ALKALINE BODY FOR A LONG, HEALTHY, HAPPY LIFE.

Diet is one of the biggest determinants of your health. What you put into your body every day affects everything: your biochemistry, your mood, your brain, muscles, tendons, bones, nerves, kidneys, liver.

Unfortunately, when it comes to diet, most people are on autopilot, mainly following a disease-making Western Diet that is high in acidic foods and low in alkaline foods. The Western dietary pattern also called the Standard American Diet (SAD) is high in processed foods, fried foods and red meat. And it’s low in whole fruits and vegetables, whole grains, legumes and healthier fats and proteins such as nuts, seeds and fish.

The explanation is very simple. Your body evolved to work optimally when provided with the right environment to function. The internal environment in your body requires a healthy mix of nutrients, and when it doesn’t get them consistently over time, things go haywire.

One way diet affects your health is through a process called “acid-alkaline balance.” The pH (potential of hydrogen) determines a substance’s acidity or alkalinity and is measured on a scale of 0 to 14. The lower the pH the more acidic the solution. The higher the pH the more alkaline (or base) the solution. When a solution is about in the middle of the range—neither acid nor alkaline—it has a neutral pH of 7.

BENEFITS OF HAVING AN ALKALINE BODY

Although it’s often overlooked, the foods you eat – and how they affect your body’s pH –can impact a variety of health issues, from sleep to bone health to body composition. If you want to thrive, your body’s pH level matters. By adding more alkaline-forming foods, primarily from minimally processed plant-based foods, you can combat inflammation, reduce stress, and protect bone health. 

Benefits of alkaline-forming foods for everyone

As a general rule, you can classify foods as either acid forming or alkaline forming. The standard American diet is completely acid-forming, rich in acid-forming meat, dairy and highly processed foods. Your body’s pH is 7.35, or slightly alkaline. Your body constantly seeks balance and works hard to maintain the healthy neutral alkaline zone. While the foods you eat cannot change this zone, your body must compensate for a high intake of acid-forming foods by leaching calcium (an alkalizing mineral) from your bones. Over time this may lead to bone mineral loss and potentially osteoporosis. It is also a stressor that leads to inflammation and increased cortisol levels, which has damaging effects on long-term health.

In contrast, alkaline-forming plant-based foods are nutrient dense and rich in antioxidants. Adding more alkaline-forming foods will help slow down the leech of calcium from your bones, helping maintain your bone health for years to come. They also help fight free-radical damage and inflammation while supporting healthy cellular regeneration within your body, so you can thrive.

Benefits of alkaline-forming foods for athletes

The advantage to an athlete of eating alkaline-forming foods is significant. When you eat acid-forming foods, you reduce your muscles’ efficiency and have to spend more energy for every muscle contraction. If you add up the muscle contractions during a 10K race, a half marathon or marathon, that means a lot of extra work. Because alkaline-forming foods help reduce inflammation, your muscles are able to work more functionally, and they require less force to move. As an endurance athlete, this will allow you to push harder for longer. If you are a strength athlete, this allows you to lift heavier weights. All athletes will benefit from recovering faster when eating more plant-based foods. 

Alkaline-forming foods to add to your plate

The best indicator of whether a food is alkaline-forming is the presence of chlorophyll –the greener the food, the better. Look for dark green leafy greens, as well as sea vegetables and algae such as chlorella and spirulina. Beyond green foods, choose minimally processed foods to enjoy more benefits of plant based nutrition. Note that the actual pH of a food before you eat it doesn’t matter. Lemons, for example, are acidic but are alkaline-forming once digested. 

It’s important to balance each meal with 75% alkaline-producing to 25% acid-producing to maintain health. We need plenty of fresh fruits and particularly vegetables (alkaline-producing) to balance our necessary protein intake (acid-producing). This pattern is essentially similar to the Mediterranean diet, which research over the past 50 years has shown to be the healthiest dietary pattern. And we need to avoid processed, sugary or simple-carbohydrate foods, not only because they’re acid-producing but also because they raise blood sugar level too quickly (high glycemic index therefore fattening), are nutrient-lacking and may be toxic too.

Here are a few examples of alkalizing veggies to include more in your diet:

• Beets

• Broccoli

• Cabbage

• Carrot

• Cauliflower

• Celery

• Chlorella

• Cucumber

• Garlic

• Kale

• Lettuce

• Mushrooms

• Greens

• Nightshade Veggies

• Onions

• Peas

• Peppers

• Pumpkin

• Sea Veggies

• Spinach

• Spirulina

• Sweet Potatoes

• Tomatoes

• Wild Greens

Examples of alkalizing fruits to include more of in your diet:

• Apple

• Avocado

• Banana (high glycemic)

• Berries

• Blackberries

• Lemon

• Lime

• Orange

• Pineapple

• Raisins

• Raspberries

• Strawberries

• Tomato

• Tropical Fruits

Remember that this is about inclusion, not exclusion. Rather than worrying about what you should avoid, focus on getting at least one alkaline-forming meal or snack a day. An easy way to add this in is with a smoothie made of fresh fruit and non-dairy milk. Another great addition is starting your day with alkaline-forming fresh lemon and warm water. Little steps in the right direction will make a huge impact on your body to use its full potential. Start today creating healthier habits.

With love,
Andrea