Causes of Acidity and health effects of long term acidity

Majority of diseases cannot affect a body that is balanced. When our pH is imbalanced, our immune system is compromised and diseases can flourish. The healthiest PH for our body is one which is slightly alkaline which is a pH of 7.365

Our kidneys are responsible for maintaining a stable internal environment, making sure that our electrolyte levels (sodium, potassium, magnesium and calcium) are balanced.  When we expose our self to substances that make us acidic, these electrolytes are used to combat the acidity. They combat the acidity by trying to increase our pH to a slight alkaline nature. But when we constantly expose ourselves  to substances that increase acidity, our body then takes minerals from our cells, organs, tissues or bones and our cells end up lacking these minerals to properly dispose waste and furthermore, oxygenation of our cells will become difficult and compromised. This therefore causes toxins to accumulate in our body and our immune system becomes suppressed.

The following will cause our body to become acidic:

• Processed and refined foods

• Overuse of antibiotics 
• Pollution 
• Excess alcohol consumption 

• Lack of exercise 
• Excess hormones from medication, beauty products 
• Excess consumption of sugar

• Exposure to free radicals, chemicals and radiation from microwaves and microwaved foods, building materials etc 
• Eating too much of animal products (for example meat)
• Artificial sweeteners 

• Stress over a long period of time 
• Eating too much of foods that contain preservatives (canned foods, etc)

• Little or no fiber in diet 

If our body becomes acidic and remains like that for so many years, we will become too acidic and this condition is called acidosis. Acidosis can fuel the growth and progression of the following diseases and conditions:

• Weight gain 
• Headaches 
• Joint and muscle pain 
• Fatigue 
• Ulcers 
• Hypertension 
• Cancer 
• Heart Disease 
• Stroke 
• Diabetes 
• Arthritis 
• Osteoporosis 
• Multiple Sclerosis

How can you boost up your alkalinity?

• Add baking soda, lime or lemon to your water and drink. This is better than drinking purified bottled water.

• Eat enough raw foods, vegetables and fruits. It is important to note that acidic fruits like lemon, tomatoes and grapefruit don’t cause acidity, they do the opposite.

Source:

 http://draxe.com/balancing-act-why-ph-is-crucial-to-health/

http://www.thebestofrawfood.com/ph-scale.html