There are many reasons to make your diet alkaline, all of which have to do with creating health and prolonging life. An alkaline pH balance in your body can reduce the risk of illnesses like heart disease and cancer, as well as helping to alleviate depression and making your skin supple and young-looking.
In order to create an alkaline pH balance, you need to be eating an alkaline diet. Unfortunately in the United States, this pretty much means doing the opposite of what everyone else is doing. The S.A.D. (Standard American Diet) is unfortunately highly acidic and therefore highly toxic. The acidic foods typically consumed by most Americans create a very comfortable environment for toxins to build up in the body’s tissues.
Often what we experience as colds, allergies or intestinal upset is actually an overly acid body trying to restore its pH balance. When we do reach more balanced pH levels in the body, we experience better health, improved mood, and greater energy.
Remember that moving to a more alkaline diet is best done in stages in order to make detoxing less intense. It can be difficult because you are going against what most people are doing, but you will find that the wellness you experience in changing the way you eat will be worth it.
Here are some tips for making your diet more alkaline:
- Avoid animal products including meat, dairy and eggs. This one does fly in the face of what most people do. Most Americans consume animal products of one kind or another at every single meal. However, animal products are high in phosphorus, which creates an excess of acidity in the body. Reducing the consumption of animal products to two or three meals per week, or better still, cutting them out altogether, will greatly boost body alkalinity.
- Avoid sugar and all processed foods made with sugar. Remember that sugar can come in many disguises including high fructose corn syrup, maltose, dextrose and evaporated cane sugar.
- Increase the amount of raw fruits and vegetables you eat, especially vegetables. These foods should be eaten at every meal if possible. Make salad a central part of your diet rather than just a supplement. Salads can be adorned with fresh veggies as well as bean sprouts or hemp seeds, which will insure that you get plenty of protein.
- Use probiotics every day – and not the kind you get over the counter in the vitamin aisle. You need to insure that you get high quality probiotics from a health food store or a Whole Foods. Probiotics control the growth of Candida Albicans in your intestines, keeping acidic toxins to a minimum.
- Avoid using microwave ovens. Using a microwave oven to cook or heat food, changes the molecular structure of the food, making it more acidic.
- Keep grains to a minimum. Contrary to what you hear from many nutritionists, excessive consumption of grains creates an acidic body environment. This is because grains are basically just complex sugars. Once digested they are broken down into simple sugars, which proceed to turn your body pH acidic.
- Drink plenty of water. Keeping your body hydrated helps to flush out the toxins that can keep you acidic. Mineralized, purified water is the best.
Cultivating a less acidic and more alkaline pH balance is a powerful way to improve the quality of your life. With increased energy, better focus, and the ability to resist illness, your body will function at its best and you can enjoy your life more fully.
