One of the most important things you can do for your body is to keep your alkalinity in your body high, green vegetables and even alkaline water are great sources. Here is an article I found that explains exactly why;
(NaturalNews) You may not have known it, but keeping your diet primarily
alkaline rather than acidic is a much healthier alternative and can add
years to your life.
"The human body goes to great lengths to
maintain a slightly alkaline PH of 7.35, but poor diet and stress can
change the PH to an acidic one in which disease can thrive," says
Raw Food Health. You can help your body out tremendously just by adjusting your eating habits.
"Unfortunately
many people don't pay much attention to their diet until they
experience a major health scare and then, they do so in a desperate
attempt to regain their health," adds food lifestyle educator Carol
Galanty. "Thankfully, many are able to do so, but it would be so much
better all around if diet were treated as a means of preventive medicine
before signs of imbalance start to occur."
Here are five reasons to switch to a diet made up primarily of alkaline foods:
Boost your energy dramatically.
Tens of millions of Americans consume caffeine (coffee, tea) or
so-called "energy drinks" by the gallon each week, despite the known
dangers of such products. If you want to boost your energy naturally and
safely, stick to an alkaline diet.
That is one composed
primarily of alkaline-forming foods like figs, molasses, green, leafy
veggies, almonds, beets, dates, celery, cantaloupe and parsley. "In
addition to eating these foods, taking one teaspoon of a greens powder
every morning mixed into juice or a smoothie can also raise energy"
levels, says
About.com guide Cathy Wong, a licensed naturopathic doctor and an
American College of Nutrition-certified nutrition specialist.
An
alkaline diet
will also helps you get a better night's sleep and one that is
infinitely more restful, helping you keep energy levels high throughout
your busy day.
Keep your body functioning at its optimal level. "Our bodies perform optimally when in an
alkaline
state, yet the majority of food that Americans eat are acidic (meat,
dairy, fish, eggs, sugar, soda, coffee, tea, alcohol, nicotine,
processed foods, etc)," writes Galanty. "This heavily weighted acidic
diet brings our bodies to a state of imbalance and eventually disease."
She
and other experts say that by maintaining a primarily alkaline diet -
somewhere in the range of 70-80 percent - can help you maintain or
return your body to balance (called homeostasis in medical lingo). "A
state of wellness where you feel healthy, energenic, have smoothing
glowing skin and an alert, focused mind," says Galanty. "Sluggish, tired
and overweight is not a normal state to be in."
Slow down the aging process. An acidic diet can take its toll on our bones and muscles the older we get.
"As we age, there is a loss of muscle mass, which may predispose to falls and fractures," says an analysis by the
National Institutes of Health.
"A three-year study looking at a diet rich in potassium, such as fruits
and vegetables, as well as a reduced acid load, resulted in
preservation of muscle mass in older men and women."
"Conditions
such as chronic renal failure that result in chronic metabolic acidosis
result in accelerated breakdown in skeletal muscle," the NIH analysis
continued. "Correction of acidosis may preserve muscle mass in
conditions where muscle wasting is common such as diabetic ketosis,
trauma, sepsis, chronic obstructive lung disease, and renal failure."
Lower your cancer risk.
Some research suggests that an alkaline-rich diet is linked to lower
rates of cancer, if only because such diets consist primarily of
vegetables.
Remember Kris Carr's 2007 film,
Crazy, Sexy Cancer?
The documentary tracks "the actress and photographer's journey after a
2003 diagnosis of stage-four epithelioid hemangioendothelioma, a rare
cancer found in the liver and lungs' blood vessel linings," the
Las Vegas Review Journal reported.
Nine years later, eating only a plant-based diet, Carr's
health is good - a phenomenon she attributed to staying pH-balanced.
Keep off the extra pounds. By boosting your consumption of alkaline-producing foods, you can naturally shed weight.
"Promoting
things like weight loss, improved immunity, and even disease
prevention, celebrity nutritionist Dr. Lindsey Duncan is a proponent of
the alkaline diet. He says our meals are increasingly acidic, and our
bodies are paying the price,"
ABC News affiliate
KTRK reported.
