Maintaining the correct acidity/alkalinity (or pH) of the blood is an essential part of good health. Acidity and alkalinity is determined by the concentration of hydrogen ions – the lower the pH, the greater the acidity and the greater the concentration of hydrogen ions.

It is important to realise the pH scale is a logarithmic one. This means that the difference between a pH of 7 and 4 means a thousand fold increase in hydrogen ions. [This is calculated, in this case, as 7 – 4 = 3 and then raising 10 to the power of 3, giving 1000.] Such a shift would have a massive effect on biochemical processes, most of which are exquisitely sensitive to pH changes. For normal metabolism, the pH of the blood is tightly controlled by the lungs and the kidneys. In the short term the lungs compensate where there is a tendency to acidosis [increased acidity] by slowing breathing so retaining carbon dioxide and increasing bicarbonate, and with that pH. In the medium term the kidneys compensate – where there is acidosis, we pee out acid.

This works fine when we have enough acid or bicarbonate to play with. We run into problems when we don’t. Where there is poor mitochondrial function, we slip into anaerobic metabolism and produce lactic acid. This chronic overproduction puts us into a permanently acidic state. This means that any person with a tendency to fatigue and anaerobic metabolism is likely to be chronically acidotic. We try to correct this by peeing out acid, but there is only so much we can do! 

I suspect the upper fermenting gut results in an acidosis – sugars may be fermented into acids such as D-lactate to cause D-lactate acidosis. 

There are two main therapeutic approaches that target the acidic pH of the tumour macro environment.

One is buffer therapy, in which alkalizing agents are administered to neutralise protons and the other is the inhibition of proton efflux transporters expressed on the cancer cell membrane:

NHE1 inhibitors
CA inhibitors
MCT inhibitors
V-ATPase inhibitors

Bicarbonate and Pain Relief

Bicarbonate has traditionally been used as a home remedy for pain relief, particularly in conditions like cystitis. There are also reports of improvement in gout symptoms with the use of magnesium carbonate, which may relate to how acidity affects the body. When the blood is more acidic, uric acid is less soluble and more likely to form crystals in the joints, contributing to gout pain.

This approach may have broader implications for other types of pain as well. It has been suggested that increased acidity in the body could lower the pain threshold. A familiar example is the buildup of lactic acid after intense exercise, which is associated with muscle discomfort following physical activity.

Foods

Kelp: Is a sea vegetable that contains Iodine, Potassium, Magnesium, Calcium and Iron.