Through this 200 hr ytt, I have been made more aware of my diet through learning about body anatomy and what it means to maintain the body’s pH through the kind of food we eat. The ideal is not to eat to lose weight and obtain an enviable figure, but eat for health and to prevent and reduce diseases.
The aim is to maintain the body’s pH at a neutral, towards alkalinity, level of pH7.4. Any lower than that, we are at risk of acidosis, defined as acidity in the blood and other body tissues. Eating acidic foods and being exposed to prolonged periods of stress are some causes of acidosis, which will affect our overall health. This is because bacteria and viruses thrive in acidic environments, making the body vulnerable to viral infections.
The next natural alternative is then to turn to fruits and heap them up in the blender or juicer then gulp down the smoothie. Yet, fruits high in fruit sugar like mangoes, pineapples and oranges are in fact, acidic. They are not as acidic as meat, poultry and fish, but are well… close enough. In other words, if one has ever consumed a smoothie that contains more than one of the acidic fruits without balancing with an alkaline food, like most vegetables, the smoothie isn’t as healthy or as green as it seems. These facts are referenced from Dr Robert O Young, author of The Miracle pH Book, and the alkaline food chart can be found here: http://www.alkalinesisters.com/alkaline-food-chart/
So the catch is, one can still have those delicious tropical fruits but ideally, they should be balanced with about 3 or 4 other alkalinizing produce. Examples of these are avocado, kale, celery, cabbage, radish and cucumber. Fruits should not be the main star of your smoothie, but are just around to give a little more flavour and enhance sweetness of the otherwise bitter greens. If you are watching your sugar intake, then add other not-so-sweet fruits like strawberries or raspberries, since they also give the smoothie a lovely, red tint. Chia seeds and almonds are also alkaline and taste good when sprinkled on, or blended into the juice.
The truth is that, an alkaline diet is basically, vegetarian. I have tried going vegetarian some days and I can honestly say that it is not easy simply due to the limited choices around, and the fact that people around me are mostly omnivorous. If it is almost mission impossible to avoid poultry, fish, caffeine, dairy products and processed food, then simply take baby steps and cut down on the intake. Keep bearing in mind that you are improving your overall general health and lowering your own risk for illnesses such as kidney stones and constipation.
Just to quote Benjamin Franklin’s “Some people die at age 25 and aren’t buried until they are 75” and analyze it in the dietary sense: In our modern world where we are exposed to stress from work, relationships or life in general, we have the tendency to adopt wrong eating habits that are killing us slowly inside. Adopting the chakra theory, it also agrees that we turn to food as a form of aggression when we are suppressed in other aspects. For convenience’s sake we have may made the wrong food choices here and there, only to try to salvage the situation when we have time, or are sick and suffering from illnesses. That is probably why people ‘die’ early inside, when their organs are not working optimally, they become plagued with diseases, and have to endure suffering and finally pass on at the age of 75. On the other hand, if we are aware of the acidity and alkalinity of the food we put into our mouths and consequences of over-consumption, then we are more empowered to make wiser choices. We can then live happily with a healthier body and mind.
-Joy
Filed under: Diet and nutrition, General Tagged: | health
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