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One of my members and I were having a discussion the other day about all the different types of diets and the benefits people get from them all and she asked how are you supposed to know which one to follow if you are unwell?
Well that got me thinking about what all these food movements might be striving towards and why they work for some people and not others and here’ what I found!
Paleo, Vegan, Vegetarian, Raw Foodist regardless of the means, most of these increasingly popular food movements all agree on one thing – alkalinity. They all use difference vehicles to get there but essentially optimal health is found in being alkaline. Most diseases cannot survive in an alkaline or aerobic environment. This includes the big C. Normal cells function using oxygen or aerobically, when there is not enough oxygen in the surrounding tissues they mutate in order to survive. These mutated cells are anaerobic and cancerous. Flush your body with oxygen and alkalinity and you will flush out disease and welcome unlimited energy and vibrance!
The chemistry: You likely already know the pH of a substance is measured on a scale of 0-14. Below 7 is acidic and above is alkaline. The pH scale is logarithmic so a pH 6 is 10 times more acidic than 7 and a pH 5 is 100 times more acidic. pH stands for the potential for Hydrogen ions; the more ions, the more acidic the solution. The more alkaline the solution the more oxygen. Different parts of your body function optimally at different pH levels, your bloods optimal pH is 7.365, so slightly alkaline. An acidic environment breeds bad bacteria, fungi and yeast and a variance from this optimal pH leads to symptoms within the body such as acne, a cold, fatigue, IBS, cancer and weight gain (that’s right, our obesity problem is due to being too acidic!)
Homeostasis: Because your optimal pH is slightly alkaline your body will do everything to bring you back into balance. This balance is achieved through self sacrificing alkaline minerals from your body to neutralise the acids. A by product of neutralising these acids is free radicals. You have probably heard about free radicals being responsible for ageing and disease. So an acidic environment equals a body with low levels of back up alkaline minerals and free radicals causing you to age sicker and quicker!
How did life turn so acidic? It is not only food that causes us to become acidic. A toxic lifestyle and environment cause an acidic body. Toxic thoughts – emotional baggage anyone? Toxic home – do you clean with chemicals? Toxic work – ever been stressed? Toxic chemical crutches – do you pop medications/painkillers like the are sugar pills? And this is all on top of our overly processed, chemical laden foods we ingest daily.
Whats Alkaline? Look at your diet, lifestyle and environment. Alkaline foods are basically fruits and vegetables, avocado, lemon, limes, eggs and some nuts and seeds. Aim for about 80% in your diet. Exercise and drinking water or caffeine free herbal teas will also help you become alkaline 🙂 Acid foods include meat, dairy, sweets, alcohol, coffee, tea, processed foods, vinegar, grains, legumes, oats, rice, yeast and artificial sweeteners. While you should aim for no more than 20% acidic foods I would suggest acid foods that offer vitamins and minerals such as meat, dairy, fruit, nuts. It takes 20 times the amount of alkalinity to neutralise an acid so you will find more balance and energy with low acid and nutrient dense food. So save the alcohol and coffee for special occasions.
Start today: Have a salad or vegetables with your lunch and dinner every day. Drink 3L of water a day. Add a green smoothie or juice to your daily routine.
What one change are you going to make today? Share below I’d love to hear what you are doing 🙂