Article by Gareth Edwards

This week Gareth Edwards, one of the UK’s best qualified nutritionists and alkaline diet experts, writes about the subject of healthy fats and oils.

We are often told in the Media that fats are generally bad for us, which is simply untrue. There are good and bad fats and in order to achieve good health, it is very important to consume healthy fats like the essential fatty acids (EFAs).

Gareth is explaining which fats and oils are beneficial for us and why they are so important for our health. He has also put together an action plan for you, so that you know exactly how to include these fats into your diet.

Why are Essential Fatty Acids (Omega 3, 6 and 9s) so Important for our Health?

Cod liver oil, oily fish, butter versus margarine, Udo’s Choice, Flax oil, Hemp oil, Chia Seed oil …… what an earth is a healthy fat? Patients or clients are usually grateful when I shine a bit of light onto this important area of health diet and metabolism.

The most important and fundamental factor, that I am sure most Energise readers will have grasped is that healthy fat doesn’t make you fat. In fact quite the reverse is true. You need to have it in your diet.

Reasons To Eat Fat:

There are several reasons why you need fat in your diet. The primary and arguably hedonistic reason is …… that it tastes good! The dense calorific nature of fatty foods gives concentrated flavours that tickle our taste buds. If you eat healthy fat it can be a beneficial, pH neutral or even alkalising source of calories or a way to make you feel full and to give you a fuel source to make energy.

On top of that there are certain body structures that are made of fat (or to give them their biological name lipids). The membranes that form every cell in your body are made from fats. The myelin sheaths that act as insulators around your nerves are made from fats. Your skin is primarily made of fat and messenger substances in your body have a lipid component to them. Add to that the fact that the grey matter of your brain mostly consists of fats and suddenly you may start to feel an urge to start drinking fat….!

Which Fats To Choose:

So that means that a bacon and egg sandwich is healthy then…..? No, because not all fats were born equal. If you need convincing of the shortcomings of high intakes of animal based proteins and fats, then the highly scientific, population based “China Study” by Colin Campbell (available from Amazon) should persuade you. In summarising his research, Campbell provides compelling and scientifically robust evidence of links between increased incidence of degenerative diseases such as arthritis, cardio-vascular disease and arthritis and higher intakes of calories from animal sources.

Combine this with some of the more recent exciting research carried out. A natural substance contained in unprocessed, organically grown plant foods called salvestrols, has been shown to have anti-fungal and anti-tumour properties. Un-refined plant oils contain these along with essential (required by the body) fat soluble nutrients like vitamin E. So they start to emerge from the fat fog as having healing and health promoting properties.

A Bit of Science:

With the exception of Coconut oil, all lipids or fats that come from plant based sources are unsaturated. This means that the carbon chains that form their fatty acid structures are not completely “saturated” with bonded hydrogen. In the absence of Hydrogen atoms the carbon atoms form a double bond between them. (See diagram C = carbon and H = hydrogen).

The position of the first double bond in the carbon chain is a defining characteristic of fat. So if the first double bond falls after the third carbon atom that fatty acid structure will be called and omega 3 fatty acid. If it falls after the sixth carbon atom it will be called an omega 6 fatty acid and so on.

Fats You Have To Have:

Your body is a fantastically intelligent, creative entity. It can “manufacture” many different molecules from metabolic building blocks. There are however two types of fatty acid that your body has to have from what you eat. It can’t turn other stuff into them. These are omega three and omega six fatty acid chains. These are called essential fatty acids (EFA’s) because your body can’t make them and you have to have them.

Most seeds (such as sunflower or pumpkin) are rich sources of omega six fats, while relatively few have high sources of omega three. Hemp and flax oil are particularly high in omega three fats. Hemp oil is more stable than flax oil but it does contain more omega six fats.

Where You Get Them:

As an educated reader of these articles you are probably well aware that you can also get omega three oils from oily fish. The SMASH acronym is a handy way to remember the best sources (salmon, mackerel, anchovies, sardines and herring).

Personally, I have my doubts though about “dosing up” on fish. Eating it occasionally from choice might be a different matter. One important consideration is the fact that these essential un-saturated fats are susceptible to damage by light and heat. So unless you are eating your fish raw, I’m not convinced that it’s a great way to get the omega oils that you absolutely need.

Action Plan:

I absolutely recommend to all my clients that they have about 1 ½ tablespoons (or more!) of either hemp oil or Udo’s Choice every day. Udo’s Choice is a vegetable oil blend with flax oil as the primary ingredient. It has vitamin E added which may serve to make it more stable.

The best thing to do is to add either hemp oil or Udo’s Choice to salad dressings or add it to raw vegetable smoothies. You should not cook with either and they should be supplied and kept in dark glass bottle and bought from and kept in the fridge.

Avocados and extra virgin (ideally unrefined) olive oil will also give you healthy fats but they are not a substitute for hemp or flax oil. All vegetable oils are best stored in the cool and the dark in a glass or a tin, not plastic. Margarine is best avoided and olive oil is preferable to butter. Nut butters (not peanut and ideally raw) including tahini are tasty ways to have fats from vegetable sources.

Recommended further reading: Fats that Heal, Fats that Kill by Udo Erasmus, available from Energise for Life.

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.

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...

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: Alkaline Diet Cleanse – Duration & Frequency

Cleanse – how many times per annum do you recommend cleansing and for how long and when (what months)?

Hmm. Good question. I think the real answer would be related to your need and … motivation. If someone has an extreme health challenge (or wants to be on the top of the podium in London next year) then there’s a fairly good case for pretty much continuously following a COWS (Chlorophyll, Oils, Water and Salt) based eating and hydration plan. That can be with smoothys, juices, alkaline meals and green powders.

Getting enough calories might require some thought and planning if you are to do this and having some kind of professional advice may be advisable too. Avocados, sprouted beans and seeds and healthy oil (such as Dr Young’s Omega 3-6-9 Oil Blend) can all form part of a sustained plant based eating plan.

A two to five day cleanse can be an effective way to initiate a change in your body chemistry. Start with two days and then try 3, 4 or 5 days if desired (and bearable!). It’s important to plan a little bit how you are going to eat and drink afterwards. The changes that you experience when you are cleansing may make you automatically desire more alkalising, health promoting food and hydration choices.

I really think that you can do a cleanse at any time of the year. When we ate more seasonally, winter might have been a time when more nuts and oils (or even animal protein, including cheeses) might have been consumed. As fresh plant foods became more locally readily available in spring, cleansing some of the build ups from our winter diet and shedding some of the warming winter weight would have been sensible and healthy. Year round “cleansing food” availability and central heating mean that we do not tend to eat this way so much now.

Spring and New Year “cleans” can however be effective and health promoting, but looking after your body really needs to be a year round project!

Question Two: The Right Combination of Cleansing Supplements

Supplements – normally I take Msm, probiotics & Savant’s Udo’s choice / flax seed oils. What additional supplements do you recommend taking whilst cleansing – do you recommend a fibre supplement & is there a danger of any side effects e.g. encouraging a lazy colon?

The main focus when you are cleansing needs to be on foods and fluids, as I am sure you are aware. I would recommend a green powder supplement and pH drops, that you mix with water. Eliminating acids through urination is equally important to elimination through defecation.

I don’t personally recommend pro-biotics. I believe they are acidifying. Using a vegetable oil that contains the essential fatty acids that your body cannot make is advisable. Hemp oil, Udo’s Choice or flax oil that is kept refrigerated are all good sources of these “healthy” fats that can help buffer (neutralise) acids as they are released from body tissue.

You can use fibre supplements to ensure / facilitate bowel movement. They can be slightly “abrasive” to the delicate tissue of the intestinal lumen (“wall”). Using a bicarbonate salt supplement such as pHour salts or Biocare’s “Bio-carbonate” can help mineralise the body and facilitate faecal elimination. These should help promote intestinal health without creating dependence or undermining your bodies own elimination capability. Remember that you can experience some discomfort when acids start to be released from body tissue.

Adding Montmorillionite clay (terra pHirma) to your greens or mixing it and eating it like yoghurt(!) can also help draw acids out and re-mineralise your body. Do keep reasonably well hydrated and consume fresh vegetables and un-refined salt.

Question Three: Tomatoes & Arthritis

Tomato / tomato juice – I was lead to believe tomato should be avoided as too much in the diet can cause / aggravate arthritis. Is this true?

Tomato’s are considered to be part of the nightshade family of plants and vegetables which also includes potatoes and aubergines and peppers. There is anecdotal (individual reported case history) evidence of diets where these foods are removed leading to improvements in arthritis symptomologies.

No trials (to me knowledge) have conclusively supported this and were they to do so, the question would then need to be asked as to whether any one of the individual “members” of the family was the “culprit” or whether this grouping actually caused arthritis.

People have experienced dramatic reductions in joint pain (over time) by following an alkalising plan as recommended by Dr. Young, Energise and myself. This would include low sugar fruits, such as tomatoes, lemons, limes, cucumbers and avocados. Tinned tomatoes, tinned or bottled tomato juice (rather than fresh), tomato ketchup or a pre-prepared tomato soup with sugar and / or vinegar added could contribute to the aggravation of arthritic symptoms.

Question Four: Exercise Juice & Breathing

Exercise – my preference is to power walk instead of run. Is this ok (if the target heart rate is reached)? When possible is it best to exercise before consuming breakfast juice and after exercise to complete breathing exercises (this is suggested in Alkaline Recipe 4: The Ultimate Liver Cleanse Recipe).

I think the most important thing with exercise is that you enjoy it enough to make you want to do it! If you don’t like running and you enjoy walking or power walking then ….
Running or more vigorous exercise can make you sweat more and breath more deeply. That is important to facilitate the elimination of acid. I do however accept that power walking may accomplish both of these. More vigorous exercise can however also make you more acidic if you promote sugar burning metabolism (rather than fat burning) or exceed your body’s oxygen delivery capability (anaerobic exercise).

I would recommend having a glass of pHour salts and water or water and lemon juice on an empty stomach / on rising. Ideally, you would then do your power walking (or other exercise) and then have a juice or alkaline smoothy. The ingredients in the liver cleanse and other juices will need some digestive “work” so might slosh around while exercising if consumed directly prior to commencing. You can do your breathing exercises before or after physical exercise, if you wish. Experiment with sequences to see what works best for you.

Disclaimer: These answers are not intended to diagnose and do not replace the advice of a qualified physician.

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

This week Gareth Edwards, one of the UK’s best qualified nutritionists and alkaline diet experts, writes about the world of alkaline smoothies and explains why they do not only taste absolutely delicious but are also one of the most nutritious and alkalising foods you can feed your body with.

As they are also very easy to make, there are no excuses not to start juicing your favourite alkaline smoothie straight away!

Alkaline Smoothies: Why They Are Awesome by Gareth Edwards

Can man (or woman!) live on green smoothies alone? Well I have to say that for most of the month of January I’ve been giving it a go. And the answer ….. I’m still here and feeling good.

The great thing about an alkaline smoothy is that it can be both delicious and nutritious.

If you cleanse your body by drinking lots of green vegetable juice and water with powdered vegetables and mineral pH drops added, you can end up ….. hungry! By adding just about everything except the kitchen sink(!) you can make a therapeutic and delicious meal in a glass. The difference between this and something that you might mix up from a packet or a tub though, is that it will be packed with fresh, vibrant, alkalising, living food.

There are two ways of making an alkalising smoothy and which option you go for will be a little bit dependant on the time you have available and maybe your budget. So without further ado let’s get started on how (and why!) I make my smoothies the way I do.

You’ll find an ingredients list here. Do remember that this is a recipe (suggestion) not a prescription. So if you are going to start blending breakfast (or lunch or supper), then have fun experimenting with different alkalising foods.

So, when I’m doing the “deluxe” version I actually start by making a green juice. Not to drink separately, but to provide the fluid for the smoothy. Juicing liberates nutrients (vitamins, minerals and other phyto-nutrients) in a way that will make them more available for absorption than blending will. So if you want to turbo-charge your smoothy, you are going to need to wash up two bits of kit. I’ve got an Oscar Vital Max jucer and that’s pretty straightforward.

I put celery and cucumber into the juice because they give lots of fluid and hen I’ll add cabbage and a dark green leafy vegetables like chard, kale or spinach. Cabbage juice is great for intestinal healing and health and the dark greens are packed with blood building chlorophyll, vitamin C, Calcium, Magnesium and loads more good stuff. I’ll squeeze half an alkalising lemon into it to add a delicious citrus tang.

I add this juice to “food” in the blender. I’m keen to get healthy fats in there, because they will give calories and fat soluble vitamins and essential fatty acids. On top of that our bodies use fat to buffer (neutralise) acids. So in goes almonds (soaked overnight for easier absorption – if you’re keen) olive oil, hemp oil (full of omega 3 and 6 fats) and half an avocado (vitamin E, potassium, omega 3).

I then chop up and add a small lettuce, some broccoli florets and some sprouted sunflower seeds, mung beans or lentils. Like any good meal (or soup) season with crystal or sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.

I run the blender in short bursts, rather than a constant long blast. Chopping the ingredients at high speed and increasing heats can lead to oxidation of your lovely fresh plant ingredients.

Three years ago, the next thing that would happen would be that I would pour the (delicious) mixture down my throat at high speed. Don’t! You’ve created a meal and you need to eat it. Juices are easily digested because the plant cell walls are all broken apart. Although a lot of the chewing work is done with a smoothy, you still need to let the digestive juices of the mouth and stomach act on the delicious mixture. So take a teaspoon and chat to your family while consuming it. If that’s out of the question, then have some and put the rest in a thermos with one or two ice cubes and take it to work to finish it off.

Variations:

If the washing up time of cleaning both the blender and the juicer makes you want to have Weetabix or a cup of coffee instead …. don’t! You can make a smoothy by putting the cucumbers (and the cabbage) straight into the blender and adding some (ionised or filtered) water, green powder and pH drops. Add the water slowly or it’ll be too liquid.

If you find the mixture too “green” to start with, then you could put ½ an apple or ½ a carrot in the juice, but give it a go without first. The lemon juice and avocado really do add flavour.

How Much? How Often?

I really have had fairly sustained periods (3 – 4 days), when I’ve lived on green smoothies with water and green powder with pH drops in between. They should contain all four of the essential food groups you need to build healthy tissue and facilitate optimum metabolic body function. These as you probably know are summarised by the acronym COWS. This stands for Chlorophyll (the pigment in green plant foods), Oils (avocados, hemp and olive oil and almonds), Water and Salt.

If you are cleansing by having regular (or even occasional) smoothies you have the added benefit that there will be a lot of fibre still “in the mix”. When you drink juice only some people find they need to use additional fibre or cleansing supplements to keep regular elimination happening. You may find the reverse is true with a smoothy.

What About The Cost?

Once you start changing the pH of your body fluid and tissue and improving the health and efficiency of your digestive tract, you’ll probably find you actually start eating less food.

The smoothy that I’ve described is so packed with nutritious goodness that, as long as you absorb it, it could keep you satisfied for longer than a normal meal. Do keep hydrating with water, green powder and pH drops though.

And anyway, what else would you spend the money on …… a new mobile phone? Naaaah!

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.

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...

This week Gareth Edwards, our highly qualified nutritionist and alkaline diet expert, is writting about the vast range of benefits of antioxidants. He explains why in order to stay healthy it is very important to give our body antioxidants which fight free radicals inside the body.

The Vast Benefits of Antioxidants by Gareth Edwards

So how are those post Christmas “de-tox” plans going? I had a euphoric e-mail from one of my patients telling me how much better she was feeling after going through three days of Ross’s alkaline cleanse. Out the other side, she was feeling so much better and ready for a year of alkalising and a diet high in fresh plant alkaline foods.

That’s great, but why is it that 5 (or even 12) portions of vegetables or low sugar fruits are so widely advocated by governments and (virtually!) all health professionals. I have a 300 page scientifically referenced book on the desk next to me dedicated solely to that subject. The conclusion ……. we’re not totally sure why, but increasing your intake of fibre, vitamin and mineral rich plant foods does seem to reduce the incidence of degenerative diseases such as arthritis, cardio-vascular disease and cancer.

One of the areas of inquiry that is discussed in the book is the beneficial anti-oxidant activity of certain plant compounds. Why on earth, you might ask, would you want something in your body that is an anti-oxidant, when surely we need oxygen for life? An oxidation reaction is actually the creation of a substance containing less hydrogen atoms (or ions) or less electrons. That will generally mean the creation of a more acidic substance.

Substances which cause oxidation are created in the body by the metabolism of food to produce energy and outside the body, by combustion processes (e.g. the burning of fossil fuels). These substances are sometimes referred to as “free radicals”.

These highly reactive chemical species can cause destructive damage to cellular structures and fluids in the body, but, perversely small quantities of them are needed for signalling in body systems. It is therefore imperative that our bodies have adequate resources to “defuse” free radicals and prevent free radical damage.

What Damage can Free Radicals Cause?

There are certain structures in our bodies that are particularly susceptible to damage by highly reactive chemical entities. Our cell membranes are largely made from poly-unsaturated fats (that’s part of the reason you need healthy vegetable oils like Udo’s Choice). The chemical structure of these fats means that they can easily be damaged or altered by free radicals. This is called lipid per-oxidation. Leaky or damaged cell membranes are ….. not good!

Another mechanism by which free radicals can damage your health is through disrupting the delicate chemical structure of DNA. This is the genetic coding that “sequences” the “manufacture” of our body parts. Free radicals can also damage or destroy proteins that act as signalling mechanisms and help catalyse (accelerate) certain chemical reactions in the body.

How to Maintain your Body’s Anti-Oxidant Capability:

You can imagine that keeping free radicals “at bay” is …… important! Our bodies produce chemicals that do that. Two of these are super-oxide-dismutase (SOD!) and glutathione peroxidase. One way to boost your body’s oxidant diffusing capability is to take glutathione (sold by Energise as Dr. Young’s glutapHione).

You can also increase your consumption of nutrients that promote the production of these substances. Vitamins A (found as beta-carotene in green leafy vegetables) C (present in all raw vegetables and low sugar fruits) and E (found in nuts, seeds ,avocados and raw vegetable oils). Selenium (found in sesame seeds, brazil nuts and sprouted lentils) and zinc (also found in sprouted beans and seeds and almonds).

Other plant substances are believed to have anti-oxidant capabilities. Research however shows that this is just one facet of plants health promoting facets and that anti-oxidant substances act in concert with each other (synergistically).

Anti-Oxidants at the Flick of a Switch:

For those of you that have read Ross’s articles (encyclopaedia!) on water, you are probably aware that one of the benefits of a water ioniser is that it increases the oxygen / reduction potential (ORP). Your alkaline water from the ioniser will have a negative charge allowing to react with the positive charge of oxidising agents.

Anti-Oxidant Boosting Plan:

Remember that there is plenty of scientific evidence to support the health benefits of eating a diet rich beta-carotene and vitamin C (both present in dark green leafy and other fresh, raw vegetables and low sugar fruits, such as tomatoes). Avocados and fresh nuts and seeds are high in vitamin E. Adding further supplements of food based anti-oxidants (rather than isolated synthetically produced vitamins – like ascorbic acid) could be beneficial. Taking glutathione or drinking electron (negative charged) rich water should help your body prevent oxidative damage too.

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.

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...

DELICIOUS! I love this dip. It is so quick and easy to make and contains a heap of the wonderful nutrients I always look for in my day: omega 3, omega 6, fibre, iron, protein, selenium and the wonderfully alkaline minerals potassium, manganese, calcium & magnesium. Not only are avocados a potent source of monounsaturated fatty acids including oleic acid, which has recently been proven to offer significant protection against breast cancer, but it is also a very concentrated dietary source of the carotenoid lutein; it also contains measurable amounts of related carotenoids (zeaxanthin, alpha-carotene and beta-carotene) plus significant quantities of tocopherols (vitamin E).

In the British Journal of Nutrition, researchers Diplock, Charleux, Crozier-Willi et al found that people consuming diets rich in carotenoids from natural foods, such as fruits and vegetables, are healthier and have lower mortality from a number of chronic illnesses.

An extra bonus is that one of the other great food sources of these carotenoids is tomatoes, which also feature in this wonderful recipe.

So this is a dip I make every few days and always have available in my fridge for snacks, wraps and salads. People often ask me what they should snack on that is alkaline and this is a great example – when you’ve got a great flavour like this you can just dip veggies, healthy tortillas, use it in wraps, put it on sprouted bread, flavour-up your salads…it makes dozens of quick snacks so much more flavoursome!

Smooth and Alkaline Avocado & Tofu Dip

Makes 1 Bowl

Ingredients

1 avocado
1/2 pack of silken tofu
1 large tomato
1 clove of garlic
1 small onion (try brown or red)
Some fresh parsley (if available, but not vital)
Freshly ground black pepper and Himalayan/sea salt

Instructions

Easy – just peel and core the avocado, roughly chop the tofu, tomato, garlic and onion, rip up the parsley and throw it all into a blender and blend until smooth!

If you want to thin it out a little you can add a little olive or avocado oil and some filtered water until you get the consistency you like. Or you can have it thick and rich. You can also make it as chunky or smooth as you like by blending for less or more time!

Enjoy this and I promise you will get addicted!

Ross

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 the alkaline diet!

Alkaline Diet Q&A With Gareth Edwards

Question One: Is Sodium Bicarbonate Sufficient To Alkalise My System?

Admittedly an all round healthy diet is important and beneficial to heath in lots of ways, but why can’t a person simply take sodium bicarbonate to alkalise their system when sodium bicarbonate is a natural product produced by the body in large amounts (and the very same substance discharged by the pancreas to neutralize stomach acid HCL). If hypertension was deemed as issue then potassium bicarbonate could be substituted for the sodium bicarbonate, or better still a mixture of the two.

Taking either sodium bicarbonate or Dr. Young’s pHour salts combination (sodium, potassium, bicarbonates along with calcium and magnesium) is recommended by practitioners wanting to help people promote alkalinity. This does indeed supplement a substance produced in large quantities by the body.

Read Dr. Young on the subject of how the body actually transforms food into blood by increasing it’s pH in the digestive tract. His strong, and totally credible view, is that hydrochloric acid (HCl) in the stomach is the by-product of sodium bicarbonate production. The sodium bicarbonate is produced in response to the ingestion of acidic foods and fluids.

Taking supplemental bicarbonate salts may facilitate the body in buffering acids but there are essential biochemical building blocks in alkalising foods and fluids, such as vitamins, phyto-nutrients, fibre and chlorophyll that are required to build and promote health.

Remember also that a lot of buffering (neutralising) of acids takes place in the kidneys. While it is essential to have the minerals present to complete this, heavy buffering can lead to stone formation.

Question Two: What Are The Differences Between Juicers And Blenders?

What are the disadvantages of using a really powerful blender [Blend Tec] (instead of a juicer) where I juice greens along with fruits? To buy a juicer on top of the blender is a huge amount of money. Are there advantages in also consuming the fibre?

I think this is a tough question to provide a scientific answer to. I am not aware of any studies where people have been fed on juices or blended foods and their nutrient levels and other markers of health subsequently measured. This research should of course be done…

My own view and experience is that juice really does give you quick and pure entry of nutrients into the blood stream. This can be particularly useful if someone’s digestive system is impaired. It’s also useful if you are looking for ultimate health.

Some people do use blended vegetables and low sugar fruits such as cucumbers as cornerstones to alkalising programmes. Pre-digesting your food like this can lead to more being absorbed. The presence of the fibre can mean that less is absorbed than from a juice. Avoid putting high sugar fruits (apples, pears bananas) in blended smoothies.

Better quality juice machines are a substantial investment, but they should last a life-time. Powdered supplements can act as a bridge while you put the money in the bank! Money to help you get healthier is always well spent and usually returned in increased energy!

Question Three: How Can I Increase My Cholesterol Levels With The Alkaline Diet?

I have been on Dr Young’s programme for the last 9 months. I felt really good. Trouble is I am underweight 84lbs for a 5 footer. Lately, I seem to get low blood pressure and hypo (low sugar level). My cholesterol is very low. By consuming the alkaline diet, all this seems to lower further cholesterol. How can I increase cholesterol? Is it by consuming more healthy oil? I take a variety and a fair portion (at least 6-8 tablespoons/day) on top of coconut milk and oil. I know cholesterol is important to regulate my hormone levels. The last month was my worst supposedly pre-menstrual symptoms. Please advise. Will consuming eggs be safe?

If our bodies produce cholesterol in order to buffer (neutralise) acids and you are on a highly alkalising diet and hydration programme, then low cholesterol might be due to a reduced need. That said, our bodies are constantly producing metabolic acids and these do need to be buffered.

Low cholesterol has been associated with compromised health conditions [1] and you might therefore choose to continue to monitor it. I would not, however, suggest that you start eating a food containing high levels of cholesterol (such as eggs) in order to raise your levels. The link between eating cholesterol containing foods and changing your cholesterol levels has been repeatedly disproved.

I would recommend that you measure your urinary and saliva pH to see if you are still acidic. (Energise sell some pH stix to measure this). You might also consider blood analysis to see if you are successfully addressing the issues associated with acidosis. Even when you change to an alkaline diet and hydration programme, certain supplements (such as digestive enzymes, pro-biotics and vitamin C) and stress can keep you acidic.

Underlying acidity (that can take time to remove) is likely to be the cause of being under-weight. It can also be the reason for low blood pressure and low cholesterol. Continuing to have a very high intake of fresh (and powdered) green vegetables and their juices along with bicarbonate and un-refined salt should increase alkalinity and help promote cardio-vascular health. You can order Himalayan salt and bicarbonate salts (pHour salts) from Energise.

You are right to have reasonably liberal quantities of healthy oils and that should give you the nutritional building blocks to make cholesterol. Make sure it’s fresh and kept refrigerated. I’d be cautious about coconut milk, particularly if it comes from a tin. Drinking fresh coconut milk (from a coconut!) could be an occasional treat.

If your liver is compromised (e.g. due to a history of pharmaceutical use) that may effect your ability to absorb and “process” healthy fats. A pH and nutritionally aware practitioner should be able to help you assess this and support you with rebuilding.

Sprouted seeds and pulses are a healthy, alkalising source of protein and carbohydrate to help increase calories. Low blood sugar is not necessarily a problem if you are alkaline and have enough salt.

1. The Lancet, Vol 358, Number 9279, Aug 2001

Question Four: Bluish-Purple Colour Along The Nail Bed Area. Any Reason For This?

I’ve been on the alkaline diet for about 2 months now since I went to Tony Robbin’s conference and have started noticing my finger nails are sometimes a bluish-purple along the nail bed area. Have you heard of any reason for this? Am I lacking a certain nutrient I may not be getting? I am a pharmacist and have already explored the medical reasons and have come up with nothing. Any insight you may have would be greatly appreciated.

According to my highly trusted acupuncturist friend, discolouration of the nail bed can be a sign of liver toxicity. If you have been on prescription medication (or are still on it) this may be the cause. There is also a suggestion that it may be associated with reduced oxygenation of the blood.

Having been taught about essentiality (nutrients your body must have from the diet and cannot be made) over many years, I am increasingly convinced that Dr. Young’s acronym C.O.W.S. really does cover all bases. A diet high in chlorophyll, from low sugar green plant foods, healthy oils, containing omega 6 and three fats, water and unrefined salt will give your body all the building blocks that it needs. Chlorophyll and salt should help build healthy haemoglobin. That will facilitate oxygen delivery in your body.

Make sure that your liver load is minimised and see if the altered colour disappears. Reviewing your regime with a qualified practitioner may be beneficial.

Question Five: Lack Of Strength and Flu On The Alkaline Diet!

I’ve been on the alkaline diet for a while and have lost 21 pounds in weight making me 12 stone 7lb. I am 36 years old and haven’t weighed this since I was 18 years old! I am blown away by the weight loss, and how healthy my insides feel. As an IBS sufferer all my life I can honestly say that all of my symptoms have been relieved. I used to have constant bloating and the pain I was in 24/7 trying to hold in “wind” in public is something I’ve almost forgotten about. On the down side though I have never felt so weak. I seem to be lacking enthusiasm and strength. I have also had the flu 2 weeks ago and was off work for 4 days. Now I don’t know if I was going to get the flu anyway or not, or whether following this diet would have left my immune system slightly deficient I don’t know, I’m not a nutrition expert. I welcome your advice.

Well …. great work! Remember that acids stored in body tissue (fat!) have to pass through the blood in order to be eliminated. This can give you flu like symptoms and leave you feeling weak.

I would encourage you to keep doing everything you can to eliminate the acid. That would mean continuing with your diet, 3 – 4 litres a day of alkaline water with greens, gentle enjoyable exercise and skin brushing. Colonic hydrotherapy or enemas, using clay and skin brushing may also help.

Ensuring adequate intake of dark green leafy vegetables, their juices and wheatgrass juice should help build haemoglobin and therefore energy levels. Avocados, hemp oil and nuts and seeds should provide calories. Sprouted seeds, beans, pulses and grains are alkalising and calorific too. The pHlavor spray can help energise you too.

Please Note: The answers above do not replace the advice of a qualified physician.

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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