An alkaline balance for optimum health

Achieving alkaline balance

Both acid-forming and alkaline forming foods may be eaten. But for optimum health, the body has to be slightly alkaline. So alkaline-forming foods are preferred.

Acidity and alkalinity are measured on a scale of 1 (most acidic) to 14 (most alkaline). This is called the pH balance. Water, which is neutral, has a pH value of 7.0.

The blood of a healthy person has a pH of 7.4 – a slightly alkaline balance.

Most illnesses occur when the blood becomes acidic. When the blood becomes too acidic – with a pH value of less than 6.9 – the person enters a coma and finally dies.

Of course, illness can also occur when a person becomes too alkaline. In extreme cases, the person may develop fits and seizures. Illnesses due to an overly alkaline balance are rare, however, because the modern diet consist of mostly acid-forming foods.

And of course, food is not the only factor that can influence a person’s acid-alkaline balance.

One way to make the body more alkaline is to take cold baths or showers. To avoid chills, start with hot water first, then switch to cold. Bathe the legs first, and slowly move up the body.

Another effective way to alkalinize the body is simply to talk. Or sing, sigh or simply breathe out.

Herman Aihara demonstrated this by testing his saliva with a piece of litmus (pHydrion) paper.

At the start of his lecture, the paper turned light green, indicating a pH of about 7.0. His condition was neutral, or slightly alkaline. After two hours of talking, he tested again. This time, the litmus paper turned dark blue. His pH had risen to about 7.5; his condition had become more alkaline.

Express yourself
The body has five main types of acids, Herman explains. Of these, the most abundant is carbonic acid. When we talk, sing and express ourselves, this carbonic acid is converted into carbon dioxide – which we breathe out – and water.

When we do not express ourselves, when we keep our emotions, we do not exhale very much. We keep the carbonic acid. The body remains acidic and we are more prone to sickness.

This, Herman believes, is the main cause of cancer and other serious diseases. Although poor eating habits play a big role, he believes that keeping emotions play an even bigger role in the development of cancers.

Herman encourages cancer patients, especially, to talk about their illness, their concerns and their fears. He even suggests that they go up to strangers along the road and tell them, “I have cancer!”

He encourages everyone to talk and express themselves freely.

And so the class talks about how it is, in fact, healthy to express anger and unhappiness…. To gossip and to complain. And we laugh.

Hey, that’s healthy too!

Additional note, November 2007:

Nowadays, some water purification systems produce "alkaline water" that promises to make the body condition more alkaline.

It is true that people who live in areas where the water is naturally alkaline tends to be more healthy and live longer lives. But this does not necessarily mean that alkaline water produced with a machine will have the same beneficial effect.

I am personally scaptical about such systems. One of my friend even questions whether water that has been electrically manipulated to change its acid-alkaline balance is really "water". Or has it been converted into something else?

In any case, this method of trying to achieve an alkaline balance is another example of the sort of instant solutions that modern people tend to seek. Click here to read Herman Aihara's talk about patience vs instant healing.