I am a nutrition GEEK lol, and have been since I was 17 years old and my volleyball coach taught me how eating good food can make a HUGE difference in my athletic performance. That season, I had my first ever 6 pack, and was hooked!
What am I learning about now? The alkalinity of foods, more specifically, the pH level of foods and how you can lose weight easier, prevent sickness, increase energy, and more, just by implementing a few principles that I’ll share with you!
Why have I been researching this stuff? Well, because over the past year, my body has been just kind of, off. I’ve felt sluggish, have gotten sick a LOT, and am no longer at my ‘happy weight’. I’m actually going to be seeing a functional diagnostic nutritionist next week to run some tests, he seems to think I’m going through adrenal burnout…but I’ll keep you updated on what’s going on =)
So I’ve decided that I’m DONE with feeling this way, and despite eating what I consider pretty healthy, I’m going to get a bit more extreme, at least for now, until I feel better. I actually haven’t had wine OR coffee in over a week (say WHAT?!) since they’re super acid forming in the body.
Stick with me, I’m going to try to break down the acid/alkaline balance for you and keep this SUPER basic for you =) And since I HATE the word diet, I’ll call it eating alkaline =)
Eating alkaline means that you are eating foods that are high on the pH chart and less of the acid forming foods.
If you are eating alkaline, the majority of your foods are GREEN. Lots and lots of veggies. The more the better =)
A little chemistry from Webmd so you can understand a bit more about this =)
“A pH level measures how acid or alkaline something is. A pH of 0 is totally acidic, while a pH of 14 is completely alkaline. A pH of 7 is neutral. Those levels vary throughout your body. Your blood is slightly alkaline, with a pH between 7.35 and 7.45. Your stomach is very acidic, with a pH of 3.5 or below, so it can break down food. And your urine changes, depending on what you eat – that’s how your body keeps the level in your blood steady.”
The standard American diet is SUPER acid-forming, which overwhelms the bodies mechanisms of removing excess acid. Typical American dietary staples, like meat, dairy, corn, wheat, and refined sugars are all acidifying foods, and are deficient in alkalizing fruits and veggies.
Eating more alkaline foods can greatly reduce the acid load, and could help prevent kidney stones, keep bones and muscles strong, improve heart health and brain function, reduce lower back pain, lower the risk for colon cancer and type 2 diabetes, among other awesome things =)
And yes, the alkaline way of eating is kind of extreme, but you do NOT have to follow this way of eating 100%, I think that’s just setting yourself up for failure. The easiest way to start eating this way is to cut back on sugar and processed foods, and increase your intake of green leafy veggies. So replace your normal dinner with a monster salad with avocado, beans, and hummus, for example. Or instead of sugary cereal for breakfast, have a big green smoothie. You’ll benefit just by doing this for one meal a day =)
Since it is ALWAYS my goal to help people eat healthier and live better, I’m going to running a free 10 day clean eating challenge, using a lot of the principles of the alkaline diet. Do you want to join us? If so, just click here! It’s free—so you’ve got nothing to lose, but a new healthy lifestyle to gain =)
Blessings,
Rachel
PS. You can learn more details about the free challenge here: http://www.fitwithrachel.com/tony-robbins-10-day-challenge
