pH Balance
One
of our major nutritional goals for optimum health is maintaining a
proper acid/alkaline balance. It is important that our diet is slightly
more alkaline-forming than acid as this is the environment which is most
conducive to health and the body's natural repair process.
We
are talking about the acid or alkaline ash that remains in the body
after metabolism, not the actual content of the food. For example, lemon
is an acid-containing food, but it leaves an alkaline residue. In
fact,an excellent way to combat acidosis would be to drink water with
fresh lemon juice or squeezed lemon.
The
body always strives to maintain a proper acid/alkaline balance; the
more we help it along by eating the right balance of foods, the less
wear and tear on the system. If an acid condition persists, however, the
body will draw minerals from other areas to try to neutralize the
situation. For instance, calcium, an alkaline-forming mineral, may be
released from bones. This is a short-term solution which, over time, can
lead to osteoporosis. Chronic over-acidity removes oxygen from the
blood and can result in lowered immunity and premature aging, kidney
stone formation, muscle loss, back pain, gout and other joint diseases.
Chronic degenerative conditions, like cancer, tend to develop in an over
acid environment. Over acidity also can produce that tired, headachy,
fuzzy-headed feeling many people get, especially after eating.
Mucus
is formed from the body protecting itself from a highly acidic
environment and toxic substances such as drugs (especially aspirin and
alcohol) salt; heavy metals; chemicals; antigen-antibody complexes and
the toxins produced by bacteria, yeast, and parasites. When we eat,
drink and take too many acid-forming substances (including thoughts and
emotions) the body signals to form mucus in our stomach, small
intestine, and colon as a way to protect and maintain the alkaline pH
balance needed for it to function properly. When this happens often, the
mucus keeps coming and layering on top of itself, forming a hardened
layer of mucoid plaque, while trapping the toxic substances like drugs,
chemicals and negative emotions. This new toxic environment feeds, or
rather depletes, the blood and cells.
We lose our pH balance as a result of:
1) taking drugs (either medicinal or recreational) which can cause metabolic stress
2) being stressed, for emotional stress drains electrolytes just as if we were eating acid-forming foods
3) eating acid-forming foods
To
replenish the alkaline minerals and your health become conscious of
your thoughts and emotions; cleanse your body; eat raw organic plant
based foods (at least 80% of your diet) and limit acid-forming
substances to under 20% of your diet, listed here:
Alcohol,
all processed foods, anger, barley, bread, cake, canned fruit, cereals,
chickpeas, chocolate, cigarettes, coffee, complaining, cooked grains
(except millet and quinoa), corn, cornstarch, dairy products, drugs,
eggs, foods cooked with oils, glazed or sulfured fruits, ketchup,
legumes, lentils, meat, fish, birds, shellfish, mustard, nuts, seeds,
beans, oatmeal, pasta, black pepper, popcorn, salt, soda crackers, soft
drinks, soy products, stress, white and processed sugar, artificial
sweeteners, black tea, overcooked vegetables, distilled vinegar, all
forms of wheat.
When
what we digest is overly acidic, the body has to deplete its own
alkaline reserves (also needed for exercise, illness and stress) to
handle these acids.
A simple way to eat well:
just stick to a wide variety of whole, unprocessed foods (vegetables,
fruits, nuts and seeds, whole grains) with small amounts of organic
flesh foods, a daily dose of fermented veggies (like raw sauerkraut or
kim chi). Avoid processed/junk foods, refined sugars/carbs, artificial
sweeteners, preservatives, soda, caffeine, alcohol and the routine use
of pharmaceuticals.
Food For Thought
The
most important thing to keep in mind is why you are eating, how you
feel about what you are eating and how you feel while you are eating.
Source: Eat Raw Foods
