"Warning Signs Your Body is TOO Acidic and How to QUICKLY Alkalize It!" Debunked by College Student

in pseudoscience •  7 years ago 

PROLOGUE 

Ugggghhhh... I'm so very happy that steemit exists. I have a platform where I can write what goes through my mind and I know that at least some people will read what I post and learn from it (unless it's an article bashing my dad, he forces me to write steemit articles so I write those to spite him. I actually enjoy the steemit community though). I finally get to express... in my kindest words, my distaste of "Choice and Truth".  

Who is C&T? Well, they are a huge Facebook page/community that shares articles of "truth". In actuality, it is all pseudoscience bullshit. It ranges from "THEY POISON US! Photos From Inside Chemtrail Planes Like You've Never Seen Before!", to "Deflate Your Belly And Eliminate All Stuck Stools With Just A Few Spoons of This!" You know what it was? Water with chia seeds, lemon juice, and honey! HA! Yeah, good luck with that. 

The articles they share and write spread disinformation and mislead the uneducated masses. Why do I use the word uneducated? I don't mean it dissentingly. Honestly, if any of them had just one class in chemistry, they could easily see why all the articles they read from C&T are bull! How do I know that the people reading it actually believe it? In the comments section, they commend the article. Saying how amazing it is. Not only that, one of my friends on Facebook CONSTANTLY shares their articles. Whenever I read it, I always burst out laughing because I can't believe my friend believes that stuff. Yeah, pouring hydrogen peroxide in your water and in your bath will cure your cancer. Yes, that article exists. And yep, C&T shared that article. 

http://www.healthyfoodhouse.com/hydrogen-peroxide-cancer-must-know/

There are so many shit articles shared by C&T that it was hard to choose which one to discredit and laugh at. Here's the one I choose. Take a look at that hahaha!

http://www.organicandhealthy.org/2017/06/warning-signs-your-body-is-too-acidic.html

By the way before I begin, I want to note a funny trend I noticed. Most of the articles shared by C&T have the word "organic" in their website. So caution, if the website has the word organic in it, it's probably bullshit. 

THE ARTICLE

     Acidity and Cancer?

By now you've likely heard that acidity in your body can contribute to cancer, but do you know how to recognize the signs and fix it?
- organicandhealthy.org

Oh god, this argument. They only mention acidity and cancer once, but I HAVE to mention it because they put it in the beginning of the article in bold! They basically start this article saying that it's a trivial fact that acidity in your body contributes to cancer. Look, it's only PARTLY "true," but it's VERY misleading. This unsubstantiated idea is based on lab studies that say cancer cells thrive in an acidic (low pH) environment, but cannot survive in alkaline (high pH) surroundings. Look, the lab found that cancer cells do perform better in a low pH environment, but it applies only to cells in an isolated lab setting. Altering the cell environment of the human body to create a less-acidic, less-cancer-friendly environment is virtually impossible.

     Testing Your pH Values

Fortunately, it's easy to test your pH - all you need is litmus strips, which can be bought at a pharmacy or a health food store, and a bit of discipline. You'll simply test your urine and saliva each morning, and then track it so you can compare values. Your saliva should stay between 7 and 7.4 all day; morning urine should be between 6 and 6.5.
- organicandhealthy.org

HAHAHA! Do people who believe this crap really pee on litmus strips?! Okay first of all, that's not how you use litmus strips. Second of all, they are not supposed to determine what the pH value of your body is!!! I did some research and litmus strips aren't the same as marketed home tests kits these pseudoscientists sell. So these home “test kits,” which measure the pH of urine, DO NOT relay information about the body’s pH level. True, foods, drinks and supplements will affect the acidity or alkalinity of urine, but it is the only fluid that is affected! In fact, excess acid or base is excreted in the urine to help maintain proper pH balance in the body! I honestly never heard about testing your saliva for pH. So that doesn't make sense. Here is a funny story from a pharmacist being approached by one of these bozos.

One of my first encounters with “alternative” health was the “pH balance” idea. A customer approached me at the pharmacy counter and asked for “pH test strips.” I asked him about kidney stones, diabetes – the usual reasons you test your urine. He told me he was healthy, and he was just monitoring his body’s “acid balance” and that he kept his body “alkali” to be healthy.  “You can’t change your body’s pH, sir – if your pH changes, you’ll die,” I explained, in my most reassuring pharmacist voice. “You don’t know what you’re talking about,” he snapped at me, “I adjust my pH all the time.” I handed over the urine testing strips, rang it into the cash register, and wondered, what is this guy talking about? Where did he get the idea he could manipulate his body’s acidity?
- https://sciencebasedpharmacy.wordpress.com/2009/11/13/your-urine-is-not-a-window-to-your-body-ph-balancing-a-failed-hypothesis/

     You Can "ALKALIZE" Your Body With an ALKALINE Diet!

Some methods for alkalizing your body are straightforward and focus on dietary and lifestyle changes, while others will require specialist support and guidance, such as the use of alkaline minerals. Cesium chloride, germanium, rubidium and other alkalizing minerals can be used to alkalize the body.

We prefer fresh fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds for alkalizing, however. A food’s natural pH level does not necessarily indicate the effect it will have on the body. For example, lemons and limes are known to have an alkaline effect on the body, despite their initial (citric) acidity, so squeeze some lemon in your water and drink before a meal.

And of course, don’t forget to assess your stress levels. Sound sleep, exercise and regular relaxation can do wonders for the body and mind.

Happy alkalizing!
- organicandhealthy.org

Whenever someone brings this up, I see it in an article, or someone commends it, I burst out laughing, rolling on the floor while the fire of faith of humanity in my heart begins to fade. Here's the claims.

  • your body can be too acidic
  • you can cure it by eating alkaline food
  • you can be alkalized
  • alkalization is the KEY TO THE WORLDS PROBLEMS

Okay I'll knock each one out one by one. I'll start with the first. There is some truth to this, yes your body can become too acidic. But, almost no one has this problem. If you have this problem you'll die if untreated, because this is acidosis. This ailment is treatable by a medical professional, not EATING FRESH VEGGIES! Lab tests or imaging is always required. The causes of acidosis is kidney failure or ingestion of drugs or toxins, like methanol or large amounts of aspirin.

https://www.google.com/#q=acidosis

You can't cure acidosis by eating alkaline food. If you don't have acidosis, then your body's pH is fine. Your body regulates the pH on it's own and it does so perfectly fine.

Alkalization is not the key to the worlds problems. You can start helping the world by not believing in pseudoscience and.. I don't know... read a chemistry book or something. 

EPILOGUE 

I'm gonna debunk some more articles in the future. This was a lot of fun writing. If you just skipped to end or something please at least read this. BE SKEPTICAL OF EVERYTHING. Don't believe everything you read, don't trust everything you hear. Take it all with a grain of salt. DON'T BE IGNORANT. An example would be flatearthers. Humanity has been trying to find answers for life and the way things work ever since there has been humans. There are people today that dedicate their lives to their studies. These pseudoscientists and uneducated readers just blatantly ignore what the scientist say! Have you noticed that most scientists specialize? Most scientists don't know EVERYTHING, they research and dedicate their lives to a discipline. We write what have learned down for future generations to add on to it. This is one of the best things that humans have accomplished. Writing. Man, I'm rambling right now. Okay, well, there it is. I hope you enjoyed reading it.

Stay thirsty my friends. Follow me for more! 

Sources

http://preventcancer.aicr.org/site/News2?id=13441

http://www.cancer.ca/en/prevention-and-screening/be-aware/cancer-myths-and-controversies/an-alkaline-diet-and-cancer/?region=on

http://scienceblog.cancerresearchuk.org/2014/03/24/dont-believe-the-hype-10-persistent-cancer-myths-debunked/#acidic-diets

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Being a physician, perhaps my 2 cents may be worth something here. Alkalinization is fad that is being promoted absurdly for reasons that elude me. Money is involved somewhere. So the idea is combating bad and excess acidity.
Acidemia is a state of being and the process causing it is called acidosis. There are few known processes that can cause acidemia to a great degree but these are very few and require hospitalization.
A simple example is diabetic ketoacidosis. A simpler one is starvation ketones.
The processes that cause mild acid buildup such as exercise causing accumulation of lactic acid are rapidly combated and corrected. By the way lactic acid is present normally in the body and acts as an energy shuttle. It is not a bad thing when present in appropriate proportions.
Drinking usual a mounts of highly acidic soda or drinking baking soda or alkaline water can in no way change the pH of the body. People, good people of the world, stop wasting your money. Eat , drink and be merry.

Wow! Thank you VERY much for replying on my post. I really appreciate it. Any information from someone trained in a discipline, in your case a physician, is very valuable! Thank you! And yeah, I don't get how anyone could believe this stuff. And I agree, money has got to be involved

Changing PH in water is very easy. anyone that has raised fish properly knows how or indoor plants all have specific PH needs. The human body consists of mostly water. So I'm thinking ph must have a factor in our health.
But you suggesting we can't test or change this. and our bodies do this without any input from us.
A friend of mine hs MS and started a new medicine, so I checked the manifacturer out, there were paragraphs on making sure the PH was perfect before packaging. as it was injected. Not huge doses either, so why all the fuss about PH?
I'll admit I'm clueless and just trying to learn.
Thanks