pH: Why is it important to me?

The body’s pH is has a significant influence on one’s physical and psychological health.  pH is the abbreviation for ‘potential hydrogen’ and is rated on a scale from 0 to 14. A fluid with a high pH (8-14) is alkaline and oxygen rich. A lower pH reading (0 – 6) means that the fluid is more acidic and oxygen deprived. This can be measured in our blood, urine and saliva. It is generally accepted that an consuming slightly alkaline foods and drinks is more positive for our overall well-being than acidic foods and drinks.

The pH range is measured from 0-14 with 7 being neutral. The lower the pH reading the higher the acidic content is. The higher the pH reading the more alkaline the content is.

(see graph)

The body’s pH level is extremely important for good health. Blood in a healthy individual should return a pH reading between 7.35 and 7.45 with the ideal being 7.4. If your blood pH moves down to 6.8 or up to 7.8 the cells in your body will cease to function and death will follow. If your body’s pH becomes even slightly acidic there will be negative repercussions for your health and well-being. Some health concerns which can be traced to pH imbalance are as follows:

• Deficient liver function
• Bladder and kidney problems
• Cardiovascular weakness
• Hormone imbalance
• Immune deficiency
• Tumour growth
• Acceleration of free radical damage
• Arthritic conditions
• Low bone density (brittle bones)
• Low energy/chronic fatigue syndrome
• Some psychological disorders
• Yeast / fungal infection
• Weight gain
• Sluggish digestion

It is a fact of life that modern living exposes us to poor dietary choices and an increasing level of exposure to chemicals and other contaminants.  This in turn pushes our blood pH into the acidic range. The human body’s response to this situation is to try to correct the pH imbalance and get the blood pH back into the 7.35 – 7.45 range. It does this by:

• Pulling water from cells to dilute and neutralize the acid residues
• Pulling bicarbonate from the pancreas into the blood
• Employ protein buffers bind or neutralize acids
• Activate electrolyte buffers of sodium, potassium and calcium to bind acids in body fluids and excrete them in urine
• Pulling calcium and magnesium from bones to neutralize blood acids
• Pushing toxins and blood acid residues into the extremities and away from vital organs – typically, into the joints of the hand and foot.
• Using fats to dilute and bind blood acids and store it in fatty deposits around our organs.

This response can lead to the development of the health ailments and concerns described above.

However if you provide your body with its optimal environment (pH balance) then it has an amazing capacity to heal itself.

Because our bodies are made up of approximately 70% water it is logical that the ingestion of water outside of the 7.35 – 7.45 pH range will affect the body’s overall pH level. Additionally, drinking water laced with chemicals, toxins and other contaminants has a real potential to upset the pH balance. For this reason clean water is fundamentally important to good health and water purification is the answer to obtaining and retaining good health.

While water supply authorities will claim that the water they supply is “safe to drink”, there is ample evidence that our water supplies contain a range of chemicals, minerals, pathogens and other contaminants.   Some, such as chlorine and fluoride, are deliberately introduced into the water supply to make it safe and beneficial. But is ‘safe water’ really ‘healthy water’?

The most efficient and convenient way to produce healthy water is to remove all the impurities and contaminants from your water supply by installing and using a reverse osmosis water purification system. The reverse osmosis process of water purification removes 98% of suspended solids, pathogens, chemicals, aqueous salts, heavy metals, and metal ions from the processed water leaving the water at a pH of around 6.8 which like rain water is slightly acidic. While this is not ideal, the reverse osmosis water filtration and purification system is providing healthy drinking water and it is much better than being exposed to the chemicals, heavy metals, pathogens and so on in the contaminated water.

If you would like to have slightly alkaline water with an inclusion of good minerals like magnesium, calcium and potassium, Crystal Water can supply an add-on alkaline cartridge to bring the water pH up to a healthy 7.2 thus ensuring that you are consuming even more healthy water.