Dr. Robert Young on Alkaline Foods and Alkaline Water

This is an interview with Dr. Robert Young. He is a medical microbiologist at the forefront of research on the effects of the acid/alkaline balance in the human body. He is also the author of the book: The pH Miracle: Balance Your Diet, Reclaim Your Health.

How would you describe a healthy person?

Very simply, someone who’s in a state of balance. That means the internal fluids of the body are in total alkaline balance. External signs you’re not healthy include allergies, hair loss, toenail fungus, rough skin on feet, acne, rashes and coughs, among other indicators.

How can people obtain alkaline balance in their physical health?

They can achieve that through lifestyle and diet. Certain foods are alkaline and others are acidic. Actual measurements of each in the body are monitored through tests of the saliva, blood and urine.

To begin, I’d advise a person to get as hydrated as possible, especially if they’re ill in some way. Twenty-one million people have arthritis. It’s a symptom of acid in the bones and joints, which means they need to super-hydrate. People who are sick have body fluids that are heavy, thick and toxic, which represents an over-acidic imbalance. To deal with the excess acid in the fluids and tissues, one has to begin a process of super-hydration by drinking pH alkaline water, or what I call “structured water” that has been altered to enhance certain benefits, such as alkalinity.

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What are some of the visible symptoms of a body that is too acidic?

Signs of an Acidic Body affecting Health

All acids are created through the body’s breakdown of foods to create energy. In other words, acids are created via metabolism, respiration, digestion, and cellular breakdown and regeneration. Excess acid is the expression of sickness and disease. Gout, diabetes and cancer: You can’t have a specific symptom without a specific acid. Body odor is another sign of excessive acidity, as is bad breath, acid reflux, indigestion, low blood sugars, high blood sugars, low energy and fatigue. All are expressions of the body’s inability to remove acids sufficiently. Skin blemishes, such as acne, eczema and psoriasis, are acids that the body is not eliminating properly.

What are the ingredients of a healthy lifestyle?

It’s a triangle, which I call the “tri of life.” Physiology effects psychology, psychology affects the physiology and, of course, both affect our true essence. Those are the three sides of the triangle. They’re all interconnected; one affects the other. If you don’t feel good, you can’t think well and if you can’t think well, you can’t do well.

Stress has a huge impact on physiology because it’s energy. In one minute of dealing with a stressful situation, you can put your whole body into an acidic state. It has an impact on your body’s environment and causes disturbances at the cellular level, which causes cells to breakdown and throws someone into a state of excess acidity. If we worry too much, we can actually worry ourselves sick. That’s why people get upset stomachs and tension headaches when they worry about things. The solution is to help maintain the integrity of the body’s fluids through a process of alkalizing and hydration (alkaline water). If a person is in a stressful state, they do a lot better if they’re hydrating properly with alkaline water.

Alkaline Foods? What are the best and the worst foods people can eat?

Green foods are the best, particularly the cucumber, which is probably one of the most alkalizing foods. Also, spinach, celery and the avocado, which is one of the most complete foods you can eat. Raw nuts and seeds are a good source of protein, but soak them in water for a few hours before you eat them. Soaking them increases alkaline, decreases fat content, releases pesticides and makes the food easier to digest. People worry about getting enough protein if they don’t eat animal products but vegetables provide more than most people realize. For example, 47% of the calories from broccoli are protein. Basil, cilantro and fenugreek are great herbs to add to your diet; they’re natural laxatives and can lower cholesterol. Eat a lot of garlic and onions, as they have great anti-fungal benefits. A good plate of food should be 20% cooked foods and 80% vegetables or salad. And chew; people don’t chew their food enough.

Some of the worst foods are fermented. An example is vinegar, which is a diluted form of the neurotoxin acetaldehyde. Also, avoid miso, tempeh, yeast and mushrooms. Chicken, eggs and pork are all very dirty and some of the worst foods you can put in the body. Too much protein makes you too acid, and all diseases start with an acid environment. The largest animals on land survive on no animal products, including elephants, rhinos, gorillas, hippos and giraffes.

Dairy is just as bad; it’s full of lactose, a sugar that produces lactic acid—the acid I associate with cancer. Dairy products coat your intestines, blocking the body from absorbing nutrients—and it will make you hungry all the time. It’s a big myth that milk gives you calcium: Heavy milk drinkers have the lowest levels of calcium. Sugar is another bad one: It will decrease the immune system immediately and it feeds any disease or virus in your body. Fake sugars change the dopamine levels in the brain; they literally change your brain chemistry.

What are “supergreens,” and how can they help a person achieve a more alkaline state?

“Supergreens,” or green powders, are the foundation of a proper alkaline environment for the body, which I believe is at the core of building healthy blood. Healthy blood, in turn, builds cells, such as muscle and bone. To say it another way, the quality of the blood determines the quality of the body’s cells, and the quality of the foods we eat determines the quality of the blood. The “blood” of plants is structured much like our own, and the more green foods we eat, the better.

What about other supplements? Are they beneficial?

Many supplements on the market are ineffective. The vital part of a supplement is its energy value, its electron concentration, its electrical potential and its pH. But the composition of a supplement is primarily concentrated food and, in this culture, foods are over-processed. Over-processing destroys energy, meaning the electrons. The most important part of food is the electron and that’s what I’m trying to derive in a concentrated form in my products. I’m trying to deliver more electrons or life force to the body.

All the diet and exercise programs out there are confusing. What should someone look for?

One reason there’s so much confusion is because people don’t understand the nature of matter. Matter cannot be created or destroyed; it can only be organized or disorganized, and the condition in which it organizes or disorganizes is its environment. The primary factor for determining the health of a cell is its environment. The cell is only as healthy as its environment.

A metaphor I often use to explain this concept is “a fish is only as healthy as the water it swims in.” Everyone always focuses on the fish; no one thinks about the fish’s environment. So when people are looking at different weight-loss programs, they’re focused on the matter, not the environment. Obesity is not about fat, it’s about acid. It’s a totally different focus. It’s about the environment around the cells and the body’s ability to maintain an alkaline state, which is the preferred state.

What’s important to keep in mind about exercise?

Exercise has to be done within reason so that you don’t create more acidity. “No pain, no gain” is harmful to the body. The body, and in particular the cells, do not know what type of exercise machine you’re using. If you can, do exercises that help move the lymphatics, such as swimming, walking, jogging and low-impact machines, such as the cross-training elliptical machines. One exercise machine I really like is the rebounder, a mini-trampoline, because it helps move the lymphatics and create circulation, and at the same time moves acids up to and out of the skin’s surface. Weight-lifting, done in moderation, is also fine.

Robert O. Young, Ph.D, is a medical microbiologist at the forefront of research on the effects of the acid/alkaline balance in the human body. His mission is to widen understanding of the necessity for this balance based on a healthy lifestyle, nutritious food, nutritional supplementation and structured alkaline water. In addition to working with NASA, the United Nations and other organizations on worldwide health initiatives, he’s the author of numerous research articles and books, including The pH Miracle: Balance Your Diet, Reclaim Your Health and The pH Miracle for Weight Loss: Balance Your Body Chemistry, Achieve Your Ideal Weight. In this interview, Young describes how balancing out the acid in your body can increase your overall health.

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