The Cause of Disease
Have you ever wondered if many of the diseases raging through our society have a common cause? Many doctors, herbalists and nutritionists believe that the explanation may come down to these simple words:
Acid Alkaline Imbalance
Over acidity, which can become a dangerous condition that weakens all body systems, is very common today. It gives rise to an internal environment conducive to disease, as opposed to a pH balanced environment which allows normal body function necessary for the body to resist disease. A healthy body maintains adequate alkaline reserves to meet emergency demands. When excess acids must be neutralized our alkaline reserves are depleted leaving the body in a weakened condition. A pH balanced diet, according to many experts, is a vital key to health maintenance.
The concept of acid alkaline imbalance as the cause of disease is not new. In 1933 a New York doctor named William Howard Hay published a ground-breaking book, A New Health Era in which he maintains that all disease is caused by autotoxication (or “self-poisoning”) due to acid accumulation in the body:
Now we depart from health in just the proportion to which we have allowed our alkalies to be dissipated by introduction of acid-forming food in too great amount… It may seem strange to say that all disease is the same thing, no matter what its myriad modes of expression, but it is verily so.—William Howard Hay, M.D.
More recently, in his remarkable book Alkalize or Die (see recommended reading), Dr. Theodore A. Baroody says essentially the same thing:
The countless names of illnesses do not really matter. What does matter is that they all come from the same root cause…too much tissue acid waste in the body!—Theodore A. Baroody, N.D., D.C., Ph.D.
Understanding pH
pH (potential of hydrogen) is a measure of the acidity or alkalinity of a solution. It is measured on a scale of 0 to 14—the lower the pH the more acidic the solution, the higher the pH the more alkaline (or base) the solution. When a solution is neither acid nor alkaline it has a pH of 7 which is neutral.
Water is the most abundant compound in the human body, comprising 70% of the body. The body has an acid-alkaline (or acid-base) ratio called the pH which is a balance between positively charges ions (acid-forming) and negatively charged ions (alkaline-forming.) The body continually strives to balance pH. When this balance is compromised many problems can occur.
It is important to understand that we are not talking about stomach acid or the pH of the stomach. We are talking about the pH of the body’s fluids and tissues which is an entirely different matter.
Test Your Body’s Acidity or Alkalinity with pH Strips:
It is recommended that you test your pH levels to determine if your body’s pH needs immediate attention. By using pH test strips, you can determine your pH factor quickly and easily in the privacy of your own home. If your urinary pH fluctuates between 6.0 to 6.5 in the morning and between 6.5 and 7.0 in the evening, your body is functioning within a healthy range. If your saliva stays between 6.5 and 7.5 all day, your body is functioning within a healthy range. The best time to test your pH is about one hour before a meal and two hours after a meal. Test your pH two days a week.
Most people who suffer from unbalanced pH are acidic. This condition forces the body to borrow minerals—including calcium, sodium, potassium and magnesium—from vital organs and bones to buffer (neutralize) the acid and safely remove it from the body. Because of this strain, the body can suffer severe and prolonged damage due to high acidity—a condition that may go undetected for years.Mild acidosis can cause such problems as:
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Urine pH
Saliva pH
Restoring pH Balance in the Body
Change Your pH Balance from Acidic to Alkaline
pH Balance Supplements for Overly-Acidic
- Enzymes are essential: Take 1-2 capsules of either Food Enzymes or Proactazyme Plus with every meal. For even better and quicker results, also take 1-2 capsules of High Potency Protease and Nature’s Nonibetween meals on an empty stomach.
- Easily absorbable magnesium is needed: Take 2 Magnesium Complex with each meal which provides highly absorbable magnesium to help build necessary buffers. Magnesium is often lost in urine as a consequence of too much acid in the body.
- Alkaline minerals are essential: Take 1 ounce of either Ionic Minerals or Mineral Chi Tonic once daily.
- Alkalize with Green Food: Take 1 teaspoon of Liquid Chlorophyll in water up to eight times daily.
- Absorbable Calcium: If your urine is 5.8-7.2, take Calcium Plus Vitamin D and Magnesium (the amino acid chelated form, not the carbonate form) daily to support your bones. If pH is 5.0-6.5, use Sea Calcium(pH 10.)
If your pH is still too acidic, add the following: - Vitamin D3 helps hold calcium in the body. Taking NSP’s Vitamin D3 and Omega 3 will help the body buffer acids. Take 1-2 of each daily.
- Cleanse as needed: Take a psyllium hulls supplement such as Psyllium Hulls Combination or Psyllium Hulls Capsules at bedtime to maintain regular bowel movements. Use CleanStart or Chinese Tiao He Cleansetwice a year for liver, bowel and kidney detoxification.
- Strengthen urinary and lymphatic systems’ ability to excrete acids: Take Kidney Drainage and Lymphatic Drainage daily in water.
Quality is Critical: I recommend only Nature’s Sunshine Products. NSP has formulated premium-quality products for 40 years. Our experience has been that substituting lesser quality products will compromise pH balancing results!Get the book! Get a copy of the book Alkalize or Die by Dr. Baroody (see recommended reading below) and carefully follow his dietary recommendations choosing more foods that are alkaline-forming and less that are acid-forming. The food chart below briefly summarizes this information for some of the more common foods. A healthy diet should consist of 80% alkaline-forming foods and 20% acid-forming foods.
What Causes Me to be Acidic?
pH Balance Supplements for Overly-Alkaline
- Enzymes are essential: Take 1-2 capsules of Food Enzymes or Proactazyme Plus with every meal. Also take 1-2 capsules of High Potency Protease and Nature’s Noni between meals on an empty stomach.
- Support urinary and lymphatic systems’ ability to excrete toxins: Take Kidney Drainage and Lymphatic Drainage in water according to directions. Then use Lymphomax and Urinary Maintenance to maintain.
- Correct calcium is needed: Use NSP’s Liquid Calcium.
- Vitamin C: Use Timed-Release Vitamin C. Use 3,000 mg or more, to maximum bowel tolerance. (If diarrhea occurs, reduce intake.)
- Flax Seed Oil: Use 1 capsules of Flax Seed Oil 3 times a day or 2 tablespoons of Liquid Flax Seed Oil daily.
- Cleanse as needed: Take a psyllium hulls supplement such as Psyllium Hulls Combination or Psyllium Hulls Capsules at bedtime to maintain regular bowel movements. Use CleanStart or Chinese Tiao He Cleansetwice a year for liver, bowel and kidney detoxification.