Dr. Gabe Mirkin of QuackWatch has an opinoin on Acid/Alkaline Theory of Disease - He says Alkaline Water is a Scam.
Opinions are great. I realize though, that even with M.D. after a name, opinions are still opinions. It is important (for me) to understand that almost everything a doctor says is opinion. They are paid to give it in matters of health because they have studied science as it was understood whenever it was that they went to university, and hopefully have used experience to shape their opinion to make it something worth following. I have a lot of respect for that.
I do not, however, take doctors opinions as having more weight than mine necessarily. There is some common sense that is often missing in a bid to be ‘right’. My opinion is that Dr. Mirkin’s opinion (and many other doctors for that matter) are wrong about ALKALINE WATER.
Doctor Mirkin’s opinion on alkaline water and body pH is below. My Observations will be highlighted like so.
Acid/Alkaline Theory of Disease Is Nonsense
Gabe Mirkin, M.D.
Have you seen advertisements for products such as coral calcium or alkaline water that are supposed to neutralize acid in your bloodstream? Taking calcium or drinking alkaline water does not affect blood acidity. Anyone who tells you that certain foods or supplements make your stomach or blood acidic does not understand nutrition. I disagree. People who say otherwise do not understand nutrition or the body’s acid/alkaline buffering system.
You should not believe that it matters whether foods are acidic or alkaline, because no foods change the acidity of anything in your body except your urine. Dr Mirkin says foods do not change the acidity of anything except your urine. How is this possible? Urine is water and waste filtered from the bloodstream. If it is acidic in the urine, then it is acidic in the bloodstream. 3.4.2 Excess Acid or Base (Non-respiratory). If excess acid other than carbonic, or base is added to the internal environemtn, the kidneys excrete them, thus restoring the composition and pH of extracellular fluid to normal. Until the kidney clears the blood of abnormal constituents the pH (assuming the PCO2 is normal) will remain abnormal (src = http://www.usyd.edu.au/anaes/lectures/acidbase_mjb/control.html).Your stomach is so acidic that no food can change its acidity. Citrus fruits, vinegar, and vitamins such as ascorbic acid or folic acid do not change the acidity of your stomach or your bloodstream. An entire bottle of calcium pills or antacids would not change the acidity of your stomach for more than a few minutes. Dr Mirkin is talking purely about the digestive acid in the stomach. While foods will not change the stomach environment from acidic to alkaline, they most certainly can change the acidity. Acidity is not one constant number. It varies in a range of what is normal, and many many factors affect that range. So Dr Mirkin is lying for some reason. Because every doctor and most lay people understand that normals are a range that fluctuate. They DO change almost moment by moment. Our body functions are dynamic and the only thing constant about them is that they change.
All foods that leave your stomach are acidic. Not true…. Technically … all foods that leave your stomach leave bathed in a fluid that is acidic. Then they enter your intestines where secretions from your pancreas neutralize the stomach acids. So no matter what you eat, the food in stomach is acidic and the food in the intestines is alkaline. Again, not true… the liquid in the stomach that bathes the food is acidic, and the liquid in the intestine that bathes the food is alkaline. The properties of the food have not been altered so much yet.
You cannot change the acidity of any part of your body except your urine. Your bloodstream and organs control acidity in a very narrow range. Anything that changed acidity in your body would make you very sick and could even kill you. Promoters of these products claim that cancer cells cannot live in an alkaline environment and that is true, but neither can any of the other cells in your body.
All chemical reactions in your body are started by chemicals called enzymes. For example, if you convert chemical A to chemical B and release energy, enzymes must start these reactions. All enzymes function in a very narrow range of acidity. (The degree of acidity or alkalinity is expressed as "pH."). If your blood changes its acidity or alkalinity for any reason, it is quickly changed back to the normal pH Dr Mirkin has just said "you can not change the acidity of any part of your body except your urine". He then says "If your blood changes it’s acidity or alkalinity for any reason it is quickly changed back to normal. In other words, he has just pointed out to you that he is not being truthful. Things that you eat and drink have the ability to enter the bloodstream and alter pH. QUICKLY the body reacts with buffers, respiration or renal function (urine) to bring this delicate pH back to normal. The body works OVERTIME keeping the pH within a narrow range throughout the body. The more you introduce acidity to your system, the harder your body must work to neutralize the acidity. Imagine if you helped it by eating, drinking and breathing what you were meant to consume. If you did this, and your body did not have to work so hard on constantly buffering, would that mean less wear and tear? Less irritation (inflammation)? Less hard work? or these enzymes would not function and the necessary chemical reactions would not proceed in your body.
For example, when you hold your breath, carbon dioxide accumulates in your bloodstream very rapidly and your blood turns acidic, Dr Mirkin earlier said you couldn’t turn your blood acidic. But of course you can, it’s just that your body responds quickly to remedy this. Imagine hundreds of thousands (maybe even millions) of little acidic episodes that are immediately corrected. and you will become uncomfortable or even pass out. This forces you to start breathing again immediately, and the pH returns to normal. If your kidneys are damaged and cannot regulate the acidity of your bloodstream, (?? another way the blood can be acidic?) chemical reactions stop, poisons accumulate in your bloodstream, and you can die.
Certain foods can leave end-products called ash that can make your urine acid or alkaline, but urine is the only body fluid that can have its acidity changed by food or supplements. ALKALINE-ASH FOODS include fresh fruit and raw vegetables. ACID-ASH FOODS include ALL ANIMAL PRODUCTS, whole grains, beans and other seeds. These foods can change the acidity of your urine, but that’s irrelevant since your urine is contained in your bladder and does not affect the pH of any other part of your body. Dr Mirkin - How does this "ash" get from intestine to bladder? No there isn’t an expressway, or a tube that goes from the bowel to the bladder. It must travel through the blood!
When you take in more protein than your body needs, your body cannot store it, so the excess amino acids are converted to organic acids that would acidify your blood. But your blood never becomes acidic because as soon as the proteins are converted to organic acids, calcium leaves your bones to neutralize the acid and prevent any change in pH. Dr Mirkin - what about the moments (seconds, milliseconds between the time the ‘organic acids’ are in the blood stream, and they are recognized, and a signal sent, and calcium is released from the bones. Because of this, many scientists think that taking in too much protein may weaken bones to cause osteoporosis.
Cranberries have been shown to help prevent recurrent urinary tract infections, but not because of their acidity. They contain chemicals that prevent bacteria from sticking to urinary tract cells.
Taking calcium supplements or drinking alkaline water will not change the pH of your blood. If you hear someone say that your body is too acidic and you should use their product to make it more alkaline, you would be wise not to believe anything else the person tells you.
I think it is much wiser to not believe anything else the person tells me who says you can not change the pH and then says you can. Who says alkaline and acid ash go from bowel to bladder without mentioning that it has to be in the bloodstream first. Everyone is selling something… I am no different. I am promoting alkaline ionized water. Dr Mirkin has his own deal. We both believe what we believe, but it seems my belief is based on common sense and a rudimentary understanding of human physiology.
Alkaline products give an overtaxed buffering system a rest by preventing it from going through such an effort to keep the pH normal. As Dr Mirkin mentions, when the pH buffering system fails, illness and death are the result.
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Dr. Mirkin is an associate clinical professor of pediatrics at Georgetown University School of Medicine and is board-certified in four specialties: allergy and immunology; sports medicine; pediatrics; and pediatric immunology. He practices medicine in Kensington, Maryland; produces and hosts a syndicated radio that can be heard online; publishes a monthly newsletter (The Mirkin Report); and has written books on sportsmedicine, weight control, and low-fat eating. His Web site contains reports on hundreds of topics.
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