Is your body lacking energy and drive? It's been weeks since the last long walk or intensive sports session? In addition, the plate is often filled with greasy food and there is little space for vegetables or fruit? These and other points can lead to the body over-acidifying.
The way we live and eat in modern Western society often leads to our acid-base balance getting mixed up. If it is out of balance, signs such as exhaustion, cellulite and persistent colds can make our everyday life more difficult.
What is the best way to react when the body becomes “sour”? You can find out the most important information on the subject of hyperacidity as well as tips and tricks on how you can counteract the imbalance here.
the essentials in brief
- The acid-base balance can be determined via the pH value. It indicates whether there is an imbalance between acids and bases in your body.
- The reasons for an overly acidic body are varied and can vary from person to person. However, it is often the unbalanced and unhealthy diet that can lead to hyperacidity. But stress or excessive exercise can also promote acidification of the body.
- Once the body is overly acidic, there are a number of measures that can be taken. Changing your diet is often unavoidable. In addition, a conscious intake of liquids can also support a balanced acid-base balance.
Definition: Overacidification of the body - what is that?
If your body is acidic, it has something to do with your pH (12). With the pH value, statements can be made about the extent to which a liquid is neutral, acidic or basic. If the pH value of certain cells or organs in your body fluctuates, the body becomes acidic. Too many acids or too few bases lead to acidosis (overacidification). (9)
The modern diet can lead to an imbalanced acid-base balance. (Image Source: Janice Lin / unsplash)
Such an unbalanced acid-base balance can arise due to our diet and lifestyle. (6) When certain foods are metabolized, either acids or bases are produced. Since our modern way of life is characterized by an excess of acid, many people suffer from this phenomenon. (1,2) Since an acidic body also affects health, well-being and appearance, it is important to find out about causes, symptoms, tips and tricks.
Background: What you should know about acidification in the body
Over-acidification of the body is common in today's societies, but there is often a lack of awareness of exactly what it is all about. We have collected the most frequently asked questions about body acidification for you and answered them below. This will give you a good overview of the topic.
Before you move on to the solution approaches, you should read these questions carefully. This will give you background knowledge that will help you with the solution part.
Why is the body acidic at all?
There are various reasons for the over-acidification of the body. Depending on the individual case, one or even several reasons can be responsible for an overly acidic body at the same time. The following list shows the numerous causes that can lead to acidosis in the body.
Groceries
Choosing the wrong foods can cause the body to become acidic. (6) Since our modern way of life is characterized by quick satisfaction of needs, many people carelessly reach for nutrient-poor fast food products. (1,2) That the additives contained in it can act like a cell toxin by making the metabolism in the cells more difficult is known to only a few when choosing food.
In addition, reaching for highly acidic foods such as pasta, meat, cheese or rice has also become part of our everyday lives. The rapid availability of desserts and baked goods lead to increased consumption. (8) These products in particular are acid-forming foods.
stimulants
In addition to the choice of foods that should lead to rapid satiation, luxury foods have also become part of our society today. In addition to soft drinks and coffee, the increased consumption of alcoholic beverages and cigarettes in particular can lead to acidosis in the body. (8th)
Body stress
Intensive training phases can also be a reason for the over-acidification of your body. (4.5) Because the energy stores in our muscles are used under heavy loads. Lactic acid is formed due to the rapid consumption of glucose. The lactic acid accumulates in the muscles and leads to burning and sore muscles.
In such a case, if the body lacks a sufficient rest and recovery phase, it can become difficult for it to keep the acid-base balance in balance. (10) Under these circumstances, the general way of life and diet is also decisive as to whether the risk of hyperacidity increases with the intensive physical exertion. (5)
mental stress
Your mental state can also influence your acid-base balance. Because stress, anxiety and negative thoughts can also have physical effects. (13)
Stress and anxiety can also affect your acid-base balance through shallow breathing and lead to over-acidification of your body. (Image source: Christian Erfurt / unsplash)
Physical reactions to anxiety and stress include body tension, headaches and body aches, and often shallow breathing. Breathing is a key factor in establishing an acid-base balance. Shallow breathing means that metabolic products can no longer be sufficiently exhaled. As a result, an adequate supply of oxygen is no longer guaranteed. The acid load thus increases because the body's acid excretion is impeded.
diets
If you feed the body less energy through a diet, the body prepares for an emergency situation. If the body has used up its carbohydrates, proteins are metabolized and sour.
Not all diets are good for your body.
Next, the body turns to the body's fats for energy. This creates ketones, which in high concentrations can lead to overacidification of the body. (13)
In addition, dieting can lead to increased stress production and the associated consequences. As already mentioned, shallow breathing can lead to greater acid stress.
What are the symptoms that indicate that my body is acidic?
The body reacts to hyperacidity with certain symptoms (6). However, these are diverse and not always clear. The list below shows the most common and important symptoms that show up when your body is acidic. (13)
- Fatigue, sluggishness, exhaustion: If the body is acidic, it can lead to being tired all the time . Symptoms of exhaustion and tiredness accompany you throughout the day and even sleep often cannot help. The reason for this is that during rest the body tries to neutralize the excess acid. As a result, the body cannot properly recover. (13)
- Impure, sallow skin: In order to break down the acid, the body not only uses the liver, but also the skin. Bacteria feel particularly comfortable in this environment, which can cause pimples and impurities.
- Cellulite: Hyperacidity can result in reduced elasticity and flexibility of the connective tissue. The change in the connective tissue that is visible on the outside and that mainly occurs in women is known as cellulite. (13) If you want to treat cellulite properly and strengthen the connective tissue , the cause can also lie in the overacidification of the body.
- Cold: The body reacts to acidification by trying to break down the excess acid through the mucous membrane in the nose. This manifests itself in a persistent runny nose.
These are some of the many signs that can be associated with an overly acidic body. Other symptoms can be: muscle tension, rheumatic diseases, osteoporosis, gastrointestinal complaints such as flatulence, headaches and migraines. (13)
How long does it take for the body to deacidify?
As has been shown, the causes of an overly acidic body can be varied and differ from case to case. And since the degree of acidification of the body is also individual, the duration of a treatment cannot be fixed in general. The severity of hyperacidity depends, as already mentioned, on the individual lifestyle and eating habits. (6)
How does an overly acidic body affect bones, muscles and kidneys?
An overly acidic body can lead to bone and muscle wasting in the body. Especially from this point of view, it is important to eat a balanced diet. Because with an alkaline diet, your bones can be protected. (11) In addition to bones and muscles, an overly acidic body can also stress your kidneys and have negative consequences for you and your body. (14)
Acidic body: The best tips and tricks against signs and causes of an acidic body
After the most important questions about acidification have been clarified, the next question is how to proceed with an acidic body. Below we show you a collection of tips and tricks to consider when your body is acidic.
Since every body is individual and reacts better to certain aspects than others, feel free to try out all the tips. So you can find out for yourself which trick works best for you and helps you in the fight against hyperacidity.
Choosing the right foods: acidic, neutral and alkaline nutrition
Choosing the right foods is key when the body is acidic. If the diet concentrates exclusively on products with animal proteins or cereals, the body can become acidic. (6) You should therefore always include fruit and vegetables in your diet, which are among the base-donating foods and can thus balance the acid-base balance. (3)
Your diet in particular influences your acid-base balance.
It is important to note that products that may taste sour do not necessarily have an acidic effect on our acid-base balance. The lemon tastes quite sour, but is not acid-forming in the body, but has a basic effect.
The following table therefore shows, by way of example, which foods are acid-forming or neutral and which are alkaline-donating foods. (8th)
| Description | Groceries |
|---|---|
| Acid forming foods | Meat and sausage products, fish and seafood, eggs, milk and milk products, legumes, soy products, bread and pasta, cereals and flour |
| Neutral or nearly neutral foods | Olive oil, table water, herbal tea, honey |
| Alkaline foods | Leaf and root vegetables, potatoes, fruit, wild herbs, aromatic herbs, vinegar , non-carbonated water |
Excess acid can be counteracted with the help of a balanced diet. The right combination of acidic and alkaline-forming foods can help balance the acid-alkaline balance. (13)
With the help of liquid against acidification of the body
How well the body's metabolism works is heavily dependent on fluid intake. It is also elementary for the breakdown of acids to support the body with an optimal supply of liquids. This allows the kidneys to excrete excess acids through the urine. (11) As little as two liters of water a day can support the body in breaking down acid.
Drinking enough is generally very important. If you are acidic, drinking enough fluids can help. (Image source: ulleo/pixabay)
With exercise and stress reduction against acidification of the body
Excess acid can not only be broken down by the body via the kidneys. The lungs also help the body fight acidosis. Whether it's an intense workout or a long walk, exercise increases the muscles' need for oxygen. The exertion leads to increased breathing, with which acid can be exhaled in the form of carbon dioxide and thus broken down. (13)
The lungs also support you in deacidification.
At the same time, a unit of exercise a day helps to reduce stress and thus support an overly acidic body in deacidifying and prevent further overacidification.
Dietary supplement support
In some cases, resorting to the right food is not enough to rebalance the acid-base balance. In this case, the body can be supported in breaking down acid with dietary supplements. (7)
Sometimes dietary supplements, which are actually used in a different context, also help to regulate the acid-base balance. For example , zinc can help with skin problems and at the same time support the body in balancing the acid-base balance.
At the same time, when looking for the origin of hyperacidity, it should be considered that this can also be due to the wrong dosage of other dietary supplements. For example, if you take medication to alleviate vitamin C deficiency symptoms , the wrong dosage can lead to acidification in the body.
So it turns out that in addition to the correct dosage of the dietary supplements, it is particularly important that this is only taken after extensive research or consultation with medical staff.
Conclusion
It turns out that an overly acidic body is not a rare phenomenon in today's societies. We encourage such hyperacidity through unbalanced diets and lifestyles. Greasy food, little exercise and stress can lead to exhaustion, cellulite or persistent colds due to hyperacidity.
With the help of tips and tricks, however, the acid-base balance can be restored. A balanced diet can be implemented if you know which foods are alkaline and acidic. Meat, dairy products or pasta are among the acid-forming foods, whereas fruit and vegetables are alkaline. In addition, sufficient fluid intake as well as exercise and stress reduction can help to create a balanced acid-base balance. Dietary supplements can also support the body.
Individual proofs(14)
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- Demigne, C. et al. 2008. Contribution of Various Dietary Constituents to the Acid Base Status: Interest of Animal Models of Latent Metabolic Acidosis. The Open Nutrition Journal. 2, 1 (2008), 1-4.
- Demigné C, Sabboh H, Puel C, Rémésy C, Coxam V. Organic anions and potassium salts in nutrition and metabolism. Nutr Res Rev. 2004 Dec;17(2):249-58. doi: 10.1079/NRR200485. PMID: 19079929.
- Sumi D, Kasai N, Ito H, Goto K. The Effects of Endurance Exercise in Hypoxia on Acid-Base Balance, Potassium Kinetics, and Exogenous Glucose Oxidation. front phys. 2019 May 16;10:504. doi: 10.3389/fphys.2019.00504. PMID: 31156445; PMCID: PMC6531820.
- Applegate C, Mueller M, Zuniga KE. Influence of Dietary Acid Load on Exercise Performance. Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab. 2017 Jun;27(3):213-219. doi: 10.1123/ijsnem.2016-0186. Epub 2017 Jan 4. PMID: 28050921.
- Hietavala EM, Stout JR, Hulmi JJ, Suominen H, Pitkänen H, Puurtinen R, Selanne H, Kainulainen H, Mero AA. Effect of diet composition on acid-base balance in adolescents, young adults and elderly at rest and during exercise. Eur J Clin Nutr. 2015 Mar;69(3):399-404. doi: 10.1038/ejcn.2014.245. Epub 2014 Dec 10. PMID: 25491498.
- König D, Muser K, Dickhuth HH, Berg A, Deibert P. Effect of a supplement rich in alkaline minerals on acid-base balance in humans. Nutr J. 2009 Jun 10;8:23. doi: 10.1186/1475-2891-8-23. PMID: 19515242; PMCID: PMC2702352.
- Remer T, Manz F. Potential renal acid load of foods and its influence on urine pH. J Am Diet Assoc. 1995 Jul;95(7):791-7. doi: 10.1016/S0002-8223(95)00219-7. PMID: 7797810.
- Schwalfenberg GK. The alkaline diet: is there evidence that an alkaline pH diet benefits health? J Environment Public Health. 2012;2012:727630. doi: 10.1155/2012/727630. Epub 2011 Oct 12. PMID: 22013455; PMCID: PMC3195546.
- Ulmer HV (1997b) performance limits, fatigue and recovery, 686-690 In: Schmidt RF, Thews G (eds): Human physiology 27th ed. Springer, Heidelberg Berlin
- Scialla JJ, Anderson CA. Dietary acid load: a novel nutritional target in chronic kidney disease? Adv Chronic Kidney Dis. 2013 Mar;20(2):141-9. doi: 10.1053/j.ackd.2012.11.001. PMID: 23439373; PMCID: PMC3604792.
- Siener, Roswitha: Acid-base balance and nutrition (Ernahrungs Umschau, 2011)
- Krüger M (2010): An acidic body does not lose weight. Importance of a balanced acid-base balance for successful weight reduction. Pharm Wiss 2010; 5:8-12.
- So R, Song S, Lee JE, Yoon HJ. The Association between Renal Hyperfiltration and the Sources of Habitual Protein Intake and Dietary Acid Load in a General Population with Preserved Renal Function: The KoGES Study. PLoS One. 2016 Nov 15;11(11):e0166495. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0166495. PMID: 27846266; PMCID: PMC5112872.
