PH is critical for all living things. If you grow citrus, azaleas, or camellias you know what I'm talking about. Yellow curling leaves, poor growth, limited bloom, welcome to the world of clay soil, notoriously alkaline, and seemingly predominant in many yards around the county. You, however, are not at the mercy of the top soil Gods, your body came equipped with very high-end technology as a way of making sure your pH stays within the correct limits for optimal function. You breathe and you pee, pretty much all the time, well not so much with the peeing, but if you've ever ridden with George.

Skip this next paragraph if you can still remember your high school chemistry.

The pH scale is logarithmic and stands for the amount of "potential Hydrogen". The counter intuitive part is that as the pH drops the amount of potential H+ rises, this is because the pH represents the negative of the exponent of the number of H+ potentially present. Example: 1 X 10-5 = .00001, and 1 X 10-2 = .01 ? pH 5 vs. pH 2; the first number is a thousand times smaller (less acidic) than the second number, a single unit on the pH scale represents a tenfold change in potential H+. The reason pH is so critical has to do with the way it affects the 3 dimensional shape of proteins. All the work in your body is done by proteins, everything going on inside is about very specific molecular shapes fitting together, and doing very specific things. If the pH of the fluid that surrounds these proteins changes too much, the shapes of the proteins can become altered, this inhibits their ability to carry out their little molecular destinies. This makes me sad.

Okay, pretty straightforward so far, right? So this is the part that ticks me off. There is a ton of pseudoscience crap out there about pH and health. If you Google < pH health body > you will get a long list of web sites talking about "cleansing", "toxic plaque", cock fighting (not sure how that fits in!) and anti-aging miracles that (for a small fee) can make you healthier. Personally, I am skeptical that someone who spent 3 years taking online classes with the University of the Imaginary Bird and attended half a dozen weekend seminars with titles like "Body Wrapping For Fat Loss" and "Detoxification; You And Your Coffee Enema" can improve on a system that underwent the most rigorous testing of any design plan available, natural selection.

Your body's pH is primarily maintained by your respiratory system and your urinary system. It sort of goes like this: the metabolic waste produced by cells is acidic, since your body needs to run at a certain pH, your body is very precise about monitoring pH, and very insistent in its methods of maintaining pH. Try to hold your breathe for three minutes. It is the subtle change in pH that makes the deeper centers of your brain override your voluntary attempt to hold your breath till you pass out. It's kind of hard to explain without going all ninja organic chemistry on you, but primarily CO2 released by cellular respiration can combine with water to become carbonic acid, lowering blood pH, signaling you to increase your respiratory rate? increasing the amount of CO2 released from your blood., raising pH. Your kidneys are also quite adept at managing the various levels of buffers and ions (including H+) in the blood. Don't forget about those magic kidneys, able to change good coffee, bad coffee, apple juice and water into pee. Now if we could only change chips and salsa into gold!

Trust your body. Unless you have some sort of metabolic or respiratory disorder and if you eat a relatively healthy diet your body is handling your pH balance just fine. You don't need supplements in order to prevent acidosis. You should however keep a really healthy dose of skepticism about processes or products that use terminology like "detoxification", "cleansing organs" or "re-oxygenating". I found one web site that listed foods based on their "acidity inducing index" and they ranked caffeinated sodas as the most acidity inducing and leafy green vegetables as the least acidity inducing foods. The claim is that you will be healthier if you eat more vegetables and drink less Coke. Well, DUHHH. The claim that most of us suffer from acidosis because of environmental stresses and natural metabolic processes, and that acidosis is the leading cause of ALL diseases is crap and is usually tied to some sort of product endorsement. Trust your body, eat well, ride your ass off and get a good night's sleep. You are just fine.

-Erika Floric