Are you Acid or Alkaline

Do you know your pH?

All organic matter on our planet has a pH level and yes, that includes us!!  A pH level of 7.0 is neutral, which means that anything below 7.0 is considered acid, and anything above is alkaline.  Neutral is a wonderful thing, in this case.

battery acid is a dangerous 1.0 on the pH scale... stay away!

pH is the acronym for “potential of Hydrogen.”  Basically, your pH level determines your personal acid to alkaline ratio.

Human blood is slightly alkaline at around 7.40.  It is important to strive for balance, as we do not want to be too acid or too alkaline.  (Being too alkaline is less common).

Why do we want a balanced or neutral, pH? In the simplest of terms, if our bodies are too acid, it means that their is an accumulation of acidic waste in our cells, human tissue, organs, glands, etc… This, of course, is not a good thing.

Acid is a host for bacteria and invites disease into the body.  A neutral or slightly alkaline body cannot be a host for disease.  Thus, why we must strive for balance.

How can we create this balance?  There are many factors that influence our pH levels in the body.  Having a poor diet and too much stress will cause a dangerous imbalance.  (It is easy to test your pH balance with litmus paper.  For now though, you will be able to determine your pH just by analyzing the foods you eat on an everyday basis- use the chart below).

Below is a rather rough diagram to help you determine whether your diet is alkaline or acid.

Here is the wonderful news:  You can control your pH. Without getting caught up, or stressing about whether certain foods are, or are not, acid, you can make a drastic improvement in your diet by taking these few steps:

• Decrease (or eliminate) consumption of sodas, coffee, non-herb tea, candy, chocolate, milk, animal protein, cheese, starch and alcohol.
• Always buy organic, non-homogenized, milk.
• Choose a raw goat cheese from a trusted source, instead of pasteurized cow milk cheese.
• Avoid processed snacks and fried foods.
• Order the grilled chicken or fish with a side of vegetables instead of the fried chicken with fries.
• Snack on raw nuts (like almonds) and seeds (like sunflower or pumpkin) instead of peanuts, candy or protein bars.
• Concentrate on eating more vegetables, green things, fruit, and high-quality grain, and sprouted-grain products (like Kamut pasta or Ezekiel brand bread).
• Make your own salad dressings from first-cold pressed olive oil, instead of buying the pre-made stuff that contains hidden sugars and bad oils like, soybean oil.
• Use Stevia and raw honey in place of sugar and artificial sweeteners.
• Use organic butter instead of margarine and sea salt instead of iodized table salt.
• Add avocado to your sandwich instead of mayonnaise.
• If you are going to enjoy wine at dinner, load up on the vegetables.

For beginners, it is all about creating balance.  I am not saying that you need to give up your red meat, wine and chocolate.

There are a million and one ways you can improve your pH level and thus, health and still enjoy life.  How do you strive to maintain a healthy balance?  What “acid”-forming foods have you traded in for a more alkaline alternative.