Warning! The following article is for informational purposes only and does not intend in any way to promote the application of this method either for health purposes, nor for slimming purposes.
What
What is the pH diet?
La pH diet is a food system that allows, through the intake of foods that they should result alkaline, to achieve and maintain the so-called acid-base balance - necessary for the homeostasis of the organism.
This condition would be indispensable for the maintenance of the health state, since alterations detectable of pH plasma they are associated with disorders even serious.
In the following article we will discuss some considerations general about "any" advantages functional, not without dwelling on what has been demonstrated and what has been denied by scientific research in this regard.
For further information: Alkaline DietpH
Definition of pH
In chemistry, the pH represents a scale of evaluation for the 'acidity or the basicity of a solution watery. The letter "H" stands for Hydrogen while the "p" highlights the potential. The compounds acid have a pH more basswhile those basic have a plus pH high.
Note: at room temperature (25 ° C or 77 ° F), thewater pure it is neither acidic nor basic, but neutral, and has a pH di 7.
The pH scale is logarithmic and indicates inversely the concentration of hydrogen ions in the solution; a pH more bass indicates one concentration higher of ions hydrogen. This is because, to calculate the pH, the formula used approaches the negative of the base 10 logarithm of the molar concentration [a] of the hydrogen ions in the solution. More precisely, the pH is the negative of the base 10 logarithm of the hydrogen ion activity.
At 25 ° C, solutions with a pH below 7 are called acidic and solutions with a pH above 7 are basic. The value neutral of pH it depends from temperature (> 7 if the temperature rises). For very strong acids the pH value can be <0, or vice versa> 14 for very strong bases.
The pH scale can be traced back to a series of standard solutions whose pH is established by an international agreement. Standard primary pH values ​​are determined by measuring the potential difference between a hydrogen electrode and a standard electrode such as silver chloride. The pH of aqueous solutions can be measured with a glass electrode and a pH meter, or with a color indicator. PH measurements are important in chemistry, agronomy, medicine, water treatment and many other applications.
blood pH
What is the pH of the blood?
The blood pH, or rather plasma, is physiologically between 7.35 7.45 - therefore by nature slightly alkaline.
Swings greater than ± 0.4 points are accompanied by a severe impairment organic, and in the absence of treatment they can be lethal. Already from this statement it is possible to understand that any possible alteration DON'T it can have no negative effect on the state of health; otherwise, the range homeostatic would physiologically very more reduced.
The human being is therefore in acidosis when the blood pH is <7,35 and in alkalosis when the pH is > 7,45; however, this is a very rare occurrence and exclusively di pathological nature. In healthy people, the variation is very small.
Blood pH regulation
The pH of the blood and the osmotic pressure are regulated and maintained directly by the plasma ions, from protein and other dissolved molecules. The mechanisms responsible for managing these components are finely regulated. The respiratory and urinary systems and the solutes of the blood buffer systems participate - the first to intervene in case of "anomalies"; always present, constitute the first line of defense.
Increasing la pulmonary ventilation, i.e. the respiratory rate and / or depth of breath, the body increases the excretion of carbon dioxide, lifting up il pH some blood. Vice versa following thealkalosis blood is answered with thehypoventilation.
At the level kidney there is another very important compensatory mechanism of the blood pH, even if it is much slower to set in motion. The cells of the nephrons can in fact respond to acidosis reabsorbing larger quantities of bicarbonatessequestering more amount of hydrogen ions, reabsorbing more swabs (HCO3-) and promoting the genesi di ammonia - which has the ability to react with free H + ions forming the ammonium ion.
Ultimately, thehomeostasis blood pH it depends dai buffer systems, from lung and from rene.
Acidity
acid pH and possible negative consequences
We reiterate that what we are going to report is not our opinion, and we will limit ourselves to citing what some have argued about a hypothetical link between changes in blood pH, health and body composition.
According to some "theories", while remaining alkaline, the pH of modern man would be more acid than that of the past. This would be caused by a number of factors, first of all changes in eating habits and lifestyle.
Regarding the latter, we know a good circulatory efficiency effectively counteracts the problems related to the stagnation of liquids in the lower limbs, typical of the female sex and sedentary, and helps the normal weight loss process. Logically, the opposite is also true, but this is not the problem.
Again on the basis of "certain hypotheses", in the presence of excessive body acidity, the collagen fibers of the connective tissue would tend to damage, compromising circulatory efficiency and consequently increasing the predisposition towards water retention conditions and inflammatory processes at the base of cellulite.
Even the endocrine system "could" be affected by the acidic environment, seeing a decrease in insulin sensitivity and the promotion of cortisol secretion.
To conclude, some argue that an acidic pH would not help the slimming processes, but on the contrary it would tend to preserve fat mass, reduce lean mass, slow down metabolism by increasing appetite.
High-protein training and diet as a cause of acidic pH
The theories on the correlation between blood pH and body composition are based on the hypothesis that the aforementioned processes "could" be accentuated with training and an unbalanced diet.
In both men and women, intense physical activity produces lactic acid; being an acid, in compliance with what has been mentioned, this would lead to a further lowering of the blood pH. This would be the reason that, already in the presence of stagnation of liquids and / or suffering from the microcirculation, and probably from edematous-fibrosclerotic panniculopathy (PEFS, cellulite), training methods "not too lactic acid" should be preferred.
Secondly, even the high-protein diet - usually associated with the practice of fitness - "could" tend to lower the pH through the increased intake of amino acids and the consequent nitrogen residue.
Furthermore, excessively low-calorie diets, and in particular ketogenic ones, increase levels of free fatty acids and ketone bodies in the blood, which tend to further lower the plasma pH.
If the assumptions mentioned at the beginning "were real", one would understand the importance of keeping the organism in an "alkaline state"; on the other hand it is not quite so.
Alimony
What to eat to maintain a suitable pH?
If we want to believe these theories, to re-establish the acid-base balance it would be enough to respect some criteria.
The guidelines of the "pH diet" provide for the prevalence of intake of alkalizing foods and a minority of acidifying foods; more precisely:
- 80% of non-animal origin, mainly fruit and vegetables: apples, lemons, salad, millet, potatoes, almonds, sesame seeds, blueberries, broccoli, chard, carrots, celery, cabbage, green beans, onions, oranges, molasses and, in kind, all fresh fruit and vegetables;
- 20% of animal origin: meat, fish, shellfish, milk and derivatives, but also wheat and other cereals.
In practice, for each acidifying food (the last on the list) four alkalizing types are chosen (ratio 1: 4).
In some cases the strict application of this rule - especially when it comes to women who practice weight training, who want to achieve good muscle tone and a low percentage of fat - could result in a lower protein intake than needed. real. You can therefore increase your protein intake, but balance it with additional fruits and vegetables. There are also specific alkalizing supplements that have been shown to be useful in restoring the acid-base balance.
Many will notice that some types of plant-based foods with a prevalence of complex carbohydrates (bread, pasta and cereals in general) are included among acidic foods. The advice would therefore be to limit them, but not eliminate them, as they are essential for the energy level, for maintaining volume and muscle tone.
Whole-grain products would be preferable due to their lower carbohydrate density; moreover, it would be advisable to take them in the first part of the day, when the energy cost is higher.
It is recommended to drink plenty of water, also of the "alkalizing" type (pH> 7).
Comment
We begin by emphasizing that it is very important, always and in any case, to consult your doctor or a professional in the sector (for example a dietician) before embarking on any type of diet and / or dietary supplement.
Better to avoid the "do it yourself" as sometimes small mistakes are made unknowingly potentially uncomfortable for health. Readily available information can be misleading, as none of it takes into account actual health and nutritional needs.
We end the article with a small comment, now easily anticipated by kind readers. As written in the introduction, what has been reported has purely a disclosure function. Having said that, following the reasoning, it is unlikely to give credit to this system.
The pH diet method, in any variant, does not find any scientific confirmation. Any basic concept is distorted or manipulated. Scientific research does not support any of these hypotheses.
The pH is effectively regulated by the physiological systems and the tolerance range is perfectly capable of withstanding the increase or decrease in acidifying principles. The only way "to put him in crisis" would be an intravenous injection.
Primarily the buffer system is involved in most of the variations due to motor activity and diet. Only in some rare cases, such as in the ketogenic diet - especially without respecting safety guidelines - does renal intervention become essential and pulmonary ventilation also plays a primary role.
Orange peel and cellulite have etiological causes other than the production of lactic acid, so there are no limits whatsoever in the choice of motor discipline or fitness activity. As far as diet is concerned, the same concept applies. High-protein and ketogenic diets are not advisable in general, not because they lower the pH of the blood, but simply because they are difficult to sustain, unbalanced and potentially fatiguing for the organs of the most sensitive subjects in the long term.
