Human blood pH should be slightly alkaline (7.35 - 7.45).  Below or above this range means symptoms and disease.  A pH of 7.0 is neutral.  A pH below 7.0 is acidic.  A pH above 7.0 is alkaline.

An acidic pH can occur from emotional stress, an acid forming diet, toxic overload, and/or immune reactions or any process that robs the cells of oxygen and other nutrients.  The body will try to compensate for acidic pH by using alkaline minerals.  If the diet does not contain enough minerals to compensate, a buildup of acids in the cells will occur.

Therefore, an acidic balance will  decrease the body's ability to absorb minerals and other nutrients, decrease the energy production in the cells, decrease its ability to detoxify heavy metals, make tumor cells thrive, decrease its ability to repair damaged cells and make it more susceptible to fatigue and illness.  A blood pH of 6.9, which is only slightly acidic, can induce coma and death.

The reason acidosis is common is due to the typical American diet, which is far too high in acid producing animal products like meat, eggs and dairy, and far too low in alkaline producing foods like fresh vegetables.  And we eat acid producing processed foods like white flour and sugar and drink acid producing beverages like coffee and soft drinks.  We use too many drugs, which are acid forming.   And we use artificial chemical sweeteners which are poison and extremely acid forming such as NutraSweet, Spoonful, Sweet 'N Low, Equal, and Aspartame.  One of the easiest and most cost effective things we can do to correct an overly acid body is to clean up the diet and lifestyle.

To maintain health, the diet should consist of 60% alkaline forming foods and 40% acid forming foods. 

To restore health, the diet should consist of 80% alkaline forming foods and 20% acid forming foods.

More Acidifying Foods to Be Aware of:

ACIDIFYING DAIRY

Butter

Cheese

Cheese, Processed

Ice Cream

Ice Milk

ACIDIFYING NUTS & BUTTERS

Cashews

Legumes

Peanut Butter

Peanuts

Pecans

Tahini

Walnuts

ACIDIFYING ANIMAL PROTEIN

Bacon

Beef

Carp

Clams

Cod

Corned Beef

Fish

Haddock

Lamb

Lobster

Mussels

Organ Meats

Oyster

Pike

Pork

Rabbit

Salmon

Sardines

Sausage

Scallops

Shellfish

Shrimp

Tuna

Turkey

Veal

Venison

ACIDIFYING FATS & OILS

Avocado Oil

Butter

Canola Oil

Corn Oil

Flax Oil

Hemp Seed Oil

Lard

Olive Oil

Safflower Oil

Sesame Oil

Sunflower Oil

ACIDIFYING SWEETENERS

Carob

Corn Syrup

Sugar

ACIDIFYING ALCOHOL

Beer

Hard Liquor

Spirits

Wine

ACIDIFYING OTHER FOODS

Catsup

Cocoa

Coffee

Mustard

Pepper

Soft Drinks

Vinegar

ACIDIFYING DRUGS & CHEMICALS

Aspirin

Chemicals

Drugs, Medicinal

Drugs, Psychedelic

Herbicides

Pesticides

Tobacco

ACIDIFYING JUNK FOOD

Beer: pH 2.5

Coca-Cola: pH 2

Coffee: pH 4

In my next article, I’ll include more alkalizing foods.