What's your pH level?

First of all, you may be wondering what IS a pH level?  Your pH is the balance of acid and alkaline in your body.  If it is too acid or too alkaline, it will have serious affects on your health.  Fortunately, this is simple to test and can be done in the privacy of your own home.  Using pH litmus paper (available at most drug stores/pharmacies and also at Restoring Wellness), you can do both a urine and saliva test to determine your own pH level.  The paper will change color to indicate whether your system is overly acidic or alkaline.  A healthy pH level is between 6.5 - 7.5.  Be sure to test before you eat a meal, rather than after.

With our current SAD (Standard American Diet), being acidic is more common than overly alkaline.  Why should you care about this?  One of the biggest reasons is that cancer, along with other states of dis-ease, cannot thrive in an alkaline environment.  Even if you are eating a basically healthy diet, your body isn't able to absorb the nutrients from your food if your pH level is off.  Thankfully, you can bring your body back into balance with a change in diet which is great news!  It doesn't require expensive medications!  But it will require looking at your current diet and determining where the changes are needed. 

Some of the symptoms that may be experienced if your body is in a state of acidosis are:  frequent sighing, insomnia, water retention, recessed eyes, arthritis, migraine headaches, abnormally low blood pressure, acidic or strong perspiration, dry hard stools, foul-smelling stools accompanied by a burning sensation, alternating constipation and diarrhea, difficulty swallowing, halitosis, burning sensation in the moth and/or under the tongue, sensitivity of the teeth to vinegar and acidic fruits, and bumps on the tongue or the roof of the  mouth. 

What should you eat?  Raw foods maintain the correct acid/alkaline balance in the body and are also richer in nutrients and easier to assimilate.  Increase your raw food consumption to at least 50%.  Limit protein intake to no more than 80 drams a day and grains to 8 servings or less.  Slow down while you are eating and chew your food to aid digestion.  Digestion can have an impact on your pH level also.  If your body cannot process your food intake, it will strain the digestive system and in turn your entire bodily function.  In this case, enzymes are a must along with probiotics.  Both are available in my on-line store and at my office. /store/c1/Featured_Products.html

Alkalosis (less likely) can create symptoms such as sore muscles, creaking joints, bursitis, drowsiness, protruding eyes, hypertension, hypothermia, seizures, edema, allergies, night cramps, asthma, chronic indigestion, menstrual problems and a calcium build up in the body, as in bone or heel spurs.  It is often the result of excessive intake of alkaline drugs such as sodium bicarbonate (Tums) for the treatment of gastritis or peptic ulcers.  It can also be caused by excessive vomiting, high cholesterol, and osteoarthritis.  If this is the case, you will want to adopt a diet that is 80% whole grains and includes beans, breads, brown rice, crackers, lentils, and nuts.  Do not use antacids!  They are masking the problem rather than healing it.  To deal with heartburn or acid reflux, consider trying Gastro Health Support from Healthy Reflections, listed in my store. /store/p3/Gastro_Health_Support.html

If you find that you need to balance your pH level, consider printing out a list of the foods that will help your body return to a more healthy state found at Energise for Life. http://www.energiseforlife.com/acid-alkaline-food-chart-1.1.pdf  It's worth it to put in the effort now and avoid more serious health issues later!

---