PH balance ~ "alkalize or die"???

[333]

So, is it true ~ that you have to maintain a perfect balance ~ that you can manage your acid/alkaline balance?

[John Cuthber]

On the whole, unless you have some other medical problem, the body does a really good job of maintaining a pH balance.

You don't need to get involved consciously (which is just as well, 'cos it's quite complicated).

[Mr Skeptic]

For a quick example of what it feels like to change your pH, hold your breath for a while. The buildup of CO2 will acidify your blood, just a little, but believe me you will notice. (The lack of oxygen is very hard to notice, for example if you were to breathe nitrogen you can exhale CO2 but not inhale oxygen, and you feel fine until you faint -- but don't do this alone since you can kill yourself)

[ewmon]

Yes, your body has its life at stake in balancing its pH because so much of its chemistry depends on it (mostly because proteins literally get "bent out of shape" because of it). If the imbalance reaches a point because the body cannot return to normal, your kidneys will start extracting the culprits from your bloodstream, and they'll end up in your urine stream .

[Moontanman]

What is 333 implying by alkalize or die? Some sort of therapy?

[333]

Oh, I should have said, "Alkalize or Die" is the name of a book, a best seller, a friend told me she is glued to it....I had a feeling it is all scare tactics to sell books, so I came here to ask.

 

I got great answers, thanks guys!

[mississippichem]

Oh, I should have said, "Alkalize or Die" is the name of a book, a best seller, a friend told me she is glued to it....I had a feeling it is all scare tactics to sell books, so I came here to ask.

 

I got great answers, thanks guys!

 

Yeah look out for that. There's a whole list of pH snake oil scams online here quackwatch.com. Whats funny is half of these charlatans encourage lowering your body's pH while the other half encourage you to lower it. They are probably just trying to sell books, as you said.