OSTEOPOROSIS LINKED TO OVERACIDITY

OSTEOPOROSIS LINKED TO OVERACIDITY

Bev Dunne

Over the past couple of weeks, I have written about the effects of an over acidic body causing arthritic pain and inflammation. As a follow on, this week I will expand on the concerns of high levels of acid in the body leading to osteoporosis.  

As I have previously mentioned, when we eat these acidifying foods and particularly processed foods instead of fruits and vegetables our bodies become over acidic. Our bodies are always working hard to maintain the right acid/alkaline balance. When our body becomes over acidic, it is believed one mechanism for correcting this excess of acidity is for our body to dissolve some of our bone which in turn releases acid-neutralising minerals such as potassium and calcium to form as bicarbonates in the bloodstream. Potassium bicarbonates act as an acid sponge to neutralise the acids in the body.

Our bodies are very clever. To compensate for us not taking responsibility for our health (ie. eating the right alkalising foods) and to counter the potential destruction caused by an over acidic body, it is believed our body will leach calcium from our bones to neutralise the acids. The downside is, because our bodies have decided to take this responsibility and not us, we may end up with osteoporosis!

So, do we really have a choice here? By eating acidifying foods, we will force our bones to act as a large antacid tablet and dissolve our bones or we can simply eat more of the alkalising foods which will naturally balance the acids and leave our skeleton intact and strong. Not a difficult choice to make I would think especially considering osteoporosis is more common than high cholesterol, allergies or even the common cold! In fact, research shows over half of all Australian women over 60 and one third of men over 60 will suffer a fracture due to osteoporosis.

Of course, it is often difficult to change our eating and drinking habits. However, the more research I do on maintaining the correct acid/alkaline balance, the more I am convinced this is one of the keys to good health. Obviously eating the right foods are important however for those wanting to find an easier way I suggest at least drinking alkalising water every day as well as drinking alkalising greens such as barely grass, spirulina or wheat grass powder in juice. It is also very important when looking to improve bone density that we supplement with Vitamin K2. I cannot express how important this is. It is the Vitamin K2 which pushes the calcium into the bones. This is extremely important because we obviously want the calcium in our bones, NOT in our arteries!! When choosing a calcium supplement I would also suggest a plant based calcium which is believed to be far more absorbable.

If you wish to check your acid/alkaline levels call in to collect your FREE TEST KIT and acid/alkaline food chart from our store. For more information on this subject call in to see Bev and the team at Go Vita, Your Health Shop at 5 North St, Batemans Bay or phone on 44729737. Don’t forget to tune in to Bev on 2EC every Wednesday at 12.30pm on Go Get Healthy.