The alkaline diet

Even if you don’t have any major desire to save the planet, you may still be concerned with your health, and you may even have stumbled upon the excellent and very natural alkaline diet.

The alkaline diet advocates eating food that creates a slightly alkaline environment in the body, which is then conducive to perfect health. Some people even believe that keeping the body within an optimal pH range is a matter of life or death.

I am one of those people and I base it on the fact that an organism that is acid is advertising to various decomposition elements that it is dying, or is dead.

Soon after the heart stops beating, cells become deprived of oxygen, and their acidity increases as the toxic by-products of chemical reactions begin to accumulate inside them (1).

What happens when your body becomes acid?

When the body becomes acid, enzymes already present in the body start to digest cells. These enzymes only go into action when the body becomes acid, because it is the only environment in which it can function.

The same can be said for huge quantities of bacteria present in the body. The immune system keeps these in check while the body is slightly alkaline, but as soon as it becomes acid, the bacteria thrive and start to digest the flesh.

Normal metabolic function creates acid as a toxic byproduct and this is safely dealt with by the kidneys in a body that is at a healthy pH level – slightly alkaline. But, if the body is too acid, the kidneys can’t cope so the excess acid gets stored in the blood, ready for disposal later. (2)

If the acid continues to accumulate, though, it runs out of safe storage areas and the corrosive acid permeates the cells in the body. The enzymes and bacteria can’t tell the difference between an acid live body or an acid dead one, so they get started. The process creates diseases.

When our pH level is unbalanced, almost any area of our bodies can be negatively affected creating results such as cancer, heart disease, obesity, weight problems, allergies, fatigue and premature aging as well as problems with our nervous system, cardiovascular system and muscles. (3)

So, whether it’s a matter of life or death, or a matter of having a healthy pain-free, disease-free body, it makes sense to keep the body within the optimal pH range.

How to check your acidity level

But what does this mean? The first thing is to find out what the acidity level is in the body and the second thing is to understand what the figure means.

It’s easy to do. You can use pH strips specially created for the purpose. Some pharmacies stock them, or you can get them on Amazon.

You just spit on them or pee on them, and within 15 seconds they turn to a colour that you test against the colour indicator.

This is what they look like:

As you can see, the pH values range from 4.5 through to 9.0. 4.5 is very acid and 9.0 is very alkaline. In comparison, vinegar is 3.0 while baking soda is 9.0.

7 is neutral and good water has a pH of 7. The ideal body pH is 7.3 to 7.45. That is quite a narrow range so it does mean that one should take great care to keep within it.

How to alkalise your body

The best way to alkalise your body is to get lots of oxygen into it by exercising and even deep breathing – or singing. Also, one should avoid certain acid forming foods and drinks in favour of alkaline forming foods and drinks.

For a detailed list of which foods you should eat, and which to avoid, you can download an excellent pdf chart from http://www.energiseforlife.com/

You will see from that chart that the recommended foods are also listed in our natural and ethical diet. I’ve added an acid/alkaline column to our chart of natural ethical foods with an added column – alkaline/acid range.