Hey Fams

My question is if a basic Brew of Ayahuasca bacaarpi vine and Chacruna leaf

has an acidic or alkaline effect on the body?

while i write this i remember that most Hallucinogens are Alkaline so maybe its that way?

Thanks

Hi there,

most likely an acidic reaction. The purging effects are certainly not alkaline-based. I say most entheogenic brews are acidic forming. I'm open to this being wrong as it seems like common knowledge to me. Many ayahuasca ceremonies require participants to engage in an acidic/alkaline-based diets and lifestyles before taking the brew.

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I´m no expert, do your own research, but from the reading I`ve done this whole alkaline diet thing is bunk.

No matter what you eat (in terms of ´normal´ food), your blood / systemic pH wont change. Our body operates within a very narrow range of pH, and this is highly controlled by different regulatory mechanisms, with buffers that prevent pH changes and processes related with our breathing and CO2 levels, and elimination of acidity through urine. The only thing pH that is affected by different food is the urine pH, exactly because of such processes to balance out the levels.

Also remember that our stomach acid is way stronger acid than food we eat, and considering pH scale is logarythmic, our stomach has sooo much more H+ acidic ions than food that I cannot see how any food will do anything in terms of changing our body pH.

Another thing to note is that both alkalosis and acidosis are dangerous conditions, we do not need to `alkalize` ourselves. There are cases of people having toxic effects from excessive sodium carbonate use, for example, and having dangerous alkalosis (source)

That being said, often the diets that people say are `alkali-generating` (whatever that means) are healthy diets in general because its based on fruits, vegetables, or generally nutritious food, but not because of anything related to pH.


Now regarding ayahuasca itself, it is acidic, because of natural plant acids, like all ethnobotanicals and preparations that do not have added base to it (like for example snuffs containing alkaline ashes or calcinated shells).

As for the dieting aspect of ayahuasca, if its necessary or not etc, check our FAQ

Ya I did a little day research awhile back on alkaline diets and the myth that acidic diets cause cancer. And endlessness is correct about how our bodies naturally balance our PH. If my blood were acidic I would be more concerned that I have an issue with my kidneys rather than my eating habits. Acidemia is a serious issue, although the food you eat does not cause it.

Its true that our bodies naturally create highly acidic acids to disassemble food, water etc, but that doesn't mean the food and water we consume doesn't affect pH, I don't even think nobody officially knows, and I would also concern my body over nutrients than that of pH, though. The danger is being out of pH balance or 'neutral,' which is rare for humans but can happen with the right circumstances. Without that balance our bodies start to shut down which leads you to easier infection and disease. Its the same with too much alkalinity, though, different outcomes. Naturally, our bodies adapt to changes within the environment, as does pH. Its how the organism retains equilibrium. This is just my common sense.

For example, if the internal pH is altered, the body naturally accumulates oxidation. The free radicals that penetrate our bodies are acidic-based, which leads to spontaneous free radical damage. Alkalinity restores this action through oxidation, removing the free radical from wherever it may be in the body, hence the medical terms 'anti-inflammatory' thereby improving oxygen flow, increasing healing and pain modulation through balancing and direct, protective action. This is the effect of alkaline-based foods between that of acidic-based foods, though some acidic foods have similar functions. Its confusing because different sources have different ideas on what is acidic food and what is alkaline food. What it comes down to mainly is that healthy food feels good in terms of energy output; whereas non-healthy food feels terrible, but many enjoy doing this, its bizarre addictive patterns of behaviour.

To reach acidosis or any related disease, there would need to be an external environment change such as pollution and the availability of oxygen. Over-abundant cities are the worst for this, such as China, India, New York etc. The death rate of these places is high, and most of it, overall, comes from poor diet and the body not able to function correctly due to over-accumulation of stress on the body.

Those with obesity, diabetes, cancer etc, all have overly-acidic bodily functions from too many free radicals. To restore function you have to restore balance, within unity of the body.

Having a pH meter is always a good investment so you can measure your internal state of pH.


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Here's a good read on that whole topic. That pH meter will do you much more good for extractions than testing your urine lol.

http://chriskresser.com/the-ph-myth-part-1

I didn't enjoy the whole article particularly but some parts did make sense.
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Agreed, that's a good summary of different foods containing different pH levels.



Okay, yes, the neutral state. Its not like one piece of meat will give you cancer. Its the long term consequence of internal and external factors that portray whether you continue neutral, more acidic or more alkaline. This is one particular area that could be a missing link, or not. People are dying of the age of 12, 29, 54 to 83 because of health related cancer, cancer spread by limited oxygen, therefore inefficient internal homeostasis. Its an emerging, obvious subject.

Here is an older page but certainly is interesting relating to obesity and homeostasis networks.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17021366

Everyone will decide for themselves.

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