The following information has been gathered and compiled through personal experience while traveling, teaching T’ai Chi, Qi Gong, Chinese Herbal medicine, martial arts and other health related subjects. The article also contains feedback from students and anecdotal information from readers of my columns. The following are my opinions and deductions from those sources.
Acidosis is a condition where the body chemistry becomes over acid and out of balance. My primary objective in my articles is to keep the explanations simple. This is one subject where that is reasonably difficult and referring to a medical dictionary may be necessary.
Symptoms of acidosis include: recessed eyes, rheumatoid arthritis, frequent sighing, abnormally low blood pressure, insomnia, water retention, dry hard stools, migraine headaches, foul smelling stools that are accompanied by a burning sensation in the anus, difficulty swallowing, alternating diarrhea and constipation, burning sensation in the mouth or under the tongue, bumps on the tongue or roof of the mouth and tooth sensitivity to acidic fruits and vinegar.
Acidosis occurs when the body loses its alkaline reserves and the acidity of the body fluids and tissues become abnormally high. Kidney, adrenal, respiratory and liver disorders, poor diet, malnutrition, obesity, anger, anorexia, toxemia, diabetes, stomach ulcers, excessive ingestion of both niacin and vitamin C, fear and fever can all contribute to acidosis.
Those who have diabetes mellitus also have from a form of acidosis. Diabetics lose excessive sodium, potassium and ketone bodies in the urine. Gaseous acidosis is when an abnormal amount of carbon dioxide is retained in the body, as in drowning. Renal acidosis is when the kidneys are compromised, or fail, and there is an abnormal loss of bicarbonate or excessive retention of sulfuric or phosphoric acids.
A diet high in alkalinizing foods can assist in normalizing the body’s acid/alkaline balance. Avocado, corn. dates, fresh coconut, most fresh fruits and fresh vegetables, honey, maple syrup, mo;asses, raisins and most non-GMO soy products are alkalinizing. Millet and buckwheat are the only alkalinizing grains. If you suffer from kidney problems be aware that buckwheat contains oxalic acid, which can contribute to kidney stones. Common moderately alkalinizing foods are almonds, chestnuts, Brazil nuts and Lima beans. Vitamin A, B complex vitamins and potassium all help maintain the pH balance of the blood. Kelp helps reduce acid in the body and maintain a proper balance of minerals.
Acid forming foods include: alcohol, asparagus, most beans, Brussels sprouts, catsup, chickpeas, cocoa, coffee, cornstarch, cranberries, eggs, fish, flour and flour based products, legumes, lentils, meat, milk, mustard, noodles, oatmeal, olives, pasta, pepper, plums, poultry, prunes, sauerkraut, shellfish, sodas (soft drinks), sugar and all foods with sugar added, tea and vinegar. Most grains are low level acid forming as are canned or glazed fruits, cheeses, dried and sulfured fruits and most dairy products.
Acidosis is connected with the body’s acid base balance: the balance between carbonic acid and bicarbonate in the blood. The acid base balance must be maintained at a 1:20 ratio, one part acid to twenty parts alkaline, in order to keep the hydrogen ion concentration of the blood plasma at a constant value (the blood’s pH). pH: potential of hydrogen.
When we see the large amounts of acid promoting foods, as opposed to the alkaline foods, it’s easy to see why acidosis is much more common than alkalosis. See my article on alkalosis for more information.
