Re: What Comes First?

I don't have answers (even made-up ones) for most of your questions. I do, however, want to comment on part of it.

Cancer is (warning: theory) what happens to cells when their respiration, particularly the intake of oxygen, is inhibited. The cells switch to being non-specialized human cells, whose only mode of operation is anaerobic growth.

Acidity is one of many, many ways we humans have of reducing the ability of the body's to provide enough oxygen to all our cells. For example, the pH range of blood is maintained somewhere between 7.3 and 7.45 (or thereabouts), making it slightly alkaline. The concentration of oxygen (warning: hearsay) that blood at pH 7.3 can hold is substantially lower than what blood at pH above 7.4 can hold (the lower pH blood can only hold about 60% to 70% of the oxygen that the higher pH blood can hold).

More alkaline means more oxygen available to the cells which would in turn reduce the probability of cells starving of oxygen and becoming cancerous.

But note that acidity is just one possible cancer vector. Coating one's lungs in tobacco tar is another way to make it very difficult for some cells to get enough oxygen, thereby driving them into cancer mode eventually. Not all cancer, therefore, is caused by acidity. Any toxin that can inhibit cellular respiration can cause cancer, whether through physical or chemical means.

While the body goes to great lengths to maintain the pH of blood, other tissues do not enjoy the same level of protection from acidity, and so tissues can become more acidic. The problem of acidity is well known in the formation of gall stones and kidney stones. In an acid environment, some minerals find their way out of the more acidic solution into a solid, non-soluble form (the minerals react with the acids and form non-soluble solids -- stones!). This is (warning: theory) also the basis behind Arthritis and bone spurs, in that these minerals have precipitated into solids under the influence of various acids and settled into joints or on bones.

Could this acidity also influence the immune system? Hmmm. Seems everything affects the immune system, but I don't have a simple answer I can give you.

But regarding your question about who would benefit more, the person specifically targeting alkalizing himself versus the one doing the cleanses and "on a clean healthy diet", I'd like to point out that a clean, healthy Diet is one that alkalizes the body, which then answers your question easily -- the guy alkalizing his body and doing cleanses is certainly doing more for his body than the guy simply alkalizing his body.

=-John-=