How to live with lupus

Eat and Live Healthy

STEP THREE

What You Should Know About Shifting Your pH Toward Alkaline

The pH (potential of Hydrogen) is a measure of the acidity or alkalinity of a solution. A pH of 7.0 neutral, below 7.0 is acidic and above 7.0 is alkaline.

An imblanced diet high in acidic-producing foods such as sugar, caffeine, soft drinks, white flour, processed foods and animal products like meat, eggs and dairy puts pressure on the body’s regulating systems to maintain pH neutrality.

Modern fast-paced lifestyle, emotional stress, drugs, toxic overload and diet promote acidification of the body’s internal environment. An acidic balance will decrease the body’s ability to absorb nutrients and minerals, deprive the cells of oxygen and make it more susceptible to fatigue and illness. A healthy body usually keeps large alkaline reserves which are used to meet the emergency demands but these reserves can be depleted if too many acid-producing foods are consumed. A build up of acids in the cells will then occur and health can be seriously menaced.

For an optimum health, it is imperative to correct an overly acidic body with a change in diet and lifestyle.

What Is The Body’s pH?

The body’s pH should be slightly alkaline (7.35 - 7.45). It is vitally important that there is a proper ratio between acid and alkaline foods in the diet. When such an ideal ratio is maintained, the body has a strong resistance against disease. A normal healthy body’s diet should consist of 80% alkaline forming foods and 20% acid forming foods.

Your body can function normally and sustain health only in the presence of adequate alkaline reserves and the proper acid alkaline ratio in all the body tissues and the blood.

In the healing of disease i.e. patient has acidosis, the higher the ratio of alkaline elements in the diet, the faster will be the recovery.

In general, alkaline forming foods include most fruits, green vegetables, seeds and nuts, beans, lentils, spices, herbs and seasonings. We need to avoid processed, sugary and simple-carbohydrate foods, because they are acid-producing, nutrient-lacking and may be toxic and they raise blood sugar level too quickly (high glycemic index).

The food’s acid or alkaline forming in the body has nothing to do with the actual pH of the food itself. Take for example: Lemons are very acidic, however once it’s absorb in the body, they produce after digestion and assimilation are very alkaline. Lemons then become alkaline-forming in the body.

Meat on the other hand will test alkaline before digestion but acidic after. So meat is acid-forming. It is vitally important that your daily dietary intake of food naturally acts to balance your body pH.