Low-grade Acidosis -
Not to be Taken Lightly

Low-grade acidosis stems from feeding the body too many of the wrong foods and not enough of the right foods over an extended period of time (think many many years).

Over-acidification of the body's tissues and fluids results, creating a low oxygen environment that saps our energy and makes us feel old.

If left unchecked, this condition spirals out of control, leaving our bodies more vulnerable to illness and disease.

But once understood, acidosis is fully reversible through diet.

How the body becomes acidic

About 65% of your body is fluid. Most of that fluid should be at a slightly alkaline pH of 7.4 (with 7.0 being neutral - see the pH scale).

The food or liquid that we consume has either an alkalizing or acidifying effect on our systems.

If you've read the page on body pH, you know that our cells are alkaline by nature but acidic by function.

Your cells must have a slightly alkaline environment to stay healthy and function optimally. But the metabolic activities of our cells create acid wastes.

So our bodies are always trying to clean out and neutralize these acids to keep an almost neutral environment (this is part of our natural body detox processes).

Giving your body the proper alkaline foods allows it to stockpile alkalizing minerals (like calcium, magnesium, potassium, and sodium) that are capable of buffering acids.

Great examples are raw vegetables and raw fruits.

a large variety of raw fruits and vegetables

When we eat lots of processed foods, cooked foods, sugar, alcohol, coffee, too much meat, and other acid foods - our bodies need to use mineral stores to neutralize the acids and render them harmless.

Repeatedly eating too many acid forming foods and not enough alkaline forming foods depletes these mineral reserves. This is when you run into trouble and the process of acidosis begins.

When the body runs out of mineral reserves...

Now your body is forced into "borrowing" minerals - like calcium from bones and magnesium from muscles.

Although this is not really borrowing, more like stealing because our bones and organs need those minerals.

It really has no choice as our blood pH is tightly regulated and these acids can not be allowed into the blood stream.

Still, this is perfectly fine on a temporary basis.

But if you are still not eating those mineral-rich foods, our bodies must continue to compensate.

Low-Grade Acidosis - the high acid, low oxygen environment

As these acids continue to build up, eventually our cells can no longer function optimally.

The problem continues to compound - more and more acids build up because our bodies become less and less efficient at removing them.

The increased acidic burden starves our body of oxygen. It also makes it difficult for the body's natural detoxification processes to function.

These high-acid, low oxygen conditions are an inviting home for foreign invaders (like bacteria, viruses, candida, and parasites). These organisms produce even more acid, and can steal what little nutrition your body is still receiving.

Low-grade acidosis symptoms

As you can see, this condition becomes a dangerous cycle with serious side effects.

Here are some of the symptoms that can result from an overly acidic body:

  • weak immune system
  • unexplained fatigue
  • weight gain
  • arthritis
  • osteoporosis
  • chronic muscle and bone pain
  • premature aging

The misguided solution

bottles of prescription medicine

Most of us don't know about balancing our pH, so instead we take over-the-counter or prescription medications.

These pills only mask the symptoms, and definitely do not address the cause behind them.

Another problem with medications is that they are very acidic to the body. So you end up in a worse position than when you started – even more acidic and even more sick.

Instead of resorting to pills for vague symptoms that can have many causes, try to get your body's pH back on track.  This might not only release you of these problems, but it just might give you back your energy and vibrant health.

- - Acidosis