Does the pH value of food have any impact on the way our brain thinks?

Answer 1

Eating acidic or basic food does not affect your body, which in turn would affect your brain. However, the metabolites from food can cause your blood to become more acidic or basic, and this has been demonstrated in research to impact your brain.

Answer 2

No. The pH of a food may affect how your mouth and throat feel when you eat, chew, and swallow it, but once it gets into the stomach it goes into 6N HCl which is a very strong acid. This is so it can be broken down into individual molecules and atoms for the body's metabolic needs.

Next the digested food is neutralized in the small intestine where most of the nutrients are absorbed into the blood with the digestive fluid. Even more fluid is removed as the waste now enters the large intestine (also called the colon).

The nutrients go from the digestive system to the brain via the blood. There is a blood-brain barrier that only atoms and small molecules can pass. Glucose is the only fuel the body can use. This is why all forms of energy (from fats, from proteins, from sugars) go into a metabolic pathway that ends in glucose as the product or a phosphorylated form of glucose (i.e. G3P) that the brain can use without further metabolism bc the brain has no metabolic capacity.

So a body being too acid or too alkaline refers to organ systems like reproductive tracts whose pH values have gone from normal to abnormal due to excess blood sugar or stress. I'm no MD but I've never heard of excess blood sugar affectineg a conscious human being. However, a diabetic person can go into a coma and would be unconscious if they consumed too much sugar or did not take enough insulin. On the other end, a diabetic can go into diabetic shock if they have not consumed enough glucose or have accidently taken too much insulin or oral medicine. In that case, their thought process is affected. They become shaky and confused.

However, these are specific cases involving humans who are not healthy.

If you are a healthy human, the only thing you have to fear from eating something acidic is possibly eroding the enamel on your teeth. .

If you are trying to eat to maximize an exam score, it's the saturated fats you need to limit bc yes they will cause your blood flow to your brain to become sluggish.

I recommend a turkey sandwich with avocado spread (not mayo) on non-white bread--9-grain if you can get it. If not, wheat. No white bread, its the same as pure sugar. You will get a sugar rush followed by energy trough (crash)!

Best of luck with all of your future endeavors. Its a good thing you asked for a scientific explanation bc most people just go to the internet and read posted material that is bad science often used to bilk those who have limited scientific training..