Acidification of the body - how to check it?

The balance between acids and bases in our body is very important for our health. Some products in our diet, such as meat or dairy products, are acid-forming, while others, such as fruit, are alkalogenic. However, not everyone knows it, and those who know don't always make use of it - and this is a mistake that can be very easily eliminated.

Most of the products we consume are acid-forming products. Bread, meat dishes, dairy products, coffee, alcohol... They often make up the vast majority of our diet. We eat few vegetables, and the fruits we reach for are often in the form of ice cream, sweet drinks or filled chocolates. Such a diet adversely affects our body - we may feel tired of the body, lack of willingness to make any effort, and our eyes are getting circulated and we still feel sleepless. We often underestimate all these symptoms and explain them to ourselves by "ageing" or "weather conditions". However, it is worth considering the real cause of these problems.

The most common blame is improper diet. Too much unhealthy food, drunk with coffee, carbonated drinks or alcohol. What does our typical day look like? Unfortunately, processed food dominates in it. For breakfast usually Kaiser's or white bread with sausage, eggs or cheese, with trace amounts of vegetables. Lunches are usually meat soups whitened with cream, and for the second dish even more meat (minced, pork, chicken), potatoes, white pasta, pancakes made of white flour. After lunch, a dessert, usually consisting of something sweet and coffee, and at the end of the day, a dinner that is very similar to breakfast, often with something warm. Every day looks similar, every day we eat and drink almost the same, so... every day we acidify our body to power. This is the custom not only of Polish homes, but also of hospitals, canteens, restaurants, dining rooms, bars and all other places where food is served.

This diet is not the best for our body and we should pay much more attention to what we eat. Although we often do not feel the direct effects of such food, we slowly and systematically acidify our bodies. But why is it so good if we eat so badly? The human body has an entire defense system, called a buffer system, which excrets excess acids through the blood, lungs, kidneys and skin. With age, however, we supply more and more acids to organisms - their source are also non-food issues such as stress, lack of movement, stimulants, alcohol, medicines (yes, even medicines have acidification properties!). Over time, we simply become more and more acidified. But what does this mean?

Some organs of our body must be alkaline and others must be acidic - this is how we were created by nature and it is impossible to change it. The whole body cannot be such or such because it consists of a large number of elements that must be acidic or alkaline. Most often their proper functioning depends on the pH range in which they are located. There should be no deviation in either direction.

The most common reference point is human urine, whose pH should be between 6.5 and 7.5. Unfortunately, it often varies between 4 pH (acidified) and 9 (too alkaline). These values are not healthy for our body and usually originate from an abnormal lifestyle. PH below 6 is the result of a bad diet (few vegetables, lots of sweets, high protein diet), and above 8 may be a sign of catabolism. A urine test is a good way to find out if your body is functioning properly.

The most accurate test will, of course, be a laboratory test, called gasometry. Unfortunately, it cannot be done at home. Does this mean that it is not possible to reliably check the body's acidification without a visit to a doctor? None of these things! Indicator papers (litmus), because they are mentioned, are cheap, fast and comfortable, and you can trust them. If the test is carried out in an appropriate manner, its accuracy will reach 0.3 degrees of pH. Here is a list of rules to follow:

- Measurement should be started in the morning, on an empty stomach, after a minimum of 6 hours of sleep.
- Place the paper under the middle stream of urine for about 2 seconds (neither at the beginning nor at the end). It can also be similarly simply soaked in a cup of urine.
- Do not touch the tip of the paper to be tested! The skin has an acidic reaction and may cause disruption of the test results.
- Do the test regularly for a period of time - a one-off result may be unreliable. The minimum is 7 days for which records should be kept and the average should be retrieved at the end. This will give us a credible view of body acidification.

If the test results indicate an excess of acids in the body, we should start using as many vegetables as possible in the diet. They have alkalizing values, because they are rich in calcium, potassium, phosphorus, etc. In order to maintain good acidity of the body, our menu should consist of at least 60% alkalizing products. Let's like fruit and vegetables, let's add some movement in the fresh air and our body will thank us for that. If not today, in a few years' time!