You undoubtedly learned about pH levels in high school. But whether something is alkaline or acidic doesn’t just pertain to science class.
The human body is also subjectable to pH levels.
In fact, some may even argue that the pH level of your body is the single most important determinant of your health. And the fluids in your body can be affected by everything you ingest, absorb or come in contact with.
Every chemical and compound in your body, and even every metabolic process your body undergoes, is designed to function at a specific pH level, so when things are not as they should be, your body will automatically try to set things right—something known as homeostasis.
A Perfect State
The perfect overall pH for your blood is slightly alkaline at 7.35 to 7.45, where 7 is neutral on the pH scale. This number will fluctuate throughout the day, but for the most part a normal pH can vary a little.
Some parts and systems in your body naturally differ in their homeostatic levels, however. For instance, your stomach (pH of 1.35 to 3.5), needs to be slightly more acidic in order to properly digest food. Your skin also needs to be quite acidic (pH 4–6.5) to serve as a protective barrier against the environment and microbial overgrowth. (1)
pH Levels and Disease
The relationship between pH levels and disease is not new. Back in the 1920s, a biochemist, Dr. Otto Heinrich Warburg, determined that disease, more specifically cancer, can only survive in an acidic body.
He was actually awarded the Nobel Prize in 1931 for his discovery. (2) His research, titled The Metabolism of Tumours, was published in 1926 and irrefutably showed that “…all forms of cancer are characterized by two basic conditions: acidosis and hypoxia (lack of oxygen). Lack of oxygen and acidosis are two sides of the same coin: where you have one, you have the other.”