Is there really a difference between acidic and alkaline body types? Is an “acidic and alkaline body type” really healthier?

Rumors about "acid-base constitution" have been circulating online and among the public in recent years: people divide food into acidic food and alkaline food. Many people believe that food that tastes sour is acidic food, and excessive intake of acidic food can cause people to become acidic. Acidic constitution is the source of all diseases and is often closely related to tumors and endocrine diseases. Not only that, some people also claim that the acid-base property of food determines whether a boy or girl is born and can affect the child's development!

Are foods classified as acidic or alkaline? Can the acidity or alkalinity of food really change a person's physique? Do you need to keep your body in an alkaline environment to be healthy?

"Acid-base body type" is a health concept introduced from the United States 10 years ago. Many alkaline water, alkaline health products, and alkaline diets have become popular. Robert Oldham Young, the founder of the "acid-base body type theory", admitted in court on November 2, 2018 that this was a scam he made up! He was fined $105 million by the San Diego court in the United States and was also imprisoned for practicing medicine illegally.

However, with the help of product advertisements, the idea that "acidic body types are prone to cancer" and "alkaline foods are good for health" has long been rooted in the minds of many people. Misled by the "acid-base body type theory", many people believe that "you should eat less meat and grains and more vegetables and fruits. A weakly alkaline body is healthier and less likely to get sick." However, this is a substitution of concepts. The pH value of the human body itself is constant between 7.35 and 7.45, which is weakly alkaline. There is no problem of acidic body type, and the pH value in the human body is not affected by any diet [1].

Neither modern medicine nor traditional Chinese medicine has the distinction between acidic and alkaline body types.

The human body cannot be simply classified as acidic or alkaline, because the human body is an extremely complex system that contains various microenvironments and body fluids, such as intracellular fluid, extracellular fluid (blood, tissue fluid, lymph, etc.), as well as various digestive fluids secreted, sweat, urine, etc. Different body fluids do have acidity and alkalinity, such as gastric juice is strongly acidic, urine is weakly acidic, and intestinal fluid is alkaline, but this is not equivalent to the acidity and alkalinity of the body. The so-called eating acidic or alkaline food will cause acidic or alkaline constitution, and the acidic constitution will cause various diseases and even induce cancer. There is no scientific basis for such claims. [2]

In daily life, so-called acidic and alkaline foods refer to foods that are burned outside the body. If the final residue is metal elements such as potassium, calcium, and magnesium, the food is alkaline; if the final residue is non-metal elements such as sulfur, phosphorus, and chlorine, it is acidic food. However, the term acidic and alkaline food is unscientific in nutrition. Whether it is advocating eating vegetables and fruits (usually considered alkaline foods) or eating less meat and eggs (usually considered acidic foods), from a nutritional point of view, it has nothing to do with acidity and alkalinity, but with nutrients.

How does the body regulate its own acid-base balance?

The human body has its own acid-base balance regulation system, which includes the regulation of the lungs, kidneys, blood and tissue cells, as well as the regulation of various buffer systems such as the bicarbonate buffer system and the hydrogen phosphate buffer system. All regulatory systems maintain the blood in a weakly alkaline state. This is usually due to disease or drug factors, not determined by external food. Changing the acid-base balance through diet is itself a pseudoscience. First, some diseases, such as diabetes and cancer; second, when diarrhea or vomiting occurs; third, excessive drinking, causing alcohol poisoning; finally, excessive dieting is easily overlooked.

The term "acidic and alkaline foods" has caused a lot of confusion among the public, and many people have asked experts from the Nutrition Society. In response, the Chinese Nutrition Society has made a clarification in the "Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents 2007": "The 'food acid-base balance theory' states that excessive intake of cereals, meat, fish and eggs can lead to an acidic physique, causing chronic diseases such as high blood pressure, high blood lipids, diabetes, and tumors; vegetables and fruits are alkaline foods, which can correct acidic physiques and prevent chronic diseases. In fact, the reason why vegetables and fruits can prevent the above chronic diseases is that they produce low energy and are rich in vitamins, mineral elements, dietary fiber, etc., rather than the effect of alkalinity."

In this regard, Liu Fangming[3] also searched more than 1,000 papers on the body's acid-base balance over the past 50 years and found no research reports on acidic constitutions caused by the acidity or alkalinity of food. To be responsible, the classification of food into acidity and alkalinity is a research area of ​​food chemistry, which is completely different from the metabolic changes after food enters the body.

"Acidic body constitution causes tumors" is a very eye-catching point in the "acid-base body constitution theory". The reason why people get tumors is studied through biological experiments, which are long-term teratogenic, carcinogenic, and gene mutation experiments on animals and in vitro cells to observe whether certain factors will cause normal cells to transform into cancer cells.

There are five types of carcinogens that are currently recognized:

1. First, chemical factors such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and aromatic amines are mostly related to environmental pollution and occupational factors, and may induce leukemia, lung cancer, bladder cancer, etc.;

2. Second, physical carcinogenic factors such as ionizing radiation, thermal radiation, and chronic inflammatory stimulation have a direct impact on the incidence of leukemia and osteosarcoma;

3. Third, viruses, such as Helicobacter pylori, which can induce gastric cancer, human papillomavirus, which is the main cause of cervical cancer, and hepatitis B virus, which can induce liver cancer;

4. Fourth, genetic factors, such as breast cancer and colorectal cancer, have a strong family history;

5. Fifth, immune dysfunction. Of course, there have been some changes over the years. "With the change of lifestyle, unbalanced nutrition, environmental pollution, endocrine imbalance, obesity, and excessive mental stress may all become the cause of cancer."

However, even if the above conditions are met, people will not get cancer all at once, but need a long-term process of internal and external factors. From this perspective, the so-called "acidic body constitution causes cancer" is completely unfounded. In fact, many articles that claim to support the "acid-base body constitution theory" are paving the way for the promotion of some so-called "alkaline products."

Most of the articles on the Internet about "acid-base constitution theory" are presented as "popular science". The websites of health care product manufacturers are filled with a large number of "popular science articles" about "acid-base constitution", claiming that all kinds of cancer are related to "acidic constitution". These fabricated pseudo-sciences that are used to make money and deceive people must be severely exposed and made into a pariah, so that science can be restored to its original appearance.

References:

[1] Stay away from these “foreign health care” traps[J]. Jiangsu Health Care, 2020(05):54-55.

[2] These “health knowledge” are all traps [J]. Jiangsu Health Care, 2021(07):52.

[3] Liu Fangming. Is the “acid-base body type theory” a science or a rumor? [J]. Labor and Social Security World, 2018(34