This week I am very excited to introduce one of my favourite bloggers, Lisa Fitzgibbon from www.lisasaid.so. Lisa is an experienced, qualified, registered Naturopath and Medical Herbalist who specialises in preventative health care and care for chronic health conditions in her practice in Grey Lynn, Auckland. If you’d like to get in touch with Lisa, or learn more about what she does, check out her website. www.oomphhealth.co.nz

YOU WANT TO DO WHAT?

Some people tell me that they need to ‘alkalise’. And they want me to give them something  to achieve this.

I ask them, ‘Why do you think you need to alkalise?  They either say they’ve just heard it’s important, or that they feel it’s necessary. (They often add that they have been eating too many acidic foods & drinks lately.)

I ask, ‘What exactly are you trying to alkalise’? Generally the answer is, ‘My whole system’. Now, while I’m aware there are 12 different systems in the body, I’ve never heard of one called the ‘whole system’. And if there was such a thing, I’m sure it wouldn’t appreciate being made wholly alkaline, as optimal pH varies throughout the body!

I suggest, that rather than take something additional to help alkalise, wouldn’t it be easier to reduce the amount + frequency with which they consume their acidic foods — to see if this helps first?

YOU CAN’T ACTUALLY FEEL ‘ACIDIC’ BUT YOU CAN FEEL ‘CRAPPY’.
YOUR ‘WHOLE SYSTEM’ IS NEVER ACIDIC

Know this: your blood is NEVER acidic — the pH of your blood is ALWAYS slightly alkaline. It is held within a very narrow range by your body (7.35—7.45).

Note: If the blood pH dropped below 7 or rose above 7.8, coma and death would quickly follow!

Your body works tirelessly to maintain this strict equilibrium. It achieves this by releasing minerals from your bone and by breaking down muscle protein (glutamine — an amino acid).

RANSACKING & COLLATERAL DAMAGE

When it comes to your diet, you’re not actually trying to alkalise. Your job is to build a reservoir of minerals and muscle protein. You should aim to minimise how often these stores are being ‘ransacked’ (to be used to buffer your blood).

Yes, you make this job easier or harder on your body by what you choose to ingest. However, it is much more dependant on how well you run your body, and on how well your body runs.

Note: By preventing ‘ransacking’ you will help to avoid the destruction of your bones, the wasting of your muscle tissue, chronic oxidative stress, systemic inflammation, impaired immunity, and elevation of your insulin + cortisol.

THEY SOUND BAD (ACIDIC) BUT THEY’RE GOOD FOR YOU!

AMINO ACIDS
The building blocks of protein

FATTY ACIDS
The building blocks of fats

DEOXYRIBONUCLEIC ACID (DNA) + RIBONUCLEIC ACID (RNA)
The building blocks of life!

TO IMPROVE THE MAKE-UP OF YOUR BLOOD, THERE IS NO BETTER PLACE TO START THAN WITH IMPROVING YOUR DIGESTIVE FUNCTION.
MAYBE IT’S NOT YOUR DIET… MAYBE IT’S JUST YOU?!

Only small amounts of acidic substances enter the body via food + drink. Most acids in the body originate as metabolic by-products or end-products.

The following health concerns contribute significantly to your overall acid-load:

01—IMPROPER DIGESTION

Poor digestion can cause you to ferment partially digested food in an undesirable part of your digestive tract. This environment then increases ‘bad’ bacteria which can produce lactic acid.

This, also has an adverse affect on your digestive processes.

02—STRESS + ANXIETY

Stress has a two-fold affect on the body.

Stress can reduce stomach acid which leads to poor digestion. Poor digestion can lead to the production of lactic acid.

Stress also leads to anxiety, and anxiety can also create lactic acid.

Note: With good circulation, lactic acid can be transported to the liver, where it can ultimately be turned into glucose.

03—OVERWORKING OR VIGOROUSLY WORKING YOUR MUSCLES

This process creates lactic acid.

Note: Again – with good circulation, lactic acid can be transported to the liver, where it can ultimately be turned into glucose.

04—INCORRECT BREATHING OR POOR LUNG FUNCTION

The lungs dispose of carbonic acid (by eliminating CO2)

05—POOR KIDNEY FUNCTION

Only the kidneys can rid the body of phosphoric, uric, and lactic acids, and ketone bodies.

The first three points suggest ways in which acid-load can be created. The points that follow, suggest that poor elimination can contribute to acid-load.

GO WITH THE DIGESTIVE FLOW

Earlier, I mentioned that optimal pH actually varies throughout the body. And, nowhere is this better illustrated than with our digestive system.The different environments of each compartment are very important to ignite the next phase (and area) of digestion. These parts work together like a battery — alternating between acid and alkaline; not to make energy but to extract energy from our food:

The mouth should be alkaline —> The stomach should be acid —> The small intestine should be alkaline —> The large colon should be acid.

Note: If something is in your digestive system (food, enzymes, secretions, or otherwise!) it is not technically considered to be inside your body.

Lisa.    www.oomphhealth.co.nz

Thanks for the building block photo Ryan Fields

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