2010. június 20., vasárnap

Understanding the Alkalizing Diet

The main concept behind the pH miracle diet is to maintain a balance of pH in the foods that you eat. The human body is slightly alkaline and therefore it is better for your health to eat a diet composed of alkalizing foods.

The main concept behind the pH miracle diet is to maintain a balance of pH in the foods that you eat. The human body is slightly alkaline and therefore it is better for your health to eat a diet composed of alkalizing foods. When you eat too many acidic foods, your system becomes unbalanced and it can cause a whole host of problems, including weight gain, poor concentration, fatigue and depressed immunity that can lead to more serious conditions.

The pH miracle diet relies on lists of foods that are acidic (to be avoided) and alkalizing (to be emphasized). The alkalizing foods are better for your health and help to balance the pH of your body. While acid, alkaline and pH are common terms, many people do not understand exactly what they mean and what they have to do with nutrition and health.

The word “basic” comes from the Greek word “basis” which means foundation. “Basic” relates to the properties of acidity and alkalinity. These conditions are determined at the foundation of the cells that the foods are made up of. So an external treatment does not change a food from acid to alkaline. Foods are acid or alkaline at their base, or foundation.

Acid and alkaline are chemical opposites. Whenever these bases interact with acids, there is a struggle between them and salt is the result. In the chemist’s lab, these interactions are very simple and straightforward. However, in our bodies, the interaction becomes more complex because of the scale at which acids and bases meet.

However, science can make some generalizations about the effects of acids and alkaline in the human digestion system. Acidic foods are acid forming in the human body. They make blood, lymph and saliva more acid and cause a lower pH number. Alkaline foods make blood, lymph and saliva more alkaline and cause a higher pH number.

Just for reference, the “normal” range for saliva pH is between 7.3 and 7.4. Most people, however, are too acidic and have a pH that is much lower. They are burned out, tired and their bodies are starving for balance. Under the influence of acidic foods the muscles fatigue easily. You literally slow down because your body cannot produce the same physical results as before.

The free radical oxidation that occurs when you eat acidic foods makes you age faster. Vitamins and minerals are not absorbed as readily. Friendly bacteria in the small intestine die, which puts the digestive system off balance. Further hurting the function of the intestine is the fact that a high level of acidity inhibits the ability for intestinal walls to absorb nutrients. Cells become stressed with the toxins that build up and cannot remove them. The vast majority of bodily systems cannot run at full
capacity.

On the other hand, alkaline foods have a wide variety of benefits to your health. Eating them improves your muscle output. They also have antioxidant effects in the body. They increase assimilation at the cellular level and allow cells to operate in the manner that they should. There is a reduction of parasites and yeast overgrowth with the use of alkaline foods. Alkaline foods promote deeper and more restful sleep, more youthful skin and relieve suffering from colds, headaches and the flu. Alkaline foods promote abundant physical energy.

Perhaps the most important differences between acid and alkaline foods are their relationship to cancer. Cancerous tissues are acidic, and health tissues are alkaline. When oxygen enters an acidic solution it combines with hydrogen ions can form water. Oxygen helps to neutralize the acid, but acid prevents oxygen from reaching tissues where it is needed. When oxygen enters an alkaline solution, the two hydroxyl ions combine with the solution to create one water molecule and one oxygen atom. The sole oxygen atom is free to go to the next cell and bring the benefits of oxygen to
all of the tissue in the body. At a pH of slightly above 7.4, cancer cells become dormant. Studies show that at pH 8.5, cancer cells die and healthy cells live.

Alkalizing diet has many benefits, in addition to cancer prevention. The alkaline food list is a selection of choices that will benefit your health when you start incorporating them into your body.

Let's read about Beata's experience about alkalizing diet:
"For the first time in my life “a diet” has worked and the results stay! And the process is actually ongoing all the time as during the alkalisation we should go back to our natural weight! So it even works in cases of underweight. And even if I’m reaching out for the acidic products I know what to do not to experience too many side effects of it;) But the most important things is that the alkalising way of living is a holistic approach and a base of good health on all levels. Because the whole cleansing process works not only on the body, but also mind and the spiritual level! I believe that during the physical alkalisation at some point I noticed a big personal and spiritual growth in progress:)"

For more information: www.innerlightinc.com/alkalizingtimes

For free alkalizing diet consultation contact Balazs: alkalizingtimes@innrlightinc.com

Unhealthy Acidic Foods - Try to avoid them!

Meat, Poultry, And Fish

Beef -34.5
Chicken (to -22) -18.0
Eggs (to -22)
Liver -3.0
Ocean Fish -20.0
Organ Meats -3.0
Oysters -5.0
Pork -38.0
Veal -35.0

Milk And Milk Products

Buttermilk +1.3
Cream -3.9
Hard Cheese -18.1
Homogenized Milk -1.0
Quark -17.3

Bread, Biscuits (Stored Grains/Risen Dough)

Rye Bread -2.5
White Biscuit -6.5
White Bread -10.0
Whole-Grain Bread -4.5
Whole-Meal Bread -6.5

Nuts

Cashews -9.3
Peanuts -12.8
Pistachios -16.6

Fats
Butter -3.9
Corn Oil -6.5
Margarine -7.5

Sweets
Artificial Sweetners -26.5
Barley Malt Syrup -9.3
Beet Sugar -15.1
Brown Rice Syrup -8.7
Chocolate -24.6
Dr. Bronner's Barley
Dried Sugar Cane Juice -18.0
Fructose -9.5
Honey -7.6
Malt Sweetner -9.8
Milk Sugar -9.4
Molasses -14.6
Turbinado Sugar -9.5
White Sugar -17.6


Condiments

Ketchup -12.4
Mayonaise -12.5
Mustard -19.2
Soy Sauce -36.2
Vinegar -39.4


Beverages

Beer -26.8
Coffee -25.1
Fruit Juice Sweetened With
Fruit Juice, Packaged, Natural -8.7
Liquor -38.7
Tea (Black) -27.1
White Sugar -33.6
Wine -16.4

Miscellaneous
Canned Foods
Microwaved Foods
Processed Foods

Source: "Back To The House Of Health" by Shelley Redford Young)

Visit: www.innerlightinc.com/alkalizingtimes

Foods you should only consume moderately


Fruits (In Season, For Cleansing Only Or With Moderation)


Apricot -9.5
Bananna, Ripe -10.1
Bananna, Unripe +4.8
Black Currant -6.1
Blueberry -5.3
Cantaloupe -2.5
Cherry, Sour +3.5
Cherry, Sweet -3.6
Coconut, Fresh +0.5
Cranberry -7.0
Currant -8.2
Date -4.7
Fig Juice Powder -2.4
Gooseberry, Ripe -7.7
Grape, Ripe -7.6
Grapefruit -1.7
Italian Plum -4.9
Mandarin Orange -11.5
Mango -8.7
Orange -9.2
Papaya -9.4
Peach -9.7
Pear -9.9
Pineapple -12.6
Rasberry -5.1
Red Currant -2.4
Rose Hips -15.5
Strawberry -5.4
Tangerine -8.5
Watermelon -1.0
Yellow Plum -4.9


Non-Stored Grains

Brown Rice -12.5
Wheat -10.1

Nuts
Hazelnuts -2.0
Macadamia Nuts -3.2
Walnuts -8.0

Fish
Fresh Water Fish -11.8

Fats
Coconut Milk -1.5
Sunflower Oil -6.7

Healthy Alkaline Foods - Eat lots of them!

Healthy Alkaline Foods - Eat lots of them!

Vegetables

Alfalfa Grass +29.3
Asparagus +1.3
Barley Grass +28.1
Brussels Sprouts +0.5
Cabbage Lettuce, Fresh +14.1
Cauliflower +3.1
Cayenne Pepper +18.8
Celery +13.3
Chives +8.3
Comfrey +1.5
Cucumber, Fresh +31.5
Dandelion +22.7
Dog Grass +22.6
Endive, Fresh +14.5
French Cut Green Beans +11.2
Garlic +13.2
Green Cabbage December Harvest +4.0
Green Cabbage, March Harvest +2.0
Kamut Grass +27.6
Lamb's Lettuce +4.8
Leeks (Bulbs) +7.2
Lettuce +2.2
Onion +3.0
Peas, Fresh +5.1
Peas, Ripe +0.5
Red Cabbage +6.3
Rhubarb Stalks +6.3
Savoy Cabbage +4.5
Shave Grass +21.7
Sorrel +11.5
Soy Sprouts +29.5
Spinach (Other Than March) +13.1
Spinach, March Harvest +8.0
Sprouted Chia Seeds +28.5
Sprouted Radish Seeds +28.4
Straw Grass +21.4
Watercress +7.7
Wheat Grass +33.8
White Cabbage +3.3
Zucchini +5.7


Root Vegetables


Beet +11.3
Carrot +9.5
Horseradish +6.8
Kohlrabi +5.1
Potatoes +2.0
Red Radish +16.7
Rutabaga +3.1
Summer Black Radish +39.4
Turnip +8.0
White Radish (Spring) +3.1

Fruits

Avocado (Protein) +15.6
Fresh Lemon +9.9
Limes +8.2
Tomato +13.6

Non-Stored Organic Grains And Legumes

Buckwheat Groats +0.5
Granulated Soy (Cooked Ground Soy Beans) +12.8
Lentils +0.6
Lima Beans +12.0
Soy Flour +2.5
Soy Lecithin (Pure) +38.0
Soy Nuts (soaked Soy Beans, Then Air Dried) +26.5
Soybeans, Fresh +12.0
Spelt +0.5
Tofu +3.2
White Beans (Navy Beans) +12.1

Nuts

Almonds +3.6
Brazil Nuts +0.5

Seeds

Caraway Seeds +2.3
Cumin Seeds +1.1
Fennel Seeds +1.3
Flax Seeds +1.3
Pumpkin Seeds +5.6
Sesame Seeds +0.5
Sunflower Seeds +5.4
Wheat Kernel +11.4

Fats (Fresh, Cold-Pressed Oils)

Borage Oil +3.2
Evening Primrose Oil +4.1
Flax Seed Oil +3.5
Marine Lipids +4.7
Olive Oil +1.0

Sweetener
Stevia

Source: "Back To The House Of Health" by Shelley Redford Young

2010. június 14., hétfő

12 Reasons to Avoid Acids and Stay Alkaline

ACIDOSIS:

1. Makes Us Fat! As discussed in the acidosis post I mentioned earlier – the body creates fat cells in order to protect our organs from excess acids. The fat is designed to carry these acid wastes away to other, less critical areas of the body and it clings to these organs to provide protection. Once the body is rid of acid wastes (through a healthier diet and exercise) it no longer needs to hang onto these fats for protection and it lets them go.
Alongside this – weight problems are also compounded by the result of yeast and fungus overgrowths wreaking havoc on our digestive systems. And guess what – yeast and fungus thrive in an acidic environment. Because your body is now not able to properly process foods and extract the full nutrition from the foods that you eat – your body is always telling you that you are hungry. To compound this problem, the yeasts and fungus have the greatest shout in this signal to the brain – and what do they make you hungry for – more sugar, which further fuels the yeast growth.
Following a diet of mostly alkaline foods (fresh and raw vegetables, salads, fresh alkaline fruits, seeds, nuts and pure alkaline water) will clean your system of the yeast, fungus and microform overgrowth and will flush your body of the excess survival fat that it has been clinging onto (literally for dear life!).

2. Robs Us of Energy! Principally, over-acidity will cause our body to leach alkaline minerals from our bones, muscles and other tissues to ensure that the blood maintains its delicate alkaline balance. This removal of alkaline minerals (particularly calcium) inhibits efficient and effective cellular and body metabolism – making us sluggish, tired and cloudy. Put most simply – over acidification drains our bodies of energy and inhibits the body’s ability to use stored energy reserves. And as if that was not enough – with the leaching of calcium from our bones, osteoporosis very often follows.

3. Causes Allergies: The mycotoxins that thrive in an acidic environment severly stress the immune system leading to it being constantly overworked and stimulated into response mode. The result of this is absurdly heightened sensitivity to nutrition and chemicals is what is more commonly known as an allergy. Excess mucus, soreness, swelling, eczema etc are all ways for the body to eliminate toxins.

4. Causes Free-Radical Damage and Premature Aging!: Acidosis is a symptom of – and a cause of – oxidative stress and lipid breakdown. The effect of this is that free radical damage is then promoted, attacking cell walls and membranes before killing the cells themselves. The outcome of this? Wrinkles, age spots, dysfunctional hormonal systems, poor eyesight, bad memory and foggy thinking – at the very least. Healthy cells are essential to almost every body process – so premature aging could become the least of your concerns!

5. Causes Excess Mucus: Mucus is normal. It is just another mechanism by which the body eliminates toxins – it coats everything we ingest and engulfs the toxins. When toxins are engulfed the mucus becomes sticky, thick and cloudy in order to trap the toxins in. Acidic foods and drinks always contain toxins which cause so much mucus that we seem to be constantly blowing our noses! The worst offenders are dairy products, animal protein, white flour and pastas, chocolate, coffee and alcohol

6. Corrodes and Destroys Veins, Arteries and Heart Tissues! Acid is corrosive – and overly acidic blood and bodily fluids almost immediately begins to erode and destroy cell walls of the heart, veins and arteries – leading to a much weakened cardiovascular system.

7. Inhibits the Metabolism of Fatty Acids! Fatty acids are absolutely essential to the proper functioning of the brain and nervous system – without them any number of neurological problems can arise (including depression, bipolar and other mental health problems, Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, brain development and learning in children, mood swings, ADHD and many more).

8. Causes Bad Cholesterol Problems! When we create an acidic environment in our bodies – the body creates LDL-Cholesterol at an accelerated rate. This LDL Cholesterol then causes huge amounts of clogging and cardiovascular problems.

9. Increases Blood Pressure! With the acid problems above, including increased LDL Cholesterol and compromised cell health – the heart has to work increasingly harder to move blood around the body. Acidosis is also to blame for venous vasoconstriction (meaning a decrease in diameter of the blood vessels) – which further adds to the workload of the heart and raises blood pressure!

10. Inhibits the Synthesis of DNA-RNA and Cellular Regeneration! For healthy cell regeneration and DNA-RNA synthesis – a cell pH CANNOT BE ACIDIC. On the flip side of this – for a cancer cell to grow, the cell pH HAS TO BE ACIDIC! An acid pH dramatically accelerates the possibility of the formation of mutated cells – otherwise known as cancer. Cancerous cells cannot contain hydrogen atoms – and healthy (alkaline balanced) cells contain plenty of hydrogen. In fact, the addition of hydrogen to cancerous cells actually heals them!

11. Stops Oxygen Delivery to Tissues! When our body’s are suffering from over-acidification the problem becomes compounded by the fact that an acid pH decreases the amount of oxygen than can reach our cells. Without oxygen our cells die!


12. AND FINALLY – AS A RESULT OF THIS: ACIDOSIS IS THE BASIS OF ALMOST ALL DEGENERATIVE DISEASES!
A system that is riddled with excess acids and their wastes is compromised in so many ways – including hundreds of ways that are not even mentioned above! But even from this short list it is possible to see how acidosis can directly lead to:
o cardiovascular disease (high blood pressure, heart attacks, arteriosclerosis, stroke, high cholesterol etc)
o diabetes & obesity
o liver & kidney disease
o cancer – in any form
o neurological diseases
o immune system deficiencies
o premature aging
o hormonal problems & imbalances
o osteoporosis

For more information visit: www.innerlightinc.com/alkalizingtimes

TOP 10 ALKALIZING SECRETS

Dr. Robert Young author of “The pH Miracle” has shown that fat is actually an over-acidification problem. What does that mean? The body creates fat cells to carry acids away from your vital organs, so these acids literally don't choke your organs to death. Fat is saving your life! Fat is actually a response from the body to an alarming over-acidic condition.

The body’s pH is measured on a scale of 0 – 14. Midrange at 7 is where the pH is balanced. Anything below 7 is acidic and a state where your body does not function as designed. Above 7 is called Alkaline. Alkaline is the state in which your body thrives. Disease cannot live in an alkaline environment.

When you remove acid toxins from your body, you will:
1. Flush Fat Fast resulting in easy weight loss
2. Gain Muscle Mass
3. Watch your skin glow
4. Enjoy maximum energy all day, everyday.

TOP 10 ALKALIZING SECRETS:

Alkalizing Secret #1
-- Drink Pure Alkaline Water – lots of it! Pure water meaning water that is filtered. At a minimum, you should be drinking 7 ounces of water for every 10 lbs of your body weight. So, if you weigh 130lbs, you need to drink a minimum of 91 ounces of pure water (that’s about 3 liters). Pure water meaning water that is filtered – the finest choice is an alkaline ionization unit (Jupiter is one of the finest on the market). If you don’t have this resource available, distilled water is a great choice with reverse osmosis coming next. Alkaline water means water with a pH over 7.5. Alkaline water adds oxygen to your water and helps to neutralize acids. A simple way to alkalize your water is with a dash of baking soda. There are also wonderful alkalizing agents you can purchase to buffer and alkalize the water.

(P.S. Avoid: coffee,
black tea and sodas. – These drinks are highly acidic and do not count towards your daily water intake)

Alkalizing Secret #2
--- Eat Celery…. This is one of the most alkaline foods you can eat. It quickly neutralizes acids. Eat it before, after or during a meal. Celery is so high in water content that is also works as an excellent thirst quencher. Celery is excellent for digestion.

Alkalizing Secret #3 --
Eat Green Salads – forget the cheese and croutons! Always have a green salad on hand. Make a huge salad every 3 days and keep it in your fridge to make it very easy to alkalize your body. Some greens that have the highest water content are: cucumbers, lettuce, tomatoes, celery, broccoli, cabbage, spinach, cauliflower, carrots, and onions. A great dressing would be cold pressed extra virgin olive oil with some lemon juice. Keep this in a bowl in your fridge (tip: add cucumbers and tomatoes right before eating). Eat a HUGE salad with every meal!

Alkalizing Secret #4
- Switch from cow’s milk, to almond, soy, or rice milk. Cows milk has shown to produce an abundance of mucous in the human body. There are also few adults who can metabolize the protein in cow’s milk properly. This protein, casein, is what a cow’s metabolism needs for proper health, not for a human beings health. Also note that most dairy cows are injected with hormones such as the Bovine Growth Hormone to increase their milk production. Many of these hormones have potentially horrific side effects that can be passed on when consumed. Almond, soy and or rice milk are excellent alternatives to dairy. They are well worth trying out.

Alkalizing Secret #5
– Avoid artificial sweeteners! This includes: NutraSweet, Sucralose, Aspartame, Saccharin…. Not only are these acidic they also have other highly detrimental effects on the nervous system and neurological disease. Saccharin even tells you right on the package that it may cause cancer. There is one natural sugar substitute that has had no reported side effects: Stevia.

Alkalizing Secret #6
- Eat a grapefruit in the morning wait 15 minutes before ingesting a carb or protein. Grapefruit, similar to lemons, is also alkalizing when ingested. Some people believe grapefruit to be a miracle fruit and I tend to support that group. Grapefruits have a very high water content and are highly alkalizing. Eat one first thing in the morning, and wait 15 minutes before eating a carbohydrate or protein (one or the other – do not mix). (The 15-minute suggestion is in accordance with proper food combining and allows your system to more easily digest. This recommendation applies to eating any fruit – fruit shouldn’t be combined with any other food type. Once eaten, wait 15 before consuming any other food type…ie: protein or carbohydrate).

Alkalizing Secret #7
- Eliminate consumption of red meat, pork, lamb…substitute chicken, turkey or fresh fish in small quantities. Red meats, pork and lamb are highly acidic a very low water content, not to mention being hard on the digestive system. If you must have meat, opt for chicken or turkey. Fresh wild fish is another excellent route to take.

Alkalizing Secret #8
- Reduce stress daily by adding yoga, tai chi, meditation, and proper breathing. An additional factor that adds to acidosis (acidic bodies) is stress. When the body moves into stress mode the digestive system shuts down and toxins cease to be eliminated. Thus the more toxins you keep in your system, the more the body will store them away (acids) in fat cells! Anything we can do to calm the mind/body will have a huge impact on alkalizing the body.

Alkalizing Secret #9
- Drink a top quality super green supplement. : Organic super greens are known to be some of the most nutrient dense foods on the planet. They infuse the body with easily absorbed vitamins, minerals, amino acids chlorophyll, enzymes, phytonutients and alkaline salts that help neutralize acids in the blood and tissues.


Alkalizing Secret #10 – Minimize/Avoid…. processed and refined foods. That means anything made with white flour and white sugar or food coloring. Our bodies were not designed to digest these chemicals and so it must do one of three things: 1. Eliminate them (if you are not hydrating properly this is very hard to do) or 2. Neutralize them by pulling alkaline buffers where it can – like from your bones leaching calcium, or from your blood, leaching iron. Or: 3. Park them away (in fat cells). Bottom line here – stay away from processed food as much as possible.

In Summary:
If you will start out by going down the list of tips and add one secret each day, there’s a tremendous possibility that you will be amazed with what you experience. Simply increasing the amount and type of water you drink can and often will be a HUGE shift in how you feel. Let me tell you – it only gets better! And remember…the name of the game is progress not perfection. Be gentle with yourself – for many people, these secrets represent a huge life change. I urge you to educate yourself on pH balance with the acid/alkaline dance.

For more information: www.innerlightinc.com/alkalizingtimes