A Case Of Chronic Low Grade Acidosis

somuch4food

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Please bear with me it will be quite a long post, but you can skip to the end if you just want to get to the core of the subject.. I hope someone will help me with appropriate solutions or a better understanding as I don't have much time to research the subject at the moment.

I have reasons to believe that my health issues come from a chronic low grade acidosis state.

Long story

The first sign that I can associate with this phenomenon goes back to my teenage years. I always had poor cardiovascular capacity and would quickly be out of breath. Lactic acid also quickly built up in my muscle. This didn't stop me from enjoying sports though. I have really good coordination and am naturally skilled in sports. I also often got pain on either side of my abdomen whenever I ran or put too much effort.

Since then, I have suffered from fatigue, mild constipation, mild depression while still having the same problems while exercising.

I also had knee pain on and off since late teens.

My periods have always been painful and required some painkillers to get through the first few days.

I started my health journey in May of last year. My first changes involved reducing sugars and increasing colorful fruits and vegetables.

And I was rewarded with insomnia. [My 1 year old finally started sleeping the night and I found myself being the one that was now waking at night.] Depending on the night, I would have trouble falling asleep or I would wake in the middle of the night either for peeing, eating or just being plain awake and unable to fall back to sleep within a few minutes.

My focus was also bad during that time. I was unable to do much productive work. Interestingly, I had some of my best cardiovascular performances. I could still go full speed at the end of my hockey games. So, there was something at that time that I was doing right. I know I was eating more fresh food and less packaged food, I also was into Epsom salts baths.

I lost a lot of weight and strength. When I think back, I was not eating enough since I was still breastfeeding, but I was in the mindset that I needed to control food intake and that being hungry all the time is not normal and that I should restrict myself.

I then encountered Ray Peat and his unorthodox ideas during the summer and that threw me into a new loop. I started eating more again and tried to implement more of the staples (more sugar, fruits, dairy and salt) that are often mentioned. I got some improvements, especially mentally, but my insomnia did not resolve and blood sugar issues got way worse. I needed to eat all the time to feel ok and often crashed in the middle of the afternoon and had edema in my legs. This got me to my normal weight and strength again, thankfully. It also helped me get my period back. And amazingly, it was less painful, but subsequent ones were more painful.

Then in November, I got around to reading the low A thread and found an autism diet that was low in carotenoids. I always felt I related to autism while still being able to function within society. So, I thought why not give this a shot.

I started lowering my intake and saw improvements in sleep, focus and could sustain myself for longer hours without eating. I was feeling great and felt like I was finally out of this. But, the holidays got the better of me and I lost my balance by cheating one time too many because of social events.

Since then I have resumed low A, but haven’t found my groove back yet. So, I’m thinking there is one piece of the puzzle I’m missing.

What’s mostly different between the 2 low A diets is my breakfast. I have run out of maple syrup and so have stopped doing my homemade pancakes with baking soda/vinegar. I also eat oatmeal less often. Most of the time I have toasts with Nutella spread. I also ate more processed foods in the last few weeks.

I suspect acidosis since I have a couple of worsening episodes that involve acidifying:


I started using Magnesium Oil (chloride) each night during the summer and while it helped some symptoms after a few days, I got this anxious feeling after applying it.

Then, this winter, to help my dry skin, I soaked in a sea salt water bath and after about 20 minutes, I started to feel wired and I slept terribly.

As I eat more processed food, while still being low A, I stop getting better. A lot of preservatives are acidic, so that may be it.

Yesterday, I bought some electrolyte drink (mainly chloride bound minerals with citric acid and sodium bicarbonate) since I was feeling off. That was a terrible idea. I felt tired in the afternoon. My throat also started feeling sore and still is today. My motivation to make dinner was also non existent. And then, I couldn’t fall asleep when I went to bed for 3 hours (I ate a ton of fruits and at some point, I felt calmer and could sleep decently.

Whenever I get into that state, I’m more constipated, feel the need to urinate and eat more often and have way less energy. Edema appears when it gets real bad.

TLDR;

Symptoms: fatigue, abdominal pain, mild depression, mild constipation, lack of focus, insomnia, lactic acid buildup in muscles, frequent urination

Solutions that helped some: low A diet, Peating

Stuff that worsened it: repeated magnesium oil use, sea salt bath, electrolytes (citrate, chloride bound), processed foods

What I plan to do now to see if it helps: Fresh lemonade (citrus is said to be very alkalizing), baking some cake or cookies with baking soda and vinegar, more fruits including applesauce, reducing processed foods.

I'm looking for tips on the theory, possible solutions and what to watch out for. Links to easy to read articles are welcomed. I just don't have the time and energy right now to scavenge the Internet.
 
Last edited:

Blossom

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Fresh lemonade (citrus is said to be very alkalizing), baking some cake or cookies with baking soda and vinegar, more fruits including applesauce, reducing processed foods.
I drink lemonade every day and have never had any issues with it. For fruits I’ve been having apples, pears, grapes, kiwis, blueberries, dark figs, raisins, dates and occasionally banana. I’m not sure about the lutein content in those fruits but I know they are generally considered ok for eating Low A.
I hope you get more suggestions and get to feeling better soon!
 
OP
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somuch4food

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I drink lemonade every day and have never had any issues with it. For fruits I’ve been having apples, pears, grapes, kiwis, blueberries, dark figs, raisins, dates and occasionally banana. I’m not sure about the lutein content in those fruits but I know they are generally considered ok for eating Low A.
I hope you get more suggestions and get to feeling better soon!

As always, thank you for your support. I think kiwis and maybe grapes have the most lutein out of all the fruits you listed. I'm already feeling a bit better.
 

Blossom

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As always, thank you for your support. I think kiwis and maybe grapes have the most lutein out of all the fruits you listed. I'm already feeling a bit better.
That’s great. The main thing that has given me the acid feeling in the past was going too low on carbs but I’m sure it’s different for everyone.
 

Blossom

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Forgot to say that I know Peat has mentioned that the alkaline minerals (electrolytes) are important so that might be another thing to look into making sure you are getting enough of in your diet. I try to include a decent potassium source regularly. Coconut water and white potatoes are two I find easy enough to include.
 

charlie

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Please bear with me it will be quite a long post, but you can skip to the end if you just want to get to the core of the subject.. I hope someone will help me with appropriate solutions or a better understanding as I don't have much time to research the subject at the moment.

I have reasons to believe that my health issues come from a chronic low grade acidosis state.

Long story

The first sign that I can associate with this phenomenon goes back to my teenage years. I always had poor cardiovascular capacity and would quickly be out of breath. Lactic acid also quickly built up in my muscle. This didn't stop me from enjoying sports though. I have really good coordination and am naturally skilled in sports. I also often got pain on either side of my abdomen whenever I ran or put too much effort.

Since then, I have suffered from fatigue, mild constipation, mild depression while still having the same problems while exercising.

I also had knee pain on and off since late teens.

My periods have always been painful and required some painkillers to get through the first few days.

I started my health journey in May of last year. My first changes involved reducing sugars and increasing colorful fruits and vegetables.

And I was rewarded with insomnia. [My 1 year old finally started sleeping the night and I found myself being the one that was now waking at night.] Depending on the night, I would have trouble falling asleep or I would wake in the middle of the night either for peeing, eating or just being plain awake and unable to fall back to sleep within a few minutes.

My focus was also bad during that time. I was unable to do much productive work. Interestingly, I had some of my best cardiovascular performances. I could still go full speed at the end of my hockey games. So, there was something at that time that I was doing right. I know I was eating more fresh food and less packaged food, I also was into Epsom salts baths.

I lost a lot of weight and strength. When I think back, I was not eating enough since I was still breastfeeding, but I was in the mindset that I needed to control food intake and that being hungry all the time is not normal and that I should restrict myself.

I then encountered Ray Peat and his unorthodox ideas during the summer and that threw me into a new loop. I started eating more again and tried to implement more of the staples (more sugar, fruits, dairy and salt) that are often mentioned. I got some improvements, especially mentally, but my insomnia did not resolve and blood sugar issues got way worse. I needed to eat all the time to feel ok and often crashed in the middle of the afternoon and had edema in my legs. This got me to my normal weight and strength again, thankfully. It also helped me get my period back. And amazingly, it was less painful, but subsequent ones were more painful.

Then in November, I got around to reading the low A thread and found an autism diet that was low in carotenoids. I always felt I related to autism while still being able to function within society. So, I thought why not give this a shot.

I started lowering my intake and saw improvements in sleep, focus and could sustain myself for longer hours without eating. I was feeling great and felt like I was finally out of this. But, the holidays got the better of me and I lost my balance by cheating one time too many because of social events.

Since then I have resumed low A, but haven’t found my groove back yet. So, I’m thinking there is one piece of the puzzle I’m missing.

What’s mostly different between the 2 low A diets is my breakfast. I have run out of maple syrup and so have stopped doing my homemade pancakes with baking soda/vinegar. I also eat oatmeal less often. Most of the time I have toasts with Nutella spread. I also ate more processed foods in the last few weeks.

I suspect acidosis since I have a couple of worsening episodes that involve acidifying:


I started using Magnesium Oil (chloride) each night during the summer and while it helped some symptoms after a few days, I got this anxious feeling after applying it.

Then, this winter, to help my dry skin, I soaked in a sea salt water bath and after about 20 minutes, I started to feel wired and I slept terribly.

As I eat more processed food, while still being low A, I stop getting better. A lot of preservatives are acidic, so that may be it.

Yesterday, I bought some electrolyte drink (mainly chloride bound minerals with citric acid and sodium bicarbonate) since I was feeling off. That was a terrible idea. I felt tired in the afternoon. My throat also started feeling sore and still is today. My motivation to make dinner was also non existent. And then, I couldn’t fall asleep when I went to bed for 3 hours (I ate a ton of fruits and at some point, I felt calmer and could sleep decently.

Whenever I get into that state, I’m more constipated, feel the need to urinate and eat more often and have way less energy. Edema appears when it gets real bad.

TLDR;

Symptoms: fatigue, abdominal pain, mild depression, mild constipation, lack of focus, insomnia, lactic acid buildup in muscles, frequent urination

Solutions that helped some: low A diet, Peating

Stuff that worsened it: repeated magnesium oil use, sea salt bath, electrolytes (citrate, chloride bound), processed foods

What I plan to do now to see if it helps: Fresh lemonade (citrus is said to be very alkalizing), baking some cake or cookies with baking soda and vinegar, more fruits including applesauce, reducing processed foods.

I'm looking for tips on the theory, possible solutions and what to watch out for. Links to easy to read articles are welcomed. I just don't have the time and energy right now to scavenge the Internet.
From my experience, acidosis is from the kidneys failing to filter out the metabolic wastes via the lymphatic system. These acids continue to back up and cause lymphatic congestion and everything we know as dis-ease. The kidneys fail due to eating protein. A high fruit diet turned it around for me and rather quickly. The benefits of the high fruit diet is incredible. The edema comes on because the body is doing all it can to buffer the acids, so it uses water to do that. It will also use cholesterol and pull calcium from the bone matrix.
 

Dobbler

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From my experience, acidosis is from the kidneys failing to filter out the metabolic wastes via the lymphatic system. These acids continue to back up and cause lymphatic congestion and everything we know as dis-ease. The kidneys fail due to eating protein. A high fruit diet turned it around for me and rather quickly. The benefits of the high fruit diet is incredible. The edema comes on because the body is doing all it can to buffer the acids, so it uses water to do that. It will also use cholesterol and pull calcium from the bone matrix.
What is your diet like nowadays?
 
OP
S

somuch4food

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From my experience, acidosis is from the kidneys failing to filter out the metabolic wastes via the lymphatic system. These acids continue to back up and cause lymphatic congestion and everything we know as dis-ease. The kidneys fail due to eating protein. A high fruit diet turned it around for me and rather quickly. The benefits of the high fruit diet is incredible. The edema comes on because the body is doing all it can to buffer the acids, so it uses water to do that. It will also use cholesterol and pull calcium from the bone matrix.

I was eagerly awaiting your intervention since your posts were the ones that hinted me toward this conclusion.

Interestingly, I ate more A over the weekend since I was at my inlaws and I got some acute kidney pain. I have also noticed my urine was a bit foamy for the next 2 days. I did crave fruits during those 2 days while I was not craving them at all before.

Oh, I forgot in my original post to mention this. I was eating yogourt with puffed wheat as an evening snack for a few days and noticed that it waked me up at night and I needed to go to the toilet. So, retinoic acid, chloride, lactic acid and maybe, citric acid (from the electrolyte drink) seem to be huge triggers for me. Meat not so much. I'm thinking I might have more trouble getting rid of those than sulfur containing AA and phosphoric acid from meat.
 

charlie

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What is your diet like nowadays?
Depends on what stage I am in. Right now, I am in a transition stage so it is mostly fruit, but with added in veggies. Next week, I will go back into the high cleansing stage and will go all fruit, and maybe even step it up to fresh fruit juice to take a solid food vacation. During cleansing I will do mostly mono meals(one fruit only). I will carry this on for 2 or 3 weeks at least, maybe a month. Then back down to some veggies with mostly fruit again. I will throw in some dry fasts during the cleansing stage, every 4 or 5 days, depending on feel.
 

charlie

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I did crave fruits during those 2 days while I was not craving them at all before.
The body knows.

If you are considering looking into the acidosis I would suggest this book by Arnold Ehret:
https://www.truthseekerz.com/Arnold_Mucusless_Diet.pdf

Keeping in mind it was originally written in German, and has been translated.

Moving over to a fruit based diet needs to be considered carefully. Jumping fully into it the detox can overwhelm the elimination channels causing discomfort. It's truly an art, detoxing. A beautiful dance in and out of cleansing, transition, back to cleansing. You will get super in tune with your body doing this dance and will know intuitively when to cleanse, and when to back off.

I would also consider this book from Ehret about fasting. Fasting pulls to the surface the obstructions, so it can be moved out. Along with many other awesome things. Starting very slow with this is also warranted. And not until fruit has been introduced for some time.
https://www.truthseekerz.com/Arnold_Rational_Fasting.pdf

Also, anything from doctor Robert Morse is good to research. He has a youtube channel with 100's of videos for free, he also has a book. Morse is very gung ho, and would have someone jump right into all fruit. While Ehret feels there needs to be a transition. I eased into it naturally over several months. Starting with breakfast only fruit, then breakfast and dinner, etc etc. Then finally onto grape mono fasts, solid food vacation fasts.
 

sunraiser

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Do you have any source of calcium in your diet?

Vitamin A issues are always likely to have an element of warped calcium metabolism (dysbiosis for poor endogenous vit k production), and I wonder if, when you go unintuitively very far in the wrong direction, dairy is too high in phosphorous to suitably replenish calcium.

Remember vitamin A enables phosphorous uptake so it might be worth seeing how you get on with a week of 250mg calcium to see if anything feels different.

You have to be careful with supplemental calcium in relation to vitamin K intake /production but it'd be a good experiment to observe, just remember it's important to be a little cautious with calcium supplements (cravings can't guide).
 
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somuch4food

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If you are considering looking into the acidosis I would suggest this book by Arnold Ehret:
https://www.truthseekerz.com/Arnold_Mucusless_Diet.pdf

Thank you for the suggestion, I will start reading while transiting from work. I see "Mucusless Diet. Would this help someone with sinus issues? My partner has chronic issues and is not really into health hacking, but is getting desperate and might be interested.

Moving over to a fruit based diet needs to be considered carefully. Jumping fully into it the detox can overwhelm the elimination channels causing discomfort. It's truly an art, detoxing. A beautiful dance in and out of cleansing, transition, back to cleansing. You will get super in tune with your body doing this dance and will know intuitively when to cleanse, and when to back off.

I wouldn't go to any extreme since it's pretty much incompatible with my social life, but I thought about doing some days of mostly fruits at the beginning of the week when I was craving them.

Do you have any source of calcium in your diet?

Vitamin A issues are always likely to have an element of warped calcium metabolism (dysbiosis for poor endogenous vit k production), and I wonder if, when you go unintuitively very far in the wrong direction, dairy is too high in phosphorous to suitably replenish calcium.

Remember vitamin A enables phosphorous uptake so it might be worth seeing how you get on with a week of 250mg calcium to see if anything feels different.

You have to be careful with supplemental calcium in relation to vitamin K intake /production but it'd be a good experiment to observe, just remember it's important to be a little cautious with calcium supplements (cravings can't guide).

I do eat a bit of dairy mainly cheese and butter. I was hoping I could do yogurt, but it brought up urination issues. I do not want to play the supplement game. I know of some diet with low calcium and high quality life. I think beans can be a good source and will attempt them again soon. I tested canned ones, but got a bad response. It was probably due to the increased resistant starch.
 

sunraiser

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Thank you for the suggestion, I will start reading while transiting from work. I see "Mucusless Diet. Would this help someone with sinus issues? My partner has chronic issues and is not really into health hacking, but is getting desperate and might be interested.



I wouldn't go to any extreme since it's pretty much incompatible with my social life, but I thought about doing some days of mostly fruits at the beginning of the week when I was craving them.



I do eat a bit of dairy mainly cheese and butter. I was hoping I could do yogurt, but it brought up urination issues. I do not want to play the supplement game. I know of some diet with low calcium and high quality life. I think beans can be a good source and will attempt them again soon. I tested canned ones, but got a bad response. It was probably due to the increased resistant starch.

Fair enough. I don't think supplements are generally good but it was more of an evidence gathering proposal to bring some more light to the situation. Follow what feels right to you, though.
 

Cirion

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From my experience, acidosis is from the kidneys failing to filter out the metabolic wastes via the lymphatic system. These acids continue to back up and cause lymphatic congestion and everything we know as dis-ease. The kidneys fail due to eating protein. A high fruit diet turned it around for me and rather quickly. The benefits of the high fruit diet is incredible. The edema comes on because the body is doing all it can to buffer the acids, so it uses water to do that. It will also use cholesterol and pull calcium from the bone matrix.

According to a pH strip I used a while back I was very alkaline, so how does that jive with being acidic/lots of water retention?

I dunno if it is simple as kidneys failing from protein. I wonder if more accurately it is due to amino acids (ie, too much tryptophan and not enough glycine).
 

Dobbler

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Depends on what stage I am in. Right now, I am in a transition stage so it is mostly fruit, but with added in veggies. Next week, I will go back into the high cleansing stage and will go all fruit, and maybe even step it up to fresh fruit juice to take a solid food vacation. During cleansing I will do mostly mono meals(one fruit only). I will carry this on for 2 or 3 weeks at least, maybe a month. Then back down to some veggies with mostly fruit again. I will throw in some dry fasts during the cleansing stage, every 4 or 5 days, depending on feel.
Are you planning to go back to Peat diet anytime soon? Aren't you worried of protein and other nutritional deficiencies?
 

charlie

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According to a pH strip I used a while back I was very alkaline, so how does that jive with being acidic/lots of water retention?
Did you test your lymphatic fluid?
I dunno if it is simple as kidneys failing from protein. I wonder if more accurately it is due to amino acids (ie, too much tryptophan and not enough glycine).
It is the kidneys failing to filter lymphatic fluid. That very acidic fluid then starts to build up and eventually leads to chronic lypmh stagnation and systemic acidosis. Does your urine look like the pics below after it has been sitting a few hours? If not, your kidneys are failing.

filtering.jpg
 
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somuch4food

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According to a pH strip I used a while back I was very alkaline, so how does that jive with being acidic/lots of water retention?

Did you test multiple times to see a trend? Also, I think I read somewhere that you lose alkaline minerals when in an acidic state. So, alkaline urine would be a bad sign. Maybe, @charlie knows more.
 

charlie

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Also, I think I read somewhere that you lose alkaline minerals when in an acidic state. So, alkaline urine would be a bad sign.
True. Urine should be slightly acidic. Cannot remember the number off the top of my head though.
 

Cirion

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I just don't see how I can be acidic because I eat lots of fruit, but I will try that test that Charlie suggested sometime soon.

I also don't see how one can survive without protein or fats, but especially protein. I feel bad if I go without either, insomnia, brain fog, irritation, nervous energy, hunger, all signs of high cortisol and/or serotonin. Even just eating gelatin to the exclusion of the "bad" amino acids will still cause an imbalance... some posts here were done in the past that show that keto acids just aren't sufficient for proteins

Charlie I know you're able to do it somehow, but there are many fruitarians who don't do well (just think the Banana girl/durianrider fruit diet, lots of people follow them and many failed trying to follow it due to some issues like I post about)
 

charlie

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I see "Mucusless Diet. Would this help someone with sinus issues? My partner has chronic issues and is not really into health hacking, but is getting desperate and might be interested.
Sinus issues are a backed up lymphatic system. Since the kidneys are not filtering like they should, and the bowels are also not obstruction free, the lymph and mucus will starting oozing out the sinuses. When it gets to the sinuses it is a very chronic situation because it is now backing up into the head. Would not be surprised if hair loss started, eyes issues, etc.

I wouldn't go to any extreme since it's pretty much incompatible with my social life, but I thought about doing some days of mostly fruits at the beginning of the week when I was craving them.
From my observations, the more fruit added to life, the better.
 

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