Acidosis and Alkalosis
The following is a transcription of the February 1957 issue of Dr. Royal Lee’s Applied Trophology newsletter, originally published by Standard Process Laboratories.
Also in this issue:
- New Aid for Incurable Disease Told
- Chlorophyll Ointment in Decubitus Ulcers
- Choline Prevents Fatty Change and Cirrhosis in the Livers of Dogs Subjected to Hypophysectomy and Thyroidectomy
- Lipid Content and Volume of Bile Secreted by Choline-Deficient Rats with Fatty Livers
- Items of Interest (the Pancreas and Cholesterol)
- Potassium Deficiency in Bulbar Poliomyelitis
- Tip of the Month (High Blood pH)
- Q&A
- High Points of Cholacol, Bio-Dent, Cal-Amo, and Calcium Lactate
Acidosis and Alkalosis
In the pH scale, the neutral point is 7.0. Normal blood pH is 7.3 to 7.4, this being on the alkaline side, and in [cases of] abnormal levels, the pH may be anywhere from 7.1 to 7.85, the extremes being found only in moribund patients.
Normally the ductless glands regulate the blood pH, just as the pancreas with its insulin regulates the blood sugar levels. The sex hormones seem to be involved in the main; after menopause there may be a serious change in the female economy in particular, whereby an alkalosis develops that may be aggravated, if not caused in part, by dietary circumstances—just as diabetes is aggravated by a high sugar intake.
The victim of alkalosis complains of a tendency to allergic reactions, has a reduced healing rate (true also in acidosis), is troubled with neuritic and arthritic pains that may migrate, may be sensitive to drugs and any unusual food, is nervous and may have insomnia, and often cannot tolerate alkaline-ash foods such as grapefruit. Calcium precipitates out of body fluids where the alkalinity is excessive; the patient has calcium deficiency symptoms and cannot assimilate any form of calcium.
Hay fever and similar allergic reactions can usually be successfully treated with antihistamine remedies if the salivary pH is brought down to 7.0 by the use of acid-ash foods or acid mineral tablets, such as Cal-Amo tablets (S-P). (Note that a natural antihistamine made from beef liver is available as Anti-Pyrexin (S-P) [Antronex].)
It is easy to check the saliva pH by the use of Hydrion test papers (sample attached), and one Cal-Amo tablet with each meal will progressively bring it to normal, after which the amount of Cal-Amo can be reduced to one per day or less as may be required.
Bursitis is the result of a calcium deposit that usually is initiated by a bruise or following inflammation from overwork. It will disappear if the alkalosis is corrected.
Breathing exercises aggravate alkalosis and the attendant symptoms. The neuritic pains are no doubt due to calcium crystals that form in the nerve endings, which dissolve and reappear on the ups and downs of the blood pH that follows dietary variations of acid and alkaline foods. That is why the pains “migrate.”
Acidosis is most often met with in diabetic patients, who do not properly metabolize carbohydrates and who have more of the metabolic wastes from fat and protein to dispose of, which are acid by nature. An acid ash preponderance of food intake can cause a drift towards acidosis, as shown by the saliva test. In either case a common symptom of potassium deficiency is evident; the heart laboring, or tachycardia, is noted after inordinate ingestion of sugars and carbohydrates, often following an unduly heavy evening meal. Paroxysmal tachycardia is usually acute potassium deficiency. The symptoms in either case soon subside if Minaplex (an organic mineral complex preponderating in potassium, made by Vitamin Products Company) is supplied. [Minaplex is now Organically Bound Minerals, made by Standard Process.] Strong alfalfa tea will serve the same purpose.
Hot weather depletes the mineral reserves of the bloodstream and depletes the urea (carbamide) reserves, both of which are essential to the osmotic elimination of water, whether from the kidneys or sweat glands. The result is weakness, nausea, headaches, heat rash, insomnia, nightmares, cramps, nervousness, and often many of the reactions of alkalosis. The remedy is to replace the inorganic salts lost from the blood, which can be accomplished with Upjohn’s Citrocarbonate and the use of Carbamide (SP) [A-C Carbamide], taken in drinking water.
Colds are often relieved by the same treatment. If colds are due to the blocking of elimination of body waste products, then this treatment acts to break the “logjam” by promoting kidney function. It is a fact that most colds seem to be accompanied by a temporary suppression of kidney activity, and any relief is paralleled by renewed diuresis.
The pH of urine cannot be used as an index of blood pH. It may be opposite in trend. Saliva pH does not follow that of the blood exactly—it is usually a few points more acid—but is a sufficiently reliable index to use for a rough estimate. The accompanying symptoms of alkalinity, however, are unmistakable. They subside immediately when corrective measures are made use of. The patient is very grateful, for no other treatment has ever been of much effect. We have here a simple syndrome that has been overlooked by the healing arts in general. Your most troublesome chronic cases are often the victims of alkalosis.
New Aid for Incurable Disease Told
A means of controlling an incurable disease, lupus erythematosus, was recently suggested by Dr. Nathaniel B. Kurnick of the UCLA Medical School and Long Beach Veterans Administration Hospital. Injection of white blood cells containing a protein that inhibits an important body enzyme had favorable results in sixteen test cases in controlling lupus, which appears to be caused by the rapid aging and death of white cells followed by production of allergic antibodies against the dead cells. (It is the allergic antibodies that cause the painful symptoms.) Deoxyribonucleic acid is ground into small grains by its enzyme DNase [deoxyribonuclease], which makes white blood cells age prematurely, Dr. Kurnick said. The protein in the white cell, which is injected into the patient, contains a DNase inhibitor, called DI, that effectively combats DNase and thus permits cells to divide normally and live out their normal lifespan.
—From the Los Angeles Examiner.
Chlorophyll Ointment Heals Decubitus Ulcers
On the basis of results, the use of a papain-urea chlorophyllin ointment was judged to be superior to any agent previously used in the treatment of decubitus ulcers. The ointment is an efficient debriding agent, ordinarily removing all necrotic tissue in two to four days, depending on the severity of the case. Papain-urea chlorophyllin ointment encourages early formation of healthy granulations even during the period when debridement is incomplete, and continued application results in prompt, complete healing of previously resistant lesions. The new skin is relatively soft and supple with good blood supply, in contrast to the contracted scar tissue ordinarily associated with slow healing wounds. The ointment also reduces malodors of wounds rather uniformly within 24 to 48 hours. In a demonstration the use of papain-urea ointment without chlorophyllin showed that chlorophyll was essential for the purpose of neutralizing inflammatory products of the enzymatic process.
—From Drug Trade News, August 13, 1956.
Choline Prevents Fatty Change and Cirrhosis in the Livers of Dogs Subjected to Hypophysectomy and Thyroidectomy
“The development of fatty livers previously reported in hypophysectomized-thyroidectomized dogs fed a high-protein diet can be prevented by the daily administration of 2 g of free choline chloride. Choline failed, however, to prevent the rise of the blood lipids in these dogs. Choline also significantly suppressed or prevented the onset and development of hepatic fibrosis in these doubly operated dogs. The evidence obtained here indicated that the effectiveness of the lipotropic constituents of a normal diet is, in part, dependent on the action of the thyroid hormone.”
—Entenman, C., et al., Endocrinology, 42:215–222, 1948
Lipid Content and Volume of Bile Secreted by Choline Deficient Rats with Fatty Livers
“Fatty livers were produced in rats by feeding them a choline deficient diet, and bile was collected by cannulation of the proximal end of the bile duct. The bile of choline deficient rats contained slightly less lipid than that of animals on the same diet supplemented with choline and considerably less than that of normal rats. The content of free and total cholesterol followed the same trend as the total lipid. Bile flow in deficient animals was reduced. The four differences observed between the bile of choline deficient animals and that of animals on the deficient diet supplemented with choline were not great until they had lived on the diet for 33 weeks.”
—E. Huntsman Mawson, PhD, commenting on study by A. Colwell Jr. in Amer. J. Physiol., 164:1, 274–283, 1951
Items of Interest (The Pancreas and Cholesterol)
The pancreas apparently secretes a hormone that regulates cholesterol and fat levels of the blood, according to research conducted by the University of California (Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, 507–516, April 1956). The alpha cells of the pancreas are responsible, it was found. Maybe we need to treat high blood cholesterol by the same nutritional supportive measures required by diabetes. And it explains the common accompaniment of a high blood cholesterol in diabetics.
Potassium Deficiency in Bulbar Poliomyelitis
“Three patients with bulbar poliomyelitis were found to have a potassium deficiency. Treatment of the existing deficiency with intravenously administered potassium chloride resulted in a marked improvement of their condition. Patients suffering from bulbar poliomyelitis who are unable to eat will develop a potassium deficiency unless adequate potassium intake is provided. Severe, prolonged potassium deficiency can be lethal. This condition when present in patients with bulbar poliomyelitis may be a contributing factor in the high mortality rate. Proper treatment of electrolyte imbalance in these patients is essential and must include adequate potassium therapy. Further studies are indicated concerning the relationship of potassium deficiency to the clinical picture and mortality of poliomyelitis.”
—Hyman S. Lans, MD, et al., J.A.M.A., 146:1018, 1951
Tip of the Month (High Blood pH)
A high blood pH (normal is 7.3–7.5) tends to throw calcium out of solution in the body fluids, and bursitis, arthritis, neuritis, lumbago, sciatica, and a host of other painful syndromes develops as a consequence.
Questions and Answers
Q. Is there any relation between cancer and the thymus gland? In what conditions is thymus gland recommended?
A. Dr. Hanson at Fairibault, Minnesota, once claimed to cure cancer with thymus extracts, but no further work has been done. We find Thymus Cytotrophin [Thymus PMG] good to stimulate resistance in infections, boils, etc.
High Points of Standard Process Nutritional Adjuncts
Bile Salt Tablets [Cholacol]: Major use is to control undue craving for sweets, a situation resulting from the failure of the blood to emulsify and mobilize fat reserves. Bile salts being a physiological emulsifier, their action here is easily understood. The patient craving sweets may be overweight, but his assimilation is a one way system. He cannot recall stored fats if he suffers from a bile salt deficiency. No one is hungry if his blood fat is up to normal levels, apparently. The blood levels of lecithin and cephalins may be important too. Use Cholacol (bile salts with collinsonia root) when the patient has varicose veins or hemorrhoids, since bile salts tend to aggravate these conditions if used without collinsonia.
Bio-Dent Tablets: A raw veal bone preparation specifically intended to build bone structures, mainly prescribed by dentists to promote bone regeneration and supporting tissues around the teeth, the first place where osteoporosis is evident. Bone regeneration can commonly be observed within two or three weeks of treatment in X-ray photographs. Loose teeth will tighten up if the bone matrix is not destroyed by infection. It is a reliable remedy for “cooked food disease”—cooking proteins destroys essential amino acids required by bone. So does milk pasteurization, as proven by F.M. Pottenger, MD, in his famous cat experiments.
Cal-Amo Tablets: Most useful in the treatment of alkalosis, a physiological background essential for any allergic state to develop. In alkalosis calcium is precipitated out of body fluids; bursitis is common, as are neuritic and arthritic pains. The victim complains of various drugs and foods being intolerable without reactions and is nervous and subject to insomnia. Breathing exercises aggravate all symptoms and produce acute distress (by loss of carbonic acid). These patients often cannot tolerate citrus juices and have a long history of allergy. Alkalosis is most common in women in menopause.
Calcium Lactate: Growing children need this product constantly. The excess phosphoric acid in cereal foods demands calcium in the blood as bicarbonate to balance it in bone building and muscle function. Low calcium bicarbonate results in nervous energy in excess, the type of child that cannot sit still. Acute deficiency results in fever, calcium deficiency fever being very common in children, often only one degree or so but consistent. In this situation the victim is susceptible to virus infection, colds, polio, and children’s diseases in general. Calcium lactate and natural vitamin C complex (with its tyrosinase, the adrenal activator) promote immediate relief, even if acute infectious disease is present. Often a little potassium bicarbonate is highly beneficial; potassium deficiency causes adrenal inhibition.
