Alkalize
It is no coincidence that fruits and vegetables contain just the right amounts of protein to build and maintain the human body. Nor is it a coincidence that the minerals they supply are predominantly the alkaline ones: calcium, sodium, magnesium, and potassium. (Dr Graham. 80/10/10 Diet)
Healing starts with removing foods that introduce toxins and pathogens and that acidify the body, cause mucus buildup, cause chronic inflammation, and lead to the development of chronic disease. (Aqiyl Aniys)
Alkalizing is the process of creating an alkaline environment within your body – cells, tissues, organs, and organ systems. Humans are primarily alkaline beings; our blood is always slightly alkaline, with a pH of 7.36–7.44, while lymphatic fluid has a greater variable – optimum pH being 7.4 – (although sadly many Americans are measured at 6.2). Beginning with salivary enzymes in the mouth that start the process of breaking down fats and carbohydrates most of our digestive functions are alkaline, with the exception of the stomach, which contains hydrochloric acid, giving it a pH of 2–3.5, but the mucous neck cells that are right below the surface of the stomach lining have a neutral pH. After food leaves the stomach it is met with sodium bicarbonate (bicarbonate ions) from the Pancreas, with a pH between 8 and 8.3, and bile from the liver/gallbladder. The digestive process continues in the small intestine (pH range of 6.0–7.4) and the large intestine (pH range of 5.7–6.7). The outer layer of skin has a pH around 4.0 to protect it from the bacteria in the environment, and the inner layer has a pH around 6.9.
Although different parts of the body have different pH levels, the blood is the point of equilibrium for homeostasis in the body. Homeostasis is the tendency toward a relatively stable equilibrium between interdependent elements. The body works diligently to maintain this stable equilibrium by delivering the nutrients that organs need to maintain health. The blood needs to maintain a 7.4 pH before it can try to maintain homeostasis in the body. Metabolic acidosis occurs when the blood’s pH drops below this level, which can result in shock and death. It is important to maintain this slightly alkaline state in the blood, because it reduces the amount of hydrogen in the blood. Too much hydrogen in the blood contributes to the reduction of hemoglobin in red blood cells, which impairs the proper delivery of oxygen and nutrients to cells throughout the body. This compromises the health of the organs and metabolic functions. The body has buffering systems in place that maintain the 7.4 pH. The buffering systems become overtaxed when the body is constantly fed acidic foods. The body will then strip alkaline material like calcium from bones and from fluids throughout the body to put into the blood to maintain its pH. This compromises the health of organs and their metabolic functions and leads to the development of chronic diseases like osteoporosis, kidney disease, heart disease, and liver disease. Alkaline plant foods and herbs maintain the blood’s pH without the body having to compensate and compromise its health. (Aqiyl Aniys)
Acid-Alkaline Balance - from The 80/10/10 Diet by Douglas Graham
Most of our body fluids and cells require a neutral to slightly alkaline environment (a pH reading in the high-six to low-seven range) in order to be healthy. By design, even if we live and eat very healthfully, our cells tend to acidify due to normal daily activities and stresses. Nature in her infinite wisdom set it up so that our natural diet of alkalizing raw fruits and vegetables would neutralize those acids. If the vast majority of our foods are alkaline forming, we can easily live in a state of balance, or homeostasis. (Meditation, yoga, biofeedback, and gentle exercise may reduce acidity somewhat, but have not been shown to actually alkalize the body). However, if we overwhelm our bodies with unnatural sources of acidity, there is no amount of raw fruit and vegetables that can compensate. What kinds of activities and practices acidify us in this way?
Consuming cooked foods, heated fats, animal-derived foods, grains (cooked or raw), or more than a very small amount of nuts and seeds.
Eating poorly combined foods, cooked or raw.
Smoking or taking any drugs or stimulants, including caffeine.
Drinking alcohol, carbonated drinks, coffee or tea.
Lack of exercise, insufficient rest and sleep.
Sustained stress, anger, fear, or other negative emotions.
Rather than eliminating the unhealthful foods and practices from their lives, some people fall prey to salesmen who claim that juicing greens or grasses or consuming highly concentrated “superfood” powders can provide enough concentrated alkalinity to counteract an acidic condition in the body. Juices and superfoods, none of them whole foods of our biological adaptation (despite marketing to the contrary), serve only to create further imbalances, however. Only healthful living results in health … there is no shortcut.
Most of our body fluids and cells require a neutral to slightly alkaline environment (a pH reading in the high-six to low-seven range) in order to be healthy. By design, even if we live and eat very healthfully, our cells tend to acidify due to normal daily activities and stresses. Nature in her infinite wisdom set it up so that our natural diet of alkalizing raw fruits and vegetables would neutralize those acids. If the vast majority of our foods are alkaline forming, we can easily live in a state of balance, or homeostasis. (Meditation, yoga, biofeedback, and gentle exercise may reduce acidity somewhat, but have not been shown to actually alkalize the body). However, if we overwhelm our bodies with unnatural sources of acidity, there is no amount of raw fruit and vegetables that can compensate. What kinds of activities and practices acidify us in this way?
Consuming cooked foods, heated fats, animal-derived foods, grains (cooked or raw), or more than a very small amount of nuts and seeds.
Eating poorly combined foods, cooked or raw.
Smoking or taking any drugs or stimulants, including caffeine.
Drinking alcohol, carbonated drinks, coffee or tea.
Lack of exercise, insufficient rest and sleep.
Sustained stress, anger, fear, or other negative emotions.
Rather than eliminating the unhealthful foods and practices from their lives, some people fall prey to salesmen who claim that juicing greens or grasses or consuming highly concentrated “superfood” powders can provide enough concentrated alkalinity to counteract an acidic condition in the body. Juices and superfoods, none of them whole foods of our biological adaptation (despite marketing to the contrary), serve only to create further imbalances, however. Only healthful living results in health … there is no shortcut.
Fruits, vegetables, wild plants and herbs are alkalizing. Fresh air, positive thinking, laughter, cool water - all alkalize.
Complex carbohydrates, complex amino acids (protein), sugar, dairy, fried foods, fast foods, stress, anger, over-heating through the emotions or the environment - all acidify.
While you might hear or read of quick fixes for alkalizing, such as alkaline water, green powders, or even baking soda, etc. in order to truly alkalize you must create an overall alkaline environment; lifestyle and digestive process. In other words, it is simply not enough to throw some green things onto an acid plate. (Although, in terms of food combining, if you do choose to eat meat the best way to do is exactly that - piled with leafy greens and vegetables)
A good rule to follow in the process of alkalizing is the 80/20 ratio of alkaline to acid intake.
Complex carbohydrates, complex amino acids (protein), sugar, dairy, fried foods, fast foods, stress, anger, over-heating through the emotions or the environment - all acidify.
While you might hear or read of quick fixes for alkalizing, such as alkaline water, green powders, or even baking soda, etc. in order to truly alkalize you must create an overall alkaline environment; lifestyle and digestive process. In other words, it is simply not enough to throw some green things onto an acid plate. (Although, in terms of food combining, if you do choose to eat meat the best way to do is exactly that - piled with leafy greens and vegetables)
A good rule to follow in the process of alkalizing is the 80/20 ratio of alkaline to acid intake.
Measurement of Food pH
The alkaline acid measurements are not necessarily showing the pH of the food itself, rather it’s measuring the pH level of the ash of the food after it has been burned, which simulates the digestive process. Lemon, for example is quite acidic on the tongue and pH paper, however the effect it creates in the body through the digestive process makes it one of the most alkaline forming foods you can consume.
Almost all fruits and vegetables are alkaline in nature, with a few exceptions, however even the fruits and vegetables known to be on the acidic side (tomatoes, blueberries, plums) are only slightly acidic compared to sugar, processed food, and meats and dairies, which are the highest acid-forming foods.
It’s also important to note there is a wide range of pH measurement within both sides of predominately alkaline and acid foods. Fruits and vegetables vary within their composition as well throughout the course of their life. Fruits picked prior to being ripe will be less alkaline than those picked at the peak or just prior to ripening. All foods gain and lose alkalinity based on season, location, transit time between harvesting and eating, as well the environment they’re grown in. Same is true for animal products – beef, for example is one of the most acidifying foods you can eat based on not only it’s composition but also the process used in aging prior to distribution. The life of the animal and the slaughter also contribute to its acid/alkaline balance. Just like us, living a clean life with love and natural (alkaline) food sources will produce animal products of higher alkalinity. So for example, the most alkaline meat would be chicken raised humanely, and eaten as soon after the slaughter process as possible.
Almost all fruits and vegetables are alkaline in nature, with a few exceptions, however even the fruits and vegetables known to be on the acidic side (tomatoes, blueberries, plums) are only slightly acidic compared to sugar, processed food, and meats and dairies, which are the highest acid-forming foods.
It’s also important to note there is a wide range of pH measurement within both sides of predominately alkaline and acid foods. Fruits and vegetables vary within their composition as well throughout the course of their life. Fruits picked prior to being ripe will be less alkaline than those picked at the peak or just prior to ripening. All foods gain and lose alkalinity based on season, location, transit time between harvesting and eating, as well the environment they’re grown in. Same is true for animal products – beef, for example is one of the most acidifying foods you can eat based on not only it’s composition but also the process used in aging prior to distribution. The life of the animal and the slaughter also contribute to its acid/alkaline balance. Just like us, living a clean life with love and natural (alkaline) food sources will produce animal products of higher alkalinity. So for example, the most alkaline meat would be chicken raised humanely, and eaten as soon after the slaughter process as possible.
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