The Nutritional Institute

Acidification of the body, as caused by modern diets and lifestyles, can lead to the buildup of toxicity, as well as the over-growth of micro-organisms like yeasts (such as Candida) and bacteria, that can in turn imbalance our bodies. This toxicity can lead to stress and eventually sickness. The pH level (acid-alkaline measurement) of your internal fluids affects every cell in your body.

Since your blood must maintain a very narrow pH range of 7.36 to 7.40, your body will do all sorts of things in order to deal with excess acidity. It may flush excess acids into fat cells or other body structures (such as in the case of gout) and it may leach calcium (an alkaline mineral) from your bones in order to neutralise acids. 

When the pH of your body becomes too acidic, you may experience low energy, fatigue, excess weight, poor digestion, aches and pains, and eventually even more serious disorders that result from the long-term imbalance of ideal physiology.

The easiest way to assess your pH level is to buy some pH paper from a pharmacist and urinate on it! Your urine is likely to be most acidic in the morning when you wake up. 

In simple terms, if you eat a diet high in vegetables and fruit, you will increase your alkalinity - so this is easier for vegans than meat eaters, although some vegans push themselves into an over-alkaline state, which is also not healthy. If your diet is high in animal products, grains and sugars, you're going to push yourself towards an acidic state - gout is a really good example of over-acidity. Although it may be a hereditary condition, it's mostly preventable through diet and lifestyle. 

In addition to inappropriate food choices, shallow ‘chest breathing’ is likely to result in lower energy levels. The best thing you can do to prevent shallow breathing and to breathe completely, is to sit and stand up straight: don't slouch over. The richest blood flow occurs in the lower lungs: when this area fails to be adequately ventilated with air, you can end up becoming oxygen depleted. 

Breathing Exercise: Practice using the following breathing pattern to increase your energy and help to exhaust weak acids from your body: Inhale, hold your breath, and then exhale in the ratio of 1-4-2. For instance, if you inhale for a count of 4, hold your breath for a count of 16 then exhale for a count of 8. Repeat this pattern for 10 breaths. You can do it as a daily exercise.

Here is an extract from Brenden Brazier's book: Thrive. It gives some indication of the types of foods that are acid-forming in the body and those foods that are more alkaline-forming: