Monday, January 31, 2011

What is the pH of the food you are eating?

So what are foods that we eat that cause a more acidic environment in our body? And which foods neutralize the acid? What percentage of foods should we eat from each category?

Depending on your health, from what I have read it is best to have a 60/40 ratio of alkaline/acid foods. Those of you who are like me, who are trying to regain your health and have been suffering from symptom related problems caused by a lifetime of unhealthy eating habits should aim for 80/20.

You can find many list on the internet of which foods are alkaline or acidic. For one example you can click
here)

I will list a few: Most all fruits and vegetables, most beans, spices, herbs, some nuts, some grains, some oils.

Foods that are more acidic are pretty much all animal products, ie meats, cheeses, eggs, fats, etc. most condiments, canned foods, sweets, all refined and processed foods, white flour, coffee, alcohol etc.

Now if you are like me when I first saw the list of acidic foods I thought… well what else is there to eat. I do love my veggies and fruit but how can you get enough to eat when you try to avoid those on the list?

Please don’t get discouraged. Habits take time, and it’s good to continue to educate ourselves. Take small steps each day and it’s amazing what kinds of changes you can make to your diet.

Problems that I used to suffer from severally have either disappeared completely or have improved greatly by eating this way. I am convinced that if you have a problem with insulin resistance, that you will find complete improvement by eating most of your foods from the alkaline list. You will also find weight loss to be much easier. I have lost nearly 50lbs in 5 months, with no exercise. (no exercise because of still struggling health issues) And I’m still going.



Hopefully more to come…

Saturday, January 22, 2011

Is pH important?

I was introduced to pH in junior high chemistry, but I didn’t really understand the importance of how it related to my health until I read the book “How to be Well…” by Leah D. Widtsoe. I’m considering making a few post on the importance of pH in the foods that we eat and how it effects our overall health. (I will mention more about Leah Widtsoe's book later)

First what is pH?

In chemistry, pH is a measure of the acidity or basicity of an aqueous solution. Pure water is said to be neutral, with a pH close to 7.0 at 25 °C (77 °F). Solutions with a pH less than 7 are said to be acidic and solutions with a pH greater than 7 are basic or alkaline. pH measurements are important in medicine, biology, chemistry, food science, environmental science, oceanography, civil engineering and many other applications.



The pH of different cellular compartments, body fluids, and organs is usually tightly regulated in a process called acid-base homeostasis.



The pH of blood is usually slightly basic with a value of pH 7.365. This value is often referred to as physiological pH in biology and medicine. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PH)

If we aren’t careful with the balance of food that we eat, eating foods that are more acidic for example, our body has a way of balancing the pH for us. One major way our body neutralizes acid overload is to release calcium from our bones. If this environment is prolonged it can lead to osteoporosis. The body will also release other minerals like potassium and magnesium from our organs and bones too.


Because our body is about 60% fluid, it is important to help keep that fluid the right pH. If we do not it can be very taxing to our bodies, not just our bones but our organs, cells and tissues.
A high acidic environment promotes unhealthy bacteria and viruses in our digestive system and throughout our body. On the other hand those unfriendly microbes die more readily in a more alkaline environment.



Hopefully this has peaked your interest, if any of you have specific question that you’d like me to answer, feel free to add a comment below.