Explain the acid/base balance of our blood changes
This acid/base balance of our blood changes in response to many things.
These include:
Diet: the diets that are rich in meats provide acids to the blood when digested. In contrast, the diets rich in fruits and vegetables make our blood more alkaline because they are rich in bicarbonates.
Exercise: exercising muscles produce lactic acid that must be eliminated from the body or metabolized.
Breathing: a high altitude causes rapid breathing that makes our blood alkaline. In contrast, certain lung diseases that block the diffusion of oxygen can cause the blood to be acidic. Let us further study the effect of diet on the acid/base balance by taking the example of acid diet and alkaline diet. We must, however, first understand what we mean by an acid diet and alkaline diet. A diet which is rich in proteins (meat, fish, eggs, cheese) and when catabolised leave an acidic residue to be excreted in the urine is referred to as acid diet.
On the other hand, a diet consisting mainly of fruits, vegetables and milk, which when catabolised leave an alkaline residue to be excreted in the urine is alkaline diet.