Stop eating all that acidic food!
Our bodies are alkaline by design, while our North American diets are acidic in nature: We wake up after hours of rest and fasting, only to feed it breads, coffee, sugary jams, cheese, muffins, fruit - which are all highly acidic foods. For lunch, we’ll have a bagel with cream cheese, or a sandwich (more bread, more dairy) with some cold cuts (highly acidic, processed and prepared meats), and maybe another coffee, glass of milk, or juice. When evening rolls around, sure, we’ll have some veggies along with more proteins and carbs, and probably some alcohol and a few sugary treats. Does this sound vaguely familiar?
We have forgotten how to eat for health; we don’t know what it means to feed our bodies to prevent illness, to feed for nutrition, and as a result we’re getting sick, gaining weight, and feeling exhausted. We are popping medications and antibiotics - all which are hugely acidic - and are expecting to magically feel better after a ten-minute visit to the doctor? It’s not going to happen.
Our highly acidic diets are causing our bodies to deteriorate rapidly, and we wonder why we’re not feeling that great… Is it age? It it lack of motion? The problem starts with our diet, and our bodies use up all our alkaline minerals (like calcium, potassium, magnesium) to fight this imbalance… that takes a lot of work! Yeast, bacteria, and mould forming over time, coupled with stress and exhaustion, can cause us to have issues with skin, hair, nails, mood, joints and bones, as we gain weight, have problems with digestion (either constipation or the opposite). Are you wondering why you’re not sleeping well at night?
Let’s take a look at some traditional Asian diets and ingredients that often accompany them: Kimchi (a fermented blend of cabbage, peppers, garlic), often enjoyed for breakfast, steamed rice (easy on the digestive system), stir-fried vegetables (quickly par-boiled to maintain their nutritional value), quality oils (coconut, sesame, high in nutrition and Omega oils, necessary for our cell composition), steeped teas (high in antioxidants, immune boosting, soothing both mentally and physically), plus healthy nuts and seeds. These are healthy diets, polar opposite to ours, proven by our differing rates of longevity, illness and cancers.
Acidic diets are known to cause hormone imbalances, inflammation, massive formation of fat cells (and thus insulin release), build up of uric acid (gout, arthritis), bone weakness (osteoporosis), digestive disorders, kidney and liver disease, candida (yeast infections, acne, eczema, alcohol cravings), to name a few issues. It has also been proven that cancer cells cannot survive in an alkaline environment - so why do we continue to punish ourselves?
Try adding lots of the following highly alkaline foods to your daily diet and skip the acidic ones you’ve become accustomed to eating. These will help balance your body’s pH level and make you feel much better:
Top alkaline foods (HAVE – lots!)
Spinach & kale (lightly chopped and steamed, or quickly pan-sautéed with some good oils like coconut or olive oil)
Broccoli (as above)
Almonds (great as a snack or chopped inside salads and home-made granola)
Avocado (delicious and highly nutritious, with a bit of sea salt and lime juice. Eat it as a snack or add it to your salads)
Cucumber (raw, in salads, or diced and lightly steamed as a snack)
Beets (see our website for an easy, fifteen-minute “pickled beet” recipe.) Beets can also be steamed and added to stews, or fried to replace french fries).
Berries (any kind)
Carrots (preferably organic, with skins, steamed or pan-fried in good oils)
Garlic
Asparagus (do not overcook!)
Limes, lemons (see image, above)
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Article originally appeared in our Silver and Gold magazine Winter 2017 issue. Click for more articles! www.silvergoldmagazine.ca
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