21 Apr Acid-Alkaline Balance

There has been much discussion in the nutrition world of late about high alkaline diets and their role in affecting the pH of the body in a favourable way.

The goal is to have your blood pH sitting at around a tightly controlled 7.36-7.4, which is said to be possible using the foods we eat. Many of the foods recommended to us from industry leaders, that are highly processed ad full of sugar, preservatives or artificial sweeteners are generally on the more acidic side of the scale, whereas fresh, organic raw fruit and vegetables, especially of the green kind, are super alkaline and wonderful for helping to keep your pH in check.

Acidic pH levels have been found to leach calcium from your bones through your kidneys, leading it to be lost in your urine, increase muscle spasms, risk of kidney stones, lead to plaque build-up in your blood vessels and even cause muscle wasting and weakening of bones. Clearly a list of thing we’d much rather not have! So, the idea behind being sure to consume about 80% alkaline foods and about 20% acid forming foods makes sense in giving us many benefits including decreasing risk of:

• Hypertension;
• Arthritis;
• Diabetes;
• Vitamin D deficiency; and
• Issues with low bone density.

As well as reducing the risk of metabolic diseases, it will also assist in your overall daily wellbeing, energy levels, skin and all the usual good stuff we talk about with The Chief Life meal plans, which are high in alkaline containing foods due to the nature of the whole foods we include being low in processed or high sugar ingredients and high in good quality micronutrients, like all the vitamins and minerals your body needs.

So, how do you go about ensuring you’re keeping your pH where it should be? Here’s 3 easy tips to keep the alkaline-acid balance in check…

1. Drink alkaline water, using pH drops or adding a squeeze of half a fresh lemon or lime. Even though lemons and limes are acidic in their natural form, once consumed as water they have an alkalising effect on the body which cleanses your digestive system and helps to spark your metabolism.
2. Eat plenty of greens, veggies of the water based variety, lower sugar fruit, nuts seeds and healthy, unprocessed oils/good fats, aim to get your protein for less acidic foods like fish and eggs. Try to avoid highly processed, high in sugar foods, fast food and alcohol – you already know these are on the unfavourable list and so are best avoided!
3. Take a daily anti-inflammatory, either by eating more omega 3 foods, taking fish oil tablets/liquid or turmeric tablets/liquid. This will help to decrease chronic inflammation within the body to assist in the correct functioning of your cells as well as help your gut to work properly and absorb all the wonderful nutrients you’re eating from all the high alkaline greens you’re eating!