The Kidneys—Helping Maintain a Healthy Acid-Alkaline (pH) Balance

A healthy diet does more than provide us with many important nutrients. Through digestion of food, an important biochemical acid-alkaline balance occurs, which significantly helps maintain our overall health. In addition to food, the kidneys play a vital role in this pH balance, and require sufficient water for their action. A healthy diet also provides many vitamins and minerals used by the kidneys.

The kidneys are bean-shaped organs, about the size of a fist, located just below the rib cage in the middle back, one on each side of the spine. Like the liver, the kidneys also filter the blood—about 200 quarts a day. From this, the kidney’s filter out about 2 quarts or more of waste products, including extra water which becomes urine. The kidneys also produce hormones: EPO (erythropoietin), as previously discussed, stimulates the bone marrow to make red blood cells; rennin helps regulate blood pressure; and calcitriol continues the process of vitamin D production which began in the skin with sunlight.

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The positive aspects of lactic acid production in muscles and the appearance of blood lactate were previously discussed, especially in relation to energy production. Higher levels of lactate also coincide with the lowering of pH—increased acidity. This shift in pH, which occurs during exercise, especially during hard training or racing, can adversely affect metabolism and muscle function. Consuming sodium bicarbonate in an attempt to counteract this shift in pH and reduce fatigue during racing is a decades-old idea. However, the consensus is that its use is without success. Nonetheless, this has given rise to new, hyped products to control pH. It is well known that the diet, however, can regulate body pH in significant ways.

In athletes, this lower pH comes from hard training and racing, but a poor diet actually can do the same. Certainly an imbalance in our acid-alkaline state can seriously disrupt our health, adversely affecting many metabolic functions. And, it can adversely affect training and racing because it’s associated with fatigue. But the simple act of eating a healthy, balanced diet accomplishes this pH control and helps the kidneys function better than any so-called miracle product (ten times the cost of real food). There are dietary supplements made from natural foods—vegetable-based products—that can help those with acid-alkaline problems, but these too are not meant as a primary therapy—that’s the role of the diet.

For almost all of human existence, our diet has been slightly alkaline, which is considered to be optimal for our body’s brain, muscles, and metabolism. With the agricultural revolution of the past 5,000 to 10,000 years came a dramatic rise in processed grain consumption, which significantly added more acid-producing foods to the diet, disturbing the balance. Grain foods also replaced many vegetables and fruits in the diet, which were primarily those needed to maintain our healthy alkaline state. Today, most “Westernized” diets are full of highly processed grains, especially wheat, which contribute to an overacid state. Excessive animal protein intake can also make the body more acidic.

Most food in our diet produces either an acid or alkaline residue. This affects our whole body via the bloodstream. For athletes in particular, maintaining proper pH is vital because of the many systems affected by it. Many aspects of metabolism and muscle activity will function better when pH levels are normal.

The most potent foods that improve pH balance are vegetables and fruits, and to a lesser degree nuts and seeds. Below is a list of the key foods associated with pH balance. Acid-producing foods, which lower pH, include:

 

 

 
  • All grains, whether whole or refined
  • Milk products, cheese, and all dairy
  • Meats from all animals, including fish
  • Eggs
  • Salt

Alkaline foods, which raise pH, include:

 

 

 
  • Vegetables
  • Fruits
  • Nuts and seeds

(Fats and legumes are neutral.)

These foods are not meant to be a list of “good” and “bad” but rather, a way to relate to your diet. For example, if your meals are typical of many athletes—high in bread, pasta, cereal, rolls, and other grains—it can obviously be a problem for acid-alkaline balance. By eliminating refined carbohydrates and replacing them with vegetables and fruits, you’ll quickly be on the way to better pH balance.

Eating too many acid-producing foods can result in a general body-wide imbalance—a state of chronic acidosis. This can cause bone and muscle problems, such as fractures, osteoporosis, muscle weakness, and even muscle wasting. As athletes age, this increases the risk of falls, fractures, and disability, and also leads to the loss of independence, all of which contributes to increased mortality rate and reduced quality of life. Many other problems can develop too, such as kidney disease, high blood pressure, poor mineral balance (with significant loss of magnesium), asthma, cardiovascular disease, and other conditions. In addition to being a better athlete now, maintaining proper pH will assure better athleticism in your later years, along with improved health.

The answer to the problem of acid-alkaline imbalance is not to create an opposite imbalance by over-consuming a high alkaline product or eliminating all acid foods. Such is the case when high-quality animal protein is eliminated from the diet (which can actually worsen bone and muscle problems). Rather, establishing balance in the diet is a key to an optimal acid-alkaline state. It means eating sufficiently from both the healthy acid and alkaline food groups. For many athletes, this means eating more fresh vegetables and fruits—ten servings a day for adults. It also means eliminating refined grain products. And, to give your kidneys an easier time at doing their job filtering the blood, sufficient water intake is necessary. As discussed previously, this means maintaining an almost clear color of urine, avoiding the yellow color indicating mild (or even severe) dehydration.

The liver and kidneys, like the brain, are often a forgotten part of building endurance. By eating a healthy diet, avoiding the marketing hype, and drinking sufficient amounts of water, better detoxification and pH control will contribute to your overall plan for better fitness and health, and optimal training and racing.