The Importance of Acid/Alkaline Balance

You might ask the question what is acid/base balance.  Well, for the sake of trying to keep things simple and easy to understand, balance is achieved at a blood pH of 7.4.  How do you know when you are out of balance?  Well, some symptoms are headache, nausea, dizziness, and muscle pain.  Your body is constantly trying to keep all systems in balance, it’s able to compensate for too much acid or too much base most of the time.  But, as one may take in a highly acidic diet over time it can make changes in how that person feels on a daily basis.  Maintaining a healthy pH balance is important for everyone, but it exceptionally for athletes, the prevention of osteoporosis, and to prevent deficiencies. 

There are three mechanisms that affect the pH of your blood.  They are; chemical buffers (potassium, sodium, etc.), pulmonary ventilation (breathing), and kidney function.  With increased acidity hyperventilation occurs and H+ increases which leads to a decrease in pH. 

There are many ways you can alter your pH balance.  Typically most people have an acidic pH.  This can be due to having too much sodium and too little potassium, eating packaged foods with sugar and salt, not balancing their diet with fruits and vegetables at meals and posing a lot of stress on their body.  For athletes, over time, their body does adjust to the increase in lactic acid as well as CO2 output, but high intensity exercise can also pose an acidic pH.  The easiest way for anyone to balance the body’s stress is to eat a diet with alkaline based foods.  The primary foods that will lower the acidity and have a net alkaline affect are fruits and vegetables.  Meat, dairy, nuts and a lot of grains have a net acidic value.

With long-term acidity you get calcium and nitrogen loss.  The body tries to reduce acidity by releasing minerals from bones and muscle.  When this is done over time, your chances for osteoporosis increase and muscle recovery decreases. 

For athletes, preparing recovery drinks with fruits/juices, protein, and some glucose (2-3T for fast absorption) would help the body recover from intense/long workouts and also balance the body’s pH to decrease further muscle or bone breakdown.  Sodium might be added depending on weather conditions, time of year, and sweat rate.

Therefore, trying to keep everything in balance is always difficult, but something to strive for.  Keeping in mind where you are with your activity level and what you're trying to accomplish adjust your diet accordingly.  Happy training and happy living!