Friends often see articles like this: "Why do you often get sick? It may be caused by acidic constitution! " . This is not the key, the key is that our parents believe in it ... as a result, bottles of alkaline water, alkaline food and alkaline health care products are piled up on the table at home. So, does the theory of acid-base constitution really exist? "Acid-base constitution" itself is a false theory. The human body is undergoing metabolism all the time, and many reactions are very sensitive to pH value, but the human body has an effective regulation system to keep the pH value basically stable and only fluctuates in a small range. In other words, eating any food will not change the pH of the human body, and even drinking vinegar will not make the human body more acidic. As for "acidic constitution gives birth to women and alkaline constitution gives birth to men", it is even more nonsense.

In daily life, measuring the PH value of human body needs to be judged by blood sampling to check a number of biochemical indicators, such as: blood PH less than 7.35 is decompensated acidosis, and pH greater than 7.45 is decompensated alkalosis. In addition, other biochemical indicators should be checked to further determine whether it is respiratory acidosis, metabolic acidosis, respiratory alkalosis or metabolic alkalosis. Kidney is an important organ for regulating acid-base balance. Under normal diet, urine excretes more fixed acid than alkali, so the PH value of urine is generally around 6.0. According to the actual situation of acid-base balance in the body, the urine PH value can be reduced to 4.4 or increased to 8.2. In addition, the so-called acid and alkali, medically speaking, is acid-base imbalance, that is, acidosis or alkalosis. Generally speaking, it is more serious, and you need to go to the hospital for medical treatment or hospitalization, and you can't adjust it by eating health food.

Human tissues are very precise and have a strong ability to adjust pH value. Compared with the acid in the stomach and the alkali in the intestine, the acidity of food itself can be ignored, and it is impossible to change the original stable pH value. Whether eating more acidic food or alkaline food, the human body will adjust. At the same time, the degree of acidity and alkalinity of human organs is different, so there is no so-called "acidic constitution" and "alkaline constitution". For example, the stomach is strongly acidic, but the duodenum less than a few centimeters away from the stomach is strongly alkaline.

Therefore, the theory of "acidic constitution" is a "pseudo-theory". In fact, it is not difficult to distinguish the rumors of "acid-base constitution". As long as you are willing to consult and understand some basic scientific knowledge, you can find out the irrationality. The original intention of keeping in good health is good, but we should be alert to all kinds of keeping in good health theories. For the body, a balanced diet and regular exercise are enough. On the other hand, if you feel unwell, you should go to a regular hospital for examination and treatment in time.

This work is the original of "Popular Science China-A Brief Introduction to Scientific Principles", please indicate the source for reprinting.