Alkaline and what you need know to create this natural state.
In order for your body to function at an optimal level, the pH should remain between 7.33 and 7.4. The various body processes and functions such as your immunologic, metabolic and enzymatic and repair mechanisms all perform at their best in an alkaline environment of just above 7.0.
The pH ratio is based on a spectrum of 1 to 14 with 7 being in the middle representing neutral. Anything below 7 is acidic and above 7 is alkaline. The human stomach for example has a pH of 2.3 so is very acidic. Human blood on the other hand has a neutral pH of 7.3 therefore is alkaline.
Despite the many fundamental life processes that create a great deal of acid, maintaining a state of alkaline is crucial to your health. Your bio-chemical functioning, food metabolism and even exercise all create a great deal of acid. When your body is in a state of acidity you are more susceptible to illness and disease.
If the body becomes too acidic it will naturally try to counter balance itself by drawing on the body’s internal resources. The body will pull calcium, magnesium, potassium or sodium from teeth and bones to produce bicarbonate as it attempts to neutralise the acid state.
Furthermore an acidic body is the perfect environment for the growth of yeast or candida colonies to grow and expand throughout the body. They first appear in the digestive tract and then break through the intestine wall and into the bloodstream. You can imagine the myriad of disease once yeast has invaded the bloodstream on its travels to various part of your body.
What causes an Acidic State?
- Biochemical processes in the body.
- Metabolism of food. For example sulphuric acid is produced from sulphur containing amino acids and long chain fatty acids also produce acid.
- Lactic acid when exercising or just moving around.
- Immune response (manifested as allergies or hypersensitivity).
- Phosphoric acid from food additives in soda, processed diary and baking powder.
- Consumption of a modern diet which is usually consists of high acidity food.
How to control the body’s pH levels?
Quite simply, on an Alkaline Diet.
The best way to support a healthy acid-alkaline balance within your body is to consume an alkaline-rich diet of between 60 to 80%. This does not mean eliminating acid food totally from your diet but restricting it to at least 40% or even less.
Help! There are a trillion food charts out there!
You’re right, you will come across numerous food charts online listing alkaline rich foods. Such food lists can vary from chart to chart and you may see a particular food appearing as both acid and alkaline on two different charts. It can all get very confusing!
At Sharing Self-Improvement the food we align ourselves with the research of the Alkaline Diet pioneer, Dr Young for the most accurate information:
Read more on Dr. Young’s pioneering work.
Other professional in the field take a different view and rely on the Potential Renal Acid Load (PRAL) reading for classification of acidity and alkalinity. They make their determination by burning food at extremely high temperatures, then take a reading of the ‘ash’ which is left behind and assign a Ph value.
Burning food at such high level depletes the sugar content which is the acid–causing content of the food. It is also why high-sugar fruit may appear as alkaline on some food charts but in essence the sugar content has been torched!
Banana’s are a good example because they contain a high percentage of the mineral potassium which is alkaline. But due to the very high level of sugar in banana, some 25%, it turn acidic when consumed.
It is the effect of food on your body AFTER consumption that classifies it as acid or alkaline because it will create that internal state as a result of consumption. This seems to be the more accurate, reliable and relevant measure.
Click here to check out Dr Young’s alkalizing program.
Align yourself to an Alkaline diet.
To create a perfect alkaline state in your body, eat more alkaline foods. This includes vegetables, legumes, nuts and seeds, root, tubers, grains, some oils, sprouts and sprouted breads, grasses and of course lots of alkaline pH 9.5 water. Limit highly processed sugary and salty food and fermented food, some fruit, meat, alcohol and soda which are all highly acidic.
Avoiding yeast is also key as it relies on sugar to survive.
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