By Julia Oyefunke Fortune

While traditional medicine essentially ignores the importance of  pH and disease, alternative medical professionals have known for years that an acidic body may be the root cause of ALL disease.

If you remember from high school chemistry class, the pH (potential hydrogen  or the measurement of hydrogen-ion concentration of any solution) scale ranges from zero to fourteen, with seven being neutral.

More specifically, water (H2O) ionizes into hydrogen (H+) and hydroxyl (OH-) ions. When these ions are in equal proportions, the pH is a neutral seven. When there are more H+ ions than OH- ions then the water is said to be acid. If there are more OH- ions than H+ ions, then the water is alkaline. So, an alkaline solution is one in which pH is over 7.0.

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These types of solutions tend to absorb oxygen, while more acidic solutions, those under 7.0, expel oxygen. With this in mind, it is easy to understand how this intricate balance can impact the human body.  Every compound that enters the body, any vitamin, amino acid, fatty acid, mineral, sugar or trace element, is categorized as either an acid, neutral or an alkaline. All bodily fluids in a healthy person are slightly alkaline (7.35 – 7.45), except stomach fluids and urine, which must remain acidic in order to digest food and remove wastes from the body.

When there is an excess of acid within the body, it naturally seeks to neutralize these acids by replacing them with alkaline elements. Typically, the blood contains alkaline substances however, because the blood must remain alkaline in order to function effectively, it is very sensitive to any variation in its pH level.

In healthy, blood cells essentially have a negative charge on the outside and a positive charge on the inside. In the simplest of terms, this is what keeps them healthy and separated from each other.

In an acidic body however, the excess acid strips the blood cells of the negative charge, removing their natural repelling force, causing them to clump together. When this occurs these acids can no longer properly dispose of toxins and wastes.

To fix this, the body then looks for oxygen in the organs and tissues, which are designed to better tolerate pH fluctuation.  But even so, while your organs and tissues can exist short-term with more acidic levels, these borrowed alkaline substances must ultimately be replaced. In a healthy body, this is not a problem as simply eating more alkaline foods can usually supply the needed alkaline sources to balance the body.