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There are many "compartments" in our bodies in which pH (acid/base) may be measured. So, specificity is important to your question. "Cure" implies something pathologic which needs to be "fixed" --when in reality, this may not be the case.
Acids are normal (underline normal) byproducts of all metabolic processes. The stomach is normally acid --this is a good thing, because our friendly bacteria like an acid environment. Our urine is normally more acid in the morning, because our cells dispose of waste products into the lymphatic channels, bowels and kidneys throughout the night.
Women's vaginas are normally acid, and need to be, because of the bacterial balance which needs to be maintained. Blood pH is balanced within a very narrow pH range--neither too alkaline or acid. So, it depends upon which "compartment" you are measuring and when. Although there there are many popular books which correlate acidity of urine, saliva, etc. with disease states --there is little or no scientific research to support a "cause and effect" relationship e.g. that acids cause disease or vice versa. Somehow it seems easy to accept that "acids are bad" without digging deeper into the physiology and pathology. It is true diet can alter urine pH because certain foods tend to be metabolized into either acid or alkaline compounds. (The degree to which this happens depends on many individual as well as food-related factors. So any charts need to be taken as simply guidelines.) In short, eating a vegetarian and/or vegan diet will tend to create a more alkaline urine while eating more animal protein and refined foods will tend to create more acid urine. There is a significant amount of research to support the benefits of more vegetarian and less animal protein in a variety of chronic illnesses. Whether or not this is a function of acidity or inflammation is open to debate. There is a link between the two but it is a "chicken and egg" question. It's also questionable whether or not urine, saliva, and other measurements are really indicative of cellular pH. Dr. Karen Benton, Naturopathic Physician
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