One of the biggest things I hear from folks I see in my practice is that they are exhausted. When I take a look at their diets I’m not surprised. If your diet contains lots of animal-based protein (meat, eggs, dairy), sugar, caffeine, alcohol and processed foods you are stressing out your body. The standard American diet is full of acid forming foods and acid leads to inflammation. Most modern imbalances are inflammatory in nature including obesity, diabetes, cancer, arthritis, chronic allergies and a weakened immune system. Understanding how to create the proper acid/alkaline balance in your body will increase your energy, boost your immunity and create a solid foundation to lasting wellness.
Here’s a quick pH refresher. The pH scale measures how acidic or alkaline a substance is and ranges from 0-14. Seven is neutral and anything below seven is more acidic in nature and anything above is more alkaline. Our bodies are designed to function at a near neutral pH (optimally between 7.3 and 7.4).
When your food and lifestyle choices (emotions, stress and environmental toxins are also acidic) cause your pH to shift even the slightest bit below 7 your body will seek to create balance. It begins to pull minerals like Calcium, magnesium and potassium from your bones, teeth and organs to create the proper acid/alkaline balance. Yikes. Losing these essential minerals can leave you feeling exhausted, weaken your immune system, lead to poor digestion and weight gain and compromise your vibrant health.
3 Ways to Create pH Harmony
- Reduce or eliminate acidic foods especially highly processed grains, sugars, alcohol, caffeine and animal products.
- Increase alkaline foods including leafy greens, fresh veggies, root veggies, lemon water (drink a warm mug every morning!), quinoa, sprouts, green tea and seaweed.
- Buy organic whenever possible. Pesticides and herbicides are highly acidic in nature.
The best thing you can do to restore a healthy pH (aside from eating plenty of greens) is to be happy. Yup. Positive emotions have an alkalizing effect on the body! So smile more!
For a great chart on acidic and alkaline foods click here. And to learn how to test your pH click here.
Wishing you Vibrant Living!
Kate