How to judge acid-base constitution

If we differentiate our constitutions, there are many theories in traditional Chinese medicine, such as cold characteristics, balanced constitution, yin deficiency constitution, damp-heat constitution, etc. These divisions of constitutions are supported by the theoretical basis of traditional Chinese medicine. However, a new type of physique called acid-alkaline physique has emerged, which makes many people curious. So, how to determine the acid-base constitution? Let’s take a look below.

In response to the popular saying that "acidic constitution is the root cause of illness", both Western medicine and Chinese medicine experts have fundamentally denied the saying of "acid-alkaline constitution", saying that there is no such thing as "acid-alkaline constitution" in the medical community.

Su Mingshan, deputy chief physician of the Department of Dermatology at Beijing Zhongguancun Hospital, and Dong Xingyun, deputy chief physician of the Department of Gastroenterology at the First Affiliated Hospital of Tsinghua University, introduced that in the course of life activities, the body inevitably produces acid-containing metabolic products (carbonic acid, lactic acid, etc.) and alkaline products. However, the human body has three regulatory systems that can maintain acid-base balance. The kidneys can excrete excess organic acids through urine, breathing can quickly excrete many acidic components, and body fluids can also neutralize the acid-base balance. Therefore, the acidity and alkalinity (PH value) of body fluids of normal organisms is always stable within a certain range, so the human body will not be acidic.

Yin Zhichao, a researcher at the China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, also said that there is no such thing as "acid-alkaline constitution" in traditional Chinese medicine. It can only be said that after the human body takes in too much acidic substances, it may experience "yin deficiency" symptoms, such as false heat, night sweats, and restless sleep. However, these symptoms are not all caused by acidity.

In fact, there is an untenable logical problem in the concept of acidic constitution, that is, acidic constitution is the source of all diseases. In clinical medicine, there are indeed many cases of acidosis. It’s just that acidosis is not the cause of the disease, but acidosis occurs because of taking certain medications or being sick. Some common diseases such as diarrhea, renal failure, and metabolic diseases such as diabetes can indeed cause acidosis. However, the causes of these diseases have nothing to do with acidosis.

The idea that an alkaline body is healthy is actually just a false proposition made by advocates of the acidic body theory. Taking the theory of Liang Shuanglin, who is known as the first person in China to propose the concept of acidic body constitution, as an example, they emphasize that the body's pH value should always be at 7.4. In fact, this is nonsense, because the pH value of normal human blood is around 7.4. Moreover, not every part of the body is better to be alkaline. There are several places in the human body that must be acidic to be healthy. The first one is the stomach. Needless to say, everyone has some understanding of it. If vomiting occurs, a large amount of gastric acid will be discharged from the body, which will cause mild alkali poisoning. This is why you feel dizzy after vomiting. Another is the skin. The pH value of healthy skin should be 5.5. Weakly acidic skin is less likely to breed bacteria. The ideal environment for a woman's vagina is also acidic. Once the pH value is greater than 4.5, it will cause inflammation. In addition, normal human urine is also acidic. An important function of the kidneys is to excrete acidic substances in the body through urine. If a person's urine is alkaline, it is unhealthy. If according to the acidic body theory, a person's body fluids or blood are healthy only when the pH value is alkaline, then it would be logical for the skin, stomach, vagina and urine to also be alkaline.