Having a cold during summer made me is almost over and now I can almost taste the sweet life again - outside, in the sun, walking around without stuff dripping from my nose...and guess whaaat? Everybody at work is sick now. BUT, BUT before you start pointing toes and fingers - it is definitely not my fault. Last week I didn't even go to work. My colleagues should blame it on their own crappy immune systems.
Speaking of immune system, I'm seriously thinking about starting to eat alkaline, or at least more alkaline than now. I've been stuffing too much cheese, meat, pizza and donuts in my belly the last....ummm I don't even know how long it's been. But I'm not feeling good, I'm tired the whole time, and have back pains and please if I don't stop whining like a spoiled little princess sleeping on a pea, just slap me across the face really hard. Maybe I'll forgive you and will finally shut up.
Or maybe I will just punch you back in the face and start whining about how much my fist now hurts. You have to take a chance. Who knows? It's all written in the stars. And I'll be counting them with One Republic.
OK, now concentrate! Alkaline eating!!!! Rigghht! I've heard about alkaline eating long ago and I've read a lot of scientific articles about the alkaline diet and its influence on our health. Lately I've also been googling a lot about that (because Google is the best source of everything), and I'm just surprised how popular this way of eating has gotten.
People who've tried alkaline diet claim to feel really energized, to have no headaches, to have gotten rid of cellulite (what's light about cellulite? Got it? cellu-light...um ok doesn't matter), skins glowing, hairs growing...
Stop it! I'm SOLD! I'm gonna try it out!!! You had me at cellulite, and I especially liked the part about getting rid of it. And if my skin glows and my hairs grow...that's a nice bonus.
You must think I'm so superficial. But I'm just a woman. Of course I want to be more energetic and headache-free, but I forgot to tell you what the alkaline diet is. Maybe you don't know. So here I go, try to stop me!
Did you know that the human body is made up of approximately 100 trillion cells (that’s one hundred million million, thank you Wikipedia :*) with only 10% of these cells being actually human and the other 90% bacteria (mostly found in the gut and on the skin)?
See I didn't know the exact numbers. Now I know. But what I do know is that like us humans, each one of those cells has its own life, its own purpose and needs the help of other cells to fulfill its purpose in the human body. Who's superficial now, ha?
To keep these cells performing at their best the body needs to maintain certain conditions - among others a neutral to slightly alkaline pH. For the most part the lungs and the kidneys take good care of the acid-alkaline balance, working hard and removing constantly excess acids and bases from the body.
Choosing what to eat is one of the very few decisions we are privileged to make for our bodies. This way we can also influence the body’s acid-base balance.
So by choosing alkaline and not acid forming foods you can make it easier for your body to function properly.
In general: High protein & sugar foods are acid forming. Foods rich in potassium citrate (vegetables) are alkaline forming.
- meats, fish, dairy products, and grains are almost exclusively metabolized to acids;
- grains are acid forming, but not as acidifying as animal products;
- fats and oils are neutral;
- seeds and nuts are for the most part also acid forming. Hazelnuts, almonds, chestnuts, sunflower and pumpkin seeds are the exceptions - they're base-forming;
- most fruits and all vegetables are metabolized to bases.
And yes it is what I ate yesterday for dinner.
And guess what? It is an acid forming food. Mainly sulfuric acid forming. And no I'm not proud. But I needed a picture of acidifying foods here to show you what they look like. So in a way, this is me doing you a favor and it was a huge sacrifice. You are welcome WORLD! I'm kidding of course, I was just hungry and didn't have anything to eat at home.
I don't know about you, but I'm not exactly ecstatic about having sulfuric acid in my body. I've been avoiding it like the devil since I'm alive. Even in the laboratory. It's not something that our organisms need, and something they can make any use of. Have you seen a sulfuric acid burn? I've seen some reports and it looks painful to say the least.
Time for a little quiz!!!Woooo, I love quizes!!! That's not a word is it? Well you know what I mean.
What do you think happens in your body after you eat a pepperoni pizza for example?
a) you're one step closer to being fat
b) you're one step closer to having a cardiovascular disease
c) an acid overload is generated
Bingo! All the three are correct!
But now let's just have a little monologue about c). This excess acid must be neutralized and then removed from our precious organisms. If the acid is not neutralized before elimination it would burn the kidney tissue.
For the neutralization the body uses its own base reserves from the bones (calcium and magnesium) and the muscles (nitrogen). So when you get rid of the acid, you also lose some of your mineral reserves - means bones and muscles get weaker, and maybe a little achy breaky.
Over time, if you continue eating crap expect no good - osteoporosis, muscle loss and kidney stones are some of the health complications of an acidifying diet.
Benefits of an alkaline diet
The good news is, if you start eating alkaline, or at least increase your fruit and vegetable intake, you can improve your bone health, growth hormone levels, increase muscle mass and even relieve lower back pain.
Most fruits and vegetables contain certain compounds that activate detoxification liver enzymes and toxins are removed faster at a higher urinary pH. This means that eating alkaline will also enhance the detoxification in your body - you don't need to make all those juicing diets for weeks and then start eating crap right after, because this benefits only the people making the juices, not you. You can of course consume juices & smoothies, I even recommend it - as a snack, or as a single meal, but not exclusively.
Conclusion
Eat more fruits and vegetables. That's it. Groundbreaking I know.
Cheese, meats, fish and grains should of course also be consumed, because we actually do need protein like everybody's saying. But please in moderation and always combine with base forming foods (like I said mostly vegetables and fruits) so you don't waste valuable nutrients - make it about 70/30 on your plates, mkaay?
Soon I'll start to practice what I preach and will keep you updated on my alkaline challenge, but I will have to ease into it - I don't believe you can change everything from one day to the other, so it'll probably take 1 or 2 weeks. You can start easing into alkaline eating too. Do it!
Sources:
Savage, D. C. (1977). "Microbial Ecology of the Gastrointestinal Tract". Annual Review of Microbiology 31: 107–33
Dawson-Hughes B, Harris SS, Ceglia L (2008): "Alkaline diets favor lean tissue mass in older adults". American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 87:662-665
Deanna M. M. and S. B. Jeffrey (2007). Acid-alkaline Balance: Role in Chronic Disease and Detoxification. Alternative therapy 13(4):62-65
Schwalfenberg GK: The alkaline diet: is there evidence that an alkaline pH diet benefits health? Journal of Environmental and Public Health 2012, 2012:727630