This is the first article in a two-part series. Part two will look at dietary and lifestyle treatments for hyperacidity and an acidity test you can do at home.Why Do I Feel Off?
Perhaps you consider yourself healthy—conscious about what you eat, how you exercise your body, the type of relationships you keep, and nurture an overall well-balanced lifestyle. Perhaps sometimes though you feel off without a reason.
You might feel aches and pains that you cannot explain. Your joints feel stiffer than usual, you wake up with headaches that normally are not there, experience a little heartburn after eating certain foods, your muscles feel sore without physical activity, or your immune system seems off-guard.
Homeostasis–The Body’s Basic Requirement
Human metabolism has three major jobs:
One key requirement for the metabolic system to perform these jobs well is acid-base homeostasis—meaning that the pH level in all extracellular fluids (those outside of the cells) stays between 7.35 and 7.45. This pH balance is critical to overall health.
pH-Balance Critical for Health
Our daily food consumption both produces and consumes acids (protons, hydrogen ions). However, the food choices we make determine the quantity of acid production (dietary acid load), which influences the body’s pH balance.
- Digestive system
- Respiratory system
- Eliminatory system
- Muscular/skeletal system
Ailments Caused by Acid-Imbalance
Disturbances in the acid-base balance can cause many health issues. A 2024 review (pdf) in Pflügers Archiv of the European Journal of Physiology relates a high dietary acid load in Westerners to the high intake of processed food and animal protein.
The researchers recommend an adjustment of people’s diets to lower their dietary acid loads, therefore preventing “a chronic low-grade metabolic acidosis,” which “is associated with increased morbidity and mortality.”
Damage to Connective Tissue–A Disposal Site for Surplus Acids
Connective tissue has multiple jobs—one of which is to transport nutrients and waste. Blood and lymph, as well as cartilage and bone, are considered specialized connective tissue.
To save other organs from harm, the connective tissue is the first responder to high dietary acid loads and works tirelessly to reduce toxins in our organism.
Organ Damage
A large cross-sectional study published in the journal Risk Management and Healthcare Policy enrolled 18,855 participants from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 1999–2018. Researchers concluded that there is a link between dietary acid loads and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.
Furthermore, high acid loads can lead to chronic metabolic acidosis, which in turn “has been documented to be closely involved in the development of a range of diseases, including CVD [cardiovascular disease], hypertension, diabetes, chronic kidney disease, bone-related disorders, and cancers,” stated the study.
The same academic journal featured an article published in 2019, in which researchers were able to show, for the first time, a connection between high dietary acid loads and asthma in overweight and obese children.
Cancer
A 2021 case-control study published in the journal Cancer Treatment and Research Communications observed the acid-base balance in relation to lung cancer development in men. 843 lung cancer patients were given a multi-topic questionnaire, including questions about their food intake. Findings were directly associated with dietary acid loads with heightened inflammation and an increased risk of lung cancer.
Cardio-Metabolic Diseases
Cardio-metabolic diseases, such as hypertension, atherosclerosis, and Type-2 diabetes are on the long list of negative health effects caused by high acidity in the body.
Diabetes and Hypertension
A 2022 study published in the journal Current Aging Science examined the relationship between metabolic acidosis and the development of insulin resistance, hypertension, and other cardiometabolic disorders.
The study included 114 elderly participants. Scientist analyzed their potential renal acid load (PRAL) and their “net endogenous acid production” over three days, including a breakdown of their 24-hour dietary records.
The research found that dietary choices significantly affect cardiometabolic diseases. Participants already suffering from hypertension and diabetes showed a much greater acid-forming potential, which in turn is a risk factor for these illnesses.
Insulin Resistance
The link between insulin resistance and dietary acid load was established in a 2022 Latin-American population-based study published in the journal Clinical Nutrition. Samples of 545 individuals between the ages of 25 to 64 were examined. The study determined that high levels of dietary acid were consistently associated with higher insulin resistance.
Obesity
According to the American Heart Association, cardiometabolic diseases, rooted in poor lifestyle choices, have been worsening over the past decades. Currently, they are among the leading causes of morbidity.
Mental Health
A German study published in 2018 in the journal Nutrients explored for possibly the first time, a potential correlation between high dietary acid loads and mental/emotional problems, such as hyperactivity and peer problems in children.
Acid-Associated Health or Illness
Another 2018 article in the Mexican journal Nefrologia confirms in detail the connection between a high acid load, an imbalanced pH homeostasis, and chronic diseases. Researchers conclude that nutritional intervention and the reduction of dietary acid load may improve one’s health.
In addition, the above-mentioned 2024 Pflügers Archiv review explains the dietary acid load and its extensive implications in detail. It also provides a valuable graphic to visualize the topic’s far-reaching interrelations.
Summary of the consequences of a high dietary acid load (DAL). Pflugers Arch. 2024; 476(4): 427–443. CC by 4.0
According to the review, it’s hard to measure dietary acid load precisely. A complex evaluation of stool and urine samples, as well as the concurrent food consumption is needed. However, the assessment of urinary pH and ammonium is another method that is being used to gauge the DAL.
Where Do Acids Come From?
Acids come from dietary chlorides, phosphates, sulfates, sulfurous amino acids from dietary proteins, and biological acids (breathable and non-breathable).
Often, they are vital to our bodies and play key roles. Chlorides, for example, channel water and other nutrients in and out of our cells and help balance bodily fluids, which regulates blood pressure and pH. It assists the muscles to contract and supports nerve cells to carry messages. The mineral also exchanges oxygen and carbon dioxide and aids in the digestion process.
Reducing Your Dietary Acid Load
Evidence shows that high acidity causes illness in our bodies.
If you are interested in discovering more about various dietary and lifestyle ways to treat hyperacidity and the toxification that comes with it, watch for an upcoming article on the topic, which will include how to home-test for acidity and other helpful dietary information.