Citric acid effect on body chemistry pH

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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers around the effects of citric acid on body chemistry, particularly whether it can alkalize the body or blood. Participants explore the claims made by various sources regarding the acid/alkaline balance in relation to citric acid, lemon juice, and orange juice, while addressing the underlying chemistry and biological mechanisms involved.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Technical explanation
  • Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants express skepticism about claims that citric acid can alkalize the body, noting that citric acid is fundamentally an acid and should not be expected to have alkalizing effects.
  • One participant mentions that the body maintains pH through homeostasis, suggesting that dietary changes have minimal impact on blood pH levels.
  • Another participant argues that while citric acid can form products that may have alkalizing effects, this occurs only after the acid is neutralized, which itself reduces alkalinity.
  • There is a discussion about the terminology used, with some participants questioning the distinction between "alkalised" and "alkalising," and whether these terms accurately describe the chemical processes involved.
  • Participants express frustration with the misinterpretation of basic chemistry by proponents of the alkalizing diet, labeling it as quackery.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally disagree on the validity of claims that citric acid can alkalize the body. While there is a consensus that the body maintains pH through homeostasis, the discussion remains unresolved regarding the specific mechanisms and interpretations of citric acid's effects.

Contextual Notes

There are unresolved questions regarding the definitions of terms like "alkalised" and "alkalising," as well as the specific chemical processes involved in the interaction between acids and bases. The discussion also highlights the complexity of body chemistry and the potential for misinterpretation of scientific concepts.

dansavage
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I see a lot of quacky sites about acid/alkaline body chemistry claiming that lemon juice and orange juice make the body alkaline. They both contain citric acid, orange juice also has lots of potassium... I cannot think of any mechanism whereby citric acid would somehow cause a persons body to become more alkaline. The theory is that every food when burned forms either an alkali or acidic ash, and this ash has an effect to alkalize or acidify the body, not just the blood. I can't find any evidence that citric acid alkalizes anything although sodium citrate is an antacid.
I can't find anything online except for these sites that claim it does alkalize the body...

Does citric acid really alkalize the body or blood? If so by what mechanism?

Thanks
Dan
 
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Quackery squared.

I am not sure about biological details, there can be some additional things that I am not aware of. But in general pH of the body is maintained by very effective mechanisms that don't allow it to change by more than several hundreds of pH unit, no matter what we eat. That's what homeostasis is about. Blood pH is kept between 7.35 and 7.45.
 
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dansavage said:
I see a lot of quacky sites about acid/alkaline body chemistry claiming that lemon juice and orange juice make the body alkaline.
Well you came to the wrong place if you want an explanation. We don't make it a habit to explain quackery.

Nobody understands the alkalizing diet including the frauds that support it.
 
My wife came to me with this and we had a long discussion about it (mostly me beating my head against a wall), imo, this is a classic case of quacks misinterpreting and misrepresenting basic chemistry.

Acid is acid, they acidify, bases are alkali, they alkalise.
When an acid is alkalised it can form products which are alkalising, but in the process it reduces alkalinity.
In the case of Citric Acid, when alkalised it can form citrates which do play a role in the body, primarily as an oxidant of fats/proteins/carbs. Fundamentally though, it was alkalised, so it reduced alkalinity, it acidified the solution, what is left over can still be alkaline (in pH), no problems there (so long as there was sufficient alkalinity), but citric acid is not alkalising in itself, it's an acid.
That's where I think they've gotten messed up, sure, it forms products that can alkalise...but they only did that by being alkalised (and therefore reducing alkalinity) in the first place.
adding acid can only acidify.
 
Onsan said:
(mostly me beating my head against a wall)

I can offer sympathy, not much more.

When an acid is alkalised it can form products which are alkalising, but in the process it reduces alkalinity.

You have lost me somewhere between "alkalised" and "alkalising". I guess by "alkalised" you meant "neutralized".
 
to make alkaline by forming a conjugate base.
 
Onsan said:
to make alkaline by forming a conjugate base.

What do you mean by "make alkaline" then?

Process in which acid reacts with OH- forming conjugate base is called neutralization.
 

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