Being pH balanced, alkalinity versus acidity, living an alkaline diet lifestyle is nothing new. During the early 1930s, Swedish chemist, nutritionist Dr. Ragnar Berg intensely studied the relationship between the acid-alkaline ratio in the diet and effects on health. According to Dr. Berg, the body needs to maintain a slightly alkaline level of 7.35 – 7.45 pH for fighting diseases and maintaining optimal health.
So why aren’t we all living the health alkaline lifestyle today? The answer probably is convenience. Our high stress fast paced way of living demands fast foods on-the-go to go along with it. Because we have to make a lot of money now to pay our bills we don’t take the time to eat healthy. We sacrifice our health for convenience.
A wise doctor once said, “Disease is complicated, health is not.”
Treating disease can be very costly accompanied by horrible side effects of the medications. Preventing disease is much more affordable and has no side effects. Becoming healthy by eating healthy is much easier to achieve, it’s something we all can do if we choose to.
Dr. Ragnar Berg’s Health Alkaline Lifestyle
Dr. Ragnar Berg suggests that people should be consuming give or take 80 percent of alkaline forming foods and 20 percent of acid forming foods each meal. Why is this delicate alkaline balance so important? Dr. Berg’s research proved that disease cannot live in an alkaline environment. He was the first scientist to discover the importance of the acid-base balance.
Again, our body’s system is always regulating and adjusting itself to keep our blood plasma at a pH between 7.35 and 7.45. We can assist our temples, however, by choosing to add alkaline forming foods to our diet.
The pH balance refers to how alkaline or acidic our body is, particularly saliva, blood and tissues. Every function performed by any organ in the body depends on that range of pH level.
The big question is, which foods should you eat? To start your health alkaline lifestyle, download this wonderful acid vs alkaline food chart that lists which foods are acid-forming and which are alkaline-forming after digestion and assimilation. The list is very detailed, even down to spices and minerals.
What Makes Food Alkaline or Acidic?
Remember that a food’s acidity or alkalizing ability in the body is not tied to the actual pH of the food itself. A food is considered to be acidic or alkalizing based on the effect on our system after it has been processed in our bodies. One common example is that highly acidic lemon juice actually has an alkalizing effect in the body.
Annemarie Colbin, PhD, author of “Food and Healing,” gives a wonderful overview of the acid-base balance and health risks that may result from eating a highly acidic diet.
“There are a number of diseases that may be aggravated by a pH imbalance in the blood,” says Colbin. She includes heart problems, osteoporosis, and high blood pressure.
“What I found first was that the protein foods (meats, fish, beans) as well as the carbohydrates (flour, grains, sugar) all create an acid condition by leaving carbonic acid, sulfuric acid, and phosphoric acid,” says Colbin. “Fruits and vegetables, as well as salt, all leave behind minerals such as potassium, magnesium, iron, calcium, and sodium, which buffer the acids and are thereby alkalizing.”
So the more alkalizing foods one eats, the more alkaline or pH-balanced the body will become. But try to stick to the 80/20 rule in your alkaline diet to maintain the delicate alkaline balance in your body for an easy healthy alkaline lifestyle.
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