Dietary Acid Load and High Blood Pressure

Source: PubMed

When your blood and other bodily fluids contain too much acid, the effects can be quite serious. Normally, your kidneys and lungs keep your body’s acidity in balance, but if the acids you take in (from food) are too much for your organs to process, then acidosis can result, a condition that may lead to shallow breathing, confusion, fatigue, headache, sleepiness, lack of appetite, jaundice, and other symptoms. A 2014 study of Japanese workers examined the relationship between dietary acid load and high blood pressure (hypertension). Dietary acid load was “significantly and positively associated” with hypertension among normal-weight workers. Moreover, high dietary acid load was “suggestively associated” with an increased prevalence of hypertension.