Alkaline vs. Acidic and My Whole Foods Experience
When I decided to start eating more alkaline foods I needed to do some research online to make myself aware of what alkaline foods were and why they are healthier for us vs. eating more acidic foods. Also, anytime I mention my new alkaline lifestyle to anyone the first thing they ask me is “what’s an alkaline diet?” All I ever knew were the basics – processed food is full of chemicals for preservation, red meat and dairy aren’t meant to be digested by the human body and they have been proven to cause inflammation which causes disease, and that there was no point in eating fruits and veggies that were sprayed with pesticides and chemicals and to go organic whenever possible. That’s what I knew! This doesn’t mean that I stayed away from eating these things most of my life, only the last year or so, and not even 100%! Only now I’m noticing my body prefers the alkaline foods more which is quite a nice shift. I love that my body talks to me, it’s pretty cool!
Simply put, living an alkaline lifestyle is when you follow a more plant-based diet.
Your body’s pH (acid versus alkaline) will come into balance by consuming a higher volume of alkaline foods. Our pH is the measure of exactly how acidic or alkaline we are and affect our cells. A pH of 0 is completely acidic, and a pH of 14 completely alkaline. A pH of 7 is neutral. Also, I read that we don’t just have one pH level. The example I read was that the stomach has a pH ranging from 1.35-3.5. It must be acidic to aid in digestion. Interesting… However, blood must always be slightly alkaline, with a pH of 7.35 to 7.45. I found a wonderful explanation of this and exactly how our bodies work in this youtube video –https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BBl1QDag2-8
An Alkaline balanced body is healthy, vibrant, and energetic, free of sickness and disease.
An Acidic body is one that is degenerating, breaking down, showing symptoms of ill health from the simplest form being a cold all the way to diabetes, heart disease, and cancer.
People who eat a lot of meat, dairy, sugars, alcohol, saturated fats, highly processed foods and caffeine become very sick and guess where they look for help and quick cures?
From medications.
It truly is amazing how much information is on the internet about all this!
Here are two alkaline vs. acidic food charts that helped me.
https://www.alkalinesisters.com/alkaline-food-chart/
https://www.alkaline-alkaline.com/ph_food_chart.html
Another great resource I’ve found with a few alkaline foods that help repair your cells is on this awesome website www.positivehealthwellness.com
I find it all very sad. Medications are made up of toxic chemicals and I know it totally depends on the illness and they can indeed help with pain, etc., but I can’t help but feel they must only make you worse over time. This topic is for a whole other blog… Also, let’s not forget some other things that play a huge role in our overall health – negative thoughts, exercise and stress. I’m not focusing on those things today, but I just want you to be aware it’s not just diet that can heal us and our skin!
Just know that no disease can survive in an alkaline environment!
My problem in the beginning was trying to incorporate more veggies into my life on a daily basis – this is NOT easy! I slowly struggled, but now I know my lunch is complete as long as I have my side of whatever veggie I had time to make the night before! If I don’t have the time or any veggies in my frig, I will go out of my way to order a side of some veggie from a nearby restaurant. I don’t prefer doing that, but it’s nice to know it’s an option when I’m desperate for my greens!
I get in my “breakfast” veggies everyday by juicing first thing in the am. I have a big glass of kale, celery, romaine lettuce, broccoli, cucumber, apple, lemon and ginger. It doesn’t sound delicious, but IT IS! Maybe I’m just used to it, but I think it’s a great sign that my day is not complete without it.
A book that made this all make so much sense to me was The PH Miracle by Dr. Robert Young – this book will make you go out and buy ph striPs to test your ph level via your urine! No really, it will! Here’s his website.
https://www.phmiracleliving.com/
I hope all that was helpful! Now, let’s talk about Whole Foods!
I was shopping in whole foods recently and had the loveliest experience.
First of all, is it me or is that not the most beautiful, most colorful store you’ve ever walked into? I shop mostly at Trader Joe’s to save money, but when I need something specific for my creative chef side I’ll usually find it there. Every time I step onto the escalator to go down into the store I get this giddy, excited feeling in my tummy! I feel like a kid in a candy store when all those colorful fruits and veggies slowly reveal themselves to me as I descend 🙂 hee hee
Food has always had that affect on me. I get it from my poPs! Growing up he loved watching people enjoy themselves eat. We both love everything food related!
Anyway, a man who worked there nicely asked me if I needed help finding anything. While he was helping me we started to chat about what I was going to bake which lead us into a full blown inspirational chat about eating alkaline vs. acidic. He told me about this other male employee who works there who 8 months prior got diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.
This man was told by his doctor if he didn’t go on the following medications he would suffer from uncomfortable/painful symptoms. Working in Whole Foods he knew about the healing affects from food and decided to see how using food as his medicine would work. Eight months later eating mostly alkaline he hasn’t experienced one symptom! I just love that story. So damn inspirational! I left the store smiling ear to ear because I was beyond inspired and so happy for that person!
I know I sound very happy eating mostly alkaline and I’m well aware that’s not the norm. Most people would resist it like hell! But don’t forget it also took me living with Psoriasis for 17 years and experiencing the true affects of healing to find this happiness. I don’t think I can ever go back now and I’m more than ok with that!