Alkaline Diet Questions with Gareth (#7)

Hey everyone!

Each fortnight we’re putting the best alkaline diet questions we receive from you to our Alkaline Diet Expert, Dr Young trained blood analyst and highly qualified nutritionist – Gareth Edwards.

Gareth is right at the very top of his field, so these answers are absolutely the best you’ll find from arguably Britain’s most qualified expert in this area!

Q&A With Gareth Edwards

Question One: Tastier Green Drinks

I can’t stand the taste of greens drinks. Can I add it to other drinks? What can I do to make it more tasty?

Unfortunately this all too often means that you really need to drink the greens. Start by mixing them with water and lemon or lime juice at a much lower concentration than you are currently doing. Then, over time, try building it up slowly. You can also experiment with different brands to see if that makes a difference. Some people for example, find Dr. Young’s pHruits and pHoliage powder more agreeable as it has a slightly sweeter taste.

Try green vegetable juices too, with lots of celery and cucumber juice. Add lemon juice to them to make them more palatable.

Question Two: Healthy Alternatives to Bread

Hi Gareth. If I can’t get sprouted wheat tortillas in the UK as Dr Young recommends what is the best bread for me to use? Can you give us your top five options? I’ve tried the sprouted essen bread from Dr Gillian McKeith but it is not really sandwich bread! What are your top five bread options? Are wraps ok?

You’re right …. In North American health food shops there are whole refrigerated sections dedicated to wraps made from sprouted grains. Sunnyvale make various breads using sprouted grains that are available in UK health food shops and on-line. These are a bit on the heavy side and I think they also use un-sprouted grains in the mix. They are however yeast free. Another alternative is to use soda bread. Sodium bicarbonate is used to leaven (make it rise) the bread rather than yeast. Unfortunately commercially produced loaves often have sugar, honey or other sweeteners added. Wraps probably aren’t a bad bet, but ….. they can be made with white flour (higher GI-sugar release) rather than wholemeal. They often come in plastic bags too, which can allow moulds to develop.

So, what’s the solution? I’m afraid that I sometimes just go for (as freshly made as possible) wholegrain bread, with as few added ingredients as possible. I have a week without and then may have some at the weekends. The best solution is to make your own wraps or bread with sprouted grains or buckwheat, but that’s time consuming. So, what I tend to do is add sprouted buckwheat (or other beans, grains or seeds) to my raw veg meals to get a carby feeling. Small amounts of cooked rice, buckwheat, couscous or quinoa can make a tasty yeast free addition.

Question Three: Adverse Reactions to Alkaline Water and Green Drinks

One problem I have with alkaline water is that I get CONSTIPATED by drinking it and I feel as if the water is retaining and holding the fat on the stomach and makes me feel bloated. Why is this?

Also I am taking my Inner Light greens but as soon as I drink them an hour later my lips go DRY HARD, same with drinking the alkaline water, the alkaline water of 9.5 pH alkaline makes me constipated and it makes all my food instead of digesting goes CONCRETE ! Why oh why?! Also I feel sooo much weaker when I take my greens. I take Inner Light greens of 1/2 half tea spoon in 02.5 litres of water four times a day.

Without having a fuller picture of your medical history and having a look at your live and dry blood it’s difficult to say why you are experiencing these challenges. I think that the likelihood is that you are “stirring up” stored acids as you start to alkalise, which is causing some of these adverse reactions. Feeling less energetic for example could be because of the release of stored acids into your blood stream. That effect would be increased if you become constipated as the acidity is less likely to be eliminated from your body.

Faecal constitution can change as you change your change your body chemistry. If you read Dr. Young’s books he does recommend starting alkalising with a cleanse. This includes agents such as fibre or magnesium oxide to facilitate elimination. So try using his “pHlush” product or pHour salts to help with the constipation.

I am slightly confused by the concentration that you have said you are mixing your Inner Light greens. I guess that a decimal point has slipped and that you are drinking one litre of water of day rather than 10 …. If I am right and you are putting ½ a teaspoon of greens in 0.25 litres of water, then you may want to back off slightly and mix it weaker to begin with. You can also start with a pH of 7.5 or 8 for your water, allowing your body to become more alkaline more gently.

If these unwanted effects persist, I would encourage you to consult with an “pH aware” qualified physician.

Question Four: How Alkaline shall I become?

I have been on the pH diet and all recommended accompanying supplements for two months now to heal myself of severe Polymyagia Rheumatica. The progress I have made is incredible. My pH, which was initially a constant 4.5 is now going up but erratically. The morning tests are low, 5, 5.5, and the afternoon readings as high as 9.

Should I continue with the programme as it is until my morning readings increase or do I need to reduce the amount of minerals and alkalising drinks to reduce the afternoon levels?

A lot of de-toxifying goes on during the night. Our bodies perform very different metabolic processes when we are asleep to when we are awake. So I would say that you are still removing stored acid. You might want to experiment with reducing some of your mineral levels in the morning if you are taking very high levels. Monitor the effects.

I’d be very interested to see your programme, if you wanted to e-mail it to Ross, who can then forward it to me.

Whether you can be too alkaline is an interesting question, but you have clearly proved to yourself that alkalinity is healthier than acidity. Great work!

Question Five: Effective Ways of Alkalising

What I’d like to know…

A) Whether I am just starting to detox my body and alkalise or continuing an alkaline diet, the most effective method is to use pH Drops in the water, and then to add the Green Drink powder to that same water. Right? Or is there an even better/more effective way to do it?

B) Can I drink a litre of Green Drink for breakfast or lunch (if I am in a hurry) as a replacement for food?

C) Once I’ve alkalised my body enough (through drinking plenty of Green Drinks), and I can see on the pH strip (through my saliva or urine) that my pH level is above 7.356, how many litres of Green Drinks do I need to continue consuming? How much alkaline is too much?

A) It’s a solid “cornerstone” for both starting and maintaining an alkalising regime. Enjoyable sustainable exercise and alkaline dietary choices are pretty high up on the basics list too.

B) Yes!

C) It depends on your activity and stress levels and your other dietary and hydration choices. If you are rushing around on a tight schedule, exercising a lot or unable to eat fresh raw / living food your needs may increase. Remember that you can’t really get too alkaline (within reason – don’t drink a glass of chlorine!). You are always producing metabolic acids from existing, that need to be eliminated.

Another set of great questions and great answers! If you have a question for Gareth – leave it in the comments below!

Tagged as: gareth edwards

Note: This blog is only my opinion. It is not medical advice or diagnosis. Only opinions based upon our own personal experiences or information detailed in medical/academic journals or other publications is cited. WE DO NOT OFFER MEDICAL ADVICE or prescribe any treatments. Please consult with a medical professional before making any diet or nutrition changes. Refer to our full disclaimer for more information.