Getting down to ‘base-ics’

Dear Dr. Blonz: Although I am not familiar with your written works, you seem to have a heads up on most of the nutrition pseudoscience, and I thought I would take this opportunity to ask you about the body’s acid versus alkaline environment.

Is it true the body can maintain itself better with a more alkaline diet? Can a pH test of saliva be an accurate determination of the body’s acid/ alkaline level? - G.R., Pompano Beach, Fla.

Dear G.R.: Degrees of acidity or alkalinity are expressed in terms of their pH. Distilled water has a pH of 7.0 and is considered neutral.

When the pH is higher than 7.0, the substance is a base, and when the value is lower, the substance is an acid. The greater the numerical distance from 7.0, the stronger the acid or base.

Coffee, for example, is considered weakly acidic with its pH of 5.0, but battery acid, a strong acid, has a pH of 0.8. The pH of the human body is slightly alkaline, and it is kept within a very narrow range, between 7.35 and 7.45. There are overlapping systems set up to maintain the correct pH because essential chemical reactions won’t take place if the pH is out of whack.

The pH of foods varies. There’s a table of values at tinyurl.com/2mm8bx. Our body is quite adept at dealing with these variances. It makes its adjustments while foods are in the digestive system, and then after they are absorbed.

The kidneys play a key role. The pH of the urine will change according to our state of health and any disease process that might be under way, and it also reacts to what we have been eating, drinking and doing. Aside from urine, perspiration and our breath also help keep body pH in its optimal range.

The bottom line is that relying on a pH test of your saliva is of questionable value as a general diagnostic. Aside from the fact that salivary pH varies normally, it can be affected by ongoing dental issues as well as by the flora that live in the mouth.

Certain disease states, anxieties, stress and medications also influence pH. The systems in our body are designed to compensate to keep things on track. We don’t need to eat a more “alkaline diet.” The only real help the body needs is a healthful diet and an active lifestyle.

Dear Dr. Blonz: I am thinking you should rethink your statement: “The peel of the potato isn’t a nutritional powerhouse; the vitamins, minerals and fiber come primarily from the flesh.”

Edgar Cayce, holistic pioneer of the 20th century, believed otherwise. According to Cayce, “the skin is the most nutritious, useful part of the potato, not the pulp. ... The peelings are strengthening, carrying those influences and forces that are active with the glands of the system.”

May I suggest you might do well to become educated with the teachings of Cayce, as there are literally hundreds of his books in print, and he has been revered by millions for decades. Our school system and our Western medical system are both extremely limited paradigms, and the wave of the future has been heading more and more in the direction of holistic awareness for some time now. Bless you for your endeavors. - T.R., via e-mail

Dear T.R.: I received a few letters citing statements by Edgar Cayce. He may have believed the peel was the most nutritious part, but this is not something that has to be taken on faith. Objective tests of the nutritive content of the potato indicate that most of nutrients are in the pulp. I favor enjoying the entire potato package. Having a holistic approach is fine, but it should always be seasoned with facts.

Dr. Ed Blonz is a nutrition scientist and the author of “Power Nutrition” (Signet, 1998) and the “Your Personal Nutritionist” book series (Signet, 1996). Write to him at appeal-democrat@blonz.com