Well, you have done a lot of good investigation over the years here! I am happy to subscribe. I already do a lot of what is recommended here. One difference is that I seek Vitamin D3 levels closer to 100 nanograms/ deciliter. For that reason, I take 10-15,000 i.u. of Vitamin D3 daily. I also take Life Extension’s “Super K Elite” every day, not just every other day. And I never take calcium supplements — I eat enough cheese and yogurt to give me what I need. In order to trigger autophagy, I try to have periods of not eating: your small-snack eating throughout the day is not something I would recommend... but hey, it seems to work for you! Thanks for this comprehensive summary. I’ve read all the same people you have... good to know that Adele Davis recommended Vitamin D supplementation way back in 1954 (the year I was born).
Thank you. As stories where good people triumph over great evil feel good, which is good for health too, I think you will like my play "Penelope and Odysseus." Beneath Homer’s supernatural superstructure, I found a story so compelling and surprising that I extracted and presented it as a stage play. I wrote it just for the thrill of it.
1. Some people are naturally acidic, some alkaline. Readily available pH strips for saliva (and/or urine) may tell you where you are.
2. Too much oral vitamin C will give you loose bowels. However, the need for vitamin C varies enormously between people and for the same person, if under stress, such as emotional, infectious, poisonous, etc. That doesn't speak to acidic body, but it gives an upper limit to what can be taken--best to be taken in smaller doses spread out over the day, and with some citrus bioflavonoids from citrus fruit or supplements.
3. Fruits and vegetables generally are said to be "alkaline." Books (and websites) exist that list which do what.
4. Green foods (and powders) are said to be very alkaline.
5. Some say take lemon juice--the citric acid processes in the body as alkaline (Krebs cycle, if memory serves).
6. Others say take baking soda--bicarbonate of soda, aka sodium bicarbonate--in water. However, with that, taking it with protein or fatty foods will counter the hydrochloric acid the stomach creates to start the digestion--not a good idea.
6a. If you worry about the sodium raising blood pressure, take heart: Fruits and vegetables supply potassium that counterbalances sodium. Also, only a minority of people are actually susceptible to sodium raising blood pressure; if memory serves, it's about 20%. You can use a blood pressure monitor to track the effects.
7. Recent discussions point to a small minority of people being susceptible to oxalic acid (kidney stones, other problems), and to limit vitamin C to several hundred milligrams. Some foods are high in oxalic acid. Dr. Mercola's Substack and the Price Pottenger Nutrition Foundation (ppnf.org) have similar articles, both about Sally K. Norton's new book. However, don't get freaked out; it is a small number of people; these sources may help you figure out if this is relevant to you.
A school of thought definitely says being alkaline is better. My main sources have not discussed the issue at all, so I'm learning as we go. I have one book on the subject: "Alkalize or Die." Well, I am somewhat acidic, and I haven' died yet, but that doesn't mean it isn't hurting me in some way. However, what are the negative effects of being too alkaline, aside perhaps from being more prone to yeast infections? I don't know.
So while diet may be important in preventing--or causing--extremes, it may really be the case that some people are prone to being mildly acidic, and best kept that way; others, alkaline.
Re 1. Saliva should be alkaline, at least a little, to buffer acids in foods and thereby protect your tooth enamel. Since vitamin C is excreted in the urine, it will make urine more acidic; but some say that acidic urine is a good thing to protect against yeast infections, which prefer alkaline conditions. I use pH strips only for saliva.
Well, you have done a lot of good investigation over the years here! I am happy to subscribe. I already do a lot of what is recommended here. One difference is that I seek Vitamin D3 levels closer to 100 nanograms/ deciliter. For that reason, I take 10-15,000 i.u. of Vitamin D3 daily. I also take Life Extension’s “Super K Elite” every day, not just every other day. And I never take calcium supplements — I eat enough cheese and yogurt to give me what I need. In order to trigger autophagy, I try to have periods of not eating: your small-snack eating throughout the day is not something I would recommend... but hey, it seems to work for you! Thanks for this comprehensive summary. I’ve read all the same people you have... good to know that Adele Davis recommended Vitamin D supplementation way back in 1954 (the year I was born).
Thank you. As stories where good people triumph over great evil feel good, which is good for health too, I think you will like my play "Penelope and Odysseus." Beneath Homer’s supernatural superstructure, I found a story so compelling and surprising that I extracted and presented it as a stage play. I wrote it just for the thrill of it.
1. Some people are naturally acidic, some alkaline. Readily available pH strips for saliva (and/or urine) may tell you where you are.
2. Too much oral vitamin C will give you loose bowels. However, the need for vitamin C varies enormously between people and for the same person, if under stress, such as emotional, infectious, poisonous, etc. That doesn't speak to acidic body, but it gives an upper limit to what can be taken--best to be taken in smaller doses spread out over the day, and with some citrus bioflavonoids from citrus fruit or supplements.
3. Fruits and vegetables generally are said to be "alkaline." Books (and websites) exist that list which do what.
4. Green foods (and powders) are said to be very alkaline.
5. Some say take lemon juice--the citric acid processes in the body as alkaline (Krebs cycle, if memory serves).
6. Others say take baking soda--bicarbonate of soda, aka sodium bicarbonate--in water. However, with that, taking it with protein or fatty foods will counter the hydrochloric acid the stomach creates to start the digestion--not a good idea.
6a. If you worry about the sodium raising blood pressure, take heart: Fruits and vegetables supply potassium that counterbalances sodium. Also, only a minority of people are actually susceptible to sodium raising blood pressure; if memory serves, it's about 20%. You can use a blood pressure monitor to track the effects.
7. Recent discussions point to a small minority of people being susceptible to oxalic acid (kidney stones, other problems), and to limit vitamin C to several hundred milligrams. Some foods are high in oxalic acid. Dr. Mercola's Substack and the Price Pottenger Nutrition Foundation (ppnf.org) have similar articles, both about Sally K. Norton's new book. However, don't get freaked out; it is a small number of people; these sources may help you figure out if this is relevant to you.
Good Health to You!
Some further thoughts:
A school of thought definitely says being alkaline is better. My main sources have not discussed the issue at all, so I'm learning as we go. I have one book on the subject: "Alkalize or Die." Well, I am somewhat acidic, and I haven' died yet, but that doesn't mean it isn't hurting me in some way. However, what are the negative effects of being too alkaline, aside perhaps from being more prone to yeast infections? I don't know.
So while diet may be important in preventing--or causing--extremes, it may really be the case that some people are prone to being mildly acidic, and best kept that way; others, alkaline.
Re 1. Saliva should be alkaline, at least a little, to buffer acids in foods and thereby protect your tooth enamel. Since vitamin C is excreted in the urine, it will make urine more acidic; but some say that acidic urine is a good thing to protect against yeast infections, which prefer alkaline conditions. I use pH strips only for saliva.