42 Achieving pH Balance to Treat Specific Ailments
Sooner or later excessive acid waste gives rise to degenerative disease.
Many individuals, however, develop debilitating illness without having
any symptoms of acid indigestion; with no gastric symptoms, they don’t
see the link between poor digestion and diseases in the organ systems
outside the digestive tract.
Even those with acid refl ux, gastritis (infl ammation of the stomach),
nausea, bloating, gallstones, and ulcers, where diet is an obvious culprit,
fi nd it hard to believe that foods that cause digestive problems can also
injure organs not part of the digestive system. Yet every ache and pain
in the body that isn’t the result of physical injury or genetic predisposi-
tion is triggered by the acidic waste products of inappropriate and/or
nutrient-defi cient food.
Unhappily for their patients, mainstream doctors view symptoms of
illness as signs of disease rather than as reactions to metabolically inap-
propriate foods. Mary was a victim of this approach. Six years ago on
her way home from a party, her heart started racing, her hands trem-
bled, and minutes later she had a seizure. Because tests came out nega-
tive, the doctor concluded that she had the fl u. But instead of getting
over the “fl u,” she developed shivering fi ts, felt tremendous pressure in
her head, and could hardly hold herself up. After she had seven seizures
in one week, the doctor conducted more extensive tests. An EEG (elec-
troencephalogram), performed while she slept, showed that her brain
waves were off the charts: 1:2 is normal; hers had slowed to 1:600. A
blood workup revealed that she had an adrenal insuffi ciency and her
antibodies were so elevated that they were a strong indication of an
autoimmune disorder. The doctor suspected lupus. Mary was already
taking antiseizure medication and was now told that she should take
prednisone, a steroid hormone, and undergo cytotoxin chemotherapy.
She decided that these drugs were the proverbial straws that would
break the camel’s back, in this case hers, so she took matters into her
own hands and went to a naturopathic physician. The fi rst thing that
the naturopath did was to test for allergies. The tests indicated that
Mar y was allergic to wheat, sugar, dair y, caffeine, alcohol, bananas, and
potatoes. She went on an allergy-free diet, and in a few days her symp-
toms disappeared. She regained her sense of well-being, alertness, and
ability to concentrate two to three weeks later. The nightmare was over.
Thinking back on her illness, what frightens her most is the fact that