Acid/Basic foods

[Guest guest]

I wanted to see if any of you wise people had an opinion on this issue.

I went to my dentist today and found I had a lot of gumlime decay that

happened in the last 8 mos. I had quite a bit back then too. My dentist

told me that I had some kind of acid problem. He said I was probably eating

too many acid foods or that my foods were not digesting properly and making

my system acid.

I didn't take very well to the anesthesia and he said this was also a sign

of being too acid. He recommended getting some Ph strips and testing my

mouth and urine first thing in the morning.

I read about this acid food/ basic food idea in a few nutrition books. I

think one of the paleo nutrition books I have talks about it and I think

Perricone's book is big into eating more foods that are basic.

I eat mostly NT... lots of meats and raw dairy products... some cultured

vegetables and stocks. I am allergic to wheat and don't tollerate other

grains either so I don't eat them.

Does what you eat affect the Ph of your body or are there other factors at

work?

Thanks so much,

Kim

[Guest guest]

Kim,

I am interested in this subject too. My dentist told me I had acid reflux

eating away my enamel (but my gums were fine). I had heartburn often. For

the past year or so, I've been loading up on calcium and it seems to have

helped. No more reflux or heartburn ( " reflux " is when it actually comes all

the way back up to your mouth; " heartburn " is just how it sounds.) I take a

heaping spoonful of calcium powder with food at each meal. I would not doubt

that it's 10 grams a day. The kind I take is tricalciumphosphate (TCP). I

bought a 40-lb bag; it's cheap. All also chew a calcium-formula pill or two

a day, to get the magnesium and D. My joints are better too.

-Mark

_____

From: Lenz Kim, Charlie and Riley [mailto:lenz3@...]

Sent: Wednesday, January 05, 2005 7:56 PM

Subject: Acid/Basic foods

* I wanted to see if any of you wise people had an opinion on this

issue.

I went to my dentist today and found I had a lot of gumlime decay that

happened in the last 8 mos. I had quite a bit back then too. My dentist

told me that I had some kind of acid problem. He said I was probably eating

too many acid foods or that my foods were not digesting properly and making

my system acid.

I didn't take very well to the anesthesia and he said this was also a sign

of being too acid. He recommended getting some Ph strips and testing my

mouth and urine first thing in the morning.

I read about this acid food/ basic food idea in a few nutrition books. I

think one of the paleo nutrition books I have talks about it and I think

Perricone's book is big into eating more foods that are basic.

I eat mostly NT... lots of meats and raw dairy products... some cultured

vegetables and stocks. I am allergic to wheat and don't tollerate other

grains either so I don't eat them.

Does what you eat affect the Ph of your body or are there other factors at

work?

Thanks so much,

Kim

[Guest guest]

Kim-

>I read about this acid food/ basic food idea in a few nutrition books. I

>think one of the paleo nutrition books I have talks about it and I think

>Perricone's book is big into eating more foods that are basic.

As far as I know, this whole " acid/base " thing is a huge, steaming crock of

manure -- and not the good kind of manure that helps build soil fertility

either. Polluted manure that has to be stored in toxic waste drums under

Yucca mountain for tens of thousands of years until technology advances

enough that it can safely and affordably purify the manure of harmful nonsense.

Here's what Price had to say on the subject:

>>In no instance have I found the change from a high immunity to dental

>>caries to a high susceptibility among these primitive racial stocks to be

>>associated with a change from a diet with a high potential alkalinity to

>>a high potential acidity, as would seem to have been the case had the

>>high alkalinity balance theory been the correct explanation. If the

>>requisite is so simple as a potential alkalinity, why has not the

>>addition of sodium bicarbonate to a deficient diet controlled dental caries?

That's from http://www.price-pottenger.org/Articles/Acid_base_bal.html

>I eat mostly NT... lots of meats and raw dairy products... some cultured

>vegetables and stocks. I am allergic to wheat and don't tollerate other

>grains either so I don't eat them.

I seem to recall you mentioning eating sugar, albeit NT varieties. Am I

misremembering? If not, you might consider eliminating all sugar from your

diet. Reducing or eliminating starch, at least temporarily, might be

useful too, if part of your problem is compromised absorption. Also, it

could be that dairy and you just don't mix.

-

[Guest guest]

Kim,

I do think an alkaline environment in your mouth is crucial to dental

health. For years, when I was at my sickest, my mouth was extremely acid

(the pH strip actually didn't change its yellow color at all) and I had

numerous dental problems--not just cavities, but some tooth tops worn down

to the yellow dentin, one tooth turning a dark color, red, swollen and

receeding gums, and teeth turning yellow near the gums. It was only after

months of an alternate cancer therapy that included huge amounts of

vegetable juices every day (mostly carrot then) that testing strips showed

not just the green color that indicates normal, but the deep blue that

healthy children have, and it was then that my dental problems began to

disappear.

My diet now still calls for about 32 ounces of vegetable juice a day (I eat

no vegetables and only a tiny portion of fruit) and I have no other sources

of calcium (for the last six months I was drinking milk, but no more than 4

or so oz. per day) except terramin clay (calcium montmorillonite). I am 66

years old and my teeth are actually remineralizing! Bright white enamal is

speading across the tops that showed dentin and also the tooth that was

discolored. The yellow coloring at the base of my teeth has disappeared and

my gums are now a healthy pink instead of a raw red, the receding has

stopped and the swelling is gone. I'm hoping the receding will eventually

be reversed. I don't think I have any cavities, but I actually haven't been

to the dentist for years now. (I used to have to go every 3 mos, apart from

specialized work, just to have my teeth cleaned.)

If you decide to do the testing, it should be done in the morning, before

you eat anything. Spit out three times and let fresh saliva come in for the

test.

Good luck.

[Guest guest]

Mark-

>I am interested in this subject too. My dentist told me I had acid reflux

>eating away my enamel (but my gums were fine). I had heartburn often.

I'd just like to point out that the alleged issue of balancing the acid ash

versus alkaline ash loads of foods in the diet (or weighting them in the

alkaline direction) has *absolutely nothing* to do with stomach acid and

acid reflux. " Acid vs alkaline " issues involve the metabolic products of

food combustion. Acid reflux involves, well, stomach acid.

-

[Guest guest]

> Bright white enamal is

> speading across the tops that showed dentin and also the tooth that was

> discolored.

-

Isn't it amazing what good nutrition can do! Do you make your own juice?

32 oz a day! What types of vegetables do you juice? And also, how much

clay do you take? I was under the impression that you couldn't take the

clay long term because it would prevent you from absorbing minerals in you

food. You don't seem to have a problem with that. Thanks so much.

Kim

[Guest guest]

> As far as I know, this whole " acid/base " thing is a huge, steaming crock

of

> manure --

,

I have tended to agree with this. I have read that even really acidy foods

can turn alkaline in the body and vice versa.

> I seem to recall you mentioning eating sugar, albeit NT varieties. Am I

> misremembering? If not, you might consider eliminating all sugar from

your

> diet. Reducing or eliminating starch, at least temporarily, might be

> useful too, if part of your problem is compromised absorption. Also, it

> could be that dairy and you just don't mix.

>

Actually, I gave up sugar altogether (except a little berries) over a month

ago and though it was hard for the first week it's become much easier. I

was eating a huge chocolate bar every day... YIKES! That'll take a little

time to reverse. I'm going to do the Ph testing and hope that maybe cutting

out sugar (and starch - I'm low carbing - lost 12 lbs) will have solved the

problem. I really hope it's not milk... cheese is my new chocolate!

Thanks for the input.

Kim

[Guest guest]

All also chew a calcium-formula pill or two

> a day, to get the magnesium and D. My joints are better too.

>

Mark,

I guess I don't understand why calcium would help with the acid problem? I

this like taking TUMS? Just curious. Thanks for replying.

Kim

[Guest guest]

Kim-

>Actually, I gave up sugar altogether (except a little berries) over a month

>ago and though it was hard for the first week it's become much easier. I

>was eating a huge chocolate bar every day... YIKES! That'll take a little

>time to reverse.

Yeah, I'd guess that played a large role in your tooth decay

problem. Sugar seems to nail us both directly (via whatever mechanism that

causes the flow of fluids into the microtubules of the teeth to reverse)

and indirectly, by feeding weeds in the gut and impairing absorption. For

people with existing problems, I strongly suspect that even in the absence

of a weight problem, NT-style sugars and starches are better off eliminated.

>I really hope it's not milk... cheese is my new chocolate!

Well, if you stick to aged cheeses it might not be an issue, and you could

also experiment with going cold-turkey for a week or so and then trying

other cheeses -- goat cheese, sheep cheese, Guernsey cheese, that sort of

thing.

I don't know. So often we're fumbling around in the dark, even though for

us it's high noon compared to what it is for most people.

-

[Guest guest]

Kim,

<Isn't it amazing what good nutrition can do! Do you make your own juice?

32 oz a day!

That's actually the minimum. It's somewhat more than that most days. While

I was fighting cancer, it was mostly carrots, a beet, a big handful of leafy

greens such as spinach or dandelion, and a apple. The last supposedly

" pulls " more minerals from the veggies as well as supplying some of its own

(such as boron). These days, I'm doing greens exclusively, mostly celery,

but also some veggies and herbs reputed to detoxify heavy metals (cilantro,

for instance).

I have a Norwalk (based on the work of Norman ) juicer which is

extremely expensive, but when I was told that cancer patients were more apt

to recover using this juicer than any other (this statement was *not* from

the juicer company),I felt I should invest the money. I think it produces

the most fiber-free juice, which means less stress on the digestive system

in absorbing the nutrients.

<And also, how much clay do you take? I was under the impression that you

couldn't take the clay long term because it would prevent you from absorbing

minerals in you food. You don't seem to have a problem with that.

Well, first let me say the juicing has been long-term, but the clay is only

within the last year. However, my understanding is that some clays do

indeed absorb good nutrients as well as toxins from the body, and these

should never be ingested. Both the terramin and the French green clay can

supposedly be used on a long-term basis. There's lots of info online (one

source is http://www.shirleys-wellness-cafe.com/clay.htm) and also in print

(a good intro is " The Clay Cure " by Ran Knishinsky.)

There may be better ways to improve dental health and there may be other

things that have improved my own dental health (for instance, giving up all

grains) without my realizing quite how that happened, but I do think the

juicing and the clay have been major contributors. I hope you find what is

best for you.