1. The presentation discusses the concept of acid-alkaline balance in the body and its relationship to health and weight loss. 2. Some foods are acid-forming in the body like sugar, dairy, and wheat, while others like vegetables and fruits are alkaline-forming. 3. Maintaining a diet with 60-90% alkaline-forming foods and 10-40% acid-forming foods can help support overall health and metabolism.

1. Alkaline-Acid Balance –
For Healthy Weight Loss
& More Energy
Meetup.com –
Health, Nature, Food, Nutrition
Ben Rockefeller, Health Coach, Nutritionist, and Cook
© BWR 2016

2. Evening - Outline
The evening is divided into videos, a presentation, and questions &
answers (discussion):
7 – 7:15 Real lemonade with stevia
7:15 – 8:15 Video – acid-alkaline balance
8:15 – 8:30 Break – fruit or carrots
8:30 – 9:30 Presentation – acid-alkaline balance
9:30 – 10 Break – nuts
9:30 – 10 Q&A (discussion)

3. Food for thought
“Let your food be your medicine.”
- Hippocrates, 460-375 BC
“One man’s food can be another man’s poison.”
- Lucretius, 94-55 BC
“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”
- Benjamin Franklin, 1736

4. Acid-alkaline balance
You are still free to
choose what to eat and
what not to eat.

5. Acid-alkaline balance - bibliography
The Alkaline Cure, Dr. Stephan Domenig, 2014
L'équilibre acido-basique …, Dr. Eva-Maria Kraske, 2013
La Méthode Acide-Base, Dr. Hervé Grosgogeat, 2007
Acid Alkaline Balance … Health, Dr. Susan Richards
The Acid-Alkaline Food Guide, Susan Brown PhD, 2013
Health Via Food, Dr. William Howard Hay, 1929, pdf
The pH Miracle, Robert Young PhD, 2002
Sugar Blues, William Duffy, 1975
Pure, White, and Deadly, Dr. John Yudkin, 1974
Devil in the Milk, Keith Woodford, 2009
Wheat Belly, Dr. William Davis, 2014
Grain Brain, Dr. David Perlmutter, 2013
Secrets of an Alkaline Body, Anne & David Jubb, 2004

6. Disclaimer
• This presentation is not intended to diagnose, prevent, treat, or cure
any disease.
• If you have a medical condition, see a doctor.
• There is no charge for this information, except to offset the costs of
any facility rental and snacks.

7. Acid-alkaline balance - outline
• In a nutshell
• What are pH, acidity, and alkalinity?
• How your body controls pH
• Digestion – in brief
• Details
• FAQ
• Conclusion
• Questions and comments?

8. In a nutshell
1. Some foods are acid-forming in the body, reducing
pH slightly in the blood and tissues.
2. Some foods are alkaline-forming, increasing pH.
3. This effect depends mostly on their mineral, vitamin,
enzyme, or protein content, and residue after
digestion.
4. Health depends on eating 60-90% alkaline-forming
foods and 10-40% acid-forming foods, possibly
measured by portions or handfuls.

9. What is “pH” ?
• “pH” is an acronym for “potential hydrogen” (H+
).
• It is a measure of acidity or alkalinity.
• The scale is from 0 (most acidic) to 14 (most alkaline).
• 7 is neutral.
• Your stomach has a pH of .9 to 5 (very acidic). Your urine is
usually acidic. What you eat or do not eat can affect urine pH.
• Your blood has a pH of 7.35 – 7.45 (slightly alkaline).
• Specific foods can be acid-forming or alkaline-forming after
digestion, independently of their taste, such as lemons.
• To measure this, you can easily, cheaply measure your urine
pH daily, using pH strips and a sample at the same time daily.

10. What is acidity? What is alkalinity?
By definition, the more acid a solution (a liquid, such as blood),
the greater the concentration of hydrogen ions (H+
). The more
alkaline a solution, the greater the concentration of hydroxyl ions
(OH-
), in other words the more oxygenated the solution is.
Acidity and alkalinity are measured in pH (potential hydrogen),
on a log scale scale of 0 (very acidic) to 14 (very alkaline). 7 is
neutral. Your blood has a pH of 7.35-7.45. Your stomach has a
pH of .9 – 5.0, depending on resting, digesting, and your
individual biochemistry. Your urine is usually slightly acidic.
Except for your stomach, your urine, and your skin, your body,
your tissues, and your blood are slightly alkaline – to be healthy.

12. How do we maintain blood pH?
Your blood pH, like your breathing and your heartbeat, is autonomically regulated
in a very narrow range of 7.35-7.45 (unconsciously by your nervous system).
You can also affect this process, depending on the time of day, your eating habits,
what you last ate, and when you last used the toilet.
If your blood pH drops (becomes more acidic), you use water to dilute the acidity.
Your pancreas releases bicarbonate into the blood to restore balance (to remove
carbonic acid). Sodium, calcium, and potassium in the blood and lymph bind to
acids for excretion in the urine. You can also increase your breathing (intake of
alkaline oxygen and exhalation of acidic carbon dioxide), as active athletes do.
If your blood continues to tend to be more acidic, you transfer calcium and
magnesium from your bones and teeth to the blood to restore the blood pH to +/-
7.4. You also excrete acid residue through your sweat, urine, and breath.

13. Digestion is like a wood fire.
Similar to a wood fire, when you digest,
you consume oxygen (from the air you
breathe) and fuel (from the food you eat).
Like a fire, you produce energy (ATP
instead of heat from a fire), carbon
dioxide, and water.
Most of all, your digestion leaves a
residue (like the ash from a fire). The
residue is either acid-forming or alkaline-
forming (in the blood and tissues).

14. Digestion – in brief
Protein requires an acidic medium (pH < 7)
and the enzyme pepsin (HCl) in the stomach,
…
Starch requires an alkaline medium (pH > 7)
and the enzyme amylase (ptyalin) in the small
intestine (and in the saliva), …
Starch and protein can interfere with each
other, causing the partly digested starch to
ferment and the protein to putrefy. Rapid,
efficient digestion is optimal for many most of
the time.

15. What is “metabolism” ?
Metabolism is the total of all processes
and functions of the body to keep itself
healthy and in balance. This includes
digesting food, repairing and renewing
tissues and cells, producing hormones,
and excreting waste.
A proper acid-alkaline balance can
increase your “base metabolic rate”, that
is the production of energy (ATP) at rest.
This is related to your “metabolic set
point”. The illustration shows the liver
and some of its metabolic functions.

16. What foods are acid-forming?
• Sugar,
• Dairy, milk, cheese, yogurt,
• Wheat, bread, and cereals, except buckwheat, millet, quinoa, amaranth,
• Lentils, soy, beans, except adzuki beans,
• Coffee, black tea, chocolate, pickles, ketchup, vinegar, fried foods,
• Food additives (preservatives, colourings, flavouring, others),
• Pharmaceuticals (antibiotics, psychotropics, antihistamines, aspirin, …),
• Salt, except sea salt,
• Beef, lamb, turkey, chicken, fish, eggs,
• Walnuts, pecans, most oils & nuts (except almonds & pumpkin seeds),
• Alcohol, beer, wine, cava.
References: Dr. Russell Jaffe, Dr. Susan Brown, Dr. Elson Haas, Dr. Otto Warburg, and others

17. What is alkaline-forming?
• Vegetables, especially spinach, parsley, broccoli, asparagus, kale,
endive, celery, garlic, onion, sweet potato, carrots, seaweed, algae,
• Fruits, especially citrus, lemons, pineapple, watermelon, most berries,
• Pumpkin seeds, almonds, flax seeds, chia seeds,
• Cayenne, turmeric, cinnamon, dandelion, ginger, clove,
• Most herbs and spices, green tea, bee pollen,
• Adzuki beans, tofu & miso (fermented), umeboshi plums,
• Stevia (?), most raw honey (?), blackstrap molasses, sea salt,
• Buckwheat, millet, quinoa, oats (?), and amaranth,
• Sodium bicarbonate (pancreas, between meals and with caution),
• Hydrogen peroxide (food grade H202, “ “ “ “ extreme caution).
References: Dr. Russell Jaffe, Dr. Susan Brown, Dr. Elson Haas, Dr. Otto Warburg, and others

18. Why cut sugar? How?
Refined white sugar, also known as table sugar, saccharose, or sucrose, is the result of
processing sugar cane (Saccharum officinarum) or sugar beets (Beta vulgaris).
Nutrients are removed in the processing. Sugar is added to soda, milk, yogurt, cereals,
and many packaged foods to sweeten them. Fructose is a sugar found in fruit and also
refined into high fructose corn syrup used in processed foods. Sugar supplies four
calories per gram, similar to protein, and less than lipids with nine calories per gram.
There is no need to count calories to lose weight. No refined sugar is moderate.
Sugar relatively rapidly increases glucose in the blood. It forms acids, making the
blood and tissues tend to be slightly acidic. Like cocaine and opium, sugar is
physically addictive. Withdrawal is not to be taken lightly nor without a plan.
Sugar depletes the body of vitamins and minerals, which are bound and then
excreted with sugar in the urine.
An acidic environment can harbour pathogens, toxins, and lead to weight gain.
Stevia non-toxic, cheap alternatives are pure stevioside extracts and dried leaf.

19. Why cut dairy? How?
Pasteurized, cow’s dairy (milk, cheese, and yogurt) has most if not all of the
nutrients removed and the enzymes denatured during the processing.
It also contains a protein called A1, which may be slightly toxic for some
people, who break it down to an opioid peptide.
Lactose is a sugar (glucose + galactose) found in dairy that requires an
enzyme in the small intestine called lactase. Some people, particularly older
people, may produce little lactase. They are lactase-deficient.
Devoid of the nutrients found in raw dairy and rich in animal protein, dairy
tends to form acids, making the blood and tissues slightly acidic. An acidic
environment can harbour pathogens, toxins, and lead to weight gain.
Almond or coco milk and goat or sheep dairy can be easy alternatives,
depending on their additives and process. Mother’s milk can be the best dairy.

20. Why cut wheat? How?
Milled, refined wheat (Triticum Aestivum) has been genetically modified
(hybridized) for many, many years to satisfy the demands of commercial bakers
for elasticity and shelf-life. The milling and processing removes most if not all
of the nutrients found in the unprocessed dried grains, even from so-called
“whole grains”. Wheat contains not only gluten but also gliadin and other
proteins, which can be chronically inflammatory to the digestive system. Rye
and barley also contain gluten, but may be easier for some to digest, if well
fermented or gently processed.
Devoid of nutrients, processed wheat also rapidly increases blood sugar
(glucose), as rapidly as table sugar. This makes the blood and tissues slightly
acidic.
Most of all, wheat contains a protein, a lectin, called wheat germ agglutinin,
which can cause micro-coagulations of the blood. Grains and legumes also
contain phytic acid, which can interfere with digestion and mineral absorption.
Processing and cooking may or may not remove these anti-nutrients.
Buckwheat, millet, oats, and quinoa can be practical alternatives for some.

21. Acid-Alkaline Balance – How?
1. Cut sugar, dairy, and wheat – one per week or one per month. Plan.
2. Substitute stevia, water, raw honey (?), almond milk, coco milk (?),
buckwheat, millet, and mostly fruits, vegetables, other protein, nuts,
and seeds.
3. By experimenting and listening to your body (most of all, to your
digestion), find the optimal mix of alkaline-forming and acid-forming
foods for you, whether 80:20, 90:10, or 60:40.
4. Keep in mind proper food combining (ref: Drs. Hay and Shelton).
5. Eat at least some protein at breakfast in the morning (egg, fish, or
other) and no protein at night.
6. Stop drinking at least 15 minutes before the meal. Sit and digest 15
minutes after each meal. Often drink water between meals.

22. What do the critics say ?
1. The blood pH is autonomically regulated. You cannot alter this.
Your kidney does this for you, without your thinking about it.
2. Nobody has ever done a randomized, double-blind, placebo-
controlled clinical trial, nor any clinical trial of this, so there is no
evidence for this, and therefore it is not scientific.
3. “Better digestion” via an acid-alkaline balance cannot be objectively
measured, so why bother with this ?
4. Urine pH only tells you what you have excreted. It misses pH levels
in different organs and tissues, so it is not accurate.
5. If this is true, why have we not heard of this before?

23. Take home message
1. Some foods are acid-forming in the body,
reducing pH slightly in the blood and tissues.
2. Some foods are alkaline-forming, increasing pH.
3. This effect depends mostly on their mineral,
vitamin, enzyme, or protein content, and residue
after prompt digestion.
4. Health depends on eating 60-90% alkaline-
forming foods and 10-40% acid-forming foods,
possibly measured by portions or handfuls.

24. What is Happiness ?
Health
+ Pleasure
+ Inner truth (inner peace/light)
= Happiness

26. Meetup.com – Future Monthly Topics
Health, Nature, Food, Nutrition
• Blood type (ABO)
• Detox (with Vanessa)
• Paleo, vegan, macrobiotic, ketogenic – eating habits compared
• Water
• Vitamins & minerals
• Herbs & spices
• Breakfast, lunch, and dinner – recipes
• Fasting (Carmelina - ?)
• “Food Matters” film - ? Your presentations - ?
• Food combining

27. After the acid-alkaline balance …
The most common food intolerances and sensitivities are:
•Wheat bran and wheat-based breakfast cereals, corn,
•Bread, cakes, pastry, and biscuits (wheat),
•Food additives (E621, E250, E110, E102, …),
•Cow’s dairy,
•Sugar and sugary foods,
•Eggs,
•“Nightshade” family (aubergines, potatoes, tomatoes, paprika),
•Coffee, chocolate, black tea, caffeinated drinks,
•Soy beans,
•Shellfish.