Your body requires a delicate balance between acids and alkalines/bases in its fluids to maintain homeostasis. Acidosis, an excess of acid in your body, comes from the ingestion of too much acidic content or the loss of an alkaline compound. The National Library of Medicine groups acidosis into two main categories: metabolic acidosis or respiratory acidosis.
Metabolic Acidosis
The University of Maryland Medical Center explains that metabolic acidosis comes from ingesting substances with a high amount of acid. In addition, metabolic acidosis can come from existing diseases such as kidney failure.
To avoid metabolic acidosis from food, limit your intake of foods that contain a high acid content. Sugars, juices, cereals and some proteins form acid. Fruit juices in particular produce acid due to the amount of Vitamin C in them. Limit yourself to one glass of fruit juice per day at breakfast. In general, avoid overly starchy foods. To monitor your body's pH, get a pH strip for saliva or urine. Both of these substances will normally be more acidic than blood, but they provide a solid indication of your body's pH.
Respiratory Acidosis
Respiratory acidosis comes from having too little oxygen in the body to counteract carbon dioxide; breathing provides you with this oxygen. According to Medhelp, the most common causes of respiratory acidosis come from diseases such as asthma and scoliosis that restrict your lungs' ability to expand and take in oxygen. Obesity plays a part in your lungs' capability. If you smoke, you risk damaging the alveoli of your lungs so they can't transmit oxygen to the bloodstream.
To prevent respiratory acidosis, undergo a regular checkup for respiratory diseases, or get an arterial blood gas test for carbon dioxide levels. According to The New York Times Health Guide, you can receive prescriptions for bronchodilator drugs to open the airways and make it easier to breathe. If necessary, your doctor may also prescribe a weight-loss plan or recommend that you stop smoking.
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