The pH is in chemistry a simple acronym, a symbol defining the hydrogen potential in our body by simple measurement of the acidity rate and the secondary alkalinity rate by simple deduction but let's try to make it as simple as possible. The human body has an overall pH specific to each one which corresponds to the hydrogen concentration of a food, an organ. The pH can be between 0 and 14 and is measured on a single scale of acidity. Neutrality is right in the middle of this scale: the number 7 is the right benchmark. From 0 to 7, your pH is acidic . Beyond 7, it is said to be alkaline (or basic) . This famous acid-base balance so desired is nothing more than the harmonious synthesis of the work of absorption and digestion done as correctly as possible by the two media concerned (acid and alkaline). Quite a program then for the body which seeks at all costs to maintain the pH level of this complex body at 7.4 so that its essential functions are at their best operational level . Would the yo-yo and the trampoline be part of our health journey?
In practice, this beautiful theory of pH, which is a little too mathematical, is often undermined by the very understandable accidents of everyday life: our misbehavior (alcohol, medication, stress) can no longer be counted, they add up and end up seriously disturb the mechanics of our beautiful human machine. In scientific terms, we are talking about cellular homeostasis and its permanent fight to internally maintain a good acid-base balance within our body. It is thanks to this balance that we digest well, that we sleep deeply, that our skin renews itself at a normal rate. It is this fundamental balance for the organism that allows our body to self-repair, systematically replacing our old cells with brand new ones. As for our enzymes, the body's real little hands, always on the alert and in motion, they work at full speed as long as they remain in contact with perfectly compatible organic pH values for as long as possible.
We are all living beings but none of us can suspect what is really going on in our organism: internally and without noise, a parallel and permanent life has developed since birth through the magic of electron exchanges . Could this curious process be a miracle? Not at all, on the contrary it is superbly studied and it will remain one of the mysteries of our existence on earth. It is “in chemical mode” that our body has organized itself to live and survive. Our biologists have given a name to this beautiful alchemy: metabolism. Metabolism has two components:
- anabolism , alkalizing and antioxidant, which builds the body, allows the formation of muscles, bones etc. through the digestion of food and which also consumes a lot of energy. It is he who burns the calories.
- catabolism , acidifying and oxidizing, which is there to destroy, to degrade the body in what is most negative. It is he who ensures the production of waste.
Despite appearances, these two components of our metabolism are equally essential for the body , the human body tending naturally towards a certain acidity.
So, go for the best acid-base balance possible from the different pH levels in our bodies. And it's not a trifle among others since the body is indeed more than a million billion cells grouped into 200 very distinct types of skin cells: liver, kidneys, bones, brain, both venous and arterial blood, breasts, vagina and many other organs. We manufacture 70 million new cells every day which take over from the “old” ones: that said, it is mostly our food that ensures their production.
Some pH data to follow to whet your curiosity - saliva: 6.8
- skin: 7.35
- bile: between 7.4 and 7.7
- urine: between 5 and 8
- venous blood: ideally 7.35
- arterial blood: in
the ideal 7.4
- the stomach: between 1.2 and 3
- the small intestine: 6 - and for the record, the pH of the vagina: between 3.5 and 4.5