AA
No this is not about Alcoholics Anonymous. It’s about the Acid/Alkaline balance in your body and why it is so important.
The measurement of the acid level or the acidity of any substance is known as pH. Water has pH of 7 so it’s considered neutral. Any substance that has a pH level less than 7 is considered acidic and if the pH is greater than 7 it is considered basic (alkaline).
The normal pH of human blood flowing through the arteries is 7.4 and through the veins (deoxygenated blood) is about 7.35. You control this pH by what you eat and drink.
If you don’t keep your pH neutral or slightly alkaline you can cause yourself a host of problems from gout to acid stomach to many other really bad health conditions. It is believed that if you keep your pH balance more towards the acid side for too long, you increase the likelihood of developing cancers. To make your body a happy camper, you always want to try and eat and drink in such a manner that keeps blood acid levels at least neutral.
For the most part, meats and grains are highly acidic, meaning, they create an acidic environment in your body. So too does dairy products and alcohol – beer especially (I weep).
Foods that cause an alkaline environment are most veggies and fruits. But here is the thing – just because a fruit is an acid fruit this doesn’t mean that when it goes into your body it lowers your pH creating an acid environment.
Example: Next time you have heartburn don’t reach for the antacid – drink some lemon water. "A glass of liquid acid! Preposterous!" But if you take my advice your heartburn will vanish almost as fast as you can say Jackie Robinson. No more Zantac.
Better still is to make sure that when you eat your grassfed beef, your organic chicken and dairy products, you consume a goodly amount of organic veggies.
The great kings of olde would have diverted their gout entirely if in one hand they held their massive turkey leg and in the other a stalk of broccoli instead of meade. We live, we learn!
