Mon, Oct-28-02, 04:14
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Senior Member
Posts: 433
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Plan: Bernstein/Atkins
Stats: 210/180/125
BF:
Progress: 35%
Location: Georgia
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Addressing the Ph thing here: taking sodium/potassium bicarbonate will lower the ph of your stomach acid, not the body. For that you need to eat foods that will digest as alkaline rather than acid. For example, an orange will test acid outright and it also stays acidic throughout your digestive tract, which can cause irritation. Grapefruit, for example, (and to a certain extent, lemons) test acid outright, but *digest* more alkaline thereby eliminating the irritation. I think the ph discussion is more on keeping the irritation factor down since fighting an irritant robs us of energy. Also if our digested food is too acidic it may also be acidic upon elimination, which means it further irritates our bladder, kidneys, and bowels, which isn't good. A lot of our protective mucous/membranes are sensitive to ph changes and may break down if we digest too acidic all the time. Also certain diseases cause acidic reactions, such as bone cancer. In an attempt to keep the body's ph within it's normal range, the body will leach calcium from the bone (calcium is alkaline), thereby causing brittleness and the classic symptom of easily broken bone as a result of bone cancer. Meat and grains are both somewhat acidic when digested. Most vegetables are not. A lot of fruits are not. Basically do what Momma says: Eat your vegetables. Particularly if you eat a lot of meat or grains. Drink lots of pure water. If you take a supplement, get it as close to natural as possible. Liquid vitamin/minerals usually are better absorbed. If you eat red meat at least twice a week, don't take extra iron. Iron 'poisoning' is on the rise from taking too much non-organic iron. Give blood to reduce your iron load and the Red Cross will thank you for doing both you and them a favor.
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