Clinically Trialled Alkalising Minerals - Technical Data Bio-Practica
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Clinically Trialled Alkalising Minerals - Technical Data Bio-Practica Clinically Trialled Alkalising Minerals Technical Data Acid-Base Balance Everything around us depends on the right balance of acid and alkalinity. The ocean, the soil, plants, animals and humans, all require the correct pH level for life. Nearly every biological process in the human body requires the appropriate acid-base balance;1 human life requires a tightly controlled pH to survive.2 However, because of the agriculture revolution and industrialisation, the world has changed and so has the pH levels. The ocean pH has changed from 8.2 to 8.1, which impacts on ocean life, including coral reefs. The soil pH has changed so that now dolomite and manure are added to raise the pH from an acidic state to a pH above 6.2-4 Ultimately, this affects the availability of nutrients within the food consumed and the environment in which we live and breathe every day. Prehistoric Diet to the Diet of Today The prehistoric hunter-gatherer diet was rich in nutrients and low in acid forming foods; it is the diet best suited to the human physiology, even today.5,6 Plants were a major part of their diet; it is estimated that the Paelolithic diet was made up of 35% meat and 65% plant matter.5 Additionally, they consumed plants that were rich in the alkalising nutrients and metabolisable anions, such as potassium, calcium, magnesium, and citrates.4 In fact, a hypothetical analysis showed the hunter-gatherers diets’ were 87% alkaline producing.3 Today, the human diet contains high amounts of acidic animal protein and cereal grains and low levels of alkalising plant matter, which are also lower in nutrients than our predecessors’ fruits and vegetables.5,7 Another important change has been the decrease in potassium to sodium ratio and an increase in chloride compared to bicarbonate.2 Previously the ratio of potassium to sodium was 10:1; our modern diet is 1:3;2 a dramatic difference, which contributes substantially to the acid-base imbalance . We are consuming diets low in magnesium, potassium, fibre, but high in saturated fat, simple sugars, sodium and chloride.2 This is the result of the agricultural and industrial revolutions. The progress of the modern world has meant humans generate an acid load that is not balanced with adequate, nutritionally rich fruit and vegetables.4 ‘Generally, the Western diet induces a chronic, low-grade metabolic acidosis.’8 What is Acid-Base Homeostasis? Acid-base homeostasis is the intricate balance between an acidic environment and a base, or alkalising environment. Part of the human body’s role in maintaining homeostasis is the tight regulation of pH balance inside and outside of every cell; this is critical for any enzyme-controlled metabolic process.7 The measurement of acidity and alkalinity is the pH, which can be defined as an abbreviation for potential hydrogen, a scale representing the relative acidity (or alkalinity) of a solution, in which a value 7.0 is neutral, below 7.0 is acid, and above 7.0 is alkaline. The numeric pH value indicates the relative concentration of hydrogen atoms in the solution compared with that of a standard (one molar) solution; it is equal to the negative log of the hydrogen ion concentration expressed in moles per litre.9 Bio-Practica Empowering Professional Health This information is for healthcare practitioners only 1 Clinically Trialled Alkalising Minerals - Technical Data A slightly more complex definition of acids and bases is that an acid is a proton donor and a base is a proton acceptor. Generally speaking, acids contain positively charged cations and bases contain negatively charged anions. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 neutral increasingly acidic increasingly alkaline Acids yield excess Hydrogen (H+) ions Bases yield hydroxide (OH-) ions when dissolved in water when dissolved in water Disturbances in the acid-base balance include acidosis or alkalosis.1 Acidosis is the process or trend towards acidaemia.3 It indicates an excess of hydrogen ions and can be categorised as metabolic, latent or respiratory acidosis.1 When the body’s compensatory measures for dealing with the excess hydrogen ions are exhausted, acidosis becomes acidaemia.3 The opposite of acidosis is alkalosis. This is the process towards a reduction in hydrogen ions and a more alkaline environment.1 Metabolic versus Latent Acidosis Metabolic acidosis is when there is a measurable decrease in blood pH6 and is usually associated with a condition, such as diabetic acidosis or kidney disease; however diet-induced metabolic acidosis is now evident.4 Latent acidosis, on the other hand, often involves only a slight shift in the blood pH, nearer the lower end of the normal range. It is more common than metabolic acidosis and is a chronic situation, without acute symptoms.6 This is less severe than metabolic acidosis but even a low degree of acidosis is significant and slight deviations in the blood’s pH value can lead to severe metabolic disturbances.3,6 The long-term physiological consequence of a chronic low-grade acidosis, or latent acidosis, has potential to be very detrimental on health.6 Additionally, as it affects a wide cross-section of the population,6 most of us may be living with latent acidosis on a daily basis, without even knowing it. pH of Selected Fluids, Organs, and Membranes. Organ, fluid or membrane pH Function of pH (1) Skin Natural pH is between 4 and 6.5 [17] Barrier protection from microbes (2) Urine 4.6 to 8.0 [18] Limit overgrowth of microbes (3) Gastric 1.35 to 3.5 Break down protein (4) Bile 7.6 to 8.8 Neutralize stomach acid, aid in digestion (5) Pancreatic fluid 8.8 Neutralize stomach acid, aid in digestion (6) Vaginal fluid <4.7 [13] Limit overgrowth of opportunistic microbes (7) Cerebrospinal fluid 7.3 Bathes the exterior of the brain (8) Intracellular fluid 6.0 - 7.2 [19] Due to acid production in cells (9) Serum venous 7.35 Tightly regulated (10) Serum arterial 7.4 Tightly regulated Table1: PH of selected fluids, organs and membranes. From Schwalfenberg GK. The Alkaline Diet: Is There Evidence That an Alkaline pH Diet Benefits Health? J Environ Public Health 2012;Epub [ahead of publication] 2 This information is for healthcare practitioners only Bio-Practica Empowering Professional Health Clinically Trialled Alkalising Minerals - Technical Data How Nutrients Affect Acid-Base Balance Fruit and vegetables contain high levels of potassium salts of metabolisable anions, including citrate, and other alkalising minerals, such as magnesium. These anions consume hydrogen ions when they are metabolised and by doing so increase the alkalinity of the environment. Citrate bound minerals are highly effective at neutralising acidosis. Citrate is very alkalising and has high bioavailability. Additionally, plant matter contains high levels of glutamate, which also consumes hydrogen to bring the environment to a neutral position. Animal proteins and cereal grains, on the other hand, contain sulphur containing amino acids, which when metabolised produce the highly acidic non- metabolisable anion, sulphate.4 Therefore, those on animal-based diets have more acidic urine and higher kidney net acid, sulphate, phosphate, chloride and uric acid excretion than those on a vegetarian diet.4 The Benefits of Mineral Citrates Minerals bound to citric acid (for example potassium citrate) contrary to what their name suggests, have a powerful buffering effect in the body. This is due to the fact that citric acid consumes hydrogen ions (H+) when metabolised and is then converted to water and carbon dioxide (C02). We exhale the acidic C02 and only the alkaline components are left, leaving a net alkaline effect on the body and why citrates have been shown to increase urinary pH.6 Unlike bicarbonates, citrates do not dissociate in the stomach and do not neutralize gastric acid function. Citrates have a long lasting, intense basic effect where as bicarbonates have fast but not continuous basic effects. Organically bound Sodium citrate minerals Na3(C6H5O7) Dissociation 3- + Organic anion (C6H5O7) + 3 Na + H+ + H+ Protonation Organic acid H3(C6H5O7) Break Down Carbon dioxide H2O + CO2 + water Elimination Figure 1: Function of organically bound minerals in the elimination of acids as shown for the example of sodium citrate. From: Vormann J, Goedecke T. Acid-Base Homeostasis: Latent Acidosis as a Cause of Chronic Diseases. Swiss Journal of Integrative Medicine 2006;18:255-66. Bio-Practica Empowering Professional Health This information is for healthcare practitioners only 3 Clinically Trialled Alkalising Minerals - Technical Data Causes of Acidosis • A diet high in animal protein and cereal grains and low in alkalising minerals and nutrients • Excess intake of sodium chloride • Inflammation • High anaerobic exercise • Dieting and fasting • Gastroenteritis • Phosphoric acid containing soft drinks • Diabetes • Aging • Menopause • Androgen deficiency • Diarrhoea • Pancreatic and biliary disease • Fractures • Renal and respiratory disease • Tumours10 The main causes of latent acidosis are advancing age, and the subsequent decline in kidney function, and diet.3 Kidney Aging Diet Acidity function + 4 This information is for healthcare practitioners only Bio-Practica Empowering Professional Health Clinically Trialled Alkalising Minerals - Technical Data Regulation of Acid-Base Homeostasis The body has numerous buffering and compensatory systems within the blood, bone, kidneys extracellular matrix and within cells to bind and neutralise any additional hydrogen or hydroxide ions.6 The kidneys play an important role in maintaining the acid-base balance. As stated earlier, the intake of excess animal protein increases the excretion of sulphates, phosphates and chlorides. The excretion of these non-metabolisable anions is an adaptive process by the kidneys to restore ionic balance. During this process, calcium is lost in the urine and the urinary excretion of citrate, a hydrogen consuming anion, is decreased.6 This necessary attempt to compensate for the low pH level may have adverse consequences.