Alkaline Foods (Ph) and The Prevention of Ailments

[WhiteFeather]

I'm sure many on this forum are knowledgable about this topic of Alkaline Foods and has been posted many times over, but for those whom are not privy here is some valuable info:



Acid reflux is the condition where food and stomach acids regurgitate back into the esophagus, causing burning pain in the lower chest accompanied by a host of other symptoms such as bloating, belching, sore throats, snoring, difficulty breathing and ulcers.

The early stages of digestion occur with the release of hydrochloric acid in the stomach to break down foods. Later during the digestive process, bicarbonate is released by the pancreas to help neutralize those acids. In some instances, this process doesn’t happen, contributing to painful reflux or GERD symptoms. Eating certain alkaline-forming foods can help reduce over-acidity and calm the stomach, relieving pain and other unwanted symptoms. In addition, foods that contribute to an alkaline-forming state in the system help prevent acidosis, a serious bodily condition that sets the stage for all disease.

High-potassium foods

Foods with high levels of potassium may help prevent or resolve acid reflux. The list is considerable and many are foods you may already include in a daily dietary plan. Bananas, honey, lemons, apple cider vinegar, cantaloupe and sweet potatoes – to name a few – are excellent sources of potassium.

Apple cider vinegar (ACV) in particular is touted by many people as an effective cure for acid reflux. If using ACV, it is best to mix one to two tablespoons with an eight-ounce glass of water and drink it all at once. If that’s too much vinegar, reduce the amount and work back up to the full quantity. Always use organic vinegar with “the mother” visible in the jar; it looks like a swirling cloud and indicates the vinegar is organic.

Lemon juice makes a slightly milder drink than does the ACV and works in a similar manner, to neutralize stomach acids and reduce heartburn and acid reflux. Squeeze the juice of one half lemon into eight ounces of filtered water and drink it at once. It’s even more effective if the water is warm, but avoid warming it in a microwave oven.

Ancient grains
Certain ancient grains, or tiny grains, are alkaline-forming and high in potassium, making them a good bet to include in a diet that targets acid reflux. Tiny grains – consisting of millet, quinoa and amaranth – make good replacements for processed, white flour products that have been stripped of their nutrients and fiber. Tiny grains are also an excellent replacement for people who have problems with gluten, because all three are gluten free, nutty and delicious.

Baking soda

Although not considered a food in its own right, baking soda is one of the primary ingredients that can help relieve the burning pains of acid reflux – fast. Baking soda is extremely alkaline and can not only neutralize stomach acids quickly, but will alkalize the entire system, reducing acidosis systemicly. Mix 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda in an 8-ounce glass of water and drink immediately. Because it is high in salt, baking soda can raise your blood pressure. If you take medicines for hypertension, speak to your health care professional before using baking soda for acid reflux.

Raw foods

The majority of raw vegetables and fruits are alkaline and easy to digest. Cooking these foods lowers their alkalinity, making them somewhat more acidic. Raw fruits and vegetables contain lots of enzymes to assist digestion. Choose the freshest, blemish-free items. The sweeter the fruit, the more alkaline it becomes – in other words, ripened bananas are better for your digestive tract than those that are still yellow or even green.

http://www.jbbardot.com/alkaline-forming-foods-prevent-acid-reflux-heartburn-gerd-and-barretts-esophagus/

[Olaf]

There are some aspects to add from my experience.

Main cause of Reflux
The main cause of reflux is a dysfunction of the sphincter at the stomach entrance. This is caused (as so many other discomforts) by Nitrogen monoxide (NO), which is a poisonous gas that is produced mainly by the immune system in context of inflammations.
NO has two main effects:

It is poisenous because it is an extremely radicale substance
It limps muscles

In the presence of NO the sphincter cannot contract. So hydrochloric acid can raise up the oesophagus.
In my view, if the pancreas is not producing enough bicarbonate you may get ulcera in the small intestine. But as long as the sphincter is closed you will get no reflux.
On the other side, an inflammation in the intestine will surely lead to an increased presence of NO and that will lead to reflux.

There is help: NO is immediately neutralized by vitamin B12. (Hint: don't swallow it, it may get destroyed in the stomach. It is much better to take a sucking tablet of methylcobalamin, which can be absorbed directly through the oral mucosa (5000 µg)).
Meanwhile I have proofed this to help allmost all people that have asked me.

Acidosis
Of course nutrition has a great impact on acidosis. But where else is it coming from?

Many people have a dysfunction in their mitochondria, so that the citrat cycle is not properly functioning. There is an enzyme that feeds sugar into the citric acid cycle (which is the process that produces energy in form of ATP). This enzyme, pyruvat dehydrogenase (PDH) will be blocked in its function by NO. Also it will not work, when vitamin B1 or alphalipon acid is missing, because both molecules are parts of that enzyme. People with diabetis I or II often have big deficites in vitamin B1.

People with this dysfunction cannot process sugar, but their citrate cycle can process proteins and fat. So they should eat more healthy kinds of fat and proteins, and they should avoid carbon hydrates. The sugar (in form of pyruvate) accumulates in the cells and is finally degraded to lactic acid outside the mitochondria. With large amounts of lactic acid one have a general acidosis.

So very important is:

Reducing sugar and carbon hydrates
Try to reactivate PDH by neutralizing NO and providing vitamin B1 (and sometimes alphalipon acid)


Raw foods
There are many people who cannot digest raw foods. It is much better for them to partially cook them. Otherwise they would not be able to gain healthy nutrients from the unprocessed foods. In effect they will absorb less healthy nutrients from raw foods than from cooked foods. Also they will have significant digestive complaints.
One should avoid dualistic thinking. There should be a healthy mixture of both kinds of food for everybody. Just try it.

Of course one should also follow the recommendations from the first posting.

[Baby Steps]

I read that reflux can be caused by not enough hydrochloric acid in the stomach. This leads to incomplete digestion and the lower gut becoming intolerant to molecules such as gluten that should not be there. The prescription was salt preferably pink salt. Salt deficiency prevents the body from being able to produce enough hydrochloric acid. That fits with adding other acids such as citric from lemons or ethanoic from vinegar, they would be digestive aids. But bicarbonate helps because it neutralises the stomach acid that is bubbling up, and the body would have enough salt to make more hydrochloric acid. But I am not sure how this fits with the fact that taking bicarbonate helps the body to alkalinise which it certainly does. Just ingesting it in quite large quantities has reduced cancer in rats.

[conk]

I read that reflux can be caused by not enough hydrochloric acid in the stomach. This leads to incomplete digestion and the lower gut becoming intolerant to molecules such as gluten that should not be there. The prescription was salt preferably pink salt. Salt deficiency prevents the body from being able to produce enough hydrochloric acid. That fits with adding other acids such as citric from lemons or ethanoic from vinegar, they would be digestive aids. But bicarbonate helps because it neutralises the stomach acid that is bubbling up, and the body would have enough salt to make more hydrochloric acid. But I am not sure how this fits with the fact that taking bicarbonate helps the body to alkalinise which it certainly does. Just ingesting it in quite large quantities has reduced cancer in rats.This is very true. The acid that bothers us is not too much HCI, but the acid that forms from indigestible garbage that putrefies in the gut. And then doctors prescribe medications that suppress the action of the proton pump in the stomach. This leads to dis-ease and ultimately death. So, so many processes are dependent on HCI. Older people should supplement with extra HCI. A product called Zypan from Standard Process is the best.

The potential for hydrogen is related to the value of electric current in the body. pH on the acid side indicates low current flow. Low current flow or voltage leads to serious ailments. The body's cells are like little batteries. Real, unprocessed fatty acids in their raw state are the fuel for the cell membrane. The cell membrane is the brain of the cell. Poor membrane equals poor communication among cells. It all goes back to electron exchange.

[13th Warrior]

As the O.P. has clearly demonstrated; there is much confusion with the acid/alkaline food and body chemistry.

This is a complex issue to understand; because of our unique body/lifestyle/environmental conditions; so are our nutritional needs.

A far better system exists to guide you in this matter and that is the concept of yin/yang condition of the body and the effects there of by combinations of yin/yang foods, drinks, life style habits and environmental conditions. All of which are in constant flux.

[Baby Steps]

If ingesting bicarbonate just produces a load of salt in the stomach when it reacts with the HCl, how can this help with acidosis? I have read that certain acids such as lemon & vinegar help the body to alkalise, how does this work? I do not think acidosis is that rare. I tested 6.5 saliva ph which is concerning.