What does it mean for your body to be alkaline? | Food n Fitness Freak Food n Fitness Freak: What does it mean for your body to be alkaline?

Sunday, April 16, 2017

What does it mean for your body to be alkaline?




You may not have known it, but our blood pH must stay within a very narrow range or serious illness and death can result. Do you know that the water fish swim in needs to be the correct pH in to live? Also, plants blossom when the soil is at the right pH level. Life only exists where there’s balance, and your body is totally regulated by pH!  So keeping your diet mainly alkaline rather than acidic is a much healthier and easier option to live healthy, increasing your life span.
importance of pH balance in body

What is pH?

It is a numeric scale to measure the balance of acids and bases in fluids. It can be simply described as values for acidic: 1-6, alkaline: 8-14 and neutral:7 pH. Our body has alkaline pH of 7.4 but poor eating habits, unhealthy lifestyle and stress alter the pH levels to acidic one where disease thrives easily.

Why pH gets affected?

Electrolytes levels of various minerals like calcium, magnesium, potassium, sodium, chromium, selenium, and iron are maintained in our body. But when our body is gets exposed to acidic substances, it utilizes these electrolytes to neutralize the acidity and tries to maintain alkalinity. This leads to depletion of minerals from the bones, cells, organs and tissues. Thus cells are deprived of minerals and oxygen and immunity is suppressed.
The primary defense mechanism against disease is a proper pH balance in our body. Disease can only nurture in an acidic body, which makes positive conditions for the development of bacteria, yeast, fungus, mold, viruses, and other microorganisms.

Causes of high acidic level

  • Alcohol and drug use
  • Antibiotic overuse
  • Artificial sweeteners
  • Declining nutrient levels in foods due to industrial farming
  • Low levels of fiber in the diet
  • Lack of exercise
  • Excess hormones from foods, health and beauty products and plastics
  • Exposure to chemicals and radiation from household cleansers, building materials, computers, cell phones and microwaves
  • Food coloring and preservatives
  • Poor chewing and eating habits
  • Processed and refined foods
  • Stress
  • Poor sleep habits
  • Environmental toxins
  • Red meat or a high-protein diet
  • Refined sugars
  • Processed foods and refined carbohydrates
  •       Eating too few fruits and vegetables

Symptoms of being acidic:

  • Weight gain
  • Eye problems like watery eyes, conjunctivitis, inflammation of the eyelids and corneas
  • Leg cramps and spasms, joint and muscle pain
  • Headaches, frequent cold, low immunity
  • Teeth and mouth issues like loose teeth, sensitive to hot, cold, or acidic foods, mouth ulcers, infections in throat and tonsils
  • Unhealthy skin, nails and hair
  • Digestive issues like excess stomach acid, acid reflux, gastritis, ulcers.
  • Low energy; constant fatigue
  • Being continually depressed with a loss of joy and enthusiasm
  • Allergies, asthma and congestion
  • Excessive nervousness

    pH scale of food for healthy alkaline body pH

    How to achieve balanced pH?


    Unfortunately most of us don't pay much attention to our diet until we experience a major health scare or emergency and take steps later to regain health. You can help your body enormously just by modifying your eating habits

    • Drinking more filtered water daily (have one or two glasses of lemon water every morning: one wedge of lemon squeezed into warm water)
    • Drinking herbal teas
    • Eating a more fruits and vegetables like lemons and watermelons, avocados, cucumbers, broccoli, capsicum, lettuce, spinach, cabbage, Parsley, and Asparagus which have high alkaline values.
    • Eating whole grains like Amaranth, Quinoa and Millet.
    • Raw nuts and seeds like raisins, apricots, dates
    • cold-pressed vegetable oils and black olives

Lifestyle habits that can help:

  • Eating breakfast every day
  • Going to bed at regular time.
  • Clearing your environment or your home of toxic chemicals 
  • Taking deep breaths (belly breathing) 
  • Having warm baths with Epsom salts and essential oils like lavender, mint, eucalyptus or lemon
  • Taking time to walk outside and enjoy nature
  • Giving time for yourself (reading, singing, yoga, whatever makes you happy

Benefits of alkaline body pH:

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