"Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why violent video games should not be banned"? Get an original essay Before delving into the negative effects of pH changes in our body is It is important to understand what pH is. pH is a measure of the concentration of hydrogen ions or how acidic or alkaline a substance is on a scale ranging from 1 to 14. In fact, different parts of our body have an optimal pH. different, arterial blood has a pH of 7.4, intracellular fluid has a pH of 7.0, and venous blood and interstitial fluid have a pH of 7.35. Even a slight imbalance in acidity and alkalinity can cause harm tissues and organs and can compromise the immune system by allowing unhealthy organisms and pathogens to proliferate. In fact, research has shown that unless the body's pH level is slightly alkaline, the body cannot heal itself and that the disease thrives in alkaline environments rather than acidic environments. Several factors such as disease or diet can cause an imbalance between acid and base resulting in acidosis (low pH in body fluids) or alkalosis (an increase in pH). Our body has several important systems for maintaining the optimal pH of body fluids. The kidneys control the release of electrolytes calcium, magnesium, potassium and sodium, alkaline minerals that help offset acidity. If the body is exposed to high levels of acidity and the diet does not contain enough minerals to combat it, the body is forced to take these minerals from bones, cells, organs and tissues. This results in a deficiency of these minerals in these cells which inhibit waste disposal, vitamin absorption and complete oxygenation. In addition to disrupting the functioning of cells due to lack of minerals, many other cells in the body are negatively affected during acidosis. Reducing blood pH below 7.35 disrupts the ability of lymphocytes to fight pathogens and causes immune cells such as macrophages to release inflammatory cytokines, leading to inflammation, resulting in a poor immune response. Additionally, the drop in pH activates osteoclast cells that reabsorb calcium from bones. Unlike normal bone remodeling in which, while osteoclasts resorb bone, osteoblasts build new bone, acidosis inhibits the functioning of osteoblasts, leading to bone loss. Low pH also causes muscle loss and degradation and hinders the contractions of heart muscle cells. Furthermore, a low pH inhibits the entry of calcium into vascular smooth muscle cells and causes them to relax and vice versa with a higher pH. All of these acidosis responses will affect the body's ability to absorb minerals, decrease energy production in cells, decrease its ability to repair damaged cells, decrease their ability to detoxify heavy metals, make cancer cells thrive, and make them more susceptible to fatigue and disease. Red blood cells play an extremely important role in transferring oxygen to the cells of the body and to do so they must be able to flow easily and quickly through even the most metallic capillaries. Therefore the red blood cells maintain a negative charge which causes them to repel each other, thus preventing the aggregation of the red blood cells and allowing the blood to flow smoothly. Acidosis destroys this mechanism and inhibits the smooth flow of blood, so the body's cells receive less oxygen and nutrients, leading to less energy production. This leads to the destruction of more cells which in turn release more acid fueling a destructive cycle. Acute acidosis leads to lethargy"