Are
You Getting Enough Alkaline Foods in Your Diet?
Maintaining a pH Balance is vital to our health:
'Your
health depends on an alkaline environment, created by
eating foods such as tomatoes, avocados and green vegetables...striking
the optimum 80/20 balance and regulating your body's
acid/alkaline chemistry through simple changes in diet
can result in weight loss, increased stamina and strength,a
stronger immune system and a greater sense of wellbeing.'
After years
of societal changes, millions of pounds of marketing spend and
technological advances
we, as a race, are now facing more dietary based health challenges
than ever before. It is no coincidence that the rapidly growing
numbers of cancer, cardiovascular disease and diabetes correlate
almost exactly with the rise in consumption of acid forming foods
such as sugars, saturated fats, and white breads. At the
same time our consumption of fresh vegetables and essential fatty
acids has decreased dramatically, making way for convenience and
a generation hooked on sugary treats.
Becoming Alkaline
This is not
as difficult or as technical as it sounds. When we talk
about eating alkaline foods or starting an alkaline diet we are
referring to consuming those foods and drink which have an alkaline
effect on the body. This effect is based upon the mineral content of the food and therefore the ash residue
that remains after our foods are consumed. Some foods leave
an acid ash, whereas others leave an alkaline ash. Conveniently
for us, it just so happens that the foods that contain alkaline minerals (and leave an alkaline ash) are all the foods we already know are good for us: low sugar foods, fresh vegetables etc. And the foods that contain minerals that leave an acid ash? You guessed it, sweets, alcohol, saturated fats, meats, dairy etc.
Of course, everybody
is different - but most of us should aim to eat 70-80%
alkaline foods anda maximum
of 20-30%
acid forming foods.
This does not have to be measured in calories, grams or anything technical, just look at your plate! Is 70% of the food on it alkalising? And for the other 30%? You can do with this what you like (how acid is up to you - dependent upon the results you want), but feel free to go for some oily fish, wholemeal pasta or wild rice for example.
List of Acid and Alkaline Foods
The following list is not exhaustive and is taken from the energiseforlife.com 12-week Alkaline Lifestyle Course. This 12-week course guides you through the process of becoming alkaline day-by-day and step-by-step, with hundreds of recipes, meals scheduled for breakfast, lunch and dinner every day (plus snacks) and weekly shopping lists to make sure you have all of the foods you need each and every day.
Pork
Lamb
Beef
Chicken
Turkey
Crustaceans
Other Seafood (apart from occasional oily fish such as salmon)
Dairy Products
Milk
Eggs
Cheese
Cream
Yogurt
Ice Cream
Drinks
'Green Drinks'
Fresh vegetable juice
Pure water (distilled or ionised)
Lemon water (pure water + fresh lemon or lime). Herbal Tea
Vegetable broth
Non-sweetened Soy Milk
Almond Milk
Others
Vinegar
White Pasta
White Bread
Wholemeal Bread
Biscuits
Soy Sauce
Tamari
Condiments (Tomato Sauce, Mayonnaise etc.)
Artificial Sweeteners
Honey
Drinks
Fizzy Drinks
Coffee
Tea
Beers
Spirits
Fruit Juice
Dairy Smoothies
Milk
Traditional Tea
Seeds, Nuts & Grains
Almonds
Pumpkin
Sunflower
Sesame
Flax
Buckwheat Groats
Spelt
Lentils
Cumin Seeds
Any sprouted seed
Sprouts (soy, alfalfa, mung bean, wheat, little radish ,
chickpea, broccoli etc) Bragg Liquid Aminos (Soy Sauce Alternative)
Hummus
Tahini
Fruits
All fruits aside from those listed in the alkaline column.
Seeds & Nuts
Peanuts
Cashew Nuts
Pistachio Nuts
General Guidance:
Stick to salads, fresh vegetables and healthy nuts and oils. Try
to consume plenty of raw foods and at least 2-3 litres of clean,
pure water daily (ideally enhanced with pH drops).
General Guidance:
Steer clear of fatty meats, dairy, cheese, sweets, chocolates,
alcohol and tobacco. Packaged foods are often full of hidden
offenders and microwave meals are full of sugars and salts. Over
cooking also removes all of the nutrition from a meal!
How Alkaline
Are YOU?
It may be very
useful for you to see where you are now, and to test your alkalinity
at various stages during your transition to an alkaline diet. For
dietary testing, we offer pH
testing kits, vitamin
deficiency kits and food
intolerance kits.
To boost your
alkalinity, we also offer a range of alkalising supplements from Alkalive, perfectlyhealthy, Tony
Robbins and Udo
Erasmus. These
are incredibly useful in becoming more alkaline and all give
a your body a boost of essential vitamins, minerals, fats and
enzymes.
TEST
YOUR ALKALINITY!
pHion™ pH Stix™
Extremely accurate
and reliable - giving you a clearer indication of where you are
on a scale of acid to alkaline!
The following guides and articles are intended to give you more information on beginning an alkaline lifestyle. If there are any resources that you would like to see here in the future, please do not hesitate to get in touch.
