pH-pHony OR pH-Potential in Wilmington NC?

The reason I chose this topic today is because the persistent questions I get about pH and specifically pertaining to drinking alkaline water. If you are not currently familiar with this topic I'm confident you may hear of it sometime soon. Being in the 'holistic' health industry in Wilmington NC I am bombarded with this concept. The common questions I get from my patients or from someone who should be a patient who has lived a chronic suicidal lifestyle are; "Should I be drinking alkaline water"? or the more aggressive approach "Should I purchase this water ionizing machine"? To appropriately respond to these genuine questions lets discuss a couple of fundamental topics first.

About Alkaline Water in Wilmington NC

In a very brief synopsis the concept of alkaline water is that the body manifests dis-eases in an acidic state (from degenerative joint disease to cancer, etc…) and by drinking man-induced alkaline water it creates an environment where the body can efficiently incorporate its healing mechanisms allowing folks to start to feel better.

Let me also very briefly explain pH if you are not too familiar with it. In the scientific world, pH stands for "potential of hydrogen". It is the value given to indicate the acidity or alkalinity of a substance. The values run from 0 to 14 with the low-end of 0 being acid and the high-end of 14 being alkaline. The middle of the scale of course is 7.0 which indicates just that, neither acid or alkaline-it's neutral.

Let's understand that every healthy fluid/tissue within the body has a specific pH to it. Let's also understand that the body has both the intelligence and capacity to alter the pH to adapt to whatever it is exposed to (as long as it has the proper 'tools'). For example, the pH of your saliva will dance from low to high depending on what you've put into your mouth recently. The 'normal' pH of saliva is considered to be around 6.8. If you place a solution of water and baking soda in your mouth (please don't do that) your saliva pH will instantly change to handle to current conditions. The point I want you to get is the body's ability to-change.

Once you swallow a food and it goes into your stomach the healthy pH of your stomach should be a whopping 1-3. That will burn the paint off your car (don't do that either). Once the food is properly emulsified it will enter the small intestine and guess what-the pH changes again, or at least it should if we want to remain healthy. It must jump up the pH scale to 6-8.

What's the take-away point here-change. The body effectively adapts through many mechanisms that you and I don't have to think about. This change will innately occur provided the body has the appropriate 'tools'. These tools are primarily minerals and enzymes. Where do (should) we get these 'tools'? From our FOOD. Specifically, certified organically grown Vegetables and Fruits as well as Nuts, Seeds, Oils (i.e. coconut, olive), wild-caught Fish, Wild Game and Grass-fed Beef. When your body is given the correct food sources your body will create the exact pH it needs at each location in the body at the exact time it needs it. Period.

Water as provided by nature (God) has a pH of 7.0. That means it is neutral on the pH scale. It was designed that way for a reason. A healthy one too. Why man wants to always 'improve' on nature is a mystery to me. We just need to stop messing it up.

When someone or an entire population moves away from nature and does not eat all the things I just listed above and consumes: biscuits or toast with jelly, pancakes with syrup, cereal with cow's milk, granola bars for breakfast; lunch meat on bread with a shelf-life of 6 weeks, burger with partially hydrogenated fries, hot dog with chips, ham and cheese sandwich with potato salad…and all drowned in iced-tea and/or diet-cola for lunch; pasta and meat balls, farm-raised salmon with white rice, macaroni and cheese, pizza and beer, deep-fried whatever and another cola, pick your favorite crap and list it here, and let's not forget our dessert or apple pie and whip cream, brownie ala mode, etc… What do the think is going to happen to the body? Seriously? Let's keep it simple here. What do you really think is going to happen here?

Is Alkaline water the answer? You don't need a pH degree (pun intended) to know?

With Love and Passion,

Dr. Sean