Each of us is at war and we don't even know it! The private war we each wage is a daily assault on our body by bacteria, virus, fungus, yeasts, and molds. We have entered what might be referred to as critical mass when it comes to this bacterial warfare onslaught being waged against us by stronger and stronger killer bugs and bad bacteria. Our immune systems are becoming weaker and over-taxed in this war. Even the medical profession's first line of defense (the antibiotic) is becoming less and less effective against resistant new strains being created daily as the bacteria mutate. Since Louis Pasteur discovered the germ theory of disease that states germs are the cause of disease, time has proven him correct. But note Dr. Pasteur's dying words: "The germ is nothing, the inner terrain is everything."

The inner terrain referred to in Dr. Pasteur's statement is now being called our biological terrain and comprises our body's digestive tract, lymph system, blood, urinary tract, interstitial and interstitial fluids. Our bodies are alkaline by design and acid by function. Maintaining proper alkalinity is essential for life, health, and vitality. Simply put - an imbalance of alkalinity creates a condition favorable to the growth of bacteria, yeast and other unwanted organisms. All leading biochemists and medical physiologists have recognized pH (or the acid-alkaline balance) as the most important aspect of a balanced and healthy body. They have long known that the maintenance of an alkaline pH in our tissues and cells is critical to cellular health. In contrast, our digestive tract (except for our normally alkaline mouth) has varying degrees of acid by design, and our urinary tract should be slightly acidic for healthy function.

We live and die at the cellular level. All the cells (billions of them) that make up the human body are slightly alkaline, and must maintain alkalinity in order to function and remain healthy and alive. However their cellular activity creates acid and this acid is what gives the cell energy and function. As each alkaline cell performs its task of respiration, it secretes metabolic wastes, and these end products of cellular metabolism are acid in nature. Although these wastes are used for energy and function, they must not be allowed to build up. One example of this is the often painful lactic acid which is created through exercise. The body will go to great lengths to neutralize and detoxify these acids before they act as poisons in and around the cell, ultimately changing the environment of the cell. Most people and clinical practitioners believe the immune system is the body's first line of defense, but in actuality it is not. It is very important, but more like a very sophisticated clean-up service. We must instead look at the importance of pH balance as the first and major line of defense against sickness and disease and for health and vitality.

If we were to ask "What is killing us?", the answer might be "ACIDOSIS"! It has been demonstrated that an acidic, anaerobic (lacking oxygen) body environment encourages the breeding of fungus, mold, bacteria, and viruses. Let's look at an example. If we were to seal the door to our freezer and then unplug it, come back and open the door in two weeks, what would we find? Mold, bacteria, microscopic bugs. Things will be growing and multiplying. Where did they all come from? They did not sneak in - remember the door was sealed. The answer is . . . "they were always there". It is simply that the environment changed to a more inviting and healthy one for the "critters" to live in. This can be likened to a shift in our biological terrain from a healthy oxygenated, alkaline environment to an unhealthy anaerobic acidic environment. You see what is healthy for us is unhealthy for the body attackers and what is healthy for them is what is unhealthy for our body.

A state of acidosis is simply the lack of oxygen and available calcium which the body uses to maintain its alkaline balance. Calcium makes up 1.6% of our body weight. It is literally the human glue that holds the body together. Calcium is so biochemically active that it has been likened to an octopus. A calcium ion can hold onto seven other molecules while it grabs onto one molecule of water. No other ion can do this. And it is the right size to easily get in and out of the human cell. As it does this, it takes a chain of nutrients into the cell and then leaves to get more nutrients.

The biggest problem scientists have found is that over time the human body becomes depleted of calcium. A compound called mono-ortho-calcium phosphate is the chemical buffer for the blood. This buffer maintains the alkaline level (or the lack of acidity) in your blood. Without it you would die. If the acidity level of your blood changes even slightly you die immediately. But in order to supply enough calcium for buffering we must have enough calcium being absorbed from our diet or our body will simply rob the needed calcium from our bones and teeth. The more acidic we become, the harder it is for oxygen to be present, so our biological terrain also becomes more anaerobic. Without adequate oxygenation, unfriendly bacteria, viruses, molds, and fungus can live and prosper. Then our cells cannot carry on their life-giving functions in a very efficient manner because our biological chemical reactions need oxygen.

Life and death are in the biological terrain and the battle cry here is to reclaim your biological terrain. This is so important that some practitioners working with the inner biological terrain and its implications to the health of our bodies are beginning to say "There are no specific diseases, only specific disease conditions, and there is only one disease. And that one disease is acidosis."

The human body is very intelligent. As we become more and more acidic the body starts to set up defense mechanisms to keep the damaging acid from entering our vital organs. It is known that acid gets stored in fat cells. After all, if the acid does come into contact with an organ the acid has a chance to eat holes in the tissue. This may cause the cells to mutate. The oxygen level drops in this acidic environment and calcium begins to be depleted. So as a defense mechanism, your body may actually make fat to protect you from your overly-acidic self. Those fat cells and cellulite deposits may actually be packing up the acid and trying to keep it a safe distance from your organs. The fat may be saving your vital organs from damage. Many people have found that a return to a healthy inner biological terrain helps them to lose excess fat.

Osteoporosis is very confusing for many people. Most people think they can eliminate it by increasing their consumption of milk and dairy products. But in the countries where the consumption of dairy products is very low the instances of osteoporosis is very rare. Osteoporosis is an acidosis problem. As the body becomes more acidic, to protect against the event of heart attack, stroke, illness, or even cancer, the body attempts to remain healthy. So, it steals calcium from the bones, teeth, and tissue. As bone mass becomes depleted, this is what we call osteoporosis. As we saturate the body with calcium this brings the alkaline pH up and drops the acid levels down.

One of the first warning signs of an acidic biological terrain is calcium deposits. A little known fact is that there has never been a scientifically proven association between calcium deposits in the body and nutritional calcium. In fact quite the opposite is found in the results of testing calcium deposits of the body. Calcium deposits come not from dietary calcium but from the structural calcium of our bones and teeth!

So if calcium deposits are forming, we know our inner biological terrain is too acidic. Our dietary intake of calcium is not keeping up with the calcium buffering needed and we are actively pulling calcium from our bones and teeth. It all works like a little train, from the bones to the fluids and cells, to the blood. As our biological terrain becomes acidic, our pH level drops. When this happens we start losing calcium out of the blood, the bones, and the tissues. This is a safety mechanism. Now your biological terrain's oxygen level drops leaving you tired and fatigued, allowing fungus, mold, parasites, bad bacteria, and viral infections to flourish and gain a hold throughout the body. It is interesting to note that you often won't have just some of these invaders. If you have Candida you will likely have bad bacteria, fungus, and parasites because they all flourish in the same terrain.

Your internal pH balance is very important, but few medical practitioners in Western medicine are even aware of how it plays a major role in causing almost all disease. So let's begin with some very basic information on the subject of pH.

You've probably heard from many different sources, that the human body is approximately 80% water. All that water has a biological purpose; it is the basic component of the various mediums that allow nutrients and various chemicals to be transported from one place to another. These water-based mediums can have either acid or alkaline properties. These properties are measured by what we call pH. How pH affects the body is called the "pH Factor." When the acid and alkaline properties are of equal strength, we say the pH is balanced.

Extremely important! Since most of the body is water-based, the pH level (acid-alkaline level) has profound effects on body chemistry, health and disease. Extended pH imbalances of any kind are not well tolerated by the body. Indeed, the entire metabolic process depends on a balanced pH. The management of the pH factor is so important that the body has developed strict accounting procedures to monitor acid-alkaline balances in every cell and biosystem. Fundamentally, all regulatory mechanisms (including breathing, circulation, digestion, hormonal production, etc.) serve the purpose of balancing pH, removing the normally metabolized developed acids and toxins from body tissues/systems without damage to living cells.

Otherwise, an acid pH will develop. The body needs balance to allow it to maintain health. Our temperature is balanced at 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit. We can be several degrees out of balance before becoming seriously ill. However, pH balance is far more critical. The slightest imbalance will cause serious illness and disease. The body will do whatever necessary to maintain this balance, and it continually steals acid-neutralizing minerals (such as calcium) in its attempt to maintain a healthy balance. Understanding this makes you realize why most elderly people experience osteoporosis after a lifetime of consuming acid-producing nutrients. Only fresh fruits and vegetables are alkaline producing to help your body maintain a healthy pH balance.

An acid pH, or "acidosis," is the term used to describe the imbalanced acidic condition of all our body fluids. Virtually all cellular functions of the body are sensitive to the pH of their fluids. If the pH deviates too far to the acid side, cells become poisoned in their own toxic acidic wastes and die.

Yes, it is! Nothing does well in an acid pH medium. For instance, "acid rain" destroys the natural environment, killing plants and trees, poisoning the life in all lakes and rivers. An acid pH is even more dangerous for your body, continuously corroding all body tissue, slowly eating into the 60,000 miles of our veins, arteries and capillaries like acid eating into marble. If left unchecked, it will interrupt all cellular activities and functions, from the beating of your heart to the neural firing of your brain... An acid pH interferes with all life itself!

Diet appears to be the major influence in maintaining appropriate pH levels throughout the body. Research demonstrates that when food is metabolized and broken down, it leaves certain chemical and metallic residues, a noncombustible "ash" which, combined with our body fluids, yields either acid or alkaline potentials of pH. Certain foods are "acid-forming" in nature, whereas others are known to be "alkaline-forming."

Most high protein foods (such as meat, fish, poultry and eggs), nearly all carbohydrates (including grains, breads, pastas) and fats are acid-forming. And most fruits and vegetables are alkaline forming. Although citrus fruits, such as oranges and grapefruit, contain organic acids and may have an acid taste, they are not acid forming when metabolized and leave an alkaline residue.

By testing your pH! You can determine quickly and easily, in the privacy of your own home, what your pH is. Test Strips can determine your urinary pH, which is generally a good indicator of how acid or alkaline your total body pH is. When urinary pH is continuously between 7.0 and 7.5 (depending upon the time of day), you're functioning in a healthy range.

Yes, very common, but not at all healthy! The bulk of our western diet is made up of acid-forming foods. Most of us habitually consuming a diet high in protein, high in carbohydrate, high in fat and very little, if not completely inadequate amounts of fruits and vegetables. That means that most of us will experience a continual acid pH. And the older we are, the more "acid" we tend to become.

YES! Watching your diet can help, especially by increasing the number of fruits and vegetables you eat while decreasing the amounts of acid-forming foods consumed. If you're like me, that means changing your entire diet and your way of life. But there are other easier ways to get your pH back into balance.