What is Acidosis? How does an Alkaline water ionizer manage it?

Acidosis is a medical condition marked by increased acidity in the body’s fluids, disrupting the delicate balance crucial to optimal health. Severe acidosis can cause life-threatening conditions.

Acidosis occurs when your body’s fluids contain too much acid. It typically happens when the lungs or kidneys, the organs responsible for maintaining acid-base balance, cannot keep up with acid elimination. Acidosis damages these organs, potentially leading to severe health issues.

How Acidosis Is Caused:

There are several potential triggers for high acid levels in the body, leading to various acidosis causes.

Metabolic Acidosis: A Disrupted Metabolic Process

• Metabolic acidosis is caused by acid overproduction or when the kidneys can’t remove enough acid from your body.
• Common health conditions that could lead to this include diabetes, Sjogren’s syndrome, severe diarrhea, biliary fistula, and insulin resistance.
• An increased heartbeat, deep breaths, headaches, fatigue, nausea, loss of appetite, and confusion are all symptoms of metabolic acidosis.

Renal Tubular Acidosis: Kidney Dysfunction

• In instances of kidney disease or failure, acidosis may arise, known as renal tubular acidosis. The kidneys eliminate excess acid through the urine.
• If they fail, acid removal becomes insufficient, leading to acidosis.
• The kidneys also ensure stable bicarbonate levels, essential for maintaining acid-base balance.

Respiratory Acidosis: An Inefficient Respiratory System

• Respiratory acidosis occurs when the lungs cannot efficiently expel carbon dioxide from the body. As a result, the blood becomes more acidic.
• Some causes of respiratory acidosis include stroke, certain drugs (e.g., opioids), and breathing disorders such as muscular dystrophy or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Diet-induced Acidosis: The Food Role

• Certain foods and drinks can increase acidity levels in the body. Notably, it’s not the food or drink pH that matters, but rather how it affects the acid-alkaline balance in the body once consumed.
• A diet high in sulfur-containing amino acids (found in meat, eggs, and dairy products), salt, and phosphoric acid (found in soda) can cause acidosis.

Drug-induced Acidosis: Medication Impact

Prescription medications may increase body acidity. Some of these include beta-blockers, antibacterials like trimethoprim, antiretrovirals, and statins.

Risk Factors of Acidosis

Preexisting health conditions, lifestyle choices, and dietary habits all contribute to acidosis risk. To prevent and manage them effectively, it’s important to recognize them early.

Respiratory acidosis Risk Factors

People undergoing surgery, with asthma, at the end stage of COPD, smokers, and opioid users have a heightened risk of respiratory acidosis.

Metabolic and Diet-induced acidosis Risk Factors

High-salt and high-animal protein diets low in fruits and vegetables, along with diabetes, kidney problems, and certain diseases like Sjogren’s syndrome, significantly enhance the risk of metabolic and diet-induced acidosis.

Acidosis-induced osteoporosis

In an effort to neutralize excess acid, the body may leach calcium from the bones, leading to osteoporosis.

Acidosis treatment

It has been found that food can be a very important factor in reducing or preventing certain types of acidosis, particularly metabolic acidosis.

1. Alkaline Foods: Consuming foods that are naturally alkaline can help raise the body’s pH level, reducing acidity. Alkaline foods include:

1. • Fruits: Such as bananas, watermelon, cantaloupe, and avocados.
   • Organic Vegetables: Leafy greens, broccoli, cucumbers, spinach, and kale are good options.
   • Nuts and Seeds: Almonds and chia seeds are examples of alkaline-rich choices.

2. Low-Acid Foods: Some foods naturally produce fewer acids during digestion and metabolism, which contributes to a more balanced pH. These include:

• Non-Citrus Fruits: While citrus fruits are acidic, options like apples, pears, and berries have lower acidity levels.
• Vegetables: Carrots, sweet potatoes, and beets are less acidic choices.

Medications: Over-the-counter (OTC) medications such as sodium citrate or sodium bicarbonate to balance acids for metabolic or renal tubular acidosis.

For respiratory acidosis, treating the underlying cause is vital. Treatments aim to facilitate breathing, using bronchodilators to widen the airways and relax breathing muscles.

Hydration: Staying well-hydrated is important for maintaining a proper acid-base balance. Drinking alkaline mineral rich water flushes out excess acids and keeps the body’s pH level in check.

A study published in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition reported that high-pH water can enhance hydration status and reduce cardiovascular strain during high-intensity workouts.

How does alkaline water filtration reduce acidosis?

Water with a high pH level can reduce acidosis by increasing the body’s pH level.

According to Nobel Prize-winning research, alkaline water is believed to have enhanced hydrating properties due to the presence of minuscule passageways called aquaporins within our bodies’ cell walls. One of these aquaporin channels is regulated by pH. When the water is alkaline, the aquaporin channel opens up, facilitating water entry into the cell.

Balancing the Body’s pH Levels

• The human body has an extremely complex system that maintains a specific pH level, primarily through the kidneys.
• Excessive consumption of processed, fatty, and sugary foods often leads to an acidic shift in the body’s pH.
• Regular consumption of ionized water, which is often alkaline, can restore this pH balance. As alkaline water neutralizes excess acids in the body, it restores a more alkaline state.

Antioxidant properties

Ionized water has a negative Oxidation-Reduction Potential (ORP). This negative ORP signifies that ionized water is a potent antioxidant and neutralizes harmful free radicals within the body. This aids in cell protection and overall health.

Improved hydration

Ionized water penetrates cells more efficiently, improving hydration. This quality could benefit athletes needing optimal hydration or people in hot climates.

Detoxifying Effect

Ionized water has been reported to help detoxify the body. Its micro-clustered structure dissolves and flushes harmful toxins and acids from our tissues, resulting in a cleaner and healthier body.

Enhanced mineral absorption

Ionized water comes enriched with minerals like calcium, potassium, and magnesium. Not only does it quench your thirst, but it also ensures your body gets essential minerals.

VISIT alkaline mineral filters make your choice today and take charge of your health with Life Ionizers!

The Bottom Line on Acidosis

Acidosis, resulting from heightened body acid levels, can cause serious health problems. Treating the underlying health condition causing acidosis can reduce body acidity. By reducing the intake of acid-forming substances and increasing fruits and vegetables, and drinking ionized alkaline water we can balance our bodies pH.

Making Alkaline Water at Home with a Water Ionizer

Investing in a water ionizer can help you make alkaline water at home. 

Click on this link of Life Ionizers we’re constantly improving water ionization technology. Our latest MXL series alkaline water ionizers are the result of more technological advancements

To learn more: click this link for a refreshing, healthy way to meet your hydration needs.

Find out “What’s in your Water” and the right options to purify and alkalize your Family with Life ionizer. 

  Chycki, J., Kurylas, A., Maszczyk, A., Golas, A., & Zajac, A. (2018). Alkaline water improves exercise-induced metabolic acidosis and enhances anaerobic exercise performance in combat sport athletes. PLoS ONE, 13(11). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0205708  

Patel S, Sharma S. Respiratory Acidosis. [Updated 2022 Jun 21]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2023 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK482430/

Foucher CD, Tubben RE. Lactic Acidosis. [Updated 2023 Mar 26]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2023 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK470202/

  Jung, Boris, et al. “Diagnosis and Management of Metabolic Acidosis: Guidelines from a French Expert Panel.” Annals of Intensive Care, vol. 9, 2019, https://doi.org/10.1186/s13613-019-0563-2. Accessed 17 Aug. 2023.