In the first part of What In The Cell Is Going On, Gary Tunsky went into intricate detail about how healthy cells function and operate. He also went into great detail about how cells become diseased, eventually leading to serious health problems. What you eat, drink, breathe and bathe in either nourishes the 75 trillion plus cells in your body or contaminates them. A large part of Gary Tunsky's story addressed the issue of pH balancing and the importance of a properly balanced pH in the health of cells. In Gary's practice, he has learned that all patients suffering from disease, whether they are degenerative or metabolic, suffer from what is known as an acidic, cellular environment. This means that their cells, tissues and blood are acidic and their body is robbing alkalizing nutrients from other parts of the body to fight for alkaline homeostasis at the blood and cellular level.

Due to our highly toxic world today, just about everyone is running acidic pH whether they are sick or not. Daily, our bodies are assaulted with poisonous acidic substances that throw our pH levels off and cause our bodies to work overtime to rid itself of these acids. From microwaved foods, genetically modified foods, fried foods, sugar laden foods, irradiated foods, fast foods, processed meats, canned foods, pesticides, herbicides, chemicals, bleaches, colorings, artificial sweeteners, artificial flavorings, soda, coffee, cigarettes, alcohol, pharmaceuticals, negative emotions, etc. just to name a few. The beauty of Gary's approach is that you can test your pH levels in the comfort of your own home with pH strips and do things naturally to increase it. As Gary points out - a balanced pH is not a conducive environment for disease to grow in. Therefore, by changing your pH from acidic to neutral or slightly alkaline, you can fight disease much better or prevent it altogether.

Nothing in modern medicine's toolbox will help you to alkalize your pH. In fact, if you asked most doctors about the relationship between acidic pH and disease they would give you a blank stare. We all have the right to make our own health decisions. But in order to do that, we need information. In a world spiraling out of control with sickness and disease, you can no longer accept what your doctor says as fact. You must become an informed health advocate on your own. Doctors do not have all the answers. If they did, they would be curing most or all of the maladies people are suffering from today without making them drug dependent on pharmaceutical poisons for the rest of their lives. Sadly, iatrogenic diseases (doctor and physician caused diseases) are the third leading cause of death in this country today. Did you know that you are 20,000 times more likely to die of medical mistakes from hospital staff or doctors than you are to be the victim of an airplane crash?

Gary, it is truly an honor to speak with you again. Our readers just love your stories and can't get enough of the information you provide. I think your answers to these questions will go a long way in satisfying our readers and completing your last story.

How can somebody do a home test to check his or her pH levels?
There is a very inexpensive roll of litmus paper that can test either a person's urine or saliva. All you do is tear about an inch off and wet it under your tongue or get it wet with urine. There is a color graph scale that comes with the roll that ranges between 4.5 and 8.5. When wet, the paper will change colors and you can match it up to the color scale to determine what pH levels you are running.

What is the best time to check your pH levels?
I recommend first thing in the morning when you wake up. You can also check it before you go to bed if you haven't eaten any food for several hours.

Is it better to check your saliva or your urine or should you check both?
You should check both. You want to check the saliva as an indicator for tissue and cell pH. You will find that there will be a variance between the two and initially you want to see this. For the most part, you will see more acidity in the urine than you will in the saliva. This means that your internal detox systems are working to expel acid wastes from the body. Acid urine is an indication of acid waste residues coming out of the bladder. These are acids that have been picked up by the cells and tissues, dumped into the blood and brought into the kidney for excretion. Your liver and kidneys are your primary blood filtering systems. Once you go through a detox program and change your diet and begin feeding it God's alkaline foods and beverages, you should see the urine and saliva pH match, or be very close to matching.

What is the ideal number someone should be looking for to know their pH is in balance?
With the saliva, you should be aiming for a 7.0 to 7.2 pH range. Most people are running between 5.5 and 6.5 pH. With the urine, after a detox program and diet change, the ideal number is between 6.7 and 7.0 pH. Most people are currently running acidic between a 4.5 and 6.0 pH. When you begin a detox program and alkaline diet, however, you will notice more acidity in the urine for the first few days and you'll want to see this initially because you are expelling acid wastes.

What about checking your blood pH Ìþ can this be done at home?
No. You cannot check your blood pH at home. This can only be done in the hospital. A doctor has to take arterial blood and do a pH test that way. It's called an ABG (Arterial Blood Gas). Generally this is only done in emergency situations if you were hemorrhaging from a serious car accident or suffering from what is called metabolic acidosis.

Is it true that lemons and limes are good for raising pH levels? If so, how can that be since they are acid fruits?
Yes, these fruits are very powerful in helping to raise pH levels in the body. Although they are acid fruits, they contain high amounts of calcium, magnesium and potassium, which are high alkaline minerals that are needed by the body to neutralize acids and balance pH. When our bodies become acidic, these minerals are robbed from the bones, teeth and joints to neutralize acids. Most people have a terrible mineral deficiency because their body is using them to fight acids draining their mineral bank account. When this mineral bank account finally runs out, usually disease sets in because your body has nowhere left to turn to neutralize the acids that are poisoning the cells. I recommend that people wake up in the morning and begin each day by squeezing a fresh lemon or lime into 12 to 16 ounces of distilled water and drink it. They can also use fresh squeezed vegetable juice in addition. They should also do this periodically throughout the day. You will be amazed how much of an impact this has on your pH levels. You can also eat fresh lemons and limes.

How much water should someone drink in a day to flush out acids and maintain optimum health?
One half once per pound of bodyweight is ideal. For example, if you weigh 160 pounds, you should drink at least 80 ounces of water a day.

Is any particular water better than another?
Economically speaking, most people cannot afford an expensive alkaline water system that runs between 0 and ,300 dollars. Most cannot afford Clustered healing water at a gallon, either. If you do have the money and would like some powerful pH enhancers these methods are phenomenal. Otherwise, I recommend either distilled water or reverse osmosis with mineral drops, which are both very good alkalizing agents and economical. You definitely don't want to drink tap water. I am also very suspect of well water above 75 feet and many spring waters because of acid rain deposits. Distilled water has no minerals in it. This is good from the standpoint that you are not consuming any rock shale inorganic minerals. However, you need to supplement minerals in your diet from green plant-based sources or powdered green foods if you drink distilled water. This is where your fresh juices come in.

Is it possible to drink too much water and flush out vital minerals from your body that are needed for balancing pH?
Yes. Most of the time when you urinate excessively, your body is trying to rid itself of the inorganic minerals that are present in your water, which your body is incapable of utilizing. Without an abundance of good water your body cannot function properly. Our bodies are over 70% water and most people today are severely dehydrated. Again, it is very important that you get minerals from your green foods and in many cases, also supplement your diet with a good mineral product. You will notice that good quality water will not make you urinate as often. Ozonated distilled water is utilized much more effectively by your body and will hydrate your cells instead of being expelled as waste through the urine.

How quickly can someone expect to see their pH levels change once they begin following an alkaline-based diet?
Immediately. Usually within 24 hours. It may take weeks or even months though to get your pH levels to a healthy state and in a range as I just specified. There are many contributing factors and each patient is different. Those with cancer will usually take longer than someone who has an acute illness.

Do you come across patients who have a balanced pH and are still sick?
Yes. And that's because of emotional disturbances. There is an emotional component to sickness. Anger, bitterness, resentment, hatred and unforgiveness, which I call toxic emotions. A patient can be highly alkaline and still be toxic. This toxicity can coat the cell membrane and stop the respiration of the cell.

If somebody followed the perfect pH diet and still didn't notice their levels increasing, what would you recommend?
To unclog their filtering systems. This means your liver is backed up, your kidneys are clogged, your colon is full of waste and you are not sweating enough to remove acid wastes. It is vital that you open your skin and sweat to remove acids. If you lick your skin you will notice that it is acidic. The skin is basically your third kidney. Skin is your largest organ which removes a third of the toxins. You also need to increase your respiration. This means you need to do aerobic exercises and weight resistant training. We get rid of 300% more acid wastes through breathing out CO2 than in any other way. Carbon dioxide is a gas form of acid. The kidneys, skin and lungs are the biggest outlets for expelling uric acid, lactic acid, carbonic acid and acetyl acid, which comes from alcohol. Respiration of O2 in and CO2 out is the fastest way to change pH. The more you breathe in oxygen, the more carbon dioxide comes out. When you dump CO2 out of the blood and tissues through respiration your pH changes fast. It's a fourfold system: sweating (skin), bowel elimination (colon cleanse), urination (kidneys), expelling CO2 (lungs). Also, I look at removing emotional and spiritual toxins that are all acids as I just mentioned.

How many times a week should somebody exercise?
At least three days for forty minutes or more. Four to five days a week is optimal. I recommend a good blend of aerobic and weight resistance exercise. Aerobic exercise is what increases lymph flow. Lymph nodes do not pump on their own like the heart does. They need to be manually pumped by exercise. The lymph is a major factor in removing acids from the cell. When you work on the muscles your body composition changes and your metabolic rate increases. So between the lymph being pumped by exercise, between the skin being opened, between the circulation of the blood and the circulatory system, filtering organs and respiration, you effectively eliminate most acid residues from your body.

What are some good products people can take to assist their pH levels?
Green foods, ionic minerals, oxygen drops, oxygen colon cleansers, 10 pH water, detoxifying herbs, Miracle II Neutralizer, oxygen products, Aloe Vera, a good whole food source multi-vitamin and mineral formula and organic herbal teas just to name a few.

I've heard a lot about Cesium lately. Apparently this is a mineral that enters the cell and changes the pH internally. Many cancer clinics are promoting its benefits. What are your thoughts about it?
Cesium enters the cell through osmosis and it actually kicks up the cellular pH internally instead of externally. I have never used Cesium with any of my patients. It's not cost effective. There are more cost effective ways of increasing your cellular pH instead of paying a hundred bucks a vial. Cesium is also an isolate and can become toxic in large dosages. Anything in large dosages throws off homeostasis.

Is there a good time to eat for optimum pH balancing?
Yes. You need to eat small frequent meals throughout the day. Every three to four hours if possible and no more than 400 to 500 calories a meal. You should also never eat late at night. Stop eating after 7:00 PM if you can. This gives your body time to rest and digest it's food properly. You should also drink plenty of water with lemon or lime at night before you go to bed because it is very alkalizing. Herbal teas and fresh vegetable juices are also very beneficial at night. If you do have to eat late at night, have a piece of fruit or a vegetable salad.

What is the correct ratio of acid to alkaline foods people should be consuming?
80% alkaline to 20% acid. Your body needs both and it needs a good balanced blend of both as well. The 20% acid foods I recommend are God's foods though - not man's poisonous acid foods. Today, most people are consuming 80% acid and 20% alkaline. And the 80% acids are from sugary, white flour, refined processed garbage foods and sodas. You cannot consume a 100% alkaline diet because a highly alkaline diet can bring the pH too high, which is also a disease.

I heard that the tongue is a good indicator of acids in the body. Is this true and if so, what should someone look for?
Your mouth can be a good indicator of acids in the body. Generally, an acidic mouth will feel dry and dirty like your teeth and tongue need to be brushed. This is due to a lowered pH, which allows your mouth to collect bacteria and fungus. The tongue will also turn whitish and get a film on it. Thrush is a fungal condition and this is why your tongue gets a white film on it. Yeast, bacteria and viruses grow in an acid medium so the tongue and teeth are basically the food sources or the clinging devices for them. With an alkaline pH, yeast, fungal forms, bacteria and viruses can't survive. If your saliva is alkaline, your mouth will feel clean, even after you eat. Your teeth will not feel dirty either as though they always need brushing. The tongue also will have a healthy pinkish tone to it. Bad breath (halitosis) goes hand in hand with this as well. Everyone I have ever helped who has had bad breath had an acidic pH. When the pH levels come up to alkaline in the mouth, bad breath disappears along with the anaerobic pathogens that cause gingivitis and periodontal disease. This is also why a good organic toothbrush and fluoride-free tooth-cleansing agents are so important. They will scrub off the acid bacteria, viruses and fungal forms from your teeth and tongue.

You mentioned in your last story that when you become acidic your body pulls sodium bicarbonate from areas of the body to neutralize acids. I've heard some people recommend drinking sodium bicarbonate, better known as Baking Soda, because it can be very helpful in increasing pH levels. Is this true?
Yes. This is because it acts as a high alkalizing buffering agent that neutralizes blood acids. Very small dosages can be used. A teaspoon is all you need. High dosages of sodium bicarbonate can change pH too fast plus it tastes horrible.

Is it true that some vitamins and nutritional supplements can create acidity in the body? If so, which ones should we look out for?
Yes this is true. What you need to look out for are carbon chain constructs and petroleum based vitamins. You also want to be careful with binders, fillers and excipients. Things like magnesium stearate, stearic acid and glycerin are very common for binding tablets. Just check the label of any tablet you ingest whether it's a vitamin, or a pharmaceutical, and they will always list below the formula "other ingredients" ingredients. Sadly, when it comes to vitamins, many of them are derived from coal tar and petroleum-based carbon chain constructs. You want to look for whole food concentrated vitamins and green food blends that have natural vegetarian based binders and fillers. If it doesn't say whole food concentrate, chances are it's synthetic and if it's synthetic, it's usually derived from a petroleum-based carbon chain construct.

What about fasting - is this beneficial?
Yes. This is one of the fastest ways to get acids out of the body. When you fast you eliminate poisons and toxins from your organs, tissues, cells and glands, which are contributing to your acid condition. You should drink plenty of water while doing this because it increases the process rapidly. You need to be careful though, because a straight fast with just water could make a toxic person sick by detoxifying them too quickly, causing a Herxheimer reaction. I recommend starting out with a vegetable juice fast at first before going on a water fast. During the first few days of your fast you should be running acidic urine and acidic saliva on the pH test strips. If you can build up and endure a 7-10 day fast at least twice a year, this will go a long way in keeping your system alkaline, cleansed and balanced.

Can essential oils help in any way to increase pH?
Yes. Essential oils are highly alkalizing because they are the blood of the plant. They have life force, which means they have high frequency. When applying essential oils to your body, their high electromagnetic frequency helps to increase the life frequency to the cell. They also carry high oxygen molecules and oxygen is one of the most powerful adjuncts for neutralizing acids and increasing pH. They also have a high medicinal value. Essential oils have antibacterial, antiviral, antifungal, antiseptic and anti-tumor properties.

That is fascinating. Can people experience these benefits by just putting them on topically or is there another way to utilize them?
You can apply them topically, breathe them through aromatherapy or consume them internally in very small amounts. Ideally you should rub the oils on your feet to get the best results. When you breathe the oils through aromatherapy the high frequency oxygen molecules go deep into the lungs and directly into the bloodstream. I am truly amazed at the powerful effects and results I have seen with essential oils.

What about sunlight - how powerful of an adjunct is it for balancing pH?
Sunlight is huge. Many people today suffer from a condition called mal-illumination. Depression sets in from minimal exposure to full-spectrum lighting due to a work environment that has synthetic lighting. Sunlight is an intricate part of health. Photon rays from the sun are necessary for healthy cellular output and division. Each color spectrum has an important role to play in your body. You get vitamin D from the sun and other nutrients that your body cannot produce. Many of these beneficial rays are absorbed through your retina and that̢s why I recommend that you don̢t use sunglasses all the time. You need to absorb these vital colors and photon light through your eyes and skin at least 30 minutes a day. So many people today think sunlight is unhealthy. This simply isn̢t true. It̢s the abuse of too much sunlight that is unhealthy coupled with deficiencies of anti-oxidants in the blood. Without proper sunlight plant life would die. The same is true for people.

What effect does chlorinated shower water have on the body̢s pH?
It has a very bad effect. Chlorine and other water chemicals are acidic gases. When you take a hot shower all of your pores open up and become a sponge for whatever chemicals are in the water. These toxic chemicals go straight into your blood, organs, tissues and cells and force your body into an acid neutralizing state. This means it has to rob minerals from other areas of the body like bones, joints and teeth to neutralize these acids. These chemicals are especially harmful to your lungs since they are a direct delivery to your blood. Following a perfect alkaline diet can literally be destroyed in a ten-minute shower. If you truly are serious about raising your pH, then I strongly recommend you purchase a good shower filter to take these acid poisons out of your water.

What are your thoughts on soap, shampoo, deodorants, creams, toothpaste, and mouthwash?
If they are purchased in a grocery store or pharmacy, chances are they are extremely detrimental. Just like a shower, the same is true with cosmetic products. Most of them contain dangerous acidic chemicals. By applying them directly on your body, they absorb through your pores and into your blood, tissues, organs and cells just like chemical vapors from your water. Skin is your largest elimination organ for acid wastes, and instead of expelling them you are absorbing them. Take deodorant, for example. When you sweat under your arms acid wastes are coming out. By applying an anti-perspirant, you just shut down an acid release mechanism and pushed them back into the lymph nodes. Inorganic, commercial toothpastes and mouthwash are also hazardous. There are acidic chemicals in these products like sodium fluoride (the second leading cancer causing agent) that gets swallowed and absorbed into your bloodstream. So like tap water, you definitely need to look at these products closely, and watch what you are exposing yourself to. Beware of the word natural and become educated about these products by reading labels. Many of them claim to be natural on their labels but still contain harmful acidic chemicals. You would be amazed at what gets passed off in the health food market as natural cosmetics and toothpaste. Take a look at the back label of any fluoride containing toothpaste. They warn you right on the packaging that it̢s poison yet it passes FDA.

There's a relatively new phenomenon happening all over this country with airplane exhaust fumes. They are being referred to as chemtrails. I've heard some knowledgeable experts claim that they are lowering people̢s pH levels. Do you know anything about this?
Not in detail. I have a general understanding of this subject and I am aware of the fact that something mysterious is going on over our skies. Apparently there are powerful chemicals being deliberately sprayed by military and commercial aircraft for a purpose many Americans like myself are beginning to question. The government vehemently denies this activity is occurring despite thousands of documented photographs and video footage depicting thick, lingering exhaust fumes crisscrossing our skies that in some cases, last for days. There are some knowledgeable experts like Dr. Len Horowitz and others in this field who have reported that chemtrails contain aluminum residues, barium, titanium, formaldehyde, mycoplasma, ethylene dibromide, malathione and other harmful chemicals. Many eyewitnesses have reported web like strands coming down from the sky after seeing a bright sunny day clouded by contrails. Other towns and communities report coming down with the flu and have debilitating upper respiratory infections for months after being exposed to chemtrails. If all of these reports are true then yes, chemtrails will definitely contribute to an acidic pH condition in your body and lower your immune system.

Well Gary, as always it is truly a pleasure to hear your thoughts on all these topics. Thank you for taking the time to expound on these questions and enlighten us further.