Because the average Western diet is comprised of a large percentage of processed and fast foods, it seems relatively logical that we blame our problems of ill health, obesity and fatigue on them. Interestingly enough, however, the problem more than likely IS this type of food, but, for entirely different reasons than we may think.
We've all heard the hype about too much fat, or too many carbohydrates, or too much sugar, or too much of something else. Immediately afterwards a new diet fad springs up ? Low Carb, No Carb, Low Fat, No Fat, High Protein, Low Sugar, No Sugar, you name it, the diet exists. Unfortunately, we've seen the results of these diets ? unfavorable to say the least. There's one reason in particular that all of these diets fail to deliver the promised results ? they don't address the issue of an acid/base balance.
An expert in the acid/base field, Dr. Robert O. Young, in his ground breaking book, The pH Miracle, states, ?The pH level of our internal fluids affects every cell in our bodies. The entire metabolic process depends on an alkaline environment. Chronic overacidity corrodes body tissue, and if left unchecked, will interrupt all cellular activities and function, from the beating of your heart to the neural firing of your brain. In other words, overacidity interferes with life itself. It is ? at the root of all sickness and disease.?
Wow! That is a powerful paragraph! The work of Dr. Young along with research and experimental data from other truth seeking scientists and physicians in the past years have produced some amazing data that shows, in fact, that without a properly balanced blood pH level, bad things start to happen in the body. A majority of the public is relatively unaware that anything like the acid/base continuum exists. Until we become educated on the topic we will continue to suffer - as a nation - from low energy levels and fatigue, excess body weight that eventually leads to obesity, aching joints and muscles, irritability, mood swings, foggy mental activities and, yes, even PMS.
Add those problems to the other, more critical diseases that plague our population ? cancers, heart disease, diabetes, arthritis, etc, and you'll understand why it is so important for you to take your health (and future) into your own hands and learn about the acid/base balance of your body. By learning more about this vital balance you'll find yourself wanting to make a change in your diet and lifestyle.
We need The pH Revolution: http://www.thephrevolution.com/
Methods to Interconvert pH and [H+]: The 0.1 pH Change Rule: PHConversion Factor[H+] nmol/L 6.90 100 / 0.8 125 7.00 100 100 7.10 100 X 0.8 80 7.20 100 X 0.8 X 0.8 64
Henderson Equation:
24 X Pco2 [H+] = -------------- [HCO3-]
A patient has diabetic ketoacidosis and the following laboratory data: pH=7.10, Paco2= 30 mm Hg, [Hco3-] = 13 mmol/L, AG= 25 mEq/L, what do you conclude?
pH= 7.10, thus [H+] is 70-80 nmol/L AG is 25, thus added anion concentration is 25-12= 13 24 X Pco2 [H+] = -------------- [HCO3-]
80'24 X 30/ 13 80'56
Tests Used in Acid-Base Diagnoses:
The anion gap in plasma The osmolal gap in plasma The urine net charge The osmolal gap in urine The urine pH The urine Pco2
Anion Gap in Plasma: The difference between measured major positive and negative charges [Na+] -[Cl-] - [HCO3-] The normal value is 12 ? 2 mEq/L Expect close to 1:1 reciprocal change in anion gap and [HCO3-] The anion gap changes with blood pH, but this change is small: 0.5 mEq/L for each 0.1 unit change in pH An increased anion gap may be the only clue that metabolic acidosis is present in a mixed acid-base disorder
Example: Lactic acid'H+ and Lactate: Plasma (mEq/L) [Na+] [Cl-] [HCO3-] Anion Gap Normal 140 103 25 12 +10 mmol/L 140 103 15=25-1022=12+10 lactic acid
If the concentration of albumin in plasma is half of normal, what adjustments should be made when interpreting the plasma anion gap? Include all the major positive charges in solution: K+: 4 mmol/L The normal value for AG would be 16 instead of 12 albumin has a valence of 16 (16 mEq/L) and concentration of 4 g/dL and 0.5 mmol/L The expected value for plasma AG should be reduced when albumin falls to 2 mg/dL
Patients with MM may have a protein in plasma that bears a net positive charge. What the impact of this protein on the value of the plasma anion gap? IgG myeloma adds a lysine-rich or arginin-rich protein in plasma This paraproteins carry a net positive charge These unmeasured positive charges are associated with measured Cl- The plasma AG falls, or may become negative if the concentration of paraproteins is high enough
The Osmolal Gap in plasma: The osmolal gap is useful means of detecting the presence of uncharged molecules in plasma Calculated osmolality 2[Na+] + [Glucose] (mmol/L) + [Urea] (mmol/L) Osmolal gap is the difference between measured and calculated osmolality of plasma Increased osmolal gap indicates the presence of an unmeasured compound that is not charged: most likely alcohol
Conversion Between mg/dL and mmol/L ConstituentMolecular Weightmg/dL mmol/L Glucose 180 90 5 Urea 60 30 5 BUN 28 14 5
The Urine Net Charge: Measured NH4+ excreted with Cl- Most hospital biochemistry laboratory do not routinely measure NH4+ in the urine In normal urine the major cations are Na, K and NH4+ and the major anions are Cl- and HCO3- NH4+ is usually excreted along with Cl- Thus if are plentiful in urine, there will be a much greater quantity of Cl- than the measured cations Na+ plus K+ If the sum of Na+ and K+ is greater than Cl-, there will be no electrical room for NH4+ unless there are large amount of unmeasured anions in the urine
The Urine Net Charge: [Cl-] > [Na+] + [K+] = high [NH4+ ]
[Cl-] < [Na+] + [K+] = either a low [NH4+ ] or excretion of NH4+ with an anion other than Cl-
The Osmolal Gap in Urine: Is used to detect NH4+ In chronic metabolic acidosis, it is expected to find more than 200 mmol of NH4+ excreted each day This is excreted usually with Cl- and the urine net charge is very negative If the urine net charge is not negative and the patient is acidotic, consider the osmolal gap
Osmolal Gap: Measured osmolality minus calculated Calculated osmolality= 2 ([Na+] + [K+]) + [Glucose] + [Urea] all in mmol/L When osmolal gap is high, thus unmeasured anions exist in large amount Those usually be ketoacids anions, drug metabolites or hippurate (toluene intoxication)
Expected Responses to Primary Acid-Base Disorders: Disorder Response Metabolic acidosisDrop the 7 and the decimal point from the pH For every mmol/L fall in HCO3 from 25, Paco2 drops 1 mm Hg Metabolic alkalosisDrop the 7 and the decimal point from the pH For every mmol/L rise in HCO3 from 25, Paco2 should rise 0.7 mm Hg Acute respiratory acidosisFor every twofold increase in Paco2, the plasma HCO3 should increase by 2.5 mmol/L from 25 Chronic respiratory acidosisFor every mm Hg increase in Paco2, the plasma HCO3 should increase by 0.3 mmol/L from 25 Acute respiratory alkalosisFor every mm Hg fall in Paco2, the plasma H+ should fall by 0.8 mmol/L from 40 Chronic respiratory alkalosisFor every mm Hg in Paco2, the plasma HCO3 should fall by 0.5 mmol/L from 25
Guidelines for the Diagnosis of Mixed Disorder: Calculate the plasma AG, if it is very low or negative, there is probably an error in one of the electrolytes Henderson equation, detect errors If AG is elevated more than 5 mEq/L, the patient probably has metabolic acidosis Compare the magnitude of the fall in plasma HCO3 with the increase in plasma anion gap: they should be similar A rise in plasma AG that is less than the fall in plasma HCO3 suggest that a component of metabolic acidosis involves loss of NaHCO3 or renal tubular acidosis is present A rise in plasma AG that is much greater than the fall in HCO3 suggest that there is a coexistent metabolic alkalosis (additional source of HCO3) In metabolic acidosis or alkalosis, look for the expected change in PCO2
A 23-year-old woman with rheumatoid arthritis increased her dose of salicylates because of a flare-up. She then developed epigastric pain and vomited frequently for 2 days. She went to the local hospital, where the following blood results were obtained: H+ 20 nmol/L pH 7.70 Paco2 25 Anion gap17
Causes: Metabolic alkalosis: vomiting Respiratory alkalosis: salicylate intoxication Metabolic acidosis with high AG: salicylic acid
A 50-year-old woman underwent intestinal bypass for morbid obesity. Because she was having 10-15 watery stools per day, she was treated with tincture of opium and found somnolent and somewhat hypotensive the next morning. Plasma values were: Na+ 130 H+ 96 nmol/L K+ 3.2 pH 7.02 Cl- 102 Paco2 40 Albumin 4 HCO3 10
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Richelo Killian has sinced written about articles on various topics from Nutrition. Richelo Killian is a Personal Trainer who has been training individuals online and offline for about 3 years. Richelo has himself done an amazing body transformation, going from a very skinny 58Kg, to a nice and muscular 90Kg.If you would like to learn mo. Richelo Killian's top article generates over 4400 views. to your Favourites.
Ibrahim Lodhi has sinced written about articles on various topics from Religion, Nutrition and Pets. Dr. D.S. Merchant is a Gold Medalist in (Anatomy & Histology), Nephrology Fellow in AKUH, Pakistan. For more information on or visit. Ibrahim Lodhi's top article generates over 90500 views. to your Favourites.