In other words, “Genes load the gun, but environment pulls the trigger.” Since Bruce Lipton’s book ‘Biology of Belief’ [1], as well as other research, we have come to realise more and more that our genetic expression is not set in stone. We are not a prisoner of our genes, but rather we get downloaded a set of ‘programs’ per gene set that have certain settings switched on, off or on variable modes as per the dial on your oven. These settings are determined firstly by the state of health of the parents, and then continue to change according to the subsequent environmental conditions after birth.
Our cells therefore become a product of our environment. If you put cells under excessive stresses and don’t supply the right nutrition, water, sunshine, and oxygen for proper recovery, what you will get is a drop in the voltage of life force. The pH of cells can drop to acidic levels, which sets the body up for inflammation, pain and decomposition.
Acid or Alkaline?
Acids dissolve tissue because they are electron stealers and are therefore free radicals. They pull molecules apart and dis-assemble structures. An alkaline buffer can donate spare electrons to appease the voracious appetite of the electron stealers (acids) and therefore neutralise their destructive affect.
There are times when we need a good amount of acid – but only in certain locations such as the stomach during food digestion. The blood and interior of cells need to be kept in a delicate range of 7.35-7.45pH (slightly alkaline). The body is constantly trying to keep the balance with compensating mechanisms, but sometimes we can overload its capacity with too many acid producing foods and stresses and not enough buffers to compensate and recover the balance. An important contributor to pH balance is the presence of magnesium (which is an electron donor) combined with adequate hydration (water).
Obesity and degenerative disease
We are now witnessing an acceleration in prevalence of many degenerative illnesses, all of which show this pH imbalance, acidosis and cellular disintegration. It is not only happening in the elderly populations, but the diseases of arthritis, mental illness, metabolic syndrome (obesity) and cancer are now showing up increasingly in younger people. Such diseases in children and young adults were virtually unheard of pre-baby boomer generation.
According to a report in 2013 by The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare: “In the 10 years from 2000–01 to 2009–10, hospitalisations for children with juvenile arthritis as the principal diagnosis tripled. The hospitalisation rate rose from 8.8 per 100,000 population in 2000–01 to 28.9 per 100,000 population in 2009–10.” (11)
What all these conditions have in common is a chronic magnesium deficiency.
According to a 2010 study low magnesium was directly related to increase in inflammatory markers and diabetes: “Magnesium intake was inversely longitudinally associated with incidence of diabetes in young American adults. This inverse association may be explained, at least in part, by the inverse correlations of magnesium intake with systemic inflammation and insulin resistance.” [2]
It is now widely reported that most people have some degree of magnesium deficiency.
“Dietary surveys of people in the United States consistently show that intakes of magnesium are lower than recommended amounts. An analysis of data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) of 2005–2006 found that a majority of Americans of all ages ingest less magnesium from food than their respective EARs.” (EAR = Estimated Average Requirements). (12)