Re: pH Balance and Health: Older Studies

Your question:What was the purpose of the HCl when he claims that there was already excess hydrogen to begin with?

My answer read the articles in http://www.alternative-cancer-therapies.org/

and this very interesting article http://www.rheumatic.org/hcl.htm


Read my posts and moreless answers in
//www.curezone.org/forums/am.asp?i=1364135

//www.curezone.org/forums/am.asp?i=1360527

From which everything below are extracted.

About http://www.rheumatic.org/hcl.htm

My comments:One interesting observation made by the author of the article is that “The presence of a normal production of hydrochloric acid and its presence in the bloodstream and other fluids of the body is the agent responsible for the acidity of the white cells and the maintenance of a normal pH.”

From http://www.rheumatic.org/hcl.htm

These are just extracts.

--BEGINNING OF QUOTES--
HCL (DILUTE HYDROCHLORIC ACID) THERAPY
In search for a remedy that would stimulate the reticulo-endothelial systems of the body, the author of the article performed a number of experiments involving various substances under the cover- glass slip of the microscope slide while observing the red, white, and bacterial cells under dark field microscopy.

Two things were obvious by direct vision of the infected human blood:
1-The EDTA dissolved the bacteria.
2-The hydrochloric acid increased the activity of the white blood cell.


When hydrochloric acid is injected into the body in very dilute, physiologic amounts, the white blood cell systems increase their activity, the blood pH returns to normal regardless of whether it is too acid or too alkaline and the number of white cells increase.


It is reasonable to believe that the acid-base balance of the blood is maintained through the acid cells and since hydrochloric acid is the only inorganic acid normally made in the body and that it is to this acid specifically that we must attribute the apparent acidic response of the white cells.


The presence of a normal production of hydrochloric acid and its presence in the bloodstream and other fluids of the body is the agent responsible for the acidity of the white cells and the maintenance of a normal pH. It is the agent that renders the fluids and tissues of the body bactericidal and unfavorable as a media. The more the white cells are maintained in a phagocytic state the better is the natural immunity.


The leukocytes, or the white blood cells, are factors which aid or supplement the natural immunity. At times, however, when the virulence of the invading pathogen and the influx of toxins into the bloodstream is of such a preponderant nature, the immune bodies become overpowered. The excess toxins not only paralyze or shock the white cells into inactivity but they also bring about tissue injury and the resultant reactions of disease.


Good health and the presence of absolute immunity depend on the existence of a normal production of hydrochloric acid and its presence in the bloodstream and other fluids of the body. When the HCL production falls short, and a progressive diminution takes place, we find a loss of absolute immunity, a decreasing degree of tissue susceptibility, an imbalance of blood chemistry, and poor digestion and assimilation. This is the starting point of general ill-health and malnutrition. It is a logical assumption that a lack of sufficient minerals in the daily diet must of necessity give rise to a deficiency in the hydrochloric acid production. It is known that certain salts, such as potassium, are needed by the glands responsible for its production.


It is also known that when the hydrochloric acid production falls short the required amount necessary to maintain the acidity of the white cells and the acid-base balance becomes insufficient and hydrogen chloride eventually vanishes from the circulation. When hydrogen chloride disappears from the circulation some other acid must take its place immediately in order to maintain the pH of the circulating fluids. The acid wastes assume the role of hydrogen chloride in the blood chemistry. This is followed by an imbalance of the blood chemistry.


The acid wastes can not be thrown off as quickly as they are formed so they begin to accumulate in the fluids and tissues of the body with the resultant struggle between these and the alkaline reserve. The result is a depletion of the latter.


It has been well established that in all cases of malnutrition the condition of acidosis is always present. There follows a reduction of physiologic functions and the EVER INCREASING accumulation of acid metabolic wastes in the bloodstream. The hydrogen chloride production becomes diminished. The hydrogen ions necessary for the maintenance of a normal pH fall short and sooner or later hydrochloric acid is replaced by the waste acids in the maintenance of the acid base balance. These acid wastes include carbonic acid, diacetic acid, lactic acid, acetic acids, fatty acids, uric acid, etc. These acid wastes however, are abnormal constituents of the bloodstream and will act as a disruptor of the natural blood chemistry.


Recent studies in Germany and in this country demonstrate that cancer, diabetes, acute infection, neurosis, passive congestions, gastric catarrh, severe anemia, arteriosclerosis, hypertension, chemical poisoning, affections of the heart, neoplastic growths, metabolic and endocrine disorders, senile insanities, dyspepsia, chronic ulcers of the stomach and duodenum, cholecystitis, appendicitis, duodenitis, worry, anxiety and pyloric obstruction show pronounced changes in the hydrochloric acid production. Too much, too little or none at all.


Statistical surveys have been made of the gastric acidity of patients of all ages and it was found that 25-30% of those over the age of 45 showed no free or combined hydrochloric acid. The incidence of achlorhydria in the whole series of more than 3,000 patients examined was more than 10%. We know that pepsin is inactive unless a considerable amount of hydrochloric acid is present. We also know that very few bacteria can survive the acid conditions in the stomach and that the gastric juice partially sterilizes the food preventing putrifaction during the gastric phase of digestion. Without acid in the stomach the benefit of this action is not obtained.
--END OF QUOTES--



From http://www.alternative-cancer-therapies.org/hydrochloric_acid_therapy.html


Early 1930s publication of walter B. Guy, M.D., St. Augustine, Fla.
DEGENERATIVE DISEASE AND ITS ETIOLOGY
--beginning of quote--
CONCLUSIONS
That normal hydrochloric acid is necessary for complete healthy digestion.
That deficiency of this acid tends to sepsis, suppuration and general toxemia.
That if adrenals are inactive, degenerative forms of disease usually appear.
That if the adrenals are impaired, malignant neoplasms may be expected.
That neoplasms are most likely caused by failure of the inhibitory nerve controls, probably located in the posterior nerve centers of the spinal cord.
That emotional worry, grief, anxiety,depression, are factors to be considered as causes of acid deficiency of gastric juice and thus give rise to many conditions causing degenerative processes and alkalescence so commonly found in cancerous disease.
--end of quote--

An example of similar modern studies
http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=18527910



From http://www.alternative-cancer-therapies.org/HCltherapyintro.html

Also original scans
http://arthritis-trust.net/Books/Three%20Years%20of%20HCl%20Therapy/index.htm


--beginning of quote--
Dr. Guy was more scientifically minded. Although also a general practitioner, he was determined to discover, if possible, a basis for the formation of a theory. He was a student of biologic chemistry, and from his knowledge and observation of plant life and its behavior under the influence of hydrochloric acid and the salts of potassium in the soil, he believed that certain similar principles applied to the growth and nourishment of human beings. Most important of all, he based his hypotheses on the observations of Hawk, that lymph circulation, which is the medium by which nour­ishment carried to every cell in the body, is of as great importance as the blood; and any condition, whether chemical or physical, which interferes with the flow of lymph produces a profound effect on the cells of every organ in the body. He has reduced his theory to simple and easily understood terms by a full explanation of the significance of the acid-­balance of the human body, and the necessity for a proper maintenance of this balance for the preservation of health.

Under normal conditions, the hydrogen ion concentration of human lymph should be slightly on the alkaline side. Should this reaction vary too much, either on the acid or alkaline side, the patient will develop conditions known respectively as "acidosis" or "alkalosis," either of which may be fatal.

In health the acid balance is maintained by the normal production of hydrochloric acid in certain cells of the stomach; should this production fall short of bodily necessity, the balance must be made up. Other acids, which are the products of decomposition in the human body, such as lactic acid, fatty acids, carbonic acid, uric acid and others, are called in to fill the deficiency. These however, being abnormal constituents of the great chemical laboratory of the human body, are ill-adapted to the require­ments, for they are unable to keep in solution many of the salts which must be thrown off as waste matter in bodily excretions, the sweat, the expired air, the urine and the feces. In the effort of the body to provide acid of some sort, these harmful acids become a "monkey-wrench in the machinery," and the condition known as "acidosis" results with symptoms of general systemic poisoning.

Conversely, when the hydrogen-ion concentration of human lymph falls into the acid side, due to excess production of lactic acid, fatty acids, carbonic acid, uric acid and like poisons, there is an effort on the part of the body to neutralize these with alkaline salts, such as calcium, sodium, potassium, ammonium and others. These also, being foreign to bodily economy, produce the condition known as "alkalosis," the general symptoms of which are similar to acidosis, but often attended with general collapse.

Dr. Guy has claimed that the mere administration of hydrochloric acid to a patient would not fulfill the necessary requirements. In his opinion, potassium salts, often lacking in the patient's food are a necessary adjunct in the treatment aimed at bringing about a normal acid-base balance. Excess of potassium may be harmful, and the ingredients of the formula which he advocates are the result of close clinical observation by himself and others. The case reports follow­ing this line of treatment have demonstrated improvements and recoveries which, in many instances, would seem miracu­lous, if it were not for the basis of sound reasoning along bio-chemical lines upon which the treatment was founded.
--end of quote--

WIEL