Alkalize or fibrillate???????

Hi to all.

I will purposely keep this as short as possible which is very difficult for me as I do tend to slide off into details and it is hard not to elaborate on the fantastic researching and analizing of this subject by Erling and Jackie via their posts. There's quite a few others things I would add but will see how this post pans out first.


The recent re-visit - by the BB - and flurry of posts regarding alkalizing the body initially started when I posted less than a month ago about trying to find a cure for my 13 year old daughters teenage acne. The post discribes how I came upon a 'cure' for cancer by simply taking solutions of baking soda on a daily basis until the body maintained a pH of above 8pH for 5 consecutive days which was measurable by taking urine samples using 'testing stixs' that indicate what the pH levels are. In that post or one that followed I suggested that this may be a good opportunity for afibbers to try alkalizing as a possible 'cure' for Afib in a subset of afibbers. Not being one to suggest something I would not do myself I then did 14 days taking 1 teaspoon of baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) last thing at night and found I had no negative issues at all.

So test number one went without mishap leading me to do test number two using the baking soda. This test followed the first within an interval of maybe five days. The results of test number 2 has been the same i.e. no negative issues at all at much higher doses.

I have been free of AF since 2009 after an ablation by Dr Hocini in Bordeaux so I have no idea if alkalizing as I did would reduce the AF burden in an otherwise healthy Lone Afibber. Just in case anyone is interested the following is a genuine record of the course of events during the last ten days. Note: I have just checked on the preview and the format is not in 'line' vertically probably because it originated in excel format. Hope it doesn't confuse the issue too much.

As always everyone must follow their own due dilligence when reading on the internet, or any other source for that matter.


Sodium bicarbonate intake - 1 teaspoon dosage each time and urine pH taken first thing in morning and immediately before dose at 10pm

APRIL30 MAY1 MAY2 MAY3 MAY4 MAY5 MAY6 MAY7 MAY8 MAY9


pH 6 pH 9 pH 5 pH 9 pH 9 pH 9 pH 9 pH 9 pH 9 pH 9
10am 10am 10am 10am 10am 10am 10am 10am 10am 10am
taken taken taken taken taken taken taken taken taken taken

pH 7.5 pH 5 pH 9 pH 7 pH 9 pH 6 pH 9 pH 9 pH 9 pH 9
10pm 10pm 10pm 10pm 10pm 10pm 10pm 10pm 10pm 10pm
taken taken taken taken 1.5 taken 1.5 taken 1.5 taken taken 1.5 taken 1.5 taken 1.5

OTHER POINTS
Note 1 - taken means 1 teaspoon of sodium bicarbonate taken
Note 2 - taken 1.5 means 1.5 teaspoons of sodium bicarbonate taken
Note 3 - 1 teaspoon of Potassium Gluconate was taken at approx 7am and 7pm throughout the protcol.

Barry G.

Hi All,


I've noticed that baking soda is really high in sodium. I would think this might be a negative factor for some who are salt sensitive.

Debbie

Debbie,

point taken about sodium, easy target, please confirm the actual sodium content of sodium in one teaspoon of sodium bicarbonate i.e. is it 33% by volume?????? ie. misicule by what people in Northern England pour on their fish and chips and have done for maybe 100 years. My grand parents in Northern England lived into their 90s without AF and loved fish & chips loaded with salt and vinigar.

Potassium is forever pushed on BB but how many know that potassium is the main part of the cockail that is used for the lethal injection used in the USA to kill prisioners on death row.

We have to get real on these issues .i.e. I have done two experiments on taking baking soda ( not theory - copy and paste out of books) and I have had no detrimental issues whatsoever. I use a blood pressure and heart rate monitor daily and have had no change whatsoever in my blood pressure .i.e. sat at the computor 130 /76 so possibly the perfect 120/80 doing nothing with my eyses closed, never get the time to sit around doing nothing.

Just done 3.5 hours today hiking the trails of Hong Kong New Territorries and for the first time I did not have to struggle walking down the hills i.e. runners knee which anyone who has runners knee will identfy with. Alkalizers claim this is a normal thing to happen i.e reduces inflamation.

Alkalizing the body apparently reduces inflamation in the body a subject forever mentioned in the fight against AF.

I think it was Francesca who stated ( a real gem) that the body actually produces sodium bicarbonote (baking soda) to protect the body when food moves from the stomache to the lower? intestine, why not magnesium bicarbonate.

My daughter who is a kidney transplant patient and an Afibber must take baking soda - sodium bicarbonate - every day for the rest of her life as part of her protocol, why not some magnesium /potassium bicarbonate???????

If the body can be deficient in magnesium , potassium or whatever why can it not be deficient in the the vital sodium bicarbonate. Many afibbers state that their AF starts in the stomache

Time to start looking outside the box!!!

Barry G.

Barry G.


.

Debbie - you are correct about the concern over the sodium content of the baking soda or sodium bicarbonate - especially for those with active arrhythmias. The whole focus of CR 72 (supported by very clear science) is about not overpowering potassium with sodium intake so that the sodium/potassium pumps can function as designed, so the heart is provided with the energy (voltage) required to maintain NSR. The alkalizing benefits from either magnesium bicarbonate or potassium bicarbonate are better suited for those with arrhythmias for that very reason.

At the very least, people wishing to experiment by adding more sodium via sodium bicarbonate dosing should have an Exatest evaluation to learn the intracellular ranges and ratios - especially if they are active afibbers- because very often, they are found to be low in magnesium, low in potassium and high in sodium and high in calcium. Just as magnesium and potassium are calming, both sodium and calcium are excitatory to heart cells.

Jackie

Just read one of Erlings posts from the recent subject line 'Waller Water' by Alex and after opening the suggested link i.e. www.mgwater.com I found the following below. One or two good points in there which I will point out for easy reference first i.e.

1) A study has underlined that a dose of 6.17 g of sodium bicarbonate rapidly leaves the stomach with the liquid phase of the meal.
2) In a study on sports, a dose of 0.3 g per kg of body weight of sodium bicarbonate was given (15.25 g bicarbonate for a man of 70 kg) to subjects before performing 30 minutes cycling. While blood pH was increased and then maintained constant with this bicarbonate load due to the changes in blood bicarbonate concentrations, increased acidity and decreased bicarbonate blood concentration were observed in controlled subjects.
Barry G. now, this indicates that in one spoonful of sodium bicarbonate there is only one third of that spoonfull that is sodium. This sodium bicarbonate actually raised the blood pH although I have believed that the blood pH can't be raised, a major factor.
3) Sodium intake is restricted in patients with hypertension, but it is demonstrated that the accompanying anion, such as bicarbonate or chloride, plays an important role. It is now well established that sodium bicarbonate as well as citrate and phosphate salts do not raise blood pressure to the same extent as do the corresponding amounts of sodium chloride.
Barry G. now. Note: The organisers of the study used sodium bicarbonate




Bicarbonate has beneficial effects on health
(News vol 3, no 1, May 2001)
Bicarbonate is a major element in our body. Secreted by the stomach, it is necessary for digestion. When ingested, for example, with mineral water, it helps buffer lactic acid generated during exercise and also reduces the acidity of dietary components. Finally, it has a prevention effect on dental cavities.

Bicarbonate is present in all body fluids (see table) and organs and plays a major role in the acid-base balances in the human body. The first organ where food, beverages and water stay in our body is the stomach. The mucus membrane of the human stomach has 30 million glands which produce gastric juice containing not only acids, but also bicarbonate. The flow of bicarbonate in the stomach amounts from 400 µmol per hour (24.4 mg/h) for a basal output to 1,200 µmol per hour (73.2 mg/h) for a maximal output. Thus at least half a gram of bicarbonate is secreted daily in our stomach. This rate of gastric bicarbonate secretion is 2-10% of the maximum rate of acid secretion. In the stomach, bicarbonate participates in a mucus-bicarbonate barrier regarded as the first line of the protective and repair mechanisms. On neutralization by acid, carbon dioxide is produced from bicarbonate. A study has underlined that a dose of 6.17 g of sodium bicarbonate rapidly leaves the stomach with the liquid phase of the meal.

Effects of ingested bicarbonate
For digestion, bicarbonate is naturally produced by the gastric membrane in the stomach. This production will be low in alkaline conditions and will rise in response to acidity. In healthy individuals this adaptive mechanism will control the pH perfectly. To modify this pH with exogenous doses of bicarbonate, some clinical experiments have been conducted with sodium bicarbonate loads as high as 6 g. Only a transient effect on pH has been obtained. It is quite possible that bicarbonate in water may play a buffering role in the case of people sensitive to gastric acidity. Thus bicarbonate may be helpful for digestion.

The most important effect of bicarbonate ingestion is the change in acid-base balance as well as blood pH and bicarbonate concentration in biological fluids. It has been studied particularly in physically active people. Among the types of acid produced, lactic acid generated during exercise is buffered by bicarbonate. In a study on sports, a dose of 0.3 g per kg of body weight of sodium bicarbonate was given (15.25 g bicarbonate for a man of 70 kg) to subjects before performing 30 minutes cycling. While blood pH was increased and then maintained constant with this bicarbonate load due to the changes in blood bicarbonate concentrations, increased acidity and decreased bicarbonate blood concentration were observed in controlled subjects. Mineral water which contains bicarbonate (>600 mg/l) may have an effect on acid-base balance. It is the case of Qu zac. The daily consumption of 1.5 liter of Qu zac in healthy subjects has produced a significant increase in the urinary pH due to the ingested bicarbonate (1685 mg/l).

Prevention of renal stones
Bicarbonate also reduces the acidity of dietary components such as proteins. As an example, adding sodium or even more potassium bicarbonate to subjects on a high protein diet known to acidify urine and leading to hypercalciuria (high level of calcium in urine) has been shown to greatly reduce calcium urinary excretion. The effect has been observed with 5.5 g of bicarbonate supplement received daily for two weeks. A recent study presented in the review of literature highlights that a bicarbonate-rich mineral water could be useful in the prevention of the recurrence of calcium oxalate and uric acid renal stones.

Many oral hydration solutions contain bicarbonate showing the usefulness of bicarbonate to control water absorption in patients at risk of dehydration.

Sodium intake is restricted in patients with hypertension, but it is demonstrated that the accompanying anion, such as bicarbonate or chloride, plays an important role. It is now well established that sodium bicarbonate as well as citrate and phosphate salts do not raise blood pressure to the same extent as do the corresponding amounts of sodium chloride. A study on mineral water containing sodium bicarbonate has confirmed the absence of effect on blood pressure in elderly individuals.

Bicarbonate has been shown to decrease dental plaque acidity induced by sucrose and its buffering capacity is important to prevent dental cavities. Other studies have shown that bicarbonate inhibits plaque formation on teeth and, in addition, increases calcium uptake by dental enamel. This effect of bicarbonate on teeth is so well recognized that sodium bicarbonate-containing tooth powder was patented in the USA in October 1985. Sodium bicarbonate has been suggested to increase the pH in the oral cavity, potentially neutralizing the harmful effects of bacterial metabolic acids. Sodium bicarbonate is increasingly used in dentifrice and its presence appears to be less abrasive to enamel and dentine than other commercial toothpaste.

Barry G.

Barry - my eyes opened a bit when I read the claim that sodium bicarbonate increases calcium uptake in the enamel. That is absolutely a false claim and impossible....unless there is a specific formulation that enhances adding calcium to weakened tooth structure such as in areas of eroded dentin. There is such a formulation on the market now, but back to the point about increased uptake of calcium in the enamel..... once enamel is formed as a tooth bud in the jaw before eruption, there is no way that calcium is added to enamel once the tooth erupts. Makes one suspicious of other study claims if something so elementary is mis-stated as fact.

Jackie

"Potassium is forever pushed on BB but how many know that potassium is the main part of the cockail that is used for the lethal injection used in the USA to kill prisioners on death row."

As always, its the dose that makes the poison.

PeggyM

Jackie,

the artical in my last post was one suggested by Erling who I consider an excellent source of information though obviously he cannot be expected to check out every detail in his recommenced reading. The site was The Magnesium Web Site - Magnesium Library - so I guess a suppliment /alternative medicine website. Assuming you are totally correct regarding tooth enamel then it would seem the whole website is under suspicion by your logic.

The internet is full of 'experts' with directly opposing views on every subject under the sun including I presume dentistry so who to believe?
It appears to me that the dentistry jury is still out on whether flouride actually does strengthen tooth enamel, how can this be so after all the years flouride has been put in the drinking water and toothpaste.

It is only a few days ago that one poster stated that one of the books you had been suggesting was a good informational read appeared to be total 'quackery' to him so he may be supicious about what you suggest from now on, though not me by the way.

Peggy, 'As always, its the dose that makes the poison'. Exactly what I am saying about sodium bicarbonate.

Not wishing to drag out this post I will just finally state that I believe there could well be milage in alkalizing the body and I'm guessing there will be more information on the subject with respect to afibbers. I for my part have proved if only to my self that an otherwise healthy afibber can raise his/her body fluid pH easily and without raising blood pressure by taking baking soda in the amounts I did during my own personal tests.

Barry G.

No Barry, I see nothing wrong with Paul Mason's website wherein he quotes from the related science, but since dental is my field of expertise I definitely know that once enamel is formed, you can't add calcium to it... unless it is in a weak area that now can be treated topically with a special product... one name, Enamelon, comes to mind. this relates to how and when enamel is formed and is basic science. Not an opinion of mine or anyone else, for that matter.

I have great respect for Paul Mason and he has done an outstanding job of gathering a whole library of relevant science related to the function of magnesium in the body. If that quote on calcium being added to enamel comes from a study, then that was what I thought might be suspect.. the study, not Paul Mason, per se. Sorry if that was confusing.

On the fluoride issue, dentistry has been wrong for years and that story that is well-examined by those who are offering awareness of the toxicity of fluoride (in ineffecacy for decay) that has been obfuscated for far too long.

The reader who thought the information by Dr. Jerry Tennant was quackery fails to understand that the body is functionally electric as examined in the book The Body Electric, by Robert O. Becker (just one source) and that since arrhythmias are a defect of the electrical system, the whole topic of heart energy, voltage and so forth are fundamental in understanding why the system goes awry.

I have long been a supporter of supporting the body's pH system through alkalizing and I may have been the original poster on this topic a very long time ago. How one goes about doing it may vary. However, there is plenty of support indicating that diseases such as cancer, arthritis, osteoporosis... thrive in an acidic body. My main point is that if a person eating a typical SAD diet which is already high in sodium intake and extremely low in potassium food intake, and who also happens to be an afibber, then, it would not be the best choice to alkalize by using sodium bicarbonate... knowing what we do about the importance to keep the intake ratio of Na/K at the minimum of 1:4.

As we say so often, Barry, we are all experiments of one. If your experiment shows that you can use sodium bicarbonate safely and effectively without imbalancing your potassium, then great. I continue to urge afibbers be aware and be cautious if they intend to use sodium bicarbonate expecially if they are active afibbers.

Be well,

Jackie

Hi, Barry, Jackie?

[www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

J Biol Buccale. 1990 Mar;18(1):55-8

Calcium and phosphate uptake of human dental enamel treated with sodium bicarbonate.
Goldberg M, Apap M, Le Denmat D.

Source: Laboratoire d'Histologie, Biologie et Biominéralisation des matrices extracellulaires, Faculté de Chirurgie Dentaire (Paris V), Montrouge, France.

Abstract:

Enamel cylinders, submitted to the action of NaHCO3 solutions or kept in water, were immersed in a remineralizing solution containing radioactive calcium and phosphate. The calcium uptake was increased in NaHCO3 treated samples, but not the phosphate uptake. Less calcium adsorption was found in 72 h--NaHCO3 treated samples, than after 1 h and 24 h respectively.

Hi Erling.

You always come up with the goods.

I checked out your suggestion and found this one at the top of the page. Unless I am missing something and I know nothing about science it would appear the artical of yours that I used in the beginning of this post is now out of suspicion mode.

Effects of bicarbonate on remineralization of enamel.
Feagin FF, Thiradilok S, Aponte-Merced L, Bradley E.
Abstract
Enamel surfaces were demineralized in acetic acid and remineralized in solutions that contained 1.5 mM calcium, 1.0 mM phosphate, and 0.0, 5, 15, and 25 mM NaHCO3, and 0.00 or 5.0 mM Naf at pH 7.0. NaF in CO2-free solutions increased the rates of calcium and phosphate uptake during remineralization. Bicarbonate in NaF-free solutions caused small increases of calcium and phosphate uptake. Bicarbonate with NaF in solutions synergistically increased calcium uptake, but did not affect phosphate uptake. Bicarbonate reduced fluoride uptake by about 50% during remineralization, and increased the Ca/P ratios of deposited minerals from about 1 (dicalcium phosphate) to approach and exceed the ratios of apatites.

Barry G.

Jackie,

I believe in virtually all that you post on the BB so no issues there and also I well believe there may be merit in Dr Tennant simply because you mentioned him. I also fully understand that one of our posters thought the mans messages smacked of quackery, my own brother who comes out of hospital today a week after his bowel cancer operation considers alkalizing the body as mumbo jumbo and will have none of it.

I accept that you will continue to warn about taking baking soda - sodium bicarbonate - for people on a typical SAD but my original post already states that everyone should ensure they use their own due diligence. People who are salt sensitive will already know that additional sodium could be detrimental. We cater for all senarios and this being a Lone Afibbers site there could well be many, many visitors who fall in the same 'class' as I and could try the protocol in relative safety, I always state this alkalizing could possibly only suit a subsection of afibbers.

I am encouraged that sodium bicarbonate does not appear to have the same blood pressure raising 'qualities' that normal table salt - sodium chloride? - has and this should be clearly stated to stop the bogieman image sodium has.

I will finish by bringing up the issue of Waller Water. From what I can gather the original WW was quite alkaline with say a pH of 8.2 whereas pure water has a pH of 7.0 on the relevant scale. Now it seems a MD Chambers (Dr?), by all accounts a very clever and helpful man suggested that the WW was too alkaline and so he proposed adding a few drops of lemon juice which immediately dropped the pH down to say 7.2 ( I'm sure the correct readings will be given soon) Now Erling and possibly others including yourself appear to have accepted Mr Chambers recommendations and the MD modified version of WW has been suggested as a mainstay aid for Afibbers at least since I started reading the BB 6 years ago. It is only in the last two weeks that Erling has re-established WW in its original form to a very alkalizing pH of 8.2, a form that he always thought was correct. Given that the original WW was purposly de-alkalized it follows that alkalizing was never the prime aim of WW but never the less at say pH 7.2 (10 times less alkalizing effect of pH 8.2) in the quanties drank it would indeed be considered an alkalizing drink and could just have taken some afibbers out of the Afib zone. Pure water in the same quantities would also have been alkalizing but not quite to the same degree as the WW. I mention this as an example on how we need to 'look outside the box' and these recent posts on alkalizing have instigated some previously unheard of fantastic insights from both Erling and yourself on the electric body we really are and the high voltage(alkaline healthy) low voltage (acidic poor health) senarios that can be influenced by diet and simply in my case by raising the bodies pH by taking baking soda i.e. sodium bicarbonate.

Best to you.
Barry G.

Thanks Barry. Just quickly on the WW and the need to add lemon juice.

In several of my recent posts, I related that years ago I rejected the need to add lemon juice as the science was 'off' on that.... )and which also Hans recently acknowledged in a recent that neutralizing WW is not a good idea)....although the online recipe has not been corrected.

I have been using the original WW formula as intended (without lemon juice) ever since Erling perfected and published it

Those who study pH values of various waters find that there is a tendency for "pure" water to register typically a slightly acidic ... unless, of course, it happens to be spring water influenced by rich mineral/rock deposits.

It's really not so much the drinking water that burdens our body with acidic pH but the foods we eat and other beverages we consume -ie carbonated beverages, beer, wine, alcohol and other influences such as medications which always produce acidity. Then there is the physical influences such as emotions - stress, overwork, anger, fear, and so on that cause acidity.

Jackie

Thank you Erling for the study link.

It certainly is a published study, but I find it difficult to equate a controlled lab experiment using radioactive calcium to what actually occurs in the human mouth as a result of ‘uncontrolled’ intake of sodium bicarbonate. Further to that, in dental patients I’ve observed using baking soda as a preferred dentifrice, there was no repair of enamel erosion or reduced incidence of decay over a span as long as 20 years of treatment. Thus, my skepticism.

Jackie

Hi Barry -

The reason for putting together the life history of our WW "elephant" in From UW to WW with love: was to once and for all unmistakably show that WW always was and always will be the same as Unique Water (UW): an alkaline bicarbonate-magnesium drinking water. If its pH is reduced it can't be called WW.

In April '02 a poster in Tasmania told the forum about newly marketed UW and listed its bicarbonate, magnesium, and pH.. That started me thinking about how to replicate it. In Nov. '02 a final "R&D" sample measured bicarbonate 751 mg/L, pH 8.63 by a certified analytical lab. Magnesium 125 mg/L was calculated from the amount of Mg hydroxide (MoM) used. The reason for WW's existence was always because of the alkaline bicarbonate / ionized magnesium.

I have never for a moment accepted the idea of neutralizing it, or even slightly reducing its pH. It was always disappointing to see the original reason for WW undone by the idea of adding acid -- to do so is to nullify the reason for making it in the first place. It signifies lack of understanding of the fundamental chemistry involved. I'm certainly no chemist, but it only takes basic 101 to know that adding acid (H+) to bicarbonate (HCO3-) yields water (H2O), carbon dioxide gas (CO2), and electrons which reduce the magnesium from its "highly bioavailable" ionized state (Mg++) back to elemental Mg.

Please get the full story by studying From UW to WW with love: at [www.afibbers.org] including Dr. Russell Beckett et al's 17 year clinical study with sheep as a surrogate mammal.

Wishing the best for you and your family.

Erling.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 05/17/2012 12:26PM by Erling.

Nice work Barry!

For easier access, here are the 'hyper'links to Paul Mason's Mgwater.com articles that you're discussing.

Bicarbonate's Importance to Human Health

CONTENTS
• Link: The Health Library--why the blood level of bicarbonate is important [www.mgwater.com]
• Article: Bicarbonate has beneficial effects on health [www.mgwater.com]
• Article: Bicarbonate helps physically active people combat fatigue [www.mgwater.com]
• Bibliography: Bicarbonate-related articles [www.mgwater.com]
• Link: Finding may shed light on causes behind cystic fibrosis [www.mgwater.com]
• Abstract: Cross-over study of the influence of bicarbonate-rich mineral water on urinary composition in comparison with sodium potassium citrate in healthy male subjects [www.mgwater.com]
• Link: Contraindication for bicarbonate [www.mgwater.com]
=======================================================

I'm quite tickled reminiscing about Paul Mason's bicarbonate bibliography above. Very early in WW's life some nine years ago, Paul and I became e-mail acquaintances because of the common nature of his Adobe Springs water, Dr. Beckett's Unique Water, and our copy-cat WW. Reading through Dr. Beckett et al's literature at Non Pharmaceutical Health Care [web.archive.org] I forwarded those articles to Paul. Prior to that interchange his website's focus had been largely on the magnesium aspect of his magnesium-bicarbonate spring water, hence Mgwater.com.

His website [mgwater.com] is without question the world's premier source for magnesium information. Take for example the fully hyper-linked text of Dr. Mildred S. Seelig's amazing 1980 Magnesium Deficiency in The Pathogenesis of Disease. For AFers especially see Chapter 9. Magnesium Deficiency and Cardiac Dysrhythmia [mgwater.com] That chapter was central to my AF cure 6 years later.

Life Extension Magazine did an important article on magnesium and Paul Mason in its Sep. '05 issue: [www.lef.org]

Erling

Forget the baking soda.

Isn't the simplest, most obvious way to establish and maintain alkalinity, the way nature intended - eating primarily vegetables and fruit?

Carol

You can eat as much fruit or veg as you like, you will not raise you pH in 4 or five days days like I did by taking baking soda.

I have proved my point now you prove yours with facts and figures.

Those incisor teeth - each side of your mouth - are not for breaking open the skins of blackberries :-)

Think about it!!!!

Barry G.

There is considerable vagueness about what ‘raising pH’ or alkalizing actually means to one’s system. The actual goal is to improve alkalinity status in tissue.

Systemic acidity means “stored acid wastes in cells and, potentially, all body tissue.” Tissue acid waste accumulations can occur in all organs and glands but typical assessments measure fluid pH (saliva and urine) which can change easily and are not always reflective of tissue status. Tissue acid waste can be in skin layers and in all organs and glands. This is not Blood pH that is held to a tight tolerance by the body’s innate protective mechanism unless altered by a metabolic defect, disease or an ingested poison.

It’s one thing to consume something highly alkalizing such as sodium bicarbonate and quickly get a urine pH that reads alkaline. But it is quite another to actually affect the tissue alkalinity which is the focus of overall health improvement. This takes time and for some, it may never be quite totally achievable depending on dietary intake of acid ash-forming foods or activities, stress, emotions, etc. The intake of food and liquids is the primary determinant of how the body processes the acid or alkaline metabolic residues and the impact that then has as systemic results. Those consuming large quantities of meat, grains and other acid-ash producing foods (sugar, alcohol) will have a much more difficult and lengthier time of getting the acidic residues out of tissues and restoring the healthy, alkaline status. If medications are also used, then those contribute significantly to the acid-forming load.

There are many ‘experts’ who are proponents of various methods of increasing alkalinity and while the consensus seems to be that alkalizing is healthy, prevents disease and for some, even ‘cures’ disease, the methodology is varied.

A few observations that relate to our topic, LAF, may be useful.

The Vagus Nerve is alkaline-forming component in the nervous system.

When a parasympathetic nerve is pinched, it produces contraction and acid residue.

Pinching the vagus, alters function in its entirety—and affects the thyroid and the primitive brain stem medulla, heart, larynx, lungs, esophagus, stomach, liver, gall bladder, spleen, pancreas, small and large intestines. Pinching of a branch of the vagus in the pelvic nerve area which will affect all the lower organs,… kidneys, bladder, testicles, ovaries and uterus. Pinching the vagus can produce sciatic pain down the leg and into the toes as it follows the nerve roots coming out the lower back. You can see why it’s called The Wanderer.

The vagus nerve directly connects with the sympathetic nerve roots in the spine and then goes to the central nervous system (CNS) and back to the brain where it originated as the Tenth Cranial Nerve.

Once the vagus is pinched – anywhere—the entire body is weakened – everywhere.

(Alkalize or Die – Baroody)

Stimulating the SNS = acid - those who are in sympathetic overdrive will typically be highly acidic
Stimulating the PNS = alkalinity

It’s not difficult to imagine how trouble in any of the organs innervated by the vagus would set the stage for a cycle of ongoing acidity followed by lack of proper organ or systemic functioning. These facts speak directly to the comments in the Alkalinity post as Dr. Tennant related this to decreased cell voltage or acidic pH.

[www.afibbers.org] - Alkalinity, Healing, pH and Voltage - The Inside Story

[en.wikipedia.org] - Vagus Nerve

Jackie

Barry,

I said "primarily" fruit and vegetables. An occasional small piece of meat is fine and natural.

Incisor teeth did not evolve for ingesting baking soda any more than for eating "berries."

It is well known that the western diet is too high in protein, oil, fats, dairy, and refined carbs and too low in vegetables fruit, berries and nuts. This diet promotes acidity - and, I might add, obesity.

Yes, you might have to go the baking soda route to restablish alkaline levels because of a diet that was predominantly protein, etc. But it shouldn't be necessary, if your changed your diet.

Have you read Dr. Caldwell Essenstyn's book that reveals the link between eating a high protein, fats, oils, dairy and high carb based diet and heart disease? It is quite an eye opener. He is a former cardiologist/ surgeon at the Cleveland Clinic. (I have no stake in the book except to sing its praises)

[www.heartattackproof.com]

Carol