Food is more than nutrition and energy: The Alkaline Diet

Did you know that it’s not only nutrition and energy that your body needs from its food intake? There is another factor that is mostly overlooked, but which can explain many of the health problems which arise in our bodies.

If you are feeling unhealthy, tired or stressed or you are struggling to lose weight it could be because you have been ignoring this one factor. When this factor gets out of balance in the body it can lead to sugar cravings, yeast infections, weight problems, high cholesterol, cancer and heart disease plus a multitude of chronic health problems.

So, what is this one factor? The acid-alkaline balance of your body and blood.

Can you imagine what would happen if you drank sulphuric acid every day? The results wouldn’t be pleasant – an acidic environment is unnatural and destructive to the harmonious workings of the systems of the body. The same would be true if we drank too much of the opposite of acid – alkaline. The key to balance in the body is a balanced pH, which really means not too much strain on the body through too much acid or too much alkaline.

The normal western diet is overly acidic. Alcohol, coffee, tea, meat, fish, dairy, bread, margarines and most fruits are acidic for the body. Other lifestyle factors such as high stress jobs have also been shown to lead to an increased level of acid in the body.

Our bodies are clever and seek to achieve balance at all times. So, to try to reduce the level of acid that results from eating a ‘normal’ western diet, the body uses two mechanisms to obtain and maintain a neutral or balanced pH. The first is to “hide” acidity in the fat cells of the body. This means that for many people it is difficult to lose weight until the acid can be neutralised. The second mechanism is by combining acid with calcium (and other minerals) from the bones. Therefore an overly acidic lifestyle over a sustained period of time can lead to weak nails, teeth and bones and possibly even osteoporosis too.

The best way to neutralise acid is in the body is by adopting a balanced, alkaline approach to diet. Some of the best and richest alkaline foods are vegetables. This is partly why a juicing cleanse (particularly with vegetables) works so effectively at helping people to lose weight. If you want to take control of the acidity of your diet and lifestyle, we categorise below foods into highly acidic, acidic, neutral, alkaline and highly alkaline.

At the retreat we promote a balanced approach to life so check out whether you can reduce pH stress on your body by making different food choices too.

Happy pH balancing….