Low HR Training

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Burn Sugar/Burn Fat - Take a PH Test? (Read 605 times)


My Hero

    Reading "Slow Burn" by Stu Mittleman and he mentions that by taking a PH test of your saliva, it can determine if your are burning sugar (acid) or fat (alkaline). Has anyone one tried this?


    Just Be

      It sounds like bunk to me. The PH of extracellular fluid is extremely invariable in healthy individuals and is usually specific to the individual. If anything, abnormal PH of saliva is a better indicator of early stage renal disease or advanced stages of other organ disease, but even still, a blood PH test is necessary for final analysis in that regard.
        Low carb dieters use Ketone Test Strips to identify whether their bodies are in ketosis. It sounds like that is what he is really trying to test. I googled around and couldn't find anything besides advertising that addressed a saliva test. I did find this link to a Clinical Chemistry text which touches on the subject. Interesting stuff. MTA: A bit more searching shows that Mittleman is a big proponent of testing body pH. My husband is a clinical researcher at a local hospital (he primarily works on diabetes issues), but has mentioned that studies show an acidic diet supports cancer growth and an alkaline diet limits cancer growth. This is one of his "conspiracy" topics - he's read the papers and finds the research valid - yet he thinks that the idea interferes with the goals of drug manufacturers and so it's not "news" that the general public is likely to hear. Perhaps SM is working with this same information and thus recommending the pH tests.
        ~ Mary ~

        "Workouts are like brushing my teeth; I don't think about them, I just do them. The decision has already been made." - Patti Sue Plumer


        Just Be

          The Ketone Test Strips are definitely a good idea if you think your body is at risk for using muscle as fuel.


          My Hero

            Low carb dieters use Ketone Test Strips to identify whether their bodies are in ketosis. It sounds like that is what he is really trying to test. I googled around and couldn't find anything besides advertising that addressed a saliva test. I did find this link to a Clinical Chemistry text which touches on the subject. Interesting stuff. MTA: A bit more searching shows that Mittleman is a big proponent of testing body pH. My husband is a clinical researcher at a local hospital (he primarily works on diabetes issues), but has mentioned that studies show an acidic diet supports cancer growth and an alkaline diet limits cancer growth. This is one of his "conspiracy" topics - he's read the papers and finds the research valid - yet he thinks that the idea interferes with the goals of drug manufacturers and so it's not "news" that the general public is likely to hear. Perhaps SM is working with this same information and thus recommending the pH tests.
            Yes, I am familiar with Ketone strips. I've used them. A few years ago I did the "low carb" thing to reduce cholesterol, anxious to see if I was in Ketosis... That is interesting about the acidic/alkaline cancer issue, as I have friends that just spent an tremendous amount of money on a "water" machine that was developed by a Doctor that makes water at different PH levels. This guy Kangin (not sure right name) siad he was cured of brain cancer by making his body more alkaline. ??


            Just Be

              This guy Kangin (not sure right name) siad he was cured of brain cancer by making his body more alkaline. ??
              IMO, he's either lying or never had brain cancer to begin with.


              My Hero

                IMO, he's either lying or never had brain cancer to begin with.
                At this point I'm certainly not that excited (or motivated enough) about doing any research on this guy, nor do I have any plans to put myself back in ketosis and don't need to loose any weight. What interests me about all this is, utilizing "fat" vs "sugar" as the primary fuel for running. Not that I would ever in my life attempt to run 1,000 miles in eleven days, but as Stu has accomplished this amazing feat of endurance, am evaluating what he saying and see what can help me increase my endurance.


                Just Be

                  I have found that the best way to increase my endurance is to run more at a pace which is comfortable, but not easy. That's it in a nutshell... just spending more time on my feet running over several months does wonders for my endurance. Of course, there are the maximal effort workouts, which do wonders as well, as long as you get your heart rate above 90% max. But they should be used sparingly and only when properly trained due to their potential to cause injury.
                    Speaking of PH tests, does anyone remember Larry Penberthy (spelling?) of Mountain Safety Research (MSR) advocating using test strips to check body acidity - which he said had been shown to contribute to altitude sickness? IIRC, these were urine test strips. I remember that you could order them from MSR (I think this was back in the 70s...) It would seem that any state of the body that would contribute to acute mountain sickness would not be a good thing to have when running a race.
                    RER


                      Reading "Slow Burn" by Stu Mittleman and he mentions that by taking a PH test of your saliva, it can determine if your are burning sugar (acid) or fat (alkaline). Has anyone one tried this?
                      The pH of the saliva can't determine much of anything except the pH of your saliva. If it's too low (below the mid to low 7's) or too high, one needs to evaluate more things to figure out if there's a problem. There is some old research about low pH being associated with reduced fat burning, and in our lab we did many of these tests (with regular pH paper) with runners and there was certainly a relationship between low pH and low fat-burning. But we never ran stats to be scientific about it. The best way to measure fat and sugar burning is with a gas analyzer (which measures oxygen and CO2) - it's very accurate, and correlates with the MAF tests discussed in this forum. Stu seems like a nice guy but I don't recommend his stuff. DavidD