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Alkalize Your Body or Die

Note from Carolyn:

Study after study shows that cancer cannot thrive in either oxygen or alkaline environments. Keeping our bodies in balance is a big step towards preventing all sorts of diseases. If you notice in the chart probiotic formulas are listed. One I keep handy is ProBiotic with FOS. Along with the Plant Enzymes and the other Enriching Gifts products I have seen a great improvement in my ph balance.

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The author of "Alkalize or Die," Dr. Theodore Baroody, says we "are facing the largest health crisis in recorded history." It's not heart disease. It's not cancer. It's not even obesity. It is overacidity in our bodies -- and it's linked to all kinds of illness and disease.

Though it sounds more like a chemistry lesson than a health warning, Baroody says that we must alkalize our bodies, thereby restoring our alkaline-acid balance, if we are to reach high levels of vitality and strength.

Piling on the fresh veggies can make your body less acidic.

"The countless names of illnesses do not really matter. What does matter is that they all come from the same root cause... too much tissue acid waste in the body!" Baroody says.

And he's not alone. Many holistic doctors and nutritionists believe finding this balance is key to fighting cancer and other diseases and reaching optimal health.

The Acid-Alkaline Balance

The healthy blood pH level of the human body is a slightly alkaline range of 7.36 to 7.44 (a pH value under 7 is considered acid and above 7 alkaline). While your body has mechanisms to keep your blood within a narrow pH range, your tissues may become acidic.

To put it simply, proponents of the theory hold that when your body becomes too acidic it can become depleted of alkaline minerals like sodium, potassium, magnesium and calcium, paving the way for chronic and degenerative disease.

Further, says Dr. Virginia Worthington, ScD, many functions of your body require certain levels of acidity or alkalinity to be carried out, as enzymes and chemical reactions work best at certain pHs.

For instance, as your body becomes acidic, the ability of your muscles to contract goes down while hormones like adrenaline increase. Even slight changes in pH can have a profound effect on your body function, Worthington says.

Your system's pH can be measured not only from the blood, but also from the urine and the saliva, using pH paper. Your morning urine should ideally be between 6.4 and 6.8 while your first morning saliva pH should range from 6.8 to 7.2.

What Makes a Person Too Acidic?

A key factor is eating too many acidic foods and not enough alkaline ones.

Says Raymond Francis, author of "Never be Sick Again," "The traditional diets and lifestyles of our ancestors kept pH in balance. Tragically, the bizarre diet consumed by most Americans is guaranteed to alter cellular pH and cause disease."

The foods that are causing all of this acidity include animal protein, sugar, caffeine and processed foods, while most vegetables and fruits are alkaline.

Ironically, even citrus fruits, which most would consider acidic, are actually alkalizing in the body. That's because once their citric acid is metabolized, it becomes alkaline.

Following is a more specific list of some alkaline and acid foods, but for a complete list, refer to "Alkalize or Die."

ALKALIZING FOODS
VEGETABLES Garlic Asparagus Fermented Veggies Watercress Beets Broccoli Brussel sprouts Cabbage Carrot Cauliflower Celery Chard Chlorella Collard Greens Cucumber Eggplant Kale Kohlrabi Lettuce Mushrooms Mustard Greens Dulce Dandelions Edible Flowers Onions Parsnips (high glycemic) Peas Peppers Pumpkin Rutabaga Sea Veggies Spirulina Sprouts Squashes Alfalfa Barley Grass Wheat Grass Wild Greens Nightshade Veggies	FRUITS Apple Apricot Avocado Banana (high glycemic) Cantaloupe Cherries Currants Dates/Figs Grapes Grapefruit Lime Honeydew Melon Nectarine Orange Lemon Peach Pear Pineapple All Berries Tangerine Tomato Tropical Fruits Watermelon PROTEIN Eggs Whey Protein Powder Cottage Cheese Chicken Breast Yogurt Almonds Chestnuts Tofu (fermented) Flax Seeds Pumpkin Seeds Tempeh (fermented) Squash Seeds Sunflower Seeds Millet Sprouted Seeds Nuts	OTHER Apple Cider Vinegar Bee Pollen Lecithin Granules Probiotic Cultures Green Juices Veggies Juices Fresh Fruit Juice Organic Milk (unpasteurized) Mineral Water Alkaline Antioxidant Water Green Tea Herbal Tea Dandelion Tea Ginseng Tea Banchi Tea Kombucha SWEETENERS Stevia SPICES/SEASONINGS Cinnamon Curry Ginger Mustard Chili Pepper Sea Salt Miso Tamari All Herbs ORIENTAL VEGETABLES Maitake Daikon Dandelion Root Shitake Kombu Reishi Nori Umeboshi Wakame Sea Veggies

Chart from The Wolfe Clinic

ACIDIFYING FOODS
FATS & OILS Avocado Oil Canola Oil Corn Oil Hemp Seed Oil Flax Oil Lard Olive Oil Safflower Oil Sesame Oil Sunflower Oil FRUITS Cranberries GRAINS Rice Cakes Wheat Cakes Amaranth Barley Buckwheat Corn Oats (rolled) Quinoi Rice (all) Rye Spelt Kamut Wheat Hemp Seed Flour DAIRY Cheese, Cow Cheese, Goat Cheese, Processed Cheese, Sheep Milk Butter	NUTS & BUTTERS Cashews Brazil Nuts Peanuts Peanut Butter Pecans Tahini Walnuts ANIMAL PROTEIN Beef Carp Clams Fish Lamb Lobster Mussels Oyster Pork Rabbit Salmon Shrimp Scallops Tuna Turkey Venison PASTA (WHITE) Noodles Macaroni Spaghetti OTHER Distilled Vinegar Wheat Germ Potatoes	DRUGS & CHEMICALS Chemicals Drugs, Medicinal Drugs, Psychedelic Pesticides Herbicides ALCOHOL Beer Spirits Hard Liquor Wine BEANS & LEGUMES Black Beans Chick Peas Green Peas Kidney Beans Lentils Lima Beans Pinto Beans Red Beans Soy Beans Soy Milk White Beans Rice Milk Almond Milk

Chart from The Wolfe Clinic

For best results, most experts say you should choose foods so that your diet is 75-80 percent alkaline and 20-25 percent acidic.

Eat lots of fast food? You may be too acidic.

Other Things Make Us Acidic Too

Diet is a major factor, but it's not the only one. Other factors that also encourage the body to produce acid wastes, which contribute to overacidity, include:

Breathing polluted air
Drinking contaminated water
Physical, emotional and mental stress

Once you become too acidic, your body will probably let you know. According to Cathy Wong, N.D., the following symptoms may indicate excess acidity:

Low energy, chronic fatigue
Excess mucous production
Nasal congestion
Frequent colds, flus and infections
Nervous, stressed, irritable, anxious, agitated
Weak nails, dry hair, dry skin
Formation of cysts, such as ovarian cysts, polycystic ovaries, benign breast cysts (fibrocystic breasts)

Headaches
Joint pain or arthritis
Neuritis
Muscle pain
Feeling better after a detox diet
Hives
Leg cramps and spasms
Gastritis, acid indigestion

Something Worth Trying?

It should be mentioned that there are no scientific studies proving much of the benefits of an acid-alkaline diet, and some conventional doctors dismiss it entirely.

That said, at the heart of the theory is increasing vegetables, fruits and other whole, fresh foods in your diet while reducing processed foods and oils, sugar and caffeine. Admittedly, most of us could stand to eat a few more vegetables (and a few less cheeseburgers and doughnuts), so converting your diet to a more alkaline one may be something worth trying out for yourself.

For more extensive information on the topic and a plan for how to balance the alkaline/acid in your body, check out the comprehensive guide, "Alkalize or Die."

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