Many people are preoccupied with the idea of alkalinizing the body; there are many books on the subject. Unfortunately, a good part of the time this concept is way oversimplified.
Maintaining Neutrality
The pH of our blood is maintained in a very tight range – neutral, which is slightly more alkaline than pure water. If the pH falls below the optimal range, the result is acidosis. If the pH rises above the optimal range, the result is alkalosis. Though very different, both are dangerous. This is why the body is so extraordinarily aggressive in maintaining pH. It does this as a priority over other self-preservation functions.
Having an alkaline drink will not necessarily restore an alkaline balance in the body. It is not just a matter of what you put in your body, but how your body reacts to what you give it. In addition, it’s about other actions that take place in the body during normal activity. For instance, aerobic exercise will induce acidity in the tissues because of tissue breakdown and the body’s need to metabolize that waste. The creation of free radicals during exercise couples with an increase in oxygen will also tend to upset the pH of the blood.
If the body is over alkalinized, for example by injection bicarbonate intravenously, the kidneys will work very hard to restore the pH to neutral. On the other hand, if the body’s pH is quite acidic, then injecting bicarbonate will help to restore the pH more quickly and the kidneys will have less work to do. Most of the metabolic processes in the body depend on a steady state of the pH in the neutral zone. If the pH of the blood becomes too alkaline, metabolic functions will not be normal. Very strong alkalis, such as lye, can actually create alkaline burns of the tissues. So, we can see that alkalinity is not a panacea.
Acids in the stomach will typically neutralize alkaline foods taken orally. The pancreas, which produces an alkaline fluid that includes enzymes, will help neutralize the acidic fluids coming out of the stomach. So, you can see that the body itself has many restorative and balancing mechanisms, which when left alone and not overwhelmed, can keep the pH neutral, where it is supposed to be.
Restoring unbalanced alkalinity has 2 major components to it: systemic and local.
Systemic Alkalinity
In my mind, systemic alkalinity is less relevant than local. If the body is pushed too far into the acid state by virtue of metabolic activity and/or diet, the body will rebalance these temporary states with appropriate buffering action by the kidneys. In this situation, it is best to maintain diet and activity levels that do not push the body too far into an acid state, even though it may be temporary. If this can’t be avoided, then the next best thing is to support the kidneys to do their job, which is to neutralize the acid state.
By virtue of their actions on solid organs, PEMFs help the metabolic functioning of the organ being treated. A malfunctioning or sub-optimally-functioning kidney, for example, cannot do appropriate electrolyte adjustments to rebalance pH. Using supplements that help with redox balancing can be useful. No matter what, when a body is exposed to PEMFs on a regular basis, (particularly in full-body systems or local applications which treat the kidneys) kidneys will function optimally.
I should emphasize that alkalinizing the body does not necessarily help, because the kidneys will take even an alkaline state (albeit temporary) and bring it back to neutral. So in my mind generally systemic alkalinization is moot, given the functions of the kidney. Not burdening the body with a high alkaline metabolic load is actually probably the better strategy.
Local Alkalinity
Where PEMFs can be most helpful, I believe, is in the local tissues. Inflammation, infections, toxicities, degeneration, trauma, etc., create local acidity either in tissues or specific organs. The body will do its best to restore natural function to these tissues, resulting in balanced local pH. So, the goal is not to restore pH, because that will not necessarily remove the cause of the pH imbalance. The goal is to remove the cause of the imbalance itself, and this is where PEMFs are phenomenal.
Magnetic fields will improve blood supply to local tissue, reduce chronic inflammation, stimulate tissue regeneration and repair, reduce edema (which by itself dramatically increases local acidity), among other things. Even just considering these basic functions of PEMFs, you can see that tissues will become healthier faster and restore viability and optimal functioning.
The more local tissues are balanced and healthy, the more systemic balance will occur. Significant magnitudes of local tissue acidity or imbalance will obviously affect the whole body. A splinter in a toe will create local inflammation and acidity, but will likely not significantly impact the entire organism or change the serum pH. But if the splinter becomes a rampant infection, infecting or involving the entire foot, then the pH of the whole body could be impacted. If the infection continued to spread, it could create sepsis, affecting the pH of the entire organism.
Using PEMFs
The issue of alkalinity is not as simple as some would like to portray it. PEMFs ultimately will not undo massive insults to the organism, and they do not do the job on their own. However, they work towards treating the cause of the imbalance, not just on correcting the imbalance itself.
PEMFs can have significant benefits in restoring alkalinity and normalcy in a body within certain limits, and no matter what can be an extraordinarily useful adjunct to combating the myriads of causes of acidity. For most people, at the very least, regular use of PEMFs can help the body maintain a better state of local tissue alkalinity through the reduction of inflammation and improved circulation. By combining multiple areas of tissues being rebalanced simultaneously with a PEMF system, the whole body benefits. If the body is failing and becoming aggressively acidic (as with diabetic ketoacidosis or cardiac arrest, for example), the use of PEMFs is likely to more rapidly restore balance when used alongside traditional medical rescue therapies.
Dr. William Pawluk is an international medical expert in the medical use of electromagnetic fields (PEMFs), with over 27 years experience. He has had academic appointments at Johns Hopkins and U of Maryland, co-hosted a natural medicine radio show for over 10 years, has appeared on The Dr OZ Show, written and done interviews and lectures on magnetics, conducted research on the use of various kinds of PEMFs on pain, wound healing, concussion, etc., and teaches professionals and consults regularly with the public on the use of magnetic therapies. He has an authoritative website https://www.drpawluk.com/, and published the book Power Tools for Health, reviewing the science and various therapy options.