In order for your blood to effectively act as a medium of oxygen and absorb vital nutrients, your body’s pH balance needs to be maintained. The equilibrium is essentially the body’s alkaline-acid balance, which is ensured by healthy kidneys.
Our packaged food living makes us consume too much acid apart from already acidic dairy, grains, and sugar. This puts excessive load on the kidneys and they start accumulating the acid on our tissues. It could result in a reduction of the body’s mineral reserves such as calcium, sodium, potassium, and magnesium.
One needs to minimize acid generation by eating more alkaline foods or having an alkaline diet. Chewing is very important and it’s an easy first step to make your food alkaline. Chew 30-40 times a bite. Always be cautious and careful to not overeat and overload your system.
The pH of our body is 7.4 and everything that alters the pH will make the body’s immune defense go down and obviously open up the door for diseases. Lots of sodium content and sugar-rich diets, like processed foods, can cause a disturbance in the pH levels and lead to an unbalanced health condition called acidosis.
It is not just the food we eat that can cause an acidic environment. Our body also creates acid by over-exerting muscles, breathing, and digesting certain foods. Other factors can be stress, air pollution, tobacco, lack of sleep, etc.
All foods can potentially change your pH levels. Acidic food is the culprit but one can’t and need not just eat alkalizing foods. Intake of good fats like avocado, nuts, ghee, and coconut oil is better as compared to saturated fats. Processed animal protein, wheat, and some grains increase the pH of the body, so more than two servings a day is not recommended. A diet that comprises 80% alkaline food and 20% acidic food is considered ideal.
5 Simple Ways to an Alkaline Diet
1. Wake-Up Potion
The body is naturally very acidic in the morning, so start your day with a high-quality alkaline drink; add some apple cider vinegar for more alkaline effects.
2. Sprout it Out
Add more sprouts to your daily diet. They are extremely alkalizing and supercharged with nutrients and energy-boosting enzymes.
3. Brisk Walk
Try doing a brisk walk or some form of exercise on a regular basis. Exercising daily helps to eliminate acidic wastes from the body. Over-exercising is not recommended as it can increase the pH level of the body.
4. Skip Sugar-Laden Food
Sugar is one of the most acidic foods that are consumed. One needs to drink a lot of water to wash out the daily sugar consumption.
5. Leafy Greens
They are the most alkaline foods, and also rich in vital micronutrients.