

Start to improve your diet immediately. But don't toss out all of your acid ash foods and switch cold turkey to nothing but vegetables. Your body will let you know in a hurry that it isn't accustomed to handling a sudden surge of vegetables and fruits. Your body isn't telling you it "can't" handle a lot of fruits and vegetables. It certainly can. But you probably won't like the short-term results. You see, your body has been working for a long time in its survival mode of constantly coping with excess protein. It's programmed for protein survival. A quick, radical change in diet can magnify unpleasant symptoms you already have, and it can add a few that are new. The objective is to alkalize your body slowly but surely. Begin changing your diet immediately, but make diet changes slowly enough to let your body adapt easily. You may find it helpful to jump-start the alkalizing process with nutrition supplements.

Begin your diet change very gradually. Introduce some of the "more conservative" acid ash foods, such as brown rice, into your diet and add one serving of cooked vegetables to your daily menu for a week. After a week, you can add another serving of vegetables. Continue the add-a-vegetable-a-week routine for about six weeks. That may sound like a lot of vegetables, but you have three meals a day to work with. Stick with brown rice for a while, and ease the transition with alkalizing diet supplements.

Hold off doing another urine pH check for a week or two. Give your body a little time to adjust. If you test your urine too quickly after you have started your new eating for-health program; you may be disappointed that dramatic results don't show up immediately. Even on an unproved diet, the changes in your urine pH won't be as dramatic as you might like. In fact, the pattern of change will look as though things are going from bad to worse. When the out-of-alkaline-reserve bunch improve their diets, urine pH readings go down before they start coming up again. That's because alkalizing minerals are being replenished. As more and more vegetables and fruits supply precious alkalizing minerals, urine pH goes down as in the pH 6.0 - 6.6 scenario after the pH challenge. The alkaline minerals are doing the neutralizing, not ammonia. Alkalizing minerals aren't nearly as strong on the alkaline side as is ammonia. So a steady downward trend in urine pH is great in the short term as you travel the road to health.

Your readings should change gradually - one color change at a time. If you are truly committed to improving your diet as a major part of your pursuit of health, you will probably see a dramatic change from your original pH challenge numbers in a couple of months.

But, suppose you go through all of the alkalizing processes you can think of, but your urine pH doesn't improve the way it should? You've changed your diet, cut down on acid ash foods, eaten mostly vegetables and fruit, and taken alkalizing supplements but your urine pH is locked in. Does that mean that it's all a waste of time? Or does it mean that this urine pH business is all a bunch of nonsense?

"No" to both of the above. There's more to pursuing health than just eating right. Other factors besides toxicity and diet enter into how your body functions. After you've "cleaned up" your diet, if you still don't feel as well as you'd like, it's time to take another type of pH test to see if emotional stress is leading to physical distress.

EATING WELL BUT NOT FEELING WELL

Just about everyone has the occasional "down time." They just don't "feel good" despite good eating habits. They do the vegetable bit, eat very little meat, but they just aren't up to par. They are "kind of" stiff, tire easily, and get out of breath just walking up stairs. How come?

Emotional override!

Their bodies are responding to strong emotions, and these responses are overriding the benefits of their good diet. That's where checking the pH of saliva comes in. Saliva pH indicates whether or not emotions are the overriding influence on physiology.

"But doesn't that smack of `being crazy' or `mental illness'?" you might ask.

Not at all.

We all have stress in our lives. It goes with the territory of living. If you're alive, you're stressed. But stress itself doesn't cause health problems. The way you respond might. Some ways you react to stress are more damaging to your health than others. For most of us, the biggest health hazard of all is how we cling to past hurts and injustices we have suffered and survived. And, to make matters worse, we may not even realize we are clinging!

You see, your body responds to your feelings and emotions. The most striking example of these responses is when you are suddenly and severely frightened. Fright is emotional. Your response to fright is physical. And it's fast. In extreme fright situations, the physical response is so apparent that others can tell by looking at you that you are frightened. Emotions and body are so closely intertwined that the phrase "scared to death" may not be an exaggeration.

Most of your physical responses to emotions aren't as dramatic as those of "scared to death" fright. Your physical body responds to all of your mental activities and emotions. Worry, anxiety, hate, joy, elation, and all the rest. Emotions don't have to be strong to cause a physical response. Any emotion affects your body. And when the same emotion is played over and over again for weeks, months, and years, your body continues to be affected the same way over and over. That's exhausting. Both you and your body become exhausted. And you may not be aware that anything is amiss.

But our purpose here isn't to give an in-depth study of how and why your emotions, feelings, thoughts, and memories affect your health. Our purpose here is to help you determine why you are feeling tired, achy, and generally "out of sorts" even though you are eating properly. That's where saliva pH comes in.

THE UPS AND DOWNS OF SALIVA pH

Saliva pH tests can indicate if "emotional override" is keeping you from feeling your best. Saliva pH isn't any more of a diagnostic tool than urine pH. Saliva pH is a tool for evaluating whether your body is responding to internal (mental and emotional) stimuli in ways that can lead to long-term health or long-term disease. Saliva pH tests can also provide clues to the condition of your alkaline reserve, but urine pH monitoring does a better job of that.

The pH of your saliva dances from low to high depending on what you've put into your mouth recently. The "normal" pH of saliva is considered to be around 6.8. However, it can go much lower and much higher than that. Chew on an orange, and your saliva pH can drop like a rock. Swish a solution of water and baking soda in your mouth (although I'm not sure why you would want to do that) and your saliva pH shoots up like a rocket. The point is that your saliva pH changes instantly to handle current conditions. And that's what you are looking for when you check your saliva pH - change.

This is a two-stage check. A "before" and "after." The "before" gives you the pH of your saliva when you haven't eaten anything for a while. The "after" pH shows the response to a sudden, intense "threat" of acid. Your body responds to survive "threats" of all sorts. Acid is one of those "threats." The objective is to find out if the acid "threat" is more intense than any current emotional "threat." This is where emotional override comes in - emotional threats may override physical "threats" of a sudden "acid attack." Emotions can affect the pH of your saliva. In fact, you can have residual emotional override from long forgotten, past emotional "threats" that can send your saliva pH as low as 5.5 or as high as 8.0.

The equipment you need for your saliva pH check includes: (1) pH paper, (2) saliva, (3) a stimulant, such as a slice of lemon or a teaspoon of lemon juice, and (4) a pencil and a piece of paper to record your initial results.

You begin your saliva pH check with your saliva being as close to your personal "normal" as it is likely to get when you are up, moving about, and contending with the rigors or pleasures of the day. In order to reach your daytime "saliva equilibrium", you need a period of abstinence from food, drink, and other substances that you put into -your mouth. No chewing gum, no. cough drops, no peppermints, no breath spray, no cigarette smoke, no toothpaste, no mouthwash. Okay, it's been two hours. You're ready to go with the pH paper, lemon, pencil and paper.

Tear off an inch or two of pH paper. If you are reasonably healthy and have no allergies, work up some saliva and move it toward the tip of your tongue. Without touching the paper to your lips or tongue, wet the pH paper with the saliva and match the color of the wet paper with the color chart on the dispenser. Write down the pH number corresponding to the matching color.

Next, the stimulant. Put the lemon into your mouth. Just suck on the lemon until the flavor permeates your whole mouth. Dispose of the lemon. Swallow four times as you tear off another inch or two of pH paper, then repeat the paper-into-the-saliva routine. Compare the color and write down the corresponding pH number.

Before we get into what the numbers mean, let's back up a bit. Recall that the testing instructions began with, "If you are reasonably healthy and have no allergies, work up some saliva and move it toward the tip of your tongue." There is a reason for this "reasonably healthy and have no allergies" business. Some people are too sensitive to use the pH paper in the way just described. If you are one of these, instead of touching the paper to the saliva in your mouth, put some saliva into a clean plastic teaspoon. Have your pH paper torn off and ready so you can quickly test the pH. Test the saliva immediately. Exposure to air can change the pH of the saliva rather quickly. This is the procedure for both the "before" and "after" checks.

Now you have two pH numbers and three possibilities for change. (1) The first number may be higher than the second, (2) the first number may be lower than the second, and (3), the numbers may be the same - no change. The question is, "what does it all mean?"

CHANGING COLORS

Instead of using numbers to interpret the results of your saliva pH test, we'll simplify matters and use colors instead. The color chart has three dominant colors - yellow, green, and blue. Since the colors blend into one another, to mark the change from one color to another, we'll establish color groups at particular pH numbers. We'll say that:

Yellow = pH 5.5 through 6.0

Green = pH 6.2 through 7.0

Blue = pH 7.2 through 8.0

Changes in saliva pH can indicate whether or not your physiology is being dominated by your emotions despite your superlative diet. Since only three possible change patterns are possible, we'll look at what each pattern of color change indicates about your health.

Keep in mind that the color changes in the saliva test are different from color changes in urine tests. In the saliva test, you are looking at "before" and "after" changes within minutes of your body being stimulated with a quick dose of lemon juice acid. In the urine test, you look for "before" and "after" changes following days or weeks of improved diet. We're talking here about changes in saliva pH for each "double-dip" saliva test. We don't use the interpretations that follow to compare today's test results with next week's test results.

Numbers Go Up

If your pH numbers go up, this indicates that your body can respond easily to strong stimuli (acid of the lemon). No matter what color your first number was, if it changed to a higher color, that's good. Of course, some goods are better than other goods. The best "good" is green changing to blue.

Green to Blue - Preferred response

Saliva pH that starts out green and moves up to blue is the preferred response. It's a good indication that your emotions aren't getting the best of your physiology. You handle stress well, and your alkaline reserve is adequate. Since this is the preferred response it has the shortest analysis. You are entitled to a tiny bit of smugness. Just keep up the healthy diet and attitudes and check your saliva pH occasionally to make sure you are entitled to stay smug.

Yellow to Green or Blue - Not the best "good"

A yellow reading that changes to either green or blue indicates two situations. First, your alkaline reserve is holding its own. You have enough alkalizing reserve for your saliva to be flooded with alkalizing minerals to neutralize the acid of the lemon. Second, anxiety, or similar emotion, is keeping your body "on guard" most of the time. If you are feeling less than top-notch you may be emotionally stressed and not even realize it. Very likely, you are anxious much of the time. Although improper diet isn't your main problem, make sure you are kind to your body nutritionally by eating less meat and dairy products and more fruits and vegetables.

Numbers Go Down

The acid in the lemon is a sudden "threat" to your body. Your body must defend itself. The first line of defense against this threat is to neutralize the acid with alkaline saliva. This means that, if the acid is the greatest threat to survival your body is facing at the moment, your saliva pH numbers will go up because your saliva is quite alkaline. If they don't go up (they go down, or stay the same) another threat, such as anxiety or other chronic stress, is dominating your physiology.

If your "after" lemon saliva pH numbers are lower than your "before" numbers, take this as a sign that your life and health could be better with a few changes.

Blue to Green, or Green to Yellow - Wrong Direction

Your pH results indicate that your body is moving toward exhaustion. That's really not good. The problem isn't too much dietary acid. You still have alkaline reserve minerals available; that was demonstrated by the Blue or Green "before" reading. However, your digestive system is running wide-open all the time. The problem is chronic stress. Probably worry. Low-level stress that goes on and on and on. A change in lifestyle attitudes is more important than a change in diet. However, replacing meats with brown rice, and adding more vegetables can't hurt. Saliva pH responses that go down on the pH scale can serve as a warning that you could be headed for physical problems. They also indicate that you are not "doomed" to disease and despair. Both your diet and your attitudes are under your control. You can change either or both. Taking control of the way you look at life is as important as taking control of your diet. And when you take control of these two major areas of living, you take control of your health.

Numbers Don't Change

Saliva pH "before" and "after" colors that are virtually the same are the strongest indication that emotional override is the key factor. It's time to take action. Diet is essentially good but may need to be modified slightly. Emotional habits certainly need to be re-examined and modified.

Blue - Blue - Not Desirable

Blue results before and after the lemon indicate that diet isn't a major problem. The alkaline reserve is still able to sit up and take nourishment. However, true-blues have a tendency to be worriers. Some vegetarians are world-class worriers. Among other things, they worry about the animals that are killed for meat-eaters to eat. Worriers have a problem with excess digestion - it goes on constantly, even when they haven't eaten anything. However, these people usually do not have indigestion problems. The negative fallout from worry and anxiety overrides the positive benefits they get from their good diets. Classic emotional override. Consequently, their bodies are headed toward exhaustion.

The need for diet adjustments must be evaluated according to eating habits. Many vegetarians fall into the blue-blue category. Since they eat primarily veggies and fruit, they certainly don't need to add more. But they need to include more rice cereals with their vegetables to help neutralize the effects of anxiety such as worry. A little more acid ash in their diets might tone down their pH. However, if worry is the cause of the abnormal saliva pH readings, diet alone will not improve them.

Diet is essentially a non-issue for non-vegetarians who register blue-blue. Their bodies are being stressed by their emotions. Acute anxiety is the major problem for all bluebluers.

Green - Green - Less Desirable than Blue - Blue

The steady-state green group is also combating emotional override. These are the "strong emotions" folks. Not only is anxiety a fixture, fear, anger, or rage are constant companions in one form or another. The end result is physical and physiological exhaustion.

Their saliva pH didn't respond to a sharp jolt of acid from the lemon. Their pH is high enough to indicate that some minerals are still available from their alkaline reserve, but the reserve isn't overflowing. They need to make a substantial change in their diet to reinforce their reserves. Less meat, more cooked vegetables, and some fruit are in order.

Their biggest challenge will be to change their long-standing negative attitudes to allow their bodies to rest occasionally. As it is, their bodies are working full-time to keep them ready day and night to fight or run. Green-green is not a good situation. Greengreeners make up much of the "physically and emotionally drained" set.

Yellow - Yellow - Serious Problems

Most people who are seriously ill are yellow-yellows. But not all people who are yellow-yellow are seriously ill. However, regardless of their present state of health, their diets and their attitudes need to be restructured immediately. Their alkaline reserve is either very low or, more likely; they are experiencing the effects of severe emotional override from persistent strong emotions such as hate, anger, or rage that they may not consciously think about.

Cooked vegetables need to be added to the daily diet of yellow-yellows. The vegetables must be cooked because yellow-yellow bodies aren't ready to handle raw. Even fruit may be a bit too "strong" for their overworked systems. Changes in diet should be made gradually.

Yellow-yellows are essentially up-tight. These are the folks who need pills at night to go to sleep and coffee in the morning to get going. They may think they relax when they sleep. But they are as tired when they get up as they were when they went to bed. They may sleep, but their bodies never rest. Sorting out their emotional lives and their nutritional lives should be top priority in their daily lives if they intend to continue to have a life.

REACH YOUR, POTENTIAL FOR HEALTH

So there you have it. The rousing story of pH. Monitoring urine pH can help you to improve your menu selections. Improving your menu selections can help improve your health. But nutrition isn't the whole ball game. Monitoring saliva pH can help you determine if emotional override is heavily involved in your overall picture of health. Yet there's little point in monitoring either urine pH or saliva pH if you don't act on the information. That's the purpose behind pH monitoring and this guide - to give you information you can use in devising your own plan of action for improving your health.

Your body's potential for health is built-in. The potential is there. Only you can cultivate or suppress it. You have seen how the types of foods you eat require your body to respond in particular ways. Every response your body makes is required for it to survive the conditions it faces at the time. Everything your body does is perfect for the circumstances. So you can't blame "poor health," or even "good health" for that matter, on your body. Your body doesn't think and it doesn't plan for the future. It works in the here and now. It works with the materials you give it. That's the good news.

With the health perspective that everything your body is doing is absolutely correct for current conditions, you realize that you have more control over your health than you had thought. That's cause for hope! You don't need to wait for disease to strike before you "do something" about your health. You don't need to depend on someone else, like your medical doctor, to "keep you well." Health is your job, not your doctor's. Your doctor does a great job when you are seriously ill, injure yourself, or when symptoms are making your life miserable or difficult. That's what doctors do. Their job is to help relieve symptoms. And they do their jobs well.

Your doctor helps you in an emergency situation when you need help fast. So, handle the crisis. After it's over, then devise your action plan for improving your health. Your doctor focuses on treating sick bodies and "fixing" parts that "misfire." We need that expertise. However, your medical doctor probably won't share your excitement over the concept of improving your health by improving your pH. That's not his or her perspective.

Health is dynamic - ever changing. Promoting health is a way of life - not a onetime thing. When you realize that your body responds to everything you put into your mouth, eating takes on a whole new flavor. And when you realize that your body responds to your attitudes, you realize your thoughts and feelings are "things" that affect your health.

Monitoring your personal pH is a tool. It's not a self-diagnostic device. Monitoring your urine pH and saliva pH can help you take charge of your health. In the final analysis, you, and only you, can lead your life in ways that promote health or in ways that prevent health. Health isn't an accident.

This partial article has been extracted from Dr. Morter's Dynamic Health Workbook. There is much more important information available in his book "Dynamic Health". Please pay attention to his information regarding how emotions and stress affect your life. It is highly recommended you obtain his books. Dr. Morter offers a "Health Week" at his clinic in Rogers, Arkansas where those who suffer serious health challenges willing to take responsibility for their healing, learn how to restore their body to health. www.morter.com

To order books, go to: http://www.morter.com/mrssl/products.asp?types=book

An Apple A Day? - Is it enough today?

Health is the result of making more right decisions than wrong about eating, drinking, exercising, resting, breathing and thinking. This book will help you understand what the particular choices in your diet can mean to your body, and how you can modify your diet to produce a consistent body chemistry that can help keep you healthy for the rest of your life.

Dynamic Health

Prepare to take one of the most exciting health journeys of your life! This book is the result of three decades of study and clinical experience that reinforces the validity of the body-mind-energy connection that has skirted the fringes of healing for years, and that not only makes self-directed health possible, but achievable.

Exercise or Diet? Which will win the race to health?

Exercise or Diet is about more than exercise and being fit. It's about whole-body health. This book deals with how your body responds to exercise. It is written to help you understand why you should pursue health first, then go after fitness. It relates the effects of diet and strenuous exercise on your internal environment and physiological responses. This book gives a perspective on health, exercise, and fitness that may be new to you.

pH - Your Potential for Health

This booklet helps you evaluate your potential for health by teaching you to monitor your saliva and urine pH. It is offered as a view of the relationship between food and health. Use with pH paper.

The Healing Field

This book helps you understand why some people go from doctor to doctor and still get the verdict, "We can't find anything wrong!" Dr. Morter shows that the body is greater than the sum of its parts - much greater . . . the body is the only source of its own health. All externally administered treatments for disease and pain work on the symptoms

Correlative Urinalysis: The Body Knows Best

Research Text that defines the basics of the field

pH papers are available from:

Grau-Hall Scientific or E-mail

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2 rolls in a dispenser with chart 5.5 - 8.0 # 3790167 for $9.40

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Remember the information given here is not a medical diagnosis, treatment or cure. This guide is about evaluating your potential for health. It's not about diagnosing or curing disease. It's about monitoring signs of your body's ability to handle your diet and lifestyle. Diagnosing and curing are reactive. Monitoring is proactive.

If you are not healthy, whether you have a serious illness that you have identified, or just have one or a number of symptoms that keep you from feeling good and doing all the things you want to do each day, you may have tried to seek out what exactly it is you have and when you got it. To most people, these are the most important questions to answer before going about treating the problem. Dr. Morter has a different philosophy. The important questions to answer are: Why you got what you have and how you got it?

As you have been learning, there are many factors that affect your health. The Six Essentials, and the choices that you make with them are instrumental in determining your health. These are simple principles to follow, but will still require plenty of practice. In fact, depending on your current state of health and mind, you may need more help than you can get from this kit or from visits to a trained doctor. You may need intensive care and treatment to get you back on the road to health.

Each month, Dr. Morter offers four days of just that, intensive care and treatment called HealthWeek. HealthWeek is held at a state-of-the-art health facility offering Chiropractic Physicians using the B.E.S.T. treatment method. Medical physicians and physical therapists will all be working for you to find the cause of your health problems and how to correct that cause.

Here are some comments from others like you who have attended this life-changing HealthWeek program:

" I thought I was doomed to have headaches for the rest of my life. The pressure has lifted from my head and I have no more headaches-it (Health Week) absolutely changed my life." (Male, 73)

"My blood tests have improved everyday since Health Week, I knew I needed to turn my life around, and I had, after I left here, the power to do just that. - female 57

" While I have been here this week, I've been able to find the 'cause' of the problem. My Saliva pH has turned so blue, it's almost purple. I wish I had a psychotherapist like you instead of one that gave me a pill. It's a great program." (Male, 30)

"I have no more pain! This week was the best time I've had in my life. (Female, 48)

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## Vincent G (Jan 28, 2009)

What journal did this come from?


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## hackskii (Jul 27, 2003)

Vincent G said:


> What journal did this come from?


I have no idea, it is two years old since I posted that, I wrote an article based on some of my experiances but never quite finished it.


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## hackskii (Jul 27, 2003)

Here it is but I never finished it.

I grabbed the information from a bunch of diffrent sources and some personal stuff.

I now have a Ionized water filter that makes alkaline water up to pH of 10

Acid and alkaline

Maintaining the proper balance of the body's pH can positively affect all major body systems.

What is pH?

pH is a measure of the acidity or alkalinity of a solution. The lower the number the more acidic the solution is, the higher the pH number the more alkaline the solution is.

In a healthy young adult water accounts for about 70 percent of the total body weight.

Water has two main compartments in the body; intracellular (inside the cell), and extracellular (outside of the cell). It is vital for these two compartments to maintain and ideal pH range.

Many bodily functions are dependant on the body maintaining pH like, digestion, enzyme activity, and hormonal balance.

Ideally, the pH of the saliva will be between 6.5-6.8 and the urine pH will fluctuate between 6.0-7.0

Maintaining a perfect pH can be difficult.

The body has three primary systems for maintaining ideal pH:

The respiratory system, the urinary system, and the gastrointestinal system, including the liver and pancreas.

Even with those built in protective systems pH can be compromised with poor diet, stress, dehydration, chemicals, lack of exercise, etc.

You can test your ph of your urine or saliva using litmus paper, it is cheap, easy to use and can give you a good indication of what is going on in regards to pH.

When one is acidic, the body will borrow some minerals including calcium, sodium, potassium, and magnesium, and from vital organs and bones to buffer the acidic level.

When one is alkaline though less common than acidic, the body may have the same effects on it as an acidic environment, but the body is far less able to bring down pH from excreting acids through the kidney's, liver, and bowel, than it would raising pH using minerals, or ammonia from the liver.

Here are some things that pH affects on health in the body.

Hormone levels

Cardiovascular health

Weight gain/loss

Bladder and kidney efficiency

Immune function

Free radical damage

Structural system integrity

Liver function

Digestion and elimination

Microbiological environment

Urine pH

Testing your urine pH is a good way to find out how well your body is excreting acids and assimilating minerals, especially calcium, magnesium, sodium and potassium.

As said before these minerals as well as other minerals buffer acids in the body to help balance the body against acidity or alkalinity. Acids and alkaline levels in the body can fluctuate.

When the body takes in too many acids or alkalis it must get rid of the excess. The urine is the perfect way for the body to remove the excess acids and alkalis that it can not buffer.

If the average urine pH is below 6.5 then something should be done to lower it.

The bodies Acid Management---Acids Do Not Stay in the Blood

1.	Excretion of Acids---colon, kidneys, lungs, skin

2.	Buffering of acids---calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium

3.	Storage of acids---tissue, joints, muscles, arteries

4.	Emergency backup system to control acids----liver and bowel produce ammonia (a strong alkali).

Saliva pH

The saliva testing of pH really has more to do with the activity of digestive enzymes in the body, these enzymes are predominantly manufactured in the stomach, liver, and pancreas. Saliva pH also uses buffers like the urine, but not to the same degree.

Both urine and saliva should average between 6.4-6.8

As most of you guys know I am a big believer in digestive enzymes.

Without enzymes the body can't maintain a balanced pH, not to mention better digestion of your food.

Due to the fact that most of the bodybuilders diet is very high in protein, then some consideration needs to be made with food choices as high protein diets are for the most part acidic.

Hell, even the water we drink is acidic, and soda's and gateraid is one of the worst.

Why alkaline?

I do think the alkaline environment for the body is healthy.

Some people that live next to glaciers live very long lives, some speculate this is due to the colloidal minerals that are in the glacier water, and the color is white in nature from all the minerals.

Alfalfa has 70 trace minerals in it, it is called the grandfather herb, and it is used for arthritis, upper intestinal cleanser, anemia, and other things.

Now beings that alfalfa has so many trace minerals I could speculate that ingestion of alfalfa just might tone the body's acid down and also support its alkaline reserves.

Could alfalfa's minerals help to pull the acid from the joints where it accumulates and aid in joint mobility due to loss of pain from the acid?

Acidic bodies can have joint stiffness.

The body is pretty keen at toning acid; it will use calcium, potassium, magnesium, and sodium. The body literally steals this from the bones to buffer the acid in the body.

But once your alkaline reserve is depleted or compromised then your body is more acidic.

The kidneys, liver, circulatory system, all end up compromised.

This compromised kidney function for example can put the kidneys in stress and can compromise their function. Byproduct of this is high blood pressure.

I can tell you from personal experience over just 8 days, let me explain.

I have had eczema for over 5 years, went to the doc, he said he could fix it, but that it would come back. It was on my feet, they cleared up, 2 weeks later it popped out again in my arms.

I have been lowering my protein intake, taking in chlorophyll every day, adding in alkaline water and no kidding, 8 days later my eczema is almost cleared up.

Strange that for 5 years I have dealt with this and in a week of changing my water and diet, it is almost gone.

Or, I was so stiff two weeks ago I could not do bench. My elbows were stiff, my ankle was stiff, my shoulders were stiff and my right knee was stiff, now I do notice my ankle is better, so is my knee and the next time I do bench I will know if the elbows will be stiff.

One thing that is of major concern here is the fact that microforms such as bacteria, yeasts, fungus, and mold thrive in acidity.

These organisms live off of glucose, proteins and fats, and the end result is they excrete poisonous mycotoxins, exotoxins, and endotoxins.

If that isn't bad enough, they make you even more acidic.

Most bodybuilders don't even know it but yeast is a problem with bodybuilders due to their diet, and oral steroids that tax the system.

I noticed that my eczema got really bad on a d-bol cycle, I assumed it was yeast, but now I understand it was actually probably stressing the kidneys and liver and thus actually making my body more acidic.

I tried to fix this at the time with tons of pro-biotics but didn't have much luck.

If I only knew what I know today.

Again, after a week on this alkaline management thing, it is the best it has been in 5 years, in just a week..........wow...

Let's just look at the pH thing a bit closer.

pH doesn't work like regular numbers do, where 6.0 is "one point less" than 7.0. It works logarithmically, just like the Richter scale for earthquakes. That means for each point you drop away from the ideal of 7.0, you're actually experiencing a 10-fold decrease in your pH! For example, someone with a pH of 6.0 is ten times more acidic than someone with a pH of 7.0. Someone with a pH of 5.0 is 100 times more acidic than someone with a pH of 7.0

I was both acidic with saliva and urine.

After a week my saliva is alkaline but my urine is not.

This is because I have not built up my mineral reserves to buffer the acid. My body is just using the kidneys to get rid of acid while my buffering system is being helped along and this can take from 90 days for the body to re-alkaline and up to 120 days for the cells to get back to normal.

So, you see it is not symptomatic putting the body back to alkalinity, but the root of many problems.

Mark my words, in 10 years there will be a big to do on this.

I need to finish that article I posted on this site on this, I started it but need to finish it and put down everything I know on it including which foods promote acid, like beer and meat (oh my did I say that? That is my diet....lol), and like peanuts being acidic and almonds being alkaline ashing.

To Stevia being alkaline and sugar being acidic, which by the way feeds yeast.

And how most every green vegetable is alkaline.

I need to finish that article.

Did you know you can get rid of gout with an alkaline diet? Oh, and gout comes from eating too much meat and protein...lol

Once the body goes acidic, it has a hard time staying healthy and the immune system is seriously compromised.

There are (4) systems the body uses to get rid of acid, they are urination, perspiration, respiration, and defication.


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## Vincent G (Jan 28, 2009)

"One thing that is of major concern here is the fact that microforms such as bacteria, yeasts, fungus, and mold thrive in acidity.

These organisms live off of glucose, proteins and fats, and the end result is they excrete poisonous mycotoxins, exotoxins, and endotoxins.

If that isn't bad enough, they make you even more acidic."

Errrm if this stuff isn't from a peer reviewed journal then ignore it. It's unscientific to say the least. Take the above for example, it seems to be suggesting that "microforms" (I suppose this means microorganisms) will thrive inside you if you go acidic!! Firstly they need to get inside the bloodstream in the first place, and when they do they have the innate and adaptive immune system to cope with. The pH in your blood stays pretty much constant in the range 7.2-7.6 if you stray outside this range you're dead, or you're not human. In this respect it is much like body temperature, there are systems ensuring it stays within a very narrow range, if you go even a couple of degrees above or below you are likely to die. You cannot assess blood pH by measuring the pH of your urine, you need to take a sample of blood to do this. Your blood has buffering systems to ensure the pH stays within a narrow range (e.g. the bicarbonate buffering system), any food or drink that you consume will have little or no effect on this as your volume of blood is so large by comparison, and in any case food and drink doesn't go directly into the blood stream, nutrients are selectively absorbed mainly in the small intestine, don't forget that food has to pass through the stomach first, a highly acidic compartment. You could measure stomach acid and say "oh no look at my body it's really acidic" but this is not a representative sample, the body clearly can maintain separate compartments at different pH values.

And eating chlorophyll! What for, to supply your chloroplasts so you can photosynthesise?!

"Without enzymes the body can't maintain a balanced pH, not to mention better digestion of your food."

Errmm no, buffering systems are independent of enzymes, they are based on chemical equilibria. Enzymes do not, like other catalysts, shift the position of the equilibrium.

"Some people that live next to glaciers live very long lives, some speculate this is due to the colloidal minerals that are in the glacier water, and the color is white in nature from all the minerals."

Unbelievable, this article has got to be a hoax or something. What sample size is this based on? was it statistically significant? how can you rule out the influence of other factors? for example people who live next to glaciers might be expected to lead a more active lifestyle and therefore be healthier. All data must be looked at critically and scientifically. And snow being white, yeah that's because it reflects almost all the light that hits it, which is why you wear sunglasses when skiing, if it contained significant amounts of minerals, it would not be white! Snow is precipitation, and precipitation by its very nature is very low in minerals because it is produced by evaporation and condensation, the minerals in water come from the rocks and soil when precipitation falls and soaks through these.

Sorry if I am unduly harsh, but if you have no scientific background try not to put out this stuff as it can easily mislead people who don't know the difference between good and bad science.


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## VincentG'sbicep (Jan 29, 2009)

Doctor Science strikes again!!

I like the bit which goes:

"The pH in your blood stays pretty much constant in the range 7.2-7.6 if you stray outside this range you're dead, or you're not human."


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## SD (Sep 3, 2004)

Well first I would like to say thankyou to Hackskii for taking the trouble to post this interesting article.

Secondly, I think the take home message is clear, eating a high protein diet raises the acidity in your bloodstream which requires buffering. It is better to eat a more alkaline diet but as Bbers thats not entirely possible though the situation can be improved with the addition of alkaline foods and supplementing certain minerals.

I did an article a year or so ago called 'How much Protein Do you Need?' the focus of that article was the fact that high protein diets are linked to Osteoporosis for the reasons given in this article.

We can all pick holes in the minor points, I think the take home message was loud and clear personally.

SD


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## Vincent G (Jan 28, 2009)

Well perhaps I was a bit too harsh but you shouldn't write these things and include so many glaringly unscientific statements, because if you do have some things of merit in the article a reader will be less likely to believe them, they will be lost amongst all the crap. Don't mix good and bad science.

Having said that there was one interesting point, and that is the link between dietary protein and osteoporosis. It is true that higher dietary protein intake can lead to increased calcium levels in the urine (calciuria). This may lead some people to think that this means that the skeleton is wasting away but there is no firm evidence that increasing calcium concentrations in the urine translate to an overall negative calcium balance. The link between dietary protein and bone health is very controversial, and in this respect the take home message is far from loud and clear.

Read the following two reviews (if you have access to them):

Proceedings of the Nutrition Society (2003) 62 pp889-899

American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 87, No. 5, 1567S-1570S, May 2008

Vincent


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## SD (Sep 3, 2004)

Vincent G said:


> *Well perhaps I was a bit too harsh but you shouldn't write these things and include so many glaringly unscientific statements, because if you do have some things of merit in the article a reader will be less likely to believe them, they will be lost amongst all the crap. Don't mix good and bad science*.
> 
> Having said that there was one interesting point, and that is the link between dietary protein and osteoporosis. It is true that higher dietary protein intake can lead to increased calcium levels in the urine (calciuria). This may lead some people to think that this means that the skeleton is wasting away but there is no firm evidence that increasing calcium concentrations in the urine translate to an overall negative calcium balance. The link between dietary protein and bone health is very controversial, and in this respect the take home message is far from loud and clear.
> 
> ...


I dont think there is any perhaps about it mate and tbh manners go a long way to improve ones credibility over 'good/bad' science any day.

SD


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## Vincent G (Jan 28, 2009)

I was very careful to remain polite, I did apologise if I was being harsh and I did not attack the person who posted the article I merely attacked the bad science, those are two different things. In science when people criticise a paper you publish they are not mounting a personal attack, they are just taking issue with any invalid points you raise.

Again I do apologise if it seemed I was mounting a personal attack on Scott.

Vincent


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## VincentG'sbicep (Jan 29, 2009)

you weren't doing anything of the sort, you're merely not allowed a different point of view. especially being 'new'


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## YetiMan1436114545 (Dec 7, 2007)

VincentG said:


> you weren't doing anything of the sort' date=' you're merely not allowed a different point of view. especially being 'new'[/quote']
> 
> I negged you for the above comment, since when does being new have anything to do with your point of view?


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## Prodiver (Nov 14, 2008)

I too value Hackskii's valuable contributions to this board, but I have to say on reading Vincent G's reply I was encouraged, and I don't think any reasonable person could take it as offensive.

Since joining I have witnessed long term regular posters being far more blunt and even rude to contributors, some of whom have freely offered professionally qualified knowledge and experience valuable to us all.

It would be very stupid and ill mannered to frighten qualified people away. It's ideas which are justly always open to criticism, not people for posting them.

Bodybuilding routines and diets have always been too subjective hit-and-miss affairs, and what we need above all is the appliance of science.

If we are truly serious about the most efficient ways to growth, we must very careful indeed about drawing universal conclusions from limited personal experiences, and eschew attractive fads which seem to hold so many answers.

The only way to reach a high degree of confidence about anything affecting the human body is to amass data honestly through correctly controlled trials on large numbers of people, and as Vincent says, "all data must be looked at critically and scientifically."


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## VincentG'sbicep (Jan 29, 2009)

oh dear, I thought it was clear I was just kidding so I'll stop being silly now. On a serious note I think it is an interesting discussion but putting aside whether the science is 'good' or 'bad', people are always going to find different results for any given diet, mantra or routine. A high protein diet might work great for you, it might not (it certainly disagrees with me) so pouring through literature trying to find the 'best' is probably going to be a waste of time. You just have to find what's best for you - I think the important thing is common sense and some variation to your routines and diet when you hit a plateau. Personally I ignore the advice especially because even peer-reviewed articles on nutrition are notoriously un-reliable and vastly variable in their reported results on any given regime.


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## Vincent G (Jan 28, 2009)

That's not me! VincentG's bicep and Vincent G are two different people


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## laurie g (Nov 28, 2008)

hmmm why is there a manners issue here i can see an informative debate here based on scientific fact backed up by a serious amount of study- scott reps for the article and i dont see any where vincent g or vincent g bicep have gone anywhere near being bad mannered- this is an adult board and a debate- it is not personal- if it was he would have said " the person who wrote this is thick and a cnut" that is insulting and bad mannered


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## maccer (Jul 11, 2007)

Well its certainly making out for an interesting thread, I am interested- Vincent G is VincentG'sbicep a fan of yours???


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## laurie g (Nov 28, 2008)

my brother and bros missus


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## VincentG'sbicep (Jan 29, 2009)

I'm his biggest fan (girlfriend).


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## laurie g (Nov 28, 2008)

ivey ag is one, vincent g is tother and vincent gs bicep is his missus


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## hackskii (Jul 27, 2003)

Vincent G said:


> And eating chlorophyll! What for, to supply your chloroplasts so you can photosynthesise?!
> 
> "Without enzymes the body can't maintain a balanced pH, not to mention better digestion of your food."


First of all, I did not write the original paper, I read it and thought it was interesting after a friend of mine talked about acid ashing and alkaline ashing, I did say that the topic was a bit controvercial.

On the chlorophyll issue, you totally missed the point here.

I have been into herbs for about 30 years, I have taken so many diffrent supplements over the years, I dont recommend very many.

Fish oils, apple pectin, digestive enzymes and pro-biotics, and a couple of other things.

I always suggest digestive enzymes and the ones by R-garden I feel are the best.

Yes, I notice less bloating, less gas and feel better taking them.

The deal with chlorophyll is that they contain approx 72 trace minerals, it is easy to take, it is odorless, tasteless, and contains minerals that are easily digested by the body.

I dont eat enough green vegetables, so I do supplement with chlorophyll when I remember.

It actually will help with body odors, all odors weather it comes from the back end, or the front end or anywhere.

It can also be used to guage the transition time when you take enough of it you count how many hours before you see it in your elimination, if you dont see it for a while, that is not as good as if you see it like in 12 hours or something like that.

I helped Megatron and this is his post:

http://www.uk-muscle.co.uk/general-conversation/35120-massive-thankyou-hackskii.html

As for all the science, well, I can tell you that many studies are flawed and if I post up one, it would not make much diffrence anyway.

Many studies on drugs being safe have killed many more people that the drug companies want to admit.

But, then agian I am not pushing drugs, I am pushing the most powerful substance in the world, food.

In a time where we have the highest incedence of obesity, the highest cases of diabetes in our country (united states), among tons of other medical problems.

Pushing a diet that has more green vegetables, lessed processed foods, and higher amounts of Omega 3's, would help many.

Im not here to argue this controvercial topic, most doctors would say it is rubbish anyway, but that same doctor is fat as hell and has no clue other than to write you a scrip for acid reflux when the condition is not anything other than diet related in most cases.

I can tell you from my own personal experiances and I dont need a peer reviewed journal to back up what I have found in my own personal lessons.

Once I had a bit of heartburn, I was taking green tea extract at the time and noticed it killed the heartburn. I was like, that is wierd. So, I took out some litmus paper and measured my pH in my urine and it 9.0, I also tested my saliva and it too was 9.0

I have checked it before and it is usually a bit on the acidic side.

Strange how you say food going through digestion wont change your pH, I say it does and from what I have seen personally, it does.

When my mother was dying of cancer she said, she smelled amonia.

Hmm, could this be that cancer patients run more acidic and the liver tossed some amonia to buffer the urine so it didnt burn the tissues from the urine?

I respect your opinions but just because there is no peer reviewed journal that says for sure something is what it is, does not mean that it isnt true.

I dont mind a debate, but you came off like I wrote the original paper.

Plug all the holes in his work all you want, I liked the paper so I posted it.

Show me a peer review paper on food not having an influence on pH.

Now go read megatrons post and let me know what your opinions are.


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## MXD (Jan 23, 2008)

I use bi car soda, limes, glutamie and reds/greens to improve my alkalinity mostly, also its worth a mention that whey is the only alkaline protein source


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## SD (Sep 3, 2004)

Vincent G said:


> "One thing that is of major concern here is the fact that microforms such as bacteria, yeasts, fungus, and mold thrive in acidity.
> 
> These organisms live off of glucose, proteins and fats, and the end result is they excrete poisonous mycotoxins, exotoxins, and endotoxins.
> 
> ...


I consider the comments in bold especially the overuse of exclamation marks, especially when we are talking about someone of Scotts input on this board, to be very fcuking rude, and that my honest opinion take it or fcuking leave it Prodiver & Laurie :thumb:


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## laurie g (Nov 28, 2008)

hmm the addition of expletives to me seems a lil harsh there sport doctor when i was only expressing an opinion- i accept the use of exclamation marks fair enough, if hed left them out would it still be rude or a valuable debate? the latter i think- adding swearwords in your opinion does seem a little excessive and rude


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## SD (Sep 3, 2004)

laurie g said:


> hmm the addition of expletives to me seems a lil harsh there sport doctor when i was only expressing an opinion- i accept the use of exclamation marks fair enough, if hed left them out would it still be rude or a valuable debate? the latter i think- adding swearwords in your opinion does seem a little excessive and rude


Coming from someone with 'train like a cnut' in there sig? :confused1:

I am just appauled that a senior member of the board is getting so little support from you, the offending poster him/herself even admitted to being a little harsh so why you felt the need to defend them and prodiver can only be considered sticking your oar in. The matter was settled until you two brought it up again, dissapointed that you arent showing Scott more support tbh for all that he has done for us, there used to be more respect on this board...

SD


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## laurie g (Nov 28, 2008)

woah i did commend hacks on his article but also my BROTHER had a valid point- now you can see why i entertained what he said and didnt chastise him for being impertinent and challenging hacks- i respect the fact that he did not know hackskii and what valuable input he has had to the board i value it very highly dont get me wrong but if someone has another view that is not showing disrespect to hacks he is in for a debate- he is not a god like creature whos word muct be believed, if someone has a counter theory why not hear that person out. i have enourmous respect for hacks and infact everyone who contributes to the board i have no gripe with anyone, i will change my sig as in hindsight it could be offensive well there my piece said ill say no more on the matter cos people are getting riled and i hat arguments


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## hackskii (Jul 27, 2003)

Well, I think prodiver is a paramedic with some medical back ground.

I have talked to a few doctors on diets, supplements and a host of other things, and they do seem quite oppionated.

Prodiver did discuss this with me on another thread, I already knew his position.

I am not bothered by it, I think some schooling skews ones opinion but I do respect his as many of things in his field I could not debate but only learn from.

The whole alkaline deal is old, and as I said controvercial.

Some times we see with a diffrent pair of glasses.

Dr. Young did some research on Chlorophyll, and some of his stuff is pretty interesting.

Chlorophyll is identical to your hemoglobin except for the center atom.

This in my opinion would be a stong blood builder.

Remember that Chlorophyll is taken from alfalfa which the roots grow very deep, up to 60 feet deep.

Between alfalfa and kelp, you would have every trace mineral there is, and in a proper ratio that only nature can provide.

Again, the concept is controvercial, but every concept starts with a though, the goes down the path of testing said thought.

Read this from another member, then make up your mind if there is anything there or a placebo.



megatron said:


> Following on from your thread on alkalai and acid regulation in the body I modified my diet and supplement regime to provide me alkalai (as I had several of the symptoms you described as an over acidic body condition), I started eating less fruit, more green veg and taking cholophyl supplements. This was about 2-3 months ago I think it started.
> 
> Anyway, I realised today that I no longer have the digestive condition I have been struggling with for about 5 years. I had excess healcobacter pylori in my stomach which would occasionally cause me horrific acid reflux, this affected my diet negatively as I had to avoid certian foods and even then i scoudl just have a bad day.
> 
> ...


I do appreciate everyones input on this matter and that goes for everyone.


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## SD (Sep 3, 2004)

I am not offended by your sig Laurie, you heard the phrase 'swear like a sailor?' well I was one so cnut is no offense to me :thumb: but just remember anyone who messes with the Hackmiester messes with me :laugh:

Glad mega got some relief there, alkaline diet is also great for people who have Hiatus hernia and gastric reflux from a weak cardiac sphyncter.

SD


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## iveyAg (Jan 4, 2009)

Greekgoddess said:


> Actually, I applaud Scott for posting these articles. In thousands of instances he has been very helpful to members of this board with his posting of articles and his personal advice.
> 
> You are new to this board Vincent and would do well to learn to treat people with respect, especially people like Scott who give a lot of time and effort to others on this board.
> 
> ...


I perceived no disrespect in that post at all, and it was very polite, and it was clear he was disagreeing with the article. Although i am biased anyway...


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## Vincent G (Jan 28, 2009)

"Chlorophyll is identical to your hemoglobin except for the center atom."

This is wrong, chlorophyll is not identical to hemoglobin except for the centre atom.

There are four main differences between chlorophyll and hemoglobin:

1) Its central atom is Mg2+ rather than Fe(II) or Fe(III)

2) It has a cyclopentone ring, Ring V fused to pyrrole Ring III

3) Pyrrole ring IV is partially reduced in chlorophyll a and chlorophyll b

4) The propionyl side chain of Ring IV is esterified to a tetraisoprenoid alcohol.

"This in my opinion would be a stong blood builder."

This is a massive leap of logic, and displays flawed reasoning. On the assumption (which i have shown to be false) that chlorophyll is exactly the same as heme apart from the central atom, the writer jumps straight to the conclusion that it could therefore be used by the body to synthesise heme for erythrocytes (red blood cells) in the blood. Chlorophylls are very poorly absorbed by humans in the first place and cannot feed into the heme biosynthesis pathway even if they did get into the body in significant concentrations. Heme is synthesised beginning with D-Aminovelunic acid and succinyl CoA.

"Remember that Chlorophyll is taken from alfalfa which the roots grow very deep, up to 60 feet deep.

Between alfalfa and kelp, you would have every trace mineral there is, and in a proper ratio that only nature can provide."

It is true that alfalfa does have very deep roots, but this does not necessarily mean that it will therefore contain more trace minerals than other plants with more shallow root systems. This is another logical leap from a statement to a conclusion going via flawed reasoning.

These plants create concentrations of nutrients that are right for them, that does not automatically mean they are right for us. Plants are very different organisms to humans.

And what chlorophylls are we talking about, chlorophyll a or chlorophyll b? Those are the two main ones found in eukaryotes.

"The deal with chlorophyll is that they contain approx 72 trace minerals"

This is wrong. A pure solution of chlorophyll a or b (or a mixture of both) will contain Carbon, Nitrogen, Oxygen, Hydrogen and Magnesium.

"Pushing a diet that has more green vegetables, lessed processed foods, and higher amounts of Omega 3's, would help many."

Spot on. I couldn't agree more.

"Im not here to argue this controvercial topic, most doctors would say it is rubbish anyway, but that same doctor is fat as hell"

Now here is an example where the person is attacked rather than his arguments. The implication is that because the doctor is fat, his ideas are invalid. A lot of people too easily slip into attacking the person not what the person is saying.

"I can tell you from my own personal experiances and I dont need a peer reviewed journal to back up what I have found in my own personal lessons."

This is fine, if you think it works for you. But it is incorrect to back this up with flawed science and poor reasoning.

"Strange how you say food going through digestion wont change your pH, I say it does and from what I have seen personally, it does."

You use pH in a very loose manner. What compartment are you talking about, the blood, extracellular fluid, urine, saliva? As I said before the pH of your blood stays within a very narrow range much like temperature, eating acid/alkaline food will not change this significantly.

"I respect your opinions"

Most of what I have said are not my opinions they are scientific facts.

"but just because there is no peer reviewed journal that says for sure something is what it is, does not mean that it isnt true."

Yes that is correct.

"Show me a peer review paper on food not having an influence on pH."

Again you are using pH in a very general sense. And science doesn't work like this. We do not believe something because there is no evidence to the contrary. We believe things because we have good evidence to support it. Science would be unworkable if we believed everything simply because there is no evidence suggesting it is false. As I said the pH in your blood and extracellular fluid (which make up the largest volume) is tightly controlled.

"Once I had a bit of heartburn, I was taking green tea extract at the time and noticed it killed the heartburn. I was like, that is wierd. So, I took out some litmus paper and measured my pH in my urine and it 9.0, I also tested my saliva and it too was 9.0

I have checked it before and it is usually a bit on the acidic side."

Did you measure the pH of the green tea? That seems to be a crucial test which you failed to carry out. What else did you change in your diet when you were taking green tea? Indeed what else did you change in your lifestyle while you were taking green tea?

As for megatron, he says he changed his diet and felt better. He has changed so many variables I wouldn't know where to begin, we cannot attribute his improved state to the change in pH of his diet as this would be a conclusion drawn from flawed reasoning.

Of course everyone is welcome to their own opinion and indeed to express it (as long as it is not offensive to others). But you must realise that if your opinion is based on poor or non-existent science and flawed reasoning it will be invalid. And this is where the problem lies because other people who similarly have no scientific background will not know that this is the case and think that the principles are sound.

I think that this will be my last post trying to clean up the bad science as some people got offended even though I stressed that it was the arguments I was attacking not the person. Prodiver is right, you have scared me off!

Vincent


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## SD (Sep 3, 2004)

[quote=Vincent G;726860

I think that this will be my last post trying to clean up the bad science as some people got offended even though I stressed that it was the arguments I was attacking not the person. Prodiver is right, you have scared me off!

Vincent


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## megatron (Apr 21, 2004)

I can only go on evidence gathered from my own experience. That is to say that after switching up my diet to include more green tea, green veg and (to begin with) chlorophyil supplements - digestive problems that I had suffered with for about 6 years have dissapeared. This was after visiting two different doctors and taking a variety of drugs to treat it. To me the sciece behind it seems quite simple and logical: if ones diet consists of mainly acidic foods then the body must use some method or methods to compensate for the balance of the bodys overall PH, in my case having not eaten enough alkalia food for years was causing me to have stomach acid problems (I was on my way to an ulcer). Until I read the info from HAckskii I was treating the symptoms (under the guidance of doctors) with drugs not the root of the problem.

You can be as pompous and argumentative as you like, I couldn't caree lss as my quality of life has improved so much since taking this on board, frankly I find this argument pointless.


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## iveyAg (Jan 4, 2009)

SportDr said:


> Boo hoo :crying: :crying: you really wont be missed, ,,who were you again?? It wasnt your post it was your attitude, its clear you can read a book and copy & paste, gratz :thumb: now go read a book on manners and you perhaps wouldn't cause offence. As for what anyone else though I really dont give a t0ss, you were rude, period!
> 
> SD


if anyone is rude it is you sport"dr", vincentG was laying down the facts on this matter in a very interesting post and this is how you react, how was he rude anyway? if hacksii posted a load of bullsh!t it needs to be said doesn't it? sure you can have your own opinion on the subject, based on personal experience, vincentG has his own based on the scientific facts. Posts like that should be encouraged, your attitude is way out of line IMO. There is nothing wrong with vincentGs attitude at all, its not as if hes taking the p1ss out of the person who posted the article, he is quite rightly taking the p1ss out of the article itself, which he has proven to be crap. maybe you should learn some respect. and by the way, it takes a lot more than just reading a book to be able to evaluate information in a logical and unbiased manner.


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## hackskii (Jul 27, 2003)

Well, calling my post a load of bullsh!t is pushing it.

I did make a mistake or two in my article I wrote and my comments about chlorophyll having all trace minerals, that was wrong, I just assumed it because it is made from alfalfa.

I made another error in my chlorophyll statement about it being very close to blood.

Chlorophyll's molecular structure is similar to the haemoglobin of human blood.

I had repeated it because for years I thought this to be so.

I have a bunch of books going back many years on many herbs, some of this information may be flawed and I dont mind being corrected as I would not make a comment about it again knowing the truth.

What I dont like is when something is said and it is picked at to give the appearance of not truth, or bad science.

I could say that I have problems with fat gain and carbohydrates.

Yet someone else would say that If I had a higher energy expenditure that I would not have as much of a problem with carobhydrates, I am not active enough.

Or, the sky is blue, well it may be that we see in a color spectrum at allows us to see blue but the sky is not blue.

So, both could be right, yet one looks flawed and one does not.

If I told you that if you take this pill you will feel better, you believe my words, you take the pill and feel better, did it not work?

Even if it was a placebo like many doctors hand out to patients.

On the green tea issue, I should have been more clear.

I was checking my pH regurly, it is more acidic in the morning than night.

I always know the range of my saliva and urine.

When I had the heart burn I was drinking a beer and it felt like I had some heart burn.

I had a case (12 bottles) of this green tea extract, one dropper vial is equal to 20 cups of green tea.

Sugar makes your tongue feel slippery, this does the opposite.

When I noticed the heart burn go away, I had had a few pints and decided next pee pee I would check my urine, it was very alkaline and not like any other time, I thought that was strange so I tasted my saliva, same thing.

So, all factors aside the green tea extract (equal to 20 cups) changed my pH much higher.

I am not going to beat around the bush here, this is from my own experiments and if you or anyone vince dont buy it, I could care less, it changes nothing.

I said the article was controvercial, I expected to get others not to agree, but bad science or good science I do believe that pH can be manipulated with diet.

I believe this and I do believe that pH should be a bit alkaline.

No study by anyone would convince me otherwise.

pH is manipulated all the time with salt water fish tanks, if the pH drops they get alot of problems. They buffer the acid with coral calcium.

Certain plants like a certain pH and thrive in the right range.

Why would us humans living on this planet be any diffrent than the plants and fish?

I never said I know everything, but I know certain things that affect me positivly and negativly and anyone that says otherwise is not wise.

I dont like winstrol, others love it and use it every cycle, If I posted a study it would not mean anything.

*Copy and paste:*

The many benefits of chlorophyll

•	Chlorophyll is the first product of light and, therefore, contains more light energy than any other element.

•	Chlorophyll is the basis of all plant life.

•	Chlorophyll is high in oxygen. The brain and all body tissues function at an optimal level in a highly-oxygenated environment.

•	Chlorophyll is anti-bacterial and can be used inside and outside the body as a healer.

•	Science has proven that chlorophyll arrests growth and development of unfriendly bacteria.

•	Chlorophyll rebuilds the bloodstream. Studies of various animals have shown chlorophyll to be free of any toxic reaction. The red cell count was returned to normal within 4 to 5 days of the administration of chlorophyll, even in those animals which were known to be extremely anaemic or low in red cell count.

•	Farmers in the mid-west who have sterile cows and bulls put them on chlorophyll in the form of wheat grass to restore fertility. (The high magnesium content in chlorophyll builds enzymes that restore the sex hormones.)

•	Liquid chlorophyll gets into the tissues, refines them and makes them over.

•	Chlorophyll (wheat grass juice) is a superior detoxification agent compared to carrot juice and other fruits and vegetables. Dr Earp-Thomas, associate of Ann Wigmore, says that 15 pounds of Wheat grass is the equivalent of 350 pounds of carrot, lettuce, celery, and so forth.

•	Liquid chlorophyll washes drug deposits from the body.

•	Chlorophyll neutralizes toxins in the body.

•	Chlorophyll helps purify the liver.

•	Chlorophyll improves blood sugar problems.

In the American Journal of Surgery (1940), Bejamin Gruskin, M.D. recommends chlorophyll for its antiseptic benefits. The article suggests the following clinical uses for chlorophyll:

•	to clear up foul smelling odours

•	neutralize strep infections

•	heal wounds

•	hasten skin grafting

•	cure chronic sinusitis

•	overcome chronic inner-ear inflammation and infection

•	reduce varicose veins and heal leg ulcers

•	eliminate impetigo and other scabby eruptions

•	heal rectal sores

•	successfully treat inflammation of the uterine cervix

•	get rid of parasitic vaginal infections

•	reduce typhoid fever

•	cure advanced pyorrhoea (gum disease) in many cases

•	Chlorophyll is said to cure acne and even removes scars after it has been ingested for seven to eight months. The diet must be improved at the same time.

•	Chlorophyll acts as a detergent in the body and is used as a body deodorant.

•	A small amount of chlorophyll in the human diet may prevent tooth decay.

•	Wheat grass juice held in the mouth for 5 minutes may eliminate toothaches. It pulls poisons from the gums.

•	Gargle liquid chlorophyll for a sore throat.

•	Chlorophyll is good for skin problems such as eczema or psoriasis.

•	Chlorophyll helps to keep the hair from greying.

•	Chlorophyll improves the digestion because it contains eight digestive enzymes.

•	Chlorophyll used in an enema is great for healing and detoxifying the colon walls. The implants also heal and cleanse the internal organs. After an enema, wait 20 minutes, then use 4 ounces of liquid chlorophyll in an enema and retain it for 20 minutes.

•	Chlorophyll is great for constipation and keeping the bowels open. It is high in magnesium.

Dr. Birscher, a research scientist, called chlorophyll "concentrated sun power." He said, "chlorophyll increases the function of the heart, affects the vascular system, the intestines, the uterus, and the lungs."

•	According to Dr. Birscher, nature uses chlorophyll as a body cleanser, rebuilder, and neutralizer of toxins.

•	Chlorophyll may dissolve scars that are formed in the lungs from breathing acid gasses. The effect of carbon monoxide is minimized since chlorophyll increases haemoglobin production.

•	Chlorophyll is said to reduce high blood pressure and enhance the capillaries.

•	Chlorophyll is said to remove heavy metals from the body.

•	Chlorophyll is said to be great for blood disorders of all kinds.


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## Prodiver (Nov 14, 2008)

hackskii said:


> ...When I noticed the heart burn go away, I had had a few pints and decided next pee pee I would check my urine, it was very alkaline and not like any other time, I thought that was strange so I tasted my saliva, same thing.
> 
> So, all factors aside the green tea extract (equal to 20 cups) changed my pH much higher...


The point is Hacks, and this is the basis of all scientific enquiry (which Vincent G was trained in), how many times did you repeat the experiment?

How many times did you measure your pee and saliva pH levels accurately, and record them, then consume a recorded amount of green tea, and then measure and record your pH levels again at various time intervals, and then when your pH levels had re-stabilized to their original values for a recorded time repeat this procedure with different amounts of green tea at varying intervals?

How many other people did you get to perform exactly the same experiments with you as controls?

Did you record your and their simultaneous diets and activities, and carry out a statistical analysis of the results against all variables?

If not, can you adduce exactly such experiments done and published in full by others?

Even if not, people's hypotheses about the effect of green tea - and chlorophyl - may indeed still be correct, even if they arise from unlikely or erroneous suppositions about their nature, structure, etc. But we cannot afford to adopt sudden massive green tea consumption or any other attractive fads through a few people's casual opinion.

Whether we are taking green tea or chlorophyl or not, or considering doing so, we all deserve real results - because long or short term it may truly be a life-saver, or it may even prove damaging in large amounts.

The same goes for everything we consume, but whereas most societies live more or less healthy lives on traditional regimens, newly imported or introduced foods and additives can have major impacts which are only revealed by proper long term scientific observation and analysis.

I'm always sceptical when people too easily accept that "such and such may not work for others, but it works for me", whether it be diet, exercise routines or anything else.

Human beings, especially in the same locations and ethnic groups are in fact remarkably similar, which is why we can be very sure of the effects and doses of drugs like AAS and other supplements and additives. If a different, measured effect really occurs, invariably some other significant factor is different.

This is why we must all be cautious about attributing observed effects to certain causes, and why we should be grateful for the timely criticism of properly trained members like Vincent, however robust or even rude they be.


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## Tall (Aug 14, 2007)

Some good posts here guys.


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## SD (Sep 3, 2004)

iveyAg said:


> if anyone is rude it is you sport"dr", vincentG was laying down the facts on this matter in a very interesting post and this is how you react, how was he rude anyway? if hacksii posted a load of bullsh!t it needs to be said doesn't it? sure you can have your own opinion on the subject, based on personal experience, vincentG has his own based on the scientific facts. Posts like that should be encouraged, your attitude is way out of line IMO. There is nothing wrong with vincentGs attitude at all, its not as if hes taking the p1ss out of the person who posted the article, he is quite rightly taking the p1ss out of the article itself, which he has proven to be crap. maybe you should learn some respect. and by the way, it takes a lot more than just reading a book to be able to evaluate information in a logical and unbiased manner.


You clearly arent following the thread because I answered this question already. My opinion on whether your relative/friend that you emulate so closely you even share a name :confused1: is not open for further debate, so I wont credit you with any mor replies. I do however love the way that someone who has been here for such a short period of time can read the riot act not only to Scott but also to myself, when we have been here years. We are totally encouraged by lively debate but rudeness is just unecessary, you both come across like teenagers, low 20's at best and need to grow up.

SD


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## ethos (Apr 5, 2007)

SportDr said:


> Boo hoo :crying: :crying: you really wont be missed, ,,who were you again?? It wasnt your post it was your attitude, its clear you can read a book and copy & paste, gratz :thumb: now go read a book on manners and you perhaps wouldn't cause offence. As for what anyone else though I really dont give a t0ss, you were rude, period!
> 
> SD


Mate, I really didn't expect a post like above from you.

You rant on about manners, how about using some yourself?


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## SD (Sep 3, 2004)

ethos said:


> Mate, I really didn't expect a post like above from you.
> 
> You rant on about manners, how about using some yourself?


Sorry to have let you down old boy but I dont post here to come up to your or anyone elses standards. This dispute was settled so thanks for adding in your two pence worth now :thumbup1:

SD


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## hackskii (Jul 27, 2003)

Prodiver said:


> The point is Hacks, and this is the basis of all scientific enquiry (which Vincent G was trained in), how many times did you repeat the experiment?
> 
> How many times did you measure your pee and saliva pH levels accurately, and record them, then consume a recorded amount of green tea, and then measure and record your pH levels again at various time intervals, and then when your pH levels had re-stabilized to their original values for a recorded time repeat this procedure with different amounts of green tea at varying intervals?
> 
> ...


Wow, you really write very vell, that was like reading poetry, only more scientific.

I did use the green tea alot and did test it alot because I got a sales pitch by someone and got a great deal on a case, at the time I just got an inheritance and had money to burn so I burned alot of it. Looking back I wish I didnt (burn the money) but I was hurting.

I never logged anything, because I didnt think anything would be needed and I wasnt doing it for alkalzying my body, but rater to see if it had an effect on fat loss.

The pH with urine and saliva was as dark as the litmus paper would go and probably was above that even. I could not test the litmus paper because the green tea was thick like honey and very dark in color, the color alone would skew the test with the paper throwing off the color scale.

I never measure anything, and looking back this might have been something that should have been done.

I dont have that green tea extract anymore, so I cant test it, even though I still do check my pH. It is a bit under where I would like it to be, and I am not eating enough foods that contain alot of minerals.

I dont recall suggesting that green tea alkalizes the body but I guess one could infer this was my intention but it was actually not.

I was just suggesting that something that I put in my mouth had a huge diffrence on my urine and saliva pH, again, I am acidic when I test my urine and was as alkaline as I could be after the green tea, on both saliva and urine.

No other time have I ever seen that high of pH, this is why It stood out at me, not like a wiper, but a shout.

With many of the supplements and extracts I take, I never measure, and much of the things I take, is almost always more than what is recommended.

I should watch out for this as one day it could bite me in the ass.

Thank you vincent G for your input, thank you Patrick for you nice posts, and If I came off anything other than nice I appologize to the board and its members.


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## rossb (Feb 2, 2009)

Hi everyone

First post so I'll keep it quite brief! I just found the forum through my my google tracker and I'm really glad I did - this thread is really interesting!

I run a site that is dedicated to the alkaline/acid thing and I've loved reading this thread. Some really interesting views and before I give my 2p worth I'd like to say congrats to hackskii, megatron and the others who have given this a go and have seen some pretty good results from it.

With regards to the science element to it, this is obviously a contentious issue.

I understand the concerns that a lot of this info (as it is presented here) isn't documented in peer reviewed journals, but the scientist behind this (Dr Young) has been studying it for 20 odd years and he is constantly getting testimonials from people who have recovered from serious illnesses by following this approach. That's not me saying - do this and cure cancer - it is just a way of showing that this approach does work for many people.

There are plenty of journal articles out there that back up different components of this diet, but as most of you know, there is rarely a peer-reviewed research study on a WHOLE approach to health. This would take decades and cost millions. Unless Unilever want to start producing products in this area, it's just not going to happen.

So I always think of this debate in these two ways:

- at the end of the day, regardless of the science part behind these theories, the basis of this in laymans terms is this: *stop eating saturated fats, meats, dairy, sugar, sweets, chips, crisps, chocolate, alcohol, coffee, white bread, pasta and rice, refined foods, microwaved foods etc and start eating more green leafy vegetables, fresh, raw food, low-sugar fruit, salads, unrefined clean foods and up your intake of omega oils. *Surely that just makes sense?

- part of me couldn't care less about the science - if something works for you then go with it. Personally I still can't believe the benefits I've gotten since eating more alkaline forming foods and cutting out the acids. Others clearly have too. I get emails from visitors to my site all the time telling me so. Everyone is different and I always suggest modifying things to suit your life and to suit the feedback your body gives you.

I really don't think anything is totally black and white - there is always a middle ground.

Anyway, thanks again for the interesting read - it's great to get some opinion from people from different walks of life and with different perspectives on health.

I'm just getting back into training so I think I'll probably stick around a bit - although i'm living in Oz now so I'll be posting at the wrong end of the day for most of you!

Have a great day

Ross


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## Tall (Aug 14, 2007)

rossb said:


> Hi everyone
> 
> First post so I'll keep it quite brief! I just found the forum through my my google tracker and I'm really glad I did - this thread is really interesting!
> 
> ...


Disagree with your statements in red


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## Prodiver (Nov 14, 2008)

> See, this is exactly what troubles me.
> 
> With an unmeasured approach, no-one can be at all sure that "something" in particular is working for them. Researchers so often find that it's some completely different factor that's been changed that has caused observed effects.
> 
> ...


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## hackskii (Jul 27, 2003)

Prodiver said:


> Keep active - if you're bodybuilding lift heavy and intense - and enjoy lots of yummy different foods. Indulge yourself regularly. You'll get big and happy...
> 
> (Now the flaming starts! :laugh: )


Bang on with this one......

Dude, something about you I like alot.........You are me kindof.......

Id like to converse more if this is ok............

I want to talk to you mate.......

You are a smart guy with practical thoughts.

sorry for the hyjack here.

I do believe in this topic for all concerned.

Even if I am wrong.


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## rossb (Feb 2, 2009)

Tall said:


> Disagree with your statements in red


Heh - OK, I should have said trans-fats and been a bit clearer to say white bread, white pasta & white rice. There is definitely a place for all of those in the wholemeal variety.

As for meats and dairy I do feel that there is overwhelming evidence to suggest that meat and dairy contribute significantly to a whole host of illness and degenerative diseases. Proper, peer reviewed, high ranking journals, double blind tested and everything research 

And the point I was making about everyone being different is more about your approach rather than how your body metabolises foods - it is more that some things work better for some than others. But Prodiver, I do admire your psychology on this - I could probably learn a lot from being more measured and more specific, it would probably help me gain more from my training!

I personally approach the whole alkaline thing a lot more realistically than most of the American guys (like Dr Young) in that I think you have to have variety, you DO have to treat yourself and not everything written by any one particular researcher has to be treated as gospel. I think my customers like this approach to it rather than thinking you have to be 100% perfect 100% of the time. It definitely works for me.

Anyway, keep up the debate - I'm enjoying it!

Ta

Ross


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## SD (Sep 3, 2004)

I thought it sounded like Uric Acid, I think eating fish and red meat makes this worse due to a high content of Purines (a specific protein).

The management of the pain is dependant on reducing dietary fat and protein unfortunately. I think if you get your protein from vegetable sources then you wont have this problem. Soya is alakaline and high in protein for example as is quinoa.

My optimal nutrition book recommends eliminating fish and red meat and supplementing with:

2x multi vit

3x vit c 1000mg

Bone mineral complex (alkaline minerals)

B6 50mg

Zinc 15mg

Take the supps, stop eating red meat and fish, use white fish, chicken and vegetable proteins and see how you go.

For more info look up Gout/ Uric acid/ Purines

SD


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## maccer (Jul 11, 2007)

Greekgoddess said:


> I don't want to be accused of hijacking this thread but I wonder if anyone would give me their opinion on the following problem I had when on the keto diet. I posted this question on MD's Dave Palumbo thread in the hope that he might give me an answer himself, but he has been taken off that site and the thread deleted. I don't think I'll get a reply now... I think it is related to the acid ashing/alkaline ashing.
> 
> I stuck with the keto diet for just over three weeks in total. During the first four days of the diet I had terrible pains in my joints that would wake me all the time from sleeping. The pain was so bad in my feet and wrists that I could not stand the weight of the covers on me in bed. I woke at least 15 times during the night in pain. During the day I did not have a problem. My last meal was always protein before bed.
> 
> ...


I suffer from gout - not sure if this will apply to you as everyone is different. IF I get a gout attack I need diclofenac sodium to ease the pain or it will not go away. There are many deabtes as to what cause gout (not sure if woman can get it?????) but no solid evidence ( I have had it for 9 years, my father got it same year as me,my brother now has it),some people have high Uric acid levels and have gout other have high uric acid levels but do not suffer apparently.

The biggest contributor to these attacks for me personally I believe is de-hydration. I think when you follow a keto diet its a lot easier to become de-hydrated aswell (this is my experience only). I am not sure any of this even helps you lol. Guess I am trying to say look at hydration issues then look at adding certain foods and how you react to them and see if something in particular sets you of. High purine food is supposed to be a casue for some - they do not affect me but may well be casue for your issues. Good luck


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## hackskii (Jul 27, 2003)

Nice.

Keto diets hold much less water than other diets.

Could be the cause.

Or, it could be as Janet suggested too.

I think both of these can cause problems or it can be both of them, or a combination of both.

I heard cherry juice helped gout.

Fish oils have anti-inflammation properties.

Janet, what happened to Dave P.?


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## Prodiver (Nov 14, 2008)

Greekgoddess said:


> ...I have a severe wheat allergy, so there are many things I can't eat...


Hi! GG 

Have you had a proper wheat allergy test?


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## Tall (Aug 14, 2007)

rossb said:


> Heh - OK, I should have said trans-fats and been a bit clearer to say white bread, white pasta & white rice. There is definitely a place for all of those in the wholemeal variety.
> 
> As for meats and dairy I do feel that there is overwhelming evidence to suggest that meat and dairy contribute significantly to a whole host of illness and degenerative diseases. Proper, peer reviewed, high ranking journals, double blind tested and everything research
> 
> ...


Trans-Fats are man made poison. Sat Fats occur naturally, and are found in delicious food such as Beef, Oats and so on.

White Bread/Pasta is basically just like sugar to the body. Some researches feel sugar is a poison. White Rice however I do rate.

Increase in water intake can also help where a bodies acid levels are increasing due to diet.


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## hackskii (Jul 27, 2003)

I wheezed today after eating some pizza.

Anyway, that is kind of common for a guy to delete his posts after they probaby paid him to post.

He probably said, screw this and deleted his posts and left.

Bruised ego no doubt.....

Why not leave the information up for others to learn from?

Now he probably will be known as a d!ck..............lol


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## rossb (Feb 2, 2009)

Hey

I've experienced the same thing with coconut oil, it does seem to have that effect. Plus, the more you give your body good, healthy sources of fat the more it should (in theory) become accustomed to using that as your source of energy.

In my opinion, anyway!

Glad you're getting some good results from eating alkaline!

Ross


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## uk-master (Mar 26, 2009)

great post and lots of interesting comments. i've actually been a patient of dr morters' for about 15 years and can attest to the dramatic difference having a ph balanced body can make. i take his alka green barley powder and his trace minerals in the morning. i no longer need coffee because the alkaline nutrients in these supplements gives me a the boost to get my morning started. if ya want more info on the effect alkalinity has on your health, google what happens when your bloods pH drops from 7.4 ph to 7.2 ph. (hint- it has to do with how much oxygen the red blood cells can absorb and transport to your cells).

if y'all want more info on dr morter's products, check out - http://www.mortersupplements.com/

or google 'dr morter articles'


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## alextides (Dec 8, 2011)

I agree with uk-master. Dr. Morter knows his stuff about ph, and I love his barley supplement called Alka Green. I also take some herbs from WishGarden Herbs.


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## Captain-splooge (May 29, 2011)

looks like we've got ourselves an archaeologist ^ :lol:


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## Robbie (Dec 31, 2007)

Captain-splooge said:


> looks like we've got ourselves an archaeologist ^ :lol:


A very good thread to unearth though!


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## hackskii (Jul 27, 2003)

Wife just sent me something from a myth busting site, and a doctor said it was a load of crap.

He said too many things in place to keep pH balance, and that only the urine is affected, but he didnt state the saliva though.

A part of me says yes, a part of me says no, but due to bodybuilders eating lots of protein, acid ashing is one byproduct, so getting minerals in the body are a good thing.

Then again I know guys that have had acid reflux for years clear it up with more of an alkaline diet, so go figure?


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## Robbie (Dec 31, 2007)

Ive read some anti ph articles too.

We use calcium from our bones and teeth to normalise the acidity so high ph diets could cause bone problems later in life (and this is why milk/dairy may not be as great for us as made out...)


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