The Importance of pH! –by Dr. Michael L. Johnson
Your body is alkaline by design and acid by function
Normal body pH is 6.4 to 7.0. Ideally, you should start the day with a body pH of 6.9 to 7.0 upon awakening. As the day progresses, the body accumulates waste by-products, and the pH should slightly decrease to 6.4 to 6.6 until the body discharges the waste via the liver, kidneys, and lymphatic system.
In my 30 years of practice, I have found that many chronic illnesses usually begin with the patient being acidic – in other words, they suffer from low pH. In the beginning, the patient “feels fine” but since their pH is acidic it is a slow spiral downward toward ill health. Add in the fact that they are not creating methyl groups because of low HCL in their stomach (please see my article on The Importance of Methyl Groups), and it is a recipe for disaster!
#1: Buffering the Blood
When you’re acidic, your body leaches minerals out of your bone to buffer your blood! This is NOT GOOD because you are heading toward osteopenia and/or osteoporosis.
#2: Heavy Metal Toxicity
When you are acidic, you are at greater risk for heavy metal toxicity, which in turn causes a downward spiral of free radicals! Calcium lines the brush border cells of the gut to prevent the absorption of heavy metals, and when you are acidic, you have lower levels of available calcium, magnesium, and other trace minerals like selenium and zinc.
In addition, lower levels of essential minerals allow for the creation of free radicals in the body. The mitochondria are the powerhouses of the human cell, and free radicals damage the mitochondria. Mitochondrial DNA is 10 times more sensitive to free radical damage.
The good news is that this extreme vulnerability of mitochondrial DNA can be protected by targeted nutraceutical agents! The most profound of which is DHLA (dihydrolipoic acid), the reduced form of alpha-lipoic acid, which is now available in stable form for the first time in history. DHLA promotes a dramatic increase in cellular ATP (energy) and quenches every known free radical (both RNS and ROS species) that can occur in living tissue.
I use a DHLA product called Neuro-ND in my practice to address free radicals and excitotoxins. Neuro-ND is produced by Premier Research Labs (PRL). Here is a list of its benefits:
Neuro-ND = DHLA (dihydrolipoic acid)
–ATP Boosting!
–Quenches every free known radical in living tissue!
–Regenerates vital anti-oxidants like CoQ10, glutathione, NADH, Vit. C and E!
Importance of pH and the thyroid gland…
Many doctors (physicians, chiropractors, naturopaths) are addressing thyroid issues but they are not checking the patient’s pH level. In my opinion, this is a HUGE MISTAKE.
Here’s why…
The minerals that create an alkaline environment in the body (6.4-7.0) – calcium, magnesium, and other trace minerals – are VERY IMPORTANT to the thyroid patient because every cell in the body has thyroid hormone receptor and the cells need to accept T3 to survive. They cannot accept T3 without those minerals! If a patient has a low pH, guess what? They are low in these essential minerals and they are unable to accept T3! Do you wonder WHY some thyroid patients are not responding? This could be the reason!
T4 to T3 conversion is dependent on zinc, and low levels of selenium will cause inactivity of T3! Should patients be taking handfuls of zinc and selenium? NO! Get the body pH up and increase their stomach acid (HCL) so they can absorb the correct amount of zinc and selenium from their food.
Zinc is mainly found in beef, lamb, veal, crab, shrimp, scallops, turkey, pumpkin, sesame and squash seeds, oysters, peanuts, and yogurt.
Selenium is mainly found in tuna, cod, halibut, sardines, shrimp, salmon, beef, turkey, and lamb.
#3: Lowered Immune Response
Being acidic creates a welcoming environment for viruses and bacteria to flourish! Therefore, pH is a huge player in immunity! I strongly feel that part of the reason for the autoimmune epidemic in the U.S. is chronic low pH levels.
If you have noticed that you are more susceptible to colds and flu, this is one of the reasons WHY!
How do you check your pH level? It is a very simple process of checking your first-morning urine after 5 a.m. with a pH test strip that we have available at any health food store or at www.drjsupplements.com. Please note that one urine pH test is not sufficient, you need to check your first morning pH
for at least a week and preferably two weeks to see a consistent pattern.
#4: THE PARATHYROID!
The problem is that everyone and their uncle are addressing the thyroid gland with their patient population, but NO ONE is addressing the parathyroid issue!! The thyroid and parathyroid work hand-in-hand, and the major function of the parathyroid gland is to maintain the body’s calcium level! It BUFFERS the blood! HEEELLLLLOOOOOO!!! Everyone is addressing the thyroid without addressing the parathyroid which is akin to exercising to lose weight but never addressing your diet. Yes, lab-wise you could check the parathyroid hormone, BUT if the calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, and/or Vitamin D levels are off, there is a great chance that the parathyroid is not functioning and it needs to be addressed.
If your parathyroid isn’t working, guess what? YOUR BLOOD WILL NOT BE BUFFERED AND YOU WILL BE ACIDIC!!!
In addition, the parathyroid is the MOST sensitive organ of the body for heavy metal toxins!
What is the #1 nutrient to support the parathyroid? Green Tea-ND from Premier Research Labs (PRL). One teaspoon of it is like drinking 40 cups of green tea. Green Tea-ND is high in polyphenols which have been shown to protect DNA from radiation damage, support connective tissue, help with digestion, and support the immune, circulatory, and lymphatic systems.
Low pH and Chronic Pain!
People that suffer from chronic, unrelenting pain suffer from low pH. If the first-morning urine pH is consistently lower than 6.4, the patient is in chronic pain throughout their body.
Low pH and Cancer!
Studies have shown that cancer loves two things, an anaerobic (lack of oxygen) and an acidic environment. Increasing your pH will help prevent cancer.
HOW DO YOU CORRECT LOW pH?
Drink plenty of good water (distilled or filtered water…. a minimum of 1/2 oz. per lb. of body wt per day or simply divide your body weight by 2), change your diet (more veggies, eliminate junk food and “white death”—white flour, white sugar, and white salt), supplement with the pH Quartet (PRL’s D3, Aloe Pro, Aloe Mannan and Coral Legend…all available at www.drjsupplements.com). It should be noted that if a patient suffers from chronic infection (H.pylori, parasites, liver fluke, etc.), their lowered pH will not increase until the infection is addressed. Finally, coffee enemas are great at helping to increase overall body pH because they help to detoxify the liver.
What if the patient’s first-morning urine pH is over 7.0?
If the first-morning urine pH is consistently over 7.0, the body is in severe alkalosis. The minute that you supplement the patient with a pH above 7.0, their pH will crash to 4.5 or lower. I have seen it happen in a number of cases in my office so I make sure to tell the patient what will happen beforehand.
Again, body pH is very easy to test with a box of pH test strips from www.drjsupplements.com. Follow the directions on the box but make sure that it is the first-morning urine after 5 a.m. that is tested. Saliva pH testing is NOT as accurate because it has not gone through the body’s metabolism. Trust me, I have already checked it on several patients. Their salivary pH is WNL (within normal limits) and their urinary pH was very acidic. Both salivary and urine pH were checked at the same time.
Finally, I strongly recommend that patients DO NOT drink alkaline water as it will alkalize their stomach and NOT their body. You want the stomach ACIDIC not alkaline so it can digest your food and create methyl groups! (Please see my article The Importance of Methyl Groups) I have had patients that have drunk alkaline water for years and when we check their first-morning urine pH, they were acidic! They had depleted their body of methyl groups due to lack of stomach acid (HCL) and they were heading down the road to cancer and/or other chronic diseases!
I only use Premier Research Labs (PRL) nutritional supplements in my office because they are natural, live-source nutritional supplements that are excipient-free.
If you have any questions, please email Dr. Johnson at [email protected].
Dr. Michael L. Johnson is a Board-Certified Chiropractic Neurologist and has been in private practice in Appleton, WI since 1983. He is the author of five books. His first is What Do You Do When the Medications Don’t Work?—A Non-Drug Treatment of Dizziness, Migraine Headaches, Fibromyalgia, and Other Chronic Conditions is available on Amazon.com. Dr. Johnson’s second book, You Can Beat Cancer…Naturally! , his third book, You Can Beat Thyroid Disease…Naturally!, his fourth book, You Can Beat Fibromyalgia…Naturally!, and his fifth book, You Can Beat Autoimmune Conditions…Naturally! are all available as a FREE download e-book at www.askdrjohnson.com. His sixth book, You Can Beat Heart Disease…Naturally!, will be released later this spring. Dr. Johnson’s YouTube and Facebook pages are at “Dr. Michael Johnson.”
© 2013 Dr. Michael L. Johnson
