pH Woo
26/7/19
pH woo is a catch all term to describe a multitude of diets and treatments that claim ingesting acid or alkaline substances will change the pH balance of the blood. This will not change the pH balance of the blood because anything ingested passes through the incredibly strong acid in the stomach. Even if the person does ingest enough alkaline or acidic substances to change the pH balance of the lower intestines it won’t impact the blood pH. The pH of blood is regulated by the body and is between 7.35 and 7.45, which is what the body requires to be healthy.
The most insidious pH woo is what is sold to cancer patients who are told that their disease is killed by an alkaline environment and that increasing the pH levels in the body will shrink tumours. This is a case of a little knowledge being a dangerous thing. Tumours produce lactic acid due to their anaerobic metabolism. The lactic acid is waste product and not something the cancer needs to continue growing. These alkaline treatments are taken directly the form of intravenous drips and this has resulted in at least one death.
These treatments rarely cause physical harm to the person undergoing treatment because the body is pretty good at keeping its pH at the appropriate level. It is however, a complete waste of the money and time patients invest in it, especially if they also avoid seeking proper medical advice. Because pH is fairly basic science that many people remember from school, it makes it relatable to them as a proper science, consequently they can be blinded by technical language. The pH woo-mongers play off these weaknesses to take advantage of vulnerable and stressed people who are having to deal with cancer in themselves or their loved ones.