Below are a few excerpts from Foods that Heal by Dr. Bernard Jensen; Acid and Alkaline by Herman Aihara; Prescription for Dietary Wellness by Phyllis Balch;

ACIDITY AND ALKALINITY IN THE BODY

(We are not advocating animal testing by the use of this story) 
The following experiments illustrate the point; medical researchers Balint and Weiss took a rabbit and alkalinized it. Then they slit the rabbit's leg and injected turpentine. The damage to the leg was very slight. When the rabbit was acidized, however, the injection of turpentine was followed by inflammation, tissue sloughing, and death.

In another experiment, this time with scarlet fever patients, it ivas< was discovered that when urinary acidity ranged high, there was an aftermath of kidney disease in two-thirds of the cases. When the acidity was low, only 3 percent of the cases were thus complicated. These experiments point out very definitely that a high alkaline balance is the body's first line of defense against illness and death. (Refer to Food Analysis Chart for balance.)

In addition to the proper acid/alkaline balance, we must supply our bodies with specific nutritional requirements  Problems develop when we lack nutrients to build the muscles, to build the ligaments, to build any part of our bodies. When a certain organ is not healthy, we should be able to go to nutrition and bring back the basic building blocks it needs. Our organs are designed to be self-repairing, but they need an opportunity to do this.

THE BODY MOLDS TO WHAT WE FEED IT

The body changes according to what we eat. It will mold to a salad, it will mold to junk foods, sugary foods, fatty foods, it will mold to white vinegar, wine vinegar, or to a natural apple cider vinegar.  The bad news is that your body molds to these things, and it does the best it can with the foods that you give it. The good news is that when you change your diet to a proper, balanced way of eating your whole body changes with it.

What can the study of acid and alkaline do for you?

When they are metabolized, carbohydrates, proteins, and fats produce inorganic and organic acids.   Protein produces sulfuric acid and phosphoric acid.  Carbohydrates and fats produce acetic acid and lactic acid. These acids are all poisonous. We have to eliminate them from our bodies as quickly as possible. However, if these acidic substances were eliminated through the kidneys and large intestine, those organs would suffer damage from the acid. luckily, however, in our body those acids are neutralized by mineral compounds. Together, the mineral compounds and acids produce substances which are no longer poisonous to us and which can be safely eliminated.

(Be patient while we get past the nerdy science) The family of mineral compounds which neutralize acids are the carbonic salts, symbolized as BaCOs where the Ba stands for any one of the four basic or alkaline elements: Na, Ca, K, and Mg. When carbonic salts meet with strong acids such as sulfuric acid, phosphoric acid, acetic acid and lactic acid, the alkaline minerals making up carbonic salt leave the salt and combine with the acids to make new salts.

For example:BaC03 = H2S04 = BaS04 + HzO + C02 carbonic salt + sulfuric acid = sulfuric salt = water + carbon dioxide.

In the result, carbonic salt changes sulfuric acid, which is a strong acid, to sulfuric salt, which can be eliminated through the kidneys without any harm. in the same way some other acid may be changed to another salt and be eliminated through the wall of the large intestine. In short, the acids which are the end product of metal can be eliminated only after they are changed to neutral salts. Then they are no longer harmful to the kidneys and to the wall of the intestine.

The result of this change, that is to say, from acid to   neutral salt is to reduce the concentration of alkaline elements such as Na, Ca, Mg, and K in the blood and then in the extra-cellular fluid. It is this lowered concentration of alkaline elements which is referred to as the acidic condition of the body fluid. Since in order for us to be healthy our body fluid must be kept at an alkaline level (pH 7.4) we must re-supply the lost alkaline elements through the foods we eat.

This is one of the reasons that we have to eat enough alkaline forming foods to make body fluids alkaline all the time. Another reason that we have to eat alkaline forming foods is that a shortage of the alkaline forming elements Na and Ca in the extra-cellular fluids causes a lowering of the other alkaline forming elements, K and Mg, in the intracellular fluids of the body. If the intracellular fluids in question are in nerve cells, then the nerves will not function; that is to say, the nerves will not transmit messages. The result is that we go into a coma. Therefore, it is imperative to keep enough alkaline forming elements in our body fluids to maintain an alkalinity level of ph 7.4, Furthermore, one of the important causes of cancer and other degenerative diseases - is the cumulative effect of the acidic condition of body fluid. Therefore if you study acid and alkaline balance as taught in this book, you can prevent almost all sicknesses, including cancer, heart disease, heart attack, and AIDS.

NOTES:   For those of you who want the short version:  Basically, if you want your body to be able to convert acids in the body you MUST have the proper minerals in place to offset this condition.  Each set of elements needs a certain alkalinity to be affective in the body.  THIS is the reason for the 80/20 theory of basic health which says that one should eat 80% alkaline foods and 20% acidic foods for optimum health.   You will see below that some propose this ration is for healing while 60/40 is for every day health.  Regardless, the American diet is NOT even close to a compromise of these two schools of thought.    This paragraph contains MY thoughts and summaries.

The following information is taken from the middle of a scientific discussion on potassium and how it affects the ash of the foods in the Acid and Alkaline book:

Therefore, if one eats grains and vegetables, which contain much potassium, the blood will oxidize well and allow better physiological functioning. On the other hand/ if one eats a lot of meats, poultry, fish, and eggs which contain high amounts of sodium, blood oxidation is not so good, and leaves much poisonous acid. Therefore, vegetarians live longer and eaters of animal food live a shorter life. Since the air near the ocean has more sodium than the air in the mountains, people who live near the ocean have shorter lives than people who live in the mountains.  

From the Prescription for Dietary Wellness:

Acid and Alkaline Test

1) Purchase nitrazine paper, available at any drugstore, and apply saliva or urine to the paper (or check both).

2) Check before eating or at least one hour after eating. The paper will change colors to indicate if your system is overly acidic or alkaline. Water is neutral at ph 7.0. Below pH 7.0 is acid, above pH 7.0 is alkaline.

3) The ideal pH range for saliva and urine is 6.0-6.8 since our body functions best when it is naturally mildly acidic. Therefore, values below pH 6.0 are too acidic, and above ph 6.8 are too alkaline.

4) The following foods should be consumed according to your test. If you were overly acid or alkaline omit the acid or alkaline forming foods from your diet, until your pH test returns to the normal range.

Reference below: Human blood pH should be slightly alkaline ( 7.35 - 7.45 ). A pH of 7.0 is neutral. A pH below 7.0 is acidic. A pH above 7.0 is alkaline. An acidic pH can occur from, an acid forming diet, emotional stress, toxic overload, and/or immune reactions or any process that deprives the cells of oxygen and other nutrients. The body will try to compensate for acidic pH by using alkaline minerals. If the diet does not contain enough minerals to compensate, a build up of acids in the cells will occur.

An acidic balance will: decrease the body's ability to absorb minerals and other nutrients, decrease the energy production in the cells, decrease it's ability to repair damaged cells, decrease it's ability to detoxify heavy metals, make tumor cells thrive, and make it more susceptible to fatigue and illness.

The reason acidosis is more common in our society is mostly due to the typical American diet, which is far too high in acid producing animal products like meat, eggs and dairy, and far too low in alkaline producing foods like fresh vegetables. Additionally, we eat acid producing processed foods like white flour and sugar and drink acid producing beverages like coffee and soft drinks. We use too many drugs, which are acid forming; and we use artificial chemical sweeteners like Nutra-Sweet®, Spoonful, Sweet 'N Low, Equal, or Aspartame, which are poison and extremely acid forming <http://www.bluegrass.net/~jclark/sweeteners.htm>. One of the best things we can do to correct an overly acid body is to clean up the diet and lifestyle.

To maintain health, the diet should consist of 60% alkaline forming foods & 40% acid forming foods.     To restore health, the diet should consist of 80% alkaline forming foods & 20% acid forming foods.  

Highly Alkaline Forming Foods

Baking soda, sea salt, mineral water, pumpkin seed, lentils, seaweed, onion, taro root, sea vegetables, lotus root, sweet potato, lime, nectarine, persimmon, raspberry, watermelon, tangerine, and pineapple.  

Moderately Alkaline Forming Foods

Spices, kambucha, unsulfured molasses, soy sauce, cashews, chestnuts, pepper, kohlrabi, parsnip, garlic, asparagus, kale, parsley, endive, arugula, mustard green, ginger root, broccoli, grapefruit, cantaloupe, honeydew, citrus, olive, dewberry, loganberry, and mango.

Low Alkaline Forming Foods

Most herbs, green tea, mu tea, rice syrup, apple cider vinegar, sake, quail eggs, primrose oil, sesame seed, cod liver oil, almonds, sprouts, potato, bell pepper, mushrooms, cauliflower, cabbage, rutabaga, ginseng, eggplant, pumpkin, collard green, lemon, pear, avocado, apple, blackberry, cherry, peach, and papaya.

Very Low Alkaline Forming Foods

Ginger tea, umeboshi vinegar, ghee, duck eggs, oats, grain coffee, quinoa, japonica rice, wild rice, avocado oil, most seeds, coconut oil, olive oil, flax oil, brussel sprout, beet, chive, cilantro, celery, okra, cucumber, turnip greens, squashes, lettuces, orange, apricot, banana, blueberry, raisin, currant, grape, and strawberry.

Very Low Acid Forming Foods

Curry, Koma coffee, honey, maple syrup, vinegar, cream, butter, goat/sheep cheese, chicken, gelatin, organs, venison, fish, wild duck, triticale, millet, kasha, amaranth, brown rice, pumpkin seed oil, grape seed oil, sunflower oil, pine nuts, canola oil, spinach, fava beans, black-eyed peas, string beans, wax beans, zucchini, chutney, rhubarb, coconut, guava, dry fruit, figs, and dates.

Low Acid Forming Foods

Vanilla, alcohol, black tea, balsamic vinegar, cow milk, aged cheese, soy cheese, goat milk, game meat, lamb, mutton, boar, elk, shell fish, mollusks, goose, turkey, buckwheat, wheat, spelt, teff, kamut, farina, semolina, white rice, almond oil, sesame oil, safflower oil, tapioca, seitan, tofu, pinto beans, white beans, navy beans, red beans, aduki beans, lima beans, chard, plum, prune and tomatoes.

Moderately Acid Forming Foods

kernel oil, green peas, peanuts, snow peas, other legumes, carrots, garbanzo beans, cranberry, and pomegranate.

Highly Acid Forming Foods

Tabletop sweeteners like (Nutra-Sweet®, Spoonful, Sweet 'N Low, Equal or Aspartame), pudding, jam, jelly, table salt (NaCl), beer, yeast, hops, malt, sugar, cocoa, white (acetic acid) vinegar, processed cheese, ice cream, beef, lobster, pheasant, barley, cottonseed oil, hazelnuts, walnuts, brazil nuts, fried foods, soybean, and soft drinks, especially the cola type. To neutralize a glass of cola with a pH of 2.5, it would take 32 glasses of alkaline water with a pH of 10.

Nutmeg, coffee, casein, milk protein, cottage cheese, soy milk, pork, veal, bear, mussels, squid, chicken, maize, barley groats, corn, rye, oat bran, pistachio seeds, chestnut oil, lard, pecans, palm

 More on pH testing technique:

Urine pH reflects what is leaving the body. Normally when the urine pH is alkaline the body is becoming sick. When urine pH shows acid, we consider this to be normal. The body is attempting to discharge its acid waste. Testing the saliva pH 2 hours after a meal reflects the cellular pH, and the state of health a person is in. The pH of a healthy person will be around 7.43.

Follow These Three Simple Steps:
1.  Wait for two hours after having anything in your mouth (the
purpose is to test the saliva produced by the body, about 7 quarts
each day, and not just the saliva and food in your mouth.) 

2.  Swallow the saliva in your mouth, and then suck new saliva from
below your tongue (there are two saliva glands below the tongue).
Repeat 2 more times.  

3.  Apply saliva to a piece of the pH paper provided,wait 20 seconds,
and compare the resulting color to the pH color chart above.

Check Your Results:
1.  If your pH is 7.5, your body fluids are in the healthy range,
meaning that, for the moment at least, you are not mineral deficient.
 
2.  If your pH is between 6.0 and 6.5, you are becoming acidic and
therefore developing one or more of the 150 degenerative diseases.
 
3.  If your pH is below 6.0, then you are highly acidic, very mineral
deficient, and have contracted at least one degenerative disease.

What can be done to increase alkalinity?
    http://www.infertilityworkshop.com/products/natures_sunshine/coral_calcium.htm

Coral Calcium has a pH of 10-11 which means that it is extremely high on the alkalinizing side.    This means that by taking coral calcium supplement you will be offsetting the ratio within your acidic body.  We are not proposing that you continue unhealthy eating habits and poor lifestyle choices while choosing Coral Calcium as a supplement.   On the contrary, we propose that a supplement such as this may benefit you in your efforts to more readily restore balance to your body WHILE changing your eating for the future.    

Another product we carry and recommend is Sea Silver®; an outstanding wholefood concentration bringing you wholefood nutrition which will naturally add alkalinity to the body while supplying many nutritional benefits that only pure food can. http://www.infertilityworkshop.com/products/seasilver/index.htm

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