Going on an alkaline diet is one of the simplest and most practical things you can do to maintain good health and avoid disease. Proponents of an alkaline diet cannot overstate its importance. According to them, the fundamental principle of the alkaline diet is that alkaline-forming nutrients, vitamins, and minerals from foods, supplements, and water can help return the body to its optimal state of balance. This, in turn, ensures the absence of ailments and diseases and infuses the body with tremendous energy and vitality.
It is generally believed that excess acidity in the body can lead to chronic health problems. Bacteria, viruses, and infections are thought to thrive greatly in a highly acidic environment. In fact, pH (potentiality to hydrogen) tests performed on many cancer patients revealed a highly acidic body environment. In everyday life, a diet that is too acidic can manifest itself through fatigue, gum and tooth problems, pain and inflammation, and premature aging.
An alkaline diet can help your body in several ways.
• It can help your body absorb more essential vitamins, nutrients, and minerals in their natural form. Consequently, it can help your immune system better resist infections and foreign bodies that initiate bodily imbalances that lead to disease.
• It can help provide the means by which your body can neutralize acids and toxins that can wreak havoc on your blood, lymph, tissues, and cells.
• It can also help increase energy and increase stamina to enable your body to better withstand the daily challenges and stresses it is subjected to.
• It can help keep various aches and pains away. Pain in the different parts of the body is usually due to inflammation. This condition can be overcome with an alkaline diet rich in the mineral magnesium. As it is known to support joint and tissue health, this can help ensure that arthritis, rheumatism, and other nagging pain are avoided.
Getting into an alkaline diet is as easy as gradually incorporating various changes and modifications into your current diet. Although this transition requires a major change in your attitude toward food, it’s important to realize that change cannot be implemented overnight. The important point to remember is that small changes go a long way.
Here are 10 steps to an alkaline diet that can do wonders for your health.
1.) Eat more fresh vegetables and fruits. Try to incorporate vegetables and fruits into every meal. During breakfast, be sure to eat a piece of apple or banana. It may be best to take them on an empty stomach. Drinking fruit juice instead of coffee can improve it. Try to include some salad with lots of green leafy vegetables at lunch and dinner.
two.) Decrease your consumption of beef, pork or chicken and try to substitute it with fish (such as mackerel, salmon, trout, tuna) or turkey.. The last named protein sources contain considerably less harmful fats and have more beneficial fats in them.
3.) Avoid eating processed foods such as deli meats, canned fruits, breads, peanut butter, canned soups, hot dogs, and sausages. You may also want to avoid condiments like ketchup, mayonnaise salad dressings, cheese sauces, and the like. These are packed with acid-forming substances that can wreak havoc on your system once digested.
4.) Reduce your sugar intake and products made with sugar, such as candy, ice cream, soft drinks, cookies, jams, donuts, puddings, gum and the like. Sugary foods also form acids.
5.) Reduce your consumption of dairy products such as milk, cheese, butter, as well as eggs. These are mostly acid-forming foods.
6.) Eat more grilled or roasted foods and less fried foods. Fried foods tend to have higher levels of fat and are therefore higher in calories. These foods also tend to cause higher levels of acidity in the body due to the chemical interactions of the fat and oil with food and other substances in the body.
7.) Spice up your food. Most spices such as turmeric, basil, bay leaves, tarragon, thyme, coriander, dill, marjoram, cinnamon, curry, ginger, garlic, and cayenne pepper contain substances antioxidants and other phytochemicals that are beneficial for alkaline balance and therefore overall health.
8.) Increase your intake of alkaline-forming grains such as quinoa, rye, wild rice, and amaranth, as they are good sources of vitamins, minerals, and essential nutrients that form the foundation of a balanced alkaline diet.
9.) Drink herbal tea instead of coffee.. Coffee is highly acid-forming and you may want to substitute herbal teas such as chamomile tea, ginger tea, lemongrass tea, fennel tea, and peppermint tea to help improve alkalinity levels in your body. her body.
10.) Drink a lot of water. Try to consume at least half your body weight in ounces of good quality water each day. If possible, choose spring water, mineral water, or alkaline water. If you’re drinking tap water, try adding a slice of lemon or lime, as they tend to improve the alkalinity of the water. Avoid drinking distilled water as it forms acid.
However, keep in mind that an alkaline diet does not mean the absence of acid-forming foods. An optimal balance of consuming 80% alkalizing foods and 20% acidifying foods is a viable formula for maintaining healthy alkalinity levels. Too much of any one food will result in an imbalance that will again trigger the onset of illnesses, ailments, aches and pains.
So try to follow the 10 practical steps towards an alkaline diet mentioned above and these will gradually create the proper alkaline balance within your body. Remember that when the body’s pH levels are in balance, the body reaches the ideal weight and naturally corrects negative health problems.