Acidity/Alkalinity in our Diet

The friendliest place on the web for anyone that enjoys cooking.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.

tweakz

Assistant Cook
Joined
May 10, 2014
Messages
30
Location
fingerlakes
Lemon juice in water (no sugar) for heart burn or digestive problems. -Works for me, but not all people.
 
Lemon juice in water (no sugar) for heart burn or digestive problems. -Works for me, but not all people.


Interesting. This seems counter-intuitive. Heartburn is caused by excess stomach acid. Lemon adds more acid. I'm glad it works for you but I don't understand it.
 
It's more complicated than that. There are good digestive acids (like hydrochloric) and waste recycled foaming acids. There are different reasons for heartburn.

I get tired of the same solution over and over, and not all are always available, so I have come up with multiple ways to ease the burn (usually caused by eating a grain product): Romaine lettuce, cayenne pepper, kale (I dehydrated it in the oven to preserve it), or lemon juice and water if not just plain water.
 
Last edited:
I heard you should put a lemon rind under your tomatoes when you transplant them. There is some logic to this as tomatoes prefer acidic soil.


The acidity of the lemon is in the juice, not the rind, so this doesn't make sense to me.

Also heard lemon "detoxifies" your liver, blood, etc. I'm always a bit skeptical about anything that detoxifies an organ. I mean, how does that work exactly? Everything I eat goes in my belly, the organs secrete their stuff and after my food is digested and broken down into its component bits everything gets something back. Detoxifying implies that "bad things" are removed and I'm not sure how that could work. Changing the pH in your kidneys, bladder etc makes sense, but the rest mystifies me. Anyone with some knowledge want to pitch in on that one?

I have serious digestive issues and have discussed these ideas extensively with my GI doctor over the years. If you're in good general health, the body cleanses and detoxifies itself. That's what the liver, kidneys and lymph system do. If you have liver or kidney disease, then you have more to worry about, but lemon juice isn't the solution.

For some fun reading: http://www.skepdic.com/detox.html :)
 
It cannot "remove" the chlorine, it can only change it in a chemical reaction. The elements/chemicals are still in the water, just changed into something more palatable.
 
Yes, the study does use lemon juice and it does it's job by a chemical reaction, it does not say it "removes" chlorine.

80 subjects is not a big enough sample to establish efficacy of this treatment. 6 months is not long enough, either.
 
Last edited:
Yes, the study does use lemon juice and it does it's job by a chemical reaction, it does not say it "removes" chlorine.

80 subjects is not a big enough sample to establish efficacy of this treatment. 6 months is not long enough, either.

That study is based on Ayurvedic medicine. Another link I read when googling said that Ayurvedic medicine practitioners think ulcers are caused by stress and eating spicy food. That was debunked a long time ago.
 
That study is based on Ayurvedic medicine. Another link I read when googling said that Ayurvedic medicine practitioners think ulcers are caused by stress and eating spicy food. That was debunked a long time ago.

agreed, there is just as much junk science on .gov sites as there is anywhere else. Cherry picking studies is not the same as having a sound background in the health sciences.
 
When I worked at Wyeth, there were trials that were on their third round and more than ten years old. And they still hadn't reached a consensus. Six months and 20 patients is hardly a study to take seriously. :angel:
 
Interesting. This seems counter-intuitive. Heartburn is caused by excess stomach acid. Lemon adds more acid. I'm glad it works for you but I don't understand it.

Alone, lemon juice is acidic, just like every other citrus fruit.

When lemon juice is broken down during the digestive & metabolic process, it becomes alkaline.

If the lemon juice tastes very strong, you're likely acidic overall; if it has an enjoyable, mild flavor then you lean towards the alkaline side.
 
Last edited:
Lemon juice and baking soda into a paste makes a great way to whiten teeth. :angel:

Probably---- but be careful if the gums have migrated south a little. (Which can happen for many reasons and for all ages.)

Then the cementum that covers the root of the tooth is exposed and it's more susceptible to lemon juice causing decay. The enamel (the white 'stuff' ) can also be susceptible but not by the same degree.

If a person uses lemon juice and baking soda then be sure to rinse THOROUGHLY and floss afterwards. That can help prevent decay because the lemon juice won't be staying on the teeth as long.

Also---- if a person's teeth are turning slightly yellow-ish as they age that's a normal process for the enamel often becomes thinner with age which then lets the yellow-ish color of the cementum show through. No amount of whiteners will change that.
 
Alone, lemon juice is acidic, just like every other citrus fruit.

When lemon juice is broken down during the digestive & metabolic process, it becomes alkaline.

If the lemon juice tastes very strong, you're likely acidic overall; if it has an enjoyable, mild flavor then you lean towards the alkaline side.

https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20081205070023AAA4pPQ

" Fortunately, your body has three major mechanisms at work at all times to prevent these forces from shifting the pH of your blood outside of the 7.35 to 7.45 range.

These mechanisms are:

Buffer Systems "

Carbonic Acid-Bicarbonate Buffer System
Protein Buffer System
Phosphate Buffer System
Exhalation of Carbon Dioxide
Elimination of Hydrogen Ions via Kidneys "



Unless a person has a disease or condition that disrupts 'things' in the body these are working constantly.
 
That study is based on Ayurvedic medicine. Another link I read when googling said that Ayurvedic medicine practitioners think ulcers are caused by stress and eating spicy food. That was debunked a long time ago.
My gastric reflux is definitely worse when I'm stressed and breaks through my meds (usually at about 4 in the morning!)

When hard pressed by the GF and nothing else is working I resort to porridge/oatmeal - very soothing.
 
Probably---- but be careful if the gums have migrated south a little. (Which can happen for many reasons and for all ages.)

Then the cementum that covers the root of the tooth is exposed and it's more susceptible to lemon juice causing decay. The enamel (the white 'stuff' ) can also be susceptible but not by the same degree.

If a person uses lemon juice and baking soda then be sure to rinse THOROUGHLY and floss afterwards. That can help prevent decay because the lemon juice won't be staying on the teeth as long.

Also---- if a person's teeth are turning slightly yellow-ish as they age that's a normal process for the enamel often becomes thinner with age which then lets the yellow-ish color of the cementum show through. No amount of whiteners will change that.
My grandmother told me that her grandparents used soot to clean their teeth. Never very sure whether to believe her!
 
Back
Top Bottom