What is the relationship between acid-alkaline balance and pancreatitis? There is a direct link between these conditions. To say more, the acidity of the whole body can cause pancreatitis.
Everything we eat goes to the stomach and then the semi-digested food goes to the duodenum; first part of the small intestine. Here, pancreatic enzymes digest most of the proteins and carbohydrates and 90% of the fats.
Pancreatic enzymes can digest food only if the pH in the duodenum is above 7.0, thus alkaline. You can eat the healthiest foods in the world, but if you don’t have an alkaline environment inside your duodenum, the pancreatic enzymes can’t do their job and indigestion sets in.
Undigested food accumulates in the small intestine, fermented by bacteria and yeasts that cause gas, bloating, heartburn, and cramps. Countless toxic substances are produced during fermentation that cause irritation and internal toxicity. Our body tries to get rid of this waste, but it only has two directions to do it: towards the mouth or towards the anus. If undigested toxic food rises, it causes nausea, vomiting, heartburn, pain in the upper abdomen, which is very similar to the symptoms of chronic pancreatitis. If this undigested poisonous mass descends, it causes irritation, diarrhea, constipation, intestinal inflammation, and lower abdominal pain, which is very similar to the symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) in people with chronic pancreatitis.
Acidic changes in the body’s acid-alkaline balance also produce significant changes in the biochemistry of bile. It is known, bile is produced by the liver and bile helps to digest fats. Also through bile, the liver eliminates fat-soluble toxins from the body such as heavy metals, cholesterol, alcohol, drugs, medications, etc.
If the bile becomes acidic, the body cannot properly digest fats, so fatty foods cause discomfort, fullness, pain, and nausea. In addition, acid bile becomes an extremely aggressive and toxic liquid that irritates the walls of the intestine, causing ulcers and the transit of bile in the opposite direction; Reflux.
The aggressive mixture of acidic bile and acidic pancreatic juice mixed with undigested toxic food, due to spasmodic contractions of the walls of the intestine, is thrown into the stomach and esophagus. It is accompanied by severe and persistent heartburn. This is a true picture of what happens in the gastrointestinal tract if the body becomes acidic, and so does the pancreatic juice and bile.
What happens inside the pancreas in case of excess acidity and how is it related to pancreatitis? It is particularly important to know some problems about the pancreas. First problem, the pancreas is an alkaline gland; Pancreatic juice is the most alkaline solution in the body with a pH of 8.3 to 8.5.
To make pancreatic juice alkaline, the pancreas takes bicarbonate and some minerals from the blood. If heartburn occurs throughout the body, the amount of bicarbonate and alkaline minerals in the blood decreases, so the pancreas cannot take them in and make normal alkaline pancreatic juice. As a result, the pH of pancreatic juice falls below 7.0; it’s turning acid.
Second problem, the pancreas is the only organ in our body. There is no such organ in our body, like the pancreas, that can create self-destruction. The pancreas is just an organ that can destroy itself. Normally, the pancreas produces very strong digestive pancreatic enzymes in an inactive form. In case of acidity, the digestive pancreatic enzymes begin to activate within the pancreas causing self-digestion; pancreatitis
Autodigestion leads to inflammation of the pancreatic tissue; destroys the structure and kills pancreatic cells. By analogy, it is remarkably similar to the disaster at the atomic reactor when it begins to melt down and destroys itself. The disasters in Fukushima in Japan and Chernobyl in the Ukraine are the example of self-destruction. Acidity kills the pancreas in many ways, which I have described in books and articles. Therefore, curative actions in chronic pancreatitis should focus on the acid-alkaline balance.
Many researches and medical articles state that in chronic pancreatitis, the pancreatic juice becomes acidic; therefore, it makes medium acid in the duodenum. Acidity in the duodenum means poor digestion. What is there to do? Restoring the normal acid-alkaline balance in the body is crucial for all people with indigestion, specifically those with chronic pancreatitis.
From school chemistry it is known that alkaline minerals and bicarbonate are needed to neutralize acidity. Our body cannot produce these substances; therefore, we need to get them naturally from alkaline foods, healing mineral water, cellular magnesium and potassium supplements.
European doctors have known this for hundreds of years. Throughout Europe, there are many healthy mineral spas where people drink healing mineral water for various digestive disorders. The most researched is the healing mineral water from the famous Karlovy Vary thermal spring in the Czech Republic. 500 years people use this unique gift from the earth.
250 years ago, Karlovy Vary doctors proposed steaming the water to make authentic Karlovy Vary thermal salt for use at home. European doctors proved that mineral water, prepared from genuine thermal salt from Karlovy Vary, has healing properties similar to spring water. According to medical research, Karlovy Vary Healing Mineral Water is extremely beneficial for people with chronic pancreatitis and digestive and liver disorders.
How to get an idea, is the body acid or alkaline? If the body is too acidic, it tries to eliminate acidic substances through body fluids, such as saliva and urine. Litmus paper measurement of the pH of saliva and urine can open a window into the body’s acid-alkaline balance. If the pH of your saliva and urine is less than 6.6, your body is likely acidic. In my practice, I can see many positive changes in people’s digestive health after normalizing the acid-alkaline balance in the body.
The natural alkaline diet is healthy, particularly for a person with chronic pancreatitis. I described this in detail, in the book. The worst enemy of the inflamed pancreas is alcohol. Please don’t show it to yourself. There are no good, safe doses of alcohol for people with chronic pancreatitis.
Seventy percent of pancreatitis is related to alcohol consumption because alcohol is a toxic acidic substance that activates digestive enzymes within the pancreas. Any upper abdominal pain, especially after drinking alcohol, can be highly suspicious of a mild attack of pancreatitis; therefore, you need medical evaluation. After the diagnosis of pancreatitis, maintaining the correct and slightly alkaline acid-alkaline balance is not a luxury. It is vital.
The information in this article is presented for educational and informational purposes only. It is not intended to be a substitute for diagnosis, treatment and advice from a qualified licensed professional.