Hey everyone!

This week I interviewed alkaline diet expert, blood microscopist and nutritionist Gareth Edwards in a LIVE alkaline diet Q&A. For 45 minutes Gareth and I answer the questions YOU sent in and the info in this audio is absolute, alkaline diet gold!

Click on the link below to hear my interview with Gareth Edwards:

Click here to download the interview and to listen to it on your iPhone/iPod at a later date right click and select ‘Save As’ – you can then import it to iTunes etc.

Click here to book a live blood analysis appointment with Gareth Edwards

Click here to book a 1 hour telephone consultation with Gareth Edwards

A Bit About Gareth Edwards

Gareth, who heads Food for Life, the UK’s leading live food nutrition and live blood microscopy clinic is perhaps the UK’s most qualified and experienced blood microscopist and we are extremely excited to have him on board!

Gareth has a real passion for natural health and nutrition through real, live, whole foods and his philosophies sit exactly with ours. I know many of you will already know Gareth or will have met him at the Dr Young Event and for those of you who do know him – you will understand why I am so excited!

Gareth brings a wealth of experience and as a qualified, highly respected nutritionist he will give us insights and angles that we have previously not been able to explore.

In the coming weeks Gareth will be contributing regularly to the Energise Blog and newsletters and will also be answering your questions – but more on that next week.

Here is Gareth’s official bio:

Gareth Edwards helps people to overcome health challenges with fresh living foods. He has a degree in Natural therapeutics, a diploma in nutritional therapy and is a nutritional blood microscopist.

Gareth has helped people with health challenges as diverse as wanting to loose a few pounds to potentially life threatening disease diagnoses. He has been explaining the importance of food selection and choices to customers and clients at the new Whole Foods market since it opened in June and also practices at London’s leading complimentary health Hale Clinic.

His fresh food based approach draws inspiration from his visit to the Hippocrates Centre in Florida and personal tuition by leading American microbiologist Robert Young. He was also taught by British Nutritionist Patrick Holford during his studies at the Institute for Optimum Nutrition.

One of the corner stones of maintaining or re-discovering optimal personal health is healthy blood. Made aware of this by recovery from a severe infection, Gareth uses the cutting edge technique of live blood analysis to help patients see the state and shape of their red blood cells. This test provides information and insights that are unlikely to be apparent from tests more widely used in conventional medical practice. This test can be really useful and fun to do, whatever your current health goals are. It requires only four small drops of blood.

Gareth is also acutely aware that sometimes, in spite of good intentions, we sometimes struggle to choose healthy foods. He also helps people to assess what may be getting in the way of eating the foods and quantities that they want to eat.

Gareth has won three sporting national championship titles and writes a weekly column in the Daily Star.

Click here to book a live blood analysis appointment with Gareth Edwards

Click here to book a 1 hour telephone consultation with Gareth Edwards

About Ross Bridgeford

Ross is known as THE Alkaline Diet Expert...especially when it comes to implementation and making the alkaline diet REAL in your life. He has been living, learning, teaching, coaching and loving the alkaline lifestyle since 2004 and has written over 600 articles, alkaline recipes, videos and guides on how to live alkaline and stay alkaline for life. Ross loves life in Brisbane, Australia (although is a proud Englishman) and is healthily-obsessed with nutrition, fitness and Tottenham Hotspur F.C.

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From Energise Alkaline Diet & Natural Health Blog - health news, alkaline diet resources & tips to make you happy! do something nice today...

By Gareth Edwards BSc, DipION, mBant

It’s all been pretty full on with hydration and alkaline water in the Energise world for the last few weeks. This week I’d like to stay loosely with that theme, but focus it down a bit onto sports hydration. This isn’t just for aspiring Kelly Homes or Steve Redgrave’s.

We all need to exercise (a daily walk has been shown to improve many health markers).

How we “re-fuel” afterwards can have a huge impact on how beneficial that exercise really is. If walking, running, swimming, cycling or re-bounding don’t light your candle (and even if they do) I’ve seen some research that might interest you and there’s a news story that I feel I have to share with you.

A tragic story…and how it could save you

So …… I recently heard the tragic tale of a 40 year old man with a wife and family who was an ultra-triathlon competitor who died of a brain tumour. A relation told me this story saying that it had made her loose faith in healthy eating and living.

I have seen cases where people have been exercising heavily and developed serious illnesses. My brother in law has recently been experiencing debilitating cramp while competing in cycle races and Steve Redgrave won his last Gold medal as a diagnosed, insulin injecting diabetic.

The cynic may well form the quick view that exercise is in fact bad for you. The picture is however broader than that.

At the age of 47 Ruth Heidrich (www.ruthheidrich.com) was diagnosed with metastasised breast cancer. She was at peak physical fitness. Having had her lump removed she decided to reject conventional treatment and plunged herself fully into a vegan eating plan, based on fresh and raw living foods. S

he’s now 75 and by the time she was 71 she’d completed the Hawaii iron man triathlon holding an age group record and has won eight gold medals in the senior Olympics. Amazing…..

When we exercise our body’s need to “detoxify” is heightened.

Anything other than lying in a catatonic torpor on the floor creates acids.

While physical exercise builds muscle mass, releases feel-good endorphins and increases elimination of metabolites through increased respiration and perspiration, it also increases our body’s production of lactic and other acids. This increases the need for alkaline nutrition and hydration. Most of the shelf sports drinks and bars are however highly acidifying to the body fluids and tissues.

Small trials carried out on runners and swimmers have shown that using baking soda could clearly enhance performance times.

This study (one of many) found that:

The reasoning behind its use in sports is that, during short bursts of intense exercise, the muscles can begin to produce large amounts of lactic acid, which then contributes to fatigue. Sodium bicarbonate acts as a “buffer” against these acids.

“Essentially sodium bicarbonate is an alkali that increases the pH of the blood,” explained Folland, of Loughborough University in the UK. “This seems to reduce and offset the acidity produced in the muscles during intense exercise.”

There was some debate prior to the Beijing Olympics as to whether baking soda could be considered a performance enhancing drug.

Ross tells me that several sports clubs in Australia (including rugby league sides, AFL teams, MMA gyms and boxing gyms) have installed alkaline water ionisers to give their athletes alkaline water to speed their recovery when hydrating before exercise and when re-hydrating in recovery. Fizzy brown coloured water or orange juice and lemonade tend to be more common in England – but these are doing the opposite.

pHour salts & powdered greens mixed with ionised water make more sense to me as sports hydration than carbohydrate based alternatives with, in some cases, caffeine added. Remember it is salt, not sugar, your body needs for energy.

If all this talk of sport and endurance is making you ….. want to read a good book instead, then perhaps some recent research about good dance moves will be more up your street!

Exercise really doesn’t need to be (and shouldn’t be!) a slog.

Busting some shapes, or for the more mature reader, moving with style, it seems can be a sign of ….. good reproductive health. Whether or not that’s true, taking some time out in your day to have a bit of a groove to Jay-Z, Michael Jackson or Fats Waller will loosen up tight muscles and get your lymphatic system moving.

Remember to smile when you’re doing it and …. drink alkaline water afterwards!

And finally, here’s a story that warms the cockles of my heart. Doctors have been prescribing periods of work and training on a dedicated farm in Suffolk. This is a trial emulating the now common practice in Holland of prescribing farm work to sufferers of certain illnesses. Click here to read more.

A trial in a New York prison where certain inmates worked in the prison garden showed significant reductions in re-offending rates over those who did not do gardening work. The therapeutic benefits of fresh air, sunshine, and green spaces are apparent, but additionally re-connecting with how we grow and produce healthy food has an exciting place in health care and wellness.

About Ross Bridgeford

Ross is known as THE Alkaline Diet Expert...especially when it comes to implementation and making the alkaline diet REAL in your life. He has been living, learning, teaching, coaching and loving the alkaline lifestyle since 2004 and has written over 600 articles, alkaline recipes, videos and guides on how to live alkaline and stay alkaline for life. Ross loves life in Brisbane, Australia (although is a proud Englishman) and is healthily-obsessed with nutrition, fitness and Tottenham Hotspur F.C.

Mail | Web | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | YouTube

From Energise Alkaline Diet & Natural Health Blog - health news, alkaline diet resources & tips to make you happy! do something nice today...

Hey everyone!

This week I interviewed alkaline diet expert, blood microscopist and nutritionist Gareth Edwards on the subject of alkaline water. In this 25 minute interview we talk about the alkaline diet, water ionizers, antioxidants and more.

Click on the play button to hear my interview with Gareth Edwards:

Click here to book a live blood analysis appointment with Gareth Edwards

Click here to book a 1 hour telephone consultation with Gareth Edwards

A Bit About Gareth Edwards

Gareth, who heads Food for Life, the UK’s leading live food nutrition and live blood microscopy clinic is perhaps the UK’s most qualified and experienced blood microscopist and we are extremely excited to have him on board!

Gareth has a real passion for natural health and nutrition through real, live, whole foods and his philosophies sit exactly with ours. I know many of you will already know Gareth or will have met him at the Dr Young Event and for those of you who do know him – you will understand why I am so excited!

Gareth brings a wealth of experience and as a qualified, highly respected nutritionist he will give us insights and angles that we have previously not been able to explore.

In the coming weeks Gareth will be contributing regularly to the Energise Blog and newsletters and will also be answering your questions – but more on that next week.

Here is Gareth’s official bio:

Gareth Edwards helps people to overcome health challenges with fresh living foods. He has a degree in Natural therapeutics, a diploma in nutritional therapy and is a nutritional blood microscopist.

Gareth has helped people with health challenges as diverse as wanting to loose a few pounds to potentially life threatening disease diagnoses. He has been explaining the importance of food selection and choices to customers and clients at the new Whole Foods market since it opened in June and also practices at London’s leading complimentary health Hale Clinic.

His fresh food based approach draws inspiration from his visit to the Hippocrates Centre in Florida and personal tuition by leading American microbiologist Robert Young. He was also taught by British Nutritionist Patrick Holford during his studies at the Institute for Optimum Nutrition.

One of the corner stones of maintaining or re-discovering optimal personal health is healthy blood. Made aware of this by recovery from a severe infection, Gareth uses the cutting edge technique of live blood analysis to help patients see the state and shape of their red blood cells. This test provides information and insights that are unlikely to be apparent from tests more widely used in conventional medical practice. This test can be really useful and fun to do, whatever your current health goals are. It requires only four small drops of blood.

Gareth is also acutely aware that sometimes, in spite of good intentions, we sometimes struggle to choose healthy foods. He also helps people to assess what may be getting in the way of eating the foods and quantities that they want to eat.

Gareth has won three sporting national championship titles and writes a weekly column in the Daily Star.

About Ross Bridgeford

Ross is known as THE Alkaline Diet Expert...especially when it comes to implementation and making the alkaline diet REAL in your life. He has been living, learning, teaching, coaching and loving the alkaline lifestyle since 2004 and has written over 600 articles, alkaline recipes, videos and guides on how to live alkaline and stay alkaline for life. Ross loves life in Brisbane, Australia (although is a proud Englishman) and is healthily-obsessed with nutrition, fitness and Tottenham Hotspur F.C.

Mail | Web | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | YouTube

From Energise Alkaline Diet & Natural Health Blog - health news, alkaline diet resources & tips to make you happy! do something nice today...

By Gareth Edwards

Eating Overly Acid Foods & The Symptoms of Acidosis

“One sickness, one disease, one cure.” In the jungle of health messages and choices this simple suggestion shines out like a beacon of hope to us all. “Over simplified” some might argue, but increasingly gathering weight and momentum as a foundation on which we can re-build (or hopefully maintain) optimum health.

The idea that the the acid foods (and alkaline foods) we consume and the pH of our body fluids and tissues may be directly associated with disease or health is by no means a new one. In 1933 Dr. William Howard May wrote in his book “A New Health Era”:

Now we depart from health in just the proportion to which we have allowed our alkalies to be dissipated by introduction of acid foods in too great amount… It may seem strange to say that all disease is the same thing, no matter what its myriad modes of expression, but it is verily so.

Is it true?

Dr. Robert Young, Dr. William Howard, Dr Christopher Vasey and many others (including Anthony Robbins) may postulate that lowered pH (increased acidity caused by too many acid foods and drinks in relation to alkaline foods and drinks) is the cause of sickness, but how do we know if it is really so? The most straightforward solution is to measure urinary and saliva pH. If this is done on several occasions, the correlation between sickness and lowered pH is highly likely to emerge. (You can order pH testing strips from Energise.) Testing the blood has validity, but you have to remember that your body will do everything within its power to maintain pH balance in the blood. Any differences will be much more subtle and therefore be more challenging to measure.

How might a pH that is in-balance affect your health?

If our body become acidic through the consumption of too many acid foods and drink (and not enough alkaline foods to buffer the acids) then genetics may start to come into the mix. If we have a pre-disposition to, say, kidney disease then stones or reduced effectiveness of filtration of the blood may be the symptoms experienced. Similarly, at the arguably more severe end of the scale, a family history of diabetes may be part of why an over-acid person experiences challenges with blood sugar control.

The mechanism:

Organs and other structures in our bodies are made up of cells. These cells are bathed in fluids and remain “alive” by virtue of the blood which supplies nutrients to them and removes exhaust (or waste) products of their metabolism. When the pH of these fluids becomes even slightly in-balanced then damage and dis-function can start to occur.

Some more examples from eating too many acid foods:

Arthritis and joint pains: Sacs of synovial fluid, muscles and ligaments are what form articulation “junctions” in our bodies. If the pH of the synovial fluid is lowered or the worked muscles and ligaments become inflamed (due to acidity), then pain, discomfort and reduced facility of movement are likely to ensue.

Parkinson’s disease and reduced motor control: Nerve impulses that make muscles “fire” (contract) and relax are conducted (a bit like electrical currents) through Neurones that are insulated with fatty tissue. They also have to pass through pH sensitive gaps at joints in the neurones. Acids can attack the fatty tissue and reduce the insulation. Altered pH in the “gaps” can also disrupt accurate and controlled muscle control.

Cancer: As more people start to see the presence of tumours reversed and return to optimum health without the use of medication, it stands to reason that these growths do have a cause. The rapidly developing cells that define tumour growth are generated by your body as a protective response against high levels of acidity in body fluids and rising levels in the tissue.

Diabetes: I have witnessed type1 diabetes being reversed. The dry blood sample of the boy this happened with showed highly acidic patterns when I first saw it. These were absent when he had the situation under control. When the fluids that surround the organ responsible for blood sugar control (the pancreas) become acidic the function of that organ will be compromised. Increasing alkalinity reverses diabetes and many of it associated complications.

Eczema, psoriasis and acne: The skin is often described as the third kidney (we have two). It “breathes” and is an elimination route (largely through sweat) for metabolic and ingested acids. When the normal channels of elimination become overwhelmed or are under-functioning (e.g. due to constipation), Toxic acids start to be pushed out through the skin. This can cause the skin to break up and eruptions to occur. Alkalising healthy oils (Hemp Oil, Udo’s Choice etc.) can help maintain it’s structural integrity, but reducing the acidic load, increasing intestinal motility and regular alkaline hydration are essential too.

Eye sight: Our eyes are large fluid containing spheres. When this fluid becomes acidic, calcification and hardening of the flexible “lens” that allows us to focus can reduce its functionality. The good news is that the eye has one of the quickest cell replacement rates of all body parts. Improvements of eyesight should be achievable relatively quickly through alkalising.

Bright hope:

As yet, rafts of scientific studies proving that lowered pH is associated with many sicknesses and disease are waiting to be carried out. There is however a growing base of evidence to support this view. Dr. Young carried out trials on diabetic patients that are recorded in the opening chapter of “The pH Miracle for Diabetes”. Logic links also tie this argument together.

Many factors including, but exclusively limited to diet and hydration, can effect pH balance. Emotional states, pollution, radiation, medication and exercise levels and method can all cause urine to become acidic. An alkaline diet, hydration and exercise programme can only help to restore, promote and maintain good health.

About Ross Bridgeford

Ross is known as THE Alkaline Diet Expert...especially when it comes to implementation and making the alkaline diet REAL in your life. He has been living, learning, teaching, coaching and loving the alkaline lifestyle since 2004 and has written over 600 articles, alkaline recipes, videos and guides on how to live alkaline and stay alkaline for life. Ross loves life in Brisbane, Australia (although is a proud Englishman) and is healthily-obsessed with nutrition, fitness and Tottenham Hotspur F.C.

Mail | Web | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | YouTube

From Energise Alkaline Diet & Natural Health Blog - health news, alkaline diet resources & tips to make you happy! do something nice today...

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: Probiotics & Colloidal Silver – Do They Conflict?

How does one incorporate pro-biotics AND use Colloidal Silver? Since finding your website May of 2009, I have been on the Alkaline journey and love it! One conundrum I am in – I thought CS killed everything in its path, so wouldn’t that include flora? I have done one or the other and am now using SF722 but would like to add some more alkaline support to my body if it’s possible.

I’m open to any suggestions as my candida detox is so heavy I have trouble achieving positive results with an alkalinity test, saliva or urine. I’m being persistent and patient!

It’s great that you are putting all this effort and thought into taking charge of your own health. Given that it seems that you are someone who likes to read and research, I would suggest that you buy a copy of “The new Sick and Tired” from Energise for Life. In this superb, but technical book Dr. Young clearly explains the basis for understanding terrain based models of health.

The important thing to understand is that you are not trying to kill anything. What you need to do is change the environment (or terrain) of your body. So called pathological (disease “causing”) micro-organisms can only flourish, exist or be generated in an acidic environment.

Colloidal silver doesn’t so much kill things as help your body create a healthy, alkaline environment in which candida forms yeasts and moulds cannot proliferate. Pro-biotics on the other hand are … bacteria and acidifying. The biggest factor that effects bacteriological “balance” in ones intestines and urinary tract is …. the pH. That’s effected by what you eat, drink and how you think. There are compelling arguments for why the digestive tract should actually be sterile, but that aside, I neither take nor recommend pro-biotics. The god-father of alkalising (rather than soul!!), Dr. Young recommends avoiding them too.

I have to say I’d be a bit dubious about the Thorne Research product SF722 too. Its main ingredient undecenoic acid, is a fatty acid derived from castor oil. Castor oil can be very beneficial applied externally, but largely acts as a purgative, when taken internally. Try to focus on nourishing yourself with green vegetables and powders, alkaline water, healthy oils and un-refined salt, rather than sending in the troops to have a battle with an enemy.

Question Two: pH Drops & The Liver

Hi, I have read somewhere that pH drops are bad for the liver and that your body stops producing bile whilst taking them, and that people on certain medications should not take them.

Is there any truth in this and if so what medications are we talking about? Is adding lemon juice to water just as effective?

These suggestions are unlikely to be true. The liver serves many metabolic functions including de-toxification, warehousing of certain vitamins, minerals and sugar supplies and the processing of fats. All of these are going to occur more effectively in an alkaline environment.
Bile is largely made up of alkaline salts and pH drops are …… alkaline salts. Given that it is absolutely essential for the breakdown and digestion of food and liquids I can’t imagine a situation (other than a deficiency of alkaline mineral salts) in which the body would reduce its production.

Most medications are acidifying to the body fluids and tissue. Chemo-therapy is the most extreme example of this. By definition it is cyto-toxic (i.e. poisonous to cells). Medication for hay-fever, aspirin, paracetemol, hormone replacement therapy and oral contraceptives are also acidifying. One could construct an argument that ingesting an alkaline salt might undermine the effects of these remedies. I would however suggest that by taking alkaline drops all you are actually doing is boosting your body’s ability to do what it will do anyway. It will buffer (neutralise) these strong acids using its own mineral resources, drawn from the blood, bones and muscle.

Drinking lemon juice should have an alkalising effect on your body, but generally that doesn’t start until after it’s been absorbed into your blood stream. If you put a pH stick into your mouth directly after swilling neat lemon juice around your teeth it is likely to show a high (alkaline) pH. This is because your body will secrete high levels of bicarbonate minerals in your mouth in order to neutralise the initial (undigested) acidity of the lemon. Diluting with alkaline water or mixing it with alkalising oils will mitigate this effect. I would however suggest that relying solely on lemon juice to alkalise your water would be unwise.

Question Three: Which Alkaline Water Filter is Best?

I have been trying to regain some good health for five and a half years now, (I have osteoporosis, glaucoma, poor circulation etc. I now eat mostly salads, juice, and veg with small amounts of protein, but although I can raise my urinary pH to 7.0. my saliva pH stays at 5.75. I was thinking of getting an alkaline water filter.

“The pH Miracle” recommends distilled or reverse osmosis, but I’ve also read that an ioniser is best. Have you any advice that would help me choose one, that would ensure my alkalinity improved.

In terms of water filtration, purification and alkalising systems I think the ionisers come out best. They work by filtering the water and then passing the resulting water over electronic plates that separate out the acidic ions (charged atoms or molecules) from the alkaline ones.

Distilling water or passing it through a reverse osmosis system is very good for removing all impurities, but you also are likely to remove all the minerals (and therefore ions) too. The result of using these methods is usually, actually acidic.

In terms of raising your saliva pH, alkaline water should help, but I’d also try using the pHour salts product available from Energise for Life. Bicarbonate salts (contained in pHour salts) are what make your saliva alkaline. If you are deficient in these minerals it will be tough for your body to produce alkaline saliva. The pHlavor spray, plenty of sunshine, fresh air and enjoyable, sustainable exercise, along with alkalising green vegetable based breakfasts should all help too.

Question Four: How Do Acidic Friends Stay So Well?

I’ve been frustrated lately with the fact that I generally eat to this effect yet I am so easily susceptible to sickness. Why is it that I have friends who have highly acidic diets of meat, cheese, beans, soda, pickles, breads, coffee, and alcohol with hardly any fruits or vegetables to balance everything, yet they are never sick? They are healthy and thin. How can one’s metabolism and immune system be functioning well if their pH is off balance?

I know that a balanced pH is the way for me to stay healthy, but why isn’t this true for everyone?

It can be frustrating to see people who don’t pay much attention to their health and dietary choices swaning around without an apparent care in the world while the rest of us seem to have to perform daily Olympic food gymnastics, just to keep the show on the road.

The reality is that over time the investment you are making really should pay off. I’ve seen people with apparently cast iron livers finally start to come un-stuck in their latter years. Tell-tail signs such as fungal toe nails, poor skin or inability to get a good night’s sleep may occur earlier in the supposedly perfectly healthy, without you necessarily knowing about it.

If however we broaden our perspective for a moment, we have to realise that some people are …. born lucky(?). They have a strong genetic inheritance in terms of their mineral reserves and healthy de-toxification systems. Attitude can play a huge part in the picture too. Appreciation and awareness of what’s good in your life, doing an activity you really enjoy and a rugged determination to overcome adversity can all help.

All that positive thinking stuff aside, sustained, regular or single courses of strong pharmaceutical remedies can leave residual dis-equilibrium that can be challenging to overcome. The good news is that we have an unprecedented level of knowledge and information as to how to find health and wellbeing available to us.

Remember that health is multi-faceted and when you fully re-discover yours, there will be great pleasure to be derived from passing on the lessons that you have learned to others who are facing health challenges.

And now for my ultimate cure to all ills (?!) ….. a quick read of the world’s funniest joke

Keep smiling!

Note: this not intended to diagnose or treat and professional health care should be sought in case of any doubt.

If you have a question for Gareth leave it in the comments below!

About Ross Bridgeford

Ross is known as THE Alkaline Diet Expert...especially when it comes to implementation and making the alkaline diet REAL in your life. He has been living, learning, teaching, coaching and loving the alkaline lifestyle since 2004 and has written over 600 articles, alkaline recipes, videos and guides on how to live alkaline and stay alkaline for life. Ross loves life in Brisbane, Australia (although is a proud Englishman) and is healthily-obsessed with nutrition, fitness and Tottenham Hotspur F.C.

Mail | Web | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | YouTube

From Energise Alkaline Diet & Natural Health Blog - health news, alkaline diet resources & tips to make you happy! do something nice today...

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!

About Ross Bridgeford

Ross is known as THE Alkaline Diet Expert...especially when it comes to implementation and making the alkaline diet REAL in your life. He has been living, learning, teaching, coaching and loving the alkaline lifestyle since 2004 and has written over 600 articles, alkaline recipes, videos and guides on how to live alkaline and stay alkaline for life. Ross loves life in Brisbane, Australia (although is a proud Englishman) and is healthily-obsessed with nutrition, fitness and Tottenham Hotspur F.C.

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