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ACIDOSIS

There are two basic types of acidosis. 1. Metabolic acidosis 2. Respiratory acidosis

The body is considered to be acidic when there is an overproduction of acid that builds up in the blood or an excessive loss of bicarbonate from the blood, this condition is referred to as metabolic acidosis. Also, when there is a buildup of carbon dioxide in the blood that results from poor lung function, labored or depressed breathing this condition is called respiratory acidosis.

While they are usually diagnosed separately, we have found their source cause to be primarily the same: An acidic DIET mainly comprising processed and high carb foods.

Blood acidity increases when we ingest substances that contain or produce acid or when the lungs do not expel enough carbon dioxide fast enough. AS blood acidity increases, the oxygen carrying capacity of the blood dramatically decreases. This results in an oxygen deficit throughout the whole body, which now gives rise to a myriad of “oxygen deprived”, related conditions.

Symptoms

The list of symptoms usually starts with a headache that never goes away. We call them migraine headaches and may be accompanied over time by confusion and bad memory, nausea, vomiting, fatigue and one may begin to breathe faster and deeper than normal.

Breathing faster and deeper increases the amount of carbon dioxide we exhaled, which now helps to raise the blood pH back toward normal.

The kidneys will also be brought into the picture by excreting more acid through the urine. However, the body’s compensatory systems are often overwhelmed by our acid intake, leading to severe acidosis and eventually heart problems and in extreme cases, coma.

Another very important consideration of acidosis is that it triggers cellular inflammation [1] (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3650379/). This is not the body’s normal acute inflammatory response to an invading pathogen or injury, but rather what is referred to as low level, chronic inflammation. This means that the whole body is inflamed and this inflammatory response to acidosis in turn becomes an active trigger for many other chronic metabolic diseases and complications.

This list of unfavorable events (which may be longer for some persons), is occurring because the body is trying to correct the issue of high acidity. However, the challenge of accomplishing this is made much more difficult primarily because acidic blood transports very little oxygen and all organs and tissues needed to correct the problem needs a good supply of oxygen to carry out their functions optimally. Here you can see a downward spiral of health issues that all began with one single condition…acidosis.

The acidity and alkalinity of body fluids are measured on the pH scale, which ranges from 0 (strongly acidic) to 14 (strongly basic or alkaline). A pH of 7.0, in the middle of this scale, is neutral and is the pH of pure water.

The pH of Blood is normally 7.35 to 7.45. Well-regulated homeostasis will try to maintain the pH of blood close to 7.40. It is at this pH measure that the blood cells maintain good health and blood oxygen saturation is at its highest.

Effective systemic healing and restoration requires calculated steps to achieve good results, and a pure healthy, nutrient and oxygen rich blood supply is a fundamental necessity for tissue and organ restoration.

Solution

While most health conditions can be addresses with various herbal interventions, here is one that requires knowledge and discipline to correct. Unfortunately, the time and sacrifice required to eat healthily is almost the equivalent of a full-time job. However there a few things the average Joe can do to live healthy even under the prevailing circumstances. Here is your checklist:

Please get yourself pH test strips, (Eg. HYDRION brand). This way you can be in the know as to your pH score at all times.
Google “acidic and alkaline food chart”. Download and print your resulting lists with pictures if necessary. Place this list in the kitchen or wherever it is a visible reminder and can be easily accessed. Use this list to plan ahead of each meal, maintaining an acid- alkaline food balance for the family at all times.
Get away from sugar, and certainly stay away from these chemical sweeteners that you are told are not sugar. These sweeteners are all highly acidic.
Stop frying your foods, rather bake or steam them.
Do not use MSG based seasonings. They are not just acidic but also super inflammatory, especially for the brain.
Drink lots of pure water. Alkaline water is also a great help, but only use alkaline water that was made alkaline by adding minerals. Please do not use water made alkaline through electrolysis.
Water melons, Lemons and lime are a great everyday way, of helping to keep your pH on the alkaline side.

INFLAMMATION

What is inflammation.

Inflammation refers to your body’s natural processes of self-defense against things that it perceives to be a threat, like infections (bacteria and viruses), injuries, and toxins, in an attempt to heal itself. When something damages your cells, they will give off a distress signal in the form of a chemical alarm. Your body now releases chemicals that trigger a response from your immune system.

This response will manifest itself in a number of ways, which often time depends on the threat. This list of reactions may include Redness, Heat, Swelling and Pain as the major more common symptoms. So, when a wound or area of the body swells up, turns red and hurts, we know we are experiencing signs of an inflammatory response.

However, there are two main categories of inflammation. Acute Inflammation and Chronic Inflammation

Acute Inflammation

Acute inflammation, as was just described, is a healthy and necessary function that helps the body attack invading pathogens like viruses and other foreign substances in the body. Once the body has successfully healed itself, the inflammatory process usually stops.

What is most important to understand about Acute inflammation is that this type of inflammation is usually localized to the part of the body that is under attack, and will last for a short period required for that healing process to be complete.

A few examples of common conditions that can cause acute inflammation include:

A sore throat related to the flu or another viral infection
Skin cuts and scratches
Sinusitis (Secretion of mucus is usually an inflammatory response)
Acute bronchitis (inflammation of the airways that carry air to the lungs)
Allergic reactions (pollen allergies)

Chronic Inflammation

In contrast, when an inflammatory response continues over a prolonged period of time and gets turned up too high, the immune system will continue to pump out white blood cells and chemical messengers that only prolongs the process, that now becomes chronic inflammation. The whole body perceives itself to be under attack, and now gets locked in an indefinite defensive state.

At this point, the rapidly released white blood cells may end up attacking nearby healthy tissues and organs, as just about any organ or tissue, wither it be good or evil may now be mistakenly identified as an invader, and thus worthy of attack. This state of the body usually leads to a list of autoimmune diseases.

A few examples of chronic inflammatory conditions include:

frequent infections.
constant fatigue and insomnia
depression, anxiety and mood disorders
body pain
problems with digestion
weight gain

Why is chronic inflammation such a big deal?

Chronic Inflammation is a very big deal because, just about all chronic diseases can be traced back to it. Chronic, low-grade inflammation can turn into a silent killer that contributes to cardiovascular disease, cancer, type 2 diabetes and a mountain of other conditions.

Keeping our inflammatory markers as low as possible, is key to keeping these associated diseases at bay. However, Chronic inflammation doesn’t just go chronic on the first day, this is a development that usually takes years. One that we have been nurturing for years primarily through a faulty high carbohydrates diet. Thus, understanding the steps that brought us to an inflamed flash point, is critical knowledge on how to reverse or at least manage the ongoing condition of inflammation.

Paying strict attention to our diet is the foundational key to monitoring our health. Our chronic diseases are almost 100% diet driven. We know this to be factual because people in certain parts of the world (like rural China) that does not indulge in the western style diet, do not have such high incidences of our “western diseases”, (eg Cancers).

Inflammation causes pain

When an inflammation occurs in your body, many different immune system cells may be involved. They release various substances, known as inflammatory mediators. These include the hormones bradykinin and histamine. They cause the small blood vessels in the tissue to become wider (dilate), allowing more blood to reach the injured tissue. For this reason, inflamed areas turn red and feel hot.

The increased blood flow also allows more immune system cells to be carried to the injured tissue, where they help with the healing process. What’s more, both of these hormones irritate nerves and cause “pain” signals to be sent to the brain. This has a protective function: If the inflammation hurts, you tend to protect the affected part of the body.

The inflammatory mediators have yet another function: They make it easier for immune system cells to pass out of the small blood vessels, so that more of them can enter the affected tissue. The immune system cells also cause more fluid to enter the inflamed tissue, which is why it often swells up. The swelling goes down again after a while, when this fluid is transported out of the tissue.

Mucous membranes also release more fluid when they are inflamed. For instance, this happens when you have a stuffy nose and the membranes lining your nose are inflamed. Then the extra fluid can help to quickly flush the viruses out of your body. (Source: Kasper DL, Fauci AS, Hauser SL et al. Harrison’s Principles of Internal Medicine. New York: McGraw-Hill; 2015)

Hyperglycemia

Overview

Whenever you bite into a piece of fruit or eat a bowl of pasta, you’re providing your body with the energy and nutrients it needs to stay healthy. One of the most important nutrients is glucose, a type of sugar. It‘s a main source of energy, and it travels in the bloodstream to cells throughout your body.

Normally, our bodies carefully regulate glucose levels, making sure they don’t get too high or too low. But sometimes, as happens in people with diabetes, the body is unable to effectively control those levels. Hyperglycemia occurs when the level of blood glucose gets too high.

Hyperglycemia can affect people of any age and can cause a range of symptoms, including excessive thirst, hunger, fatigue, and/or an urge to urinate larger amounts than usual. If left untreated for a long period of time, it can lead to serious complications, such as eye damage, kidney problems, and heart disease, among others. Fortunately, treatments are available that can help prevent hyperglycemia and control blood glucose levels.

What is hyperglycemia?

Hyperglycemia is a condition in which the level of glucose in the blood is higher than normal. Sometimes called “high blood sugar,” it commonly affects people who have diabetes mellitus, but it can also develop in non-diabetics.

Glucose is the primary source of energy for all cells in our bodies. It comes from the foods we eat, especially carbohydrates. When food reaches the stomach, it is broken down into different parts—one of which is glucose. The intestines absorb the glucose, which then enters the bloodstream and circulates around the body.

Normally, the body uses a hormone called insulin to move glucose from the blood into cells, thereby lowering glucose in the blood and providing cells with energy.

Hyperglycemia can occur when the body does not produce enough insulin or does not respond to insulin correctly. In both cases, glucose stays in the blood instead of being sent to the cells, and as a result, blood glucose levels remain elevated. If more glucose enters the bloodstream—if you eat carbohydrate-rich food, for example—the blood glucose levels climb even higher.

In some cases, people with diabetes who have hyperglycemia can develop a complication called diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA). In this condition, the cells cannot access glucose. Instead, the body gets energy by breaking down fats. This process produces compounds called ketones, which build up in the blood, causing it to become acidic. DKA is a life-threatening condition. (DKA is most commonly associated with type 1 diabetes, but can occur in people with type 2 as well.)

In people with type 2 diabetes, very high blood glucose levels can lead to a life-threatening condition called hyperosmolar hyperglycemic state (HHS), which causes profound dehydration and a change in mental status. (source: www.yalemedicine.org)

What causes hyperglycemia?

We have found numerous research papers that directly link insulin resistance to chronic inflammation. We have found in our own trial investigations that when our inflammatory markers are brought down low, insulin resistance naturally goes away, and cells are able to freely uptake glucose more readily.

While hyperglycemia can be triggered by eating too many carbohydrates or not exercising enough, the fundamental cause is a highly inflamed body, and yes! this inflammation is mainly contributed to by a high carbohydrate processed foods diet.