From: Nancy Desjardins R.N.C.P.
Your body is a complex system that needs to strike a delicate balance between acidity and alkalinity in order to not only survive, but to thrive. The proper acid/alkaline balance varies slightly from person to person, but it is generally agreed by experts that the magic pH number for optimal health should be around 7.4. If the pH level drops below that number you have entered a state of acidity and you open yourself up to a host of health problems, conditions, and diseases.
While some aspects of your acidity or alkalinity is out of your control due to the finite amount of alkaline material with which you were born, personal choices that you make on a day to day basis can play an even larger role in your overall health. For instance, decisions about whether or not to consume alcohol or tobacco products impacts the alkaline balance because these products are very acidic. The human body has stores of minerals upon which it draws for alkaline material on an as-needed basis if it cannot obtain them through diet. The amount varies from person to person and is determined based on heredity. They are sodium, calcium, potassium and magnesium.
It is also important that you get plenty of exercise for optimal acid/alkaline balance.
As women, we all want to live healthier, more vibrant lives. But, because our busy lives demand so much of us we tend to make poor dietary choices and our health suffers as a result. As our pH becomes more and more unbalanced, we tend to crave more acid-forming foods. It's a vicious cycle that saps energy, depletes minerals and nutrients, and causes a multitude of potentially life-threatening conditions and diseases. Research has shown acidic pH levels to be chief causes of obesity, migraine headaches, osteoporosis, cardiovascular disease, and even cancer.
When the body is overly acidic your metabolism rate can slow down, and it can even become difficult for your digestive system to break down fatty acids. When this happens the brain and central nervous system cannot properly function. Over time, you can develop severe neurological problems such as depression, bipolar disorder, and other more severe mental problems. Multiple Sclerosis and Parkinson's Disease have also been tied to not maintaining a healthy balance of alkalinity.
Sunken eyes, bad breath, water retention, and foul-smelling stools are some of the more prominent signs and symptoms that your body is too acidic. Some other warning signs are rheumatoid arthritis, alternating constipation and diarrhea, and excessively low blood pressure.
When your balance of acid and alkalinity is off your body will try to compensate by producing extra mucous. It will surround the toxins present in your body in an effort to isolate and eliminate them.
To continue living our bodies must continually regenerate cells. A healthy cell cannot be acidic and properly regenerate. A cancerous cell must be acidic. If your body is in a constant state of over-acidification it becomes impossible for healthy cells to regenerate Instead cancer cells will thrive in this overly acidic environment. By taking action to become more alkaline, you can help make it more difficult for cancer cells to regenerate. So as these cells die, they will be replaced with new healthy cells.
When your body doesn't have enough alkalinity, it will draw it from other organs in order to move into a state of balance. If sufficient alkaline material is not present this can't happen. When this process is interrupted healthy cells begin to die prematurely. There are steps that can be taken to reverse some of these problems and tip the pH scale back in your favor. It's imperative to your health that you consume more alkaline-forming foods. The process is relatively simple. It does, however, require a radical change in thinking and a commitment to healthier living.
You should strive for about 80 percent of your food intake to be alkaline-forming and 20 percent to be acid-forming. Because all meats have a pH of less than 7 they are by their very nature acid-forming and consumption of these products should be minimized. Other foods such as pastas, breads, all dairy products, red sauces (such as are used in pasta dishes), chocolate and refined sugars also fall into the category of acid-forming..
It is important to introduce alkaline-forming foods into the diet. Many fresh and raw vegetables, salad greens, seeds and nuts can fill out your menu of alkaline-forming foods and are a tasty path to healthier living. You should introduce organic fruits and vegetables.
Most of the body's fluids, such as the blood, saliva, bile, and even urine, function best when they are alkaline. When the alkalinity level falls the efficiency of the affected organs is compromised. When your body enters a state of acidity the lungs, kidneys, intestines, liver, and skin must work harder.
Another factor that plays a major role in the acidity of our bodies is our personal thought lives. We've all seen the negative consequences wrought on others by someone with an acid tongue. Imagine the negative consequences that internalization of negative thoughts can have on our own bodies! The good news is this is fairly easy to fix through prayer, yoga, or meditation. Not only will you feel better, your alkalinity will increase, and you'll be more pleasant to be around.
Heredity plays a role in how much natural alkalinity we have. We're all born with a certain level of alkaline reserves and the body draws from that balance whenever necessary.
Improving your diet, avoiding alcoholic beverages, not smoking, and getting enough rest are good ways to help bring your body into the proper balance of acid and alkalinity. None of these measures will result in a perfect pH balance overnight. However, taking action now in just a few of these areas will have a dramatically positive impact on your health and your overall sense of well-being. You'll look better, you'll feel better, and you'll be better positioned to live a longer, healthier life regardless of the cards that Mother Nature dealt you.
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Nancy Desjardins is a nutritionist specializing in the development of wellness programs tailored to suit personal health concerns. Her individualized approach focuses on detoxifying, rejuvenating, and revitalizing the body. www.womenshealthacademy.com
