Did you Know That High Alkaline Foods Are Very Good For Your Health?

High alkaline foods are very powerful and should be used in the heart healthy diet plan as the first line of defence against high blood pressure and prevention against the big three modern diseases: heart disease, cancer and diabetes.

The composition and quality of your daily food intake has the power to change every cell in your body, 'you are what you eat' and alkaline foods will significantly improve your vitality and health almost overnight.

What are High Alkaline foods?

Foods can be classified as either acidic, neutral or alkaline. For optimum health our bodies should maintain a slightly alkaline balance (around 7.3). If the body becomes too acidic or too alkaline, then disease and illness will result.

The belief is that disease can NOT grow in an alkaline environment. However, our modern day dilemma is that the Standard American Diet(SAD) is based on daily consumption of very acidic foods.Typical SAD foods we eat include grains, fast foods, processed foods, sugar, candy, soft drinks, saturated fats, red meat, coffee, artificial sweetners and the list goes on.

Because our food is so acidic, our bodies become acidic too. In order to neutralize our internal acidity our bodies use our alkalizing minerals, such as potassium, magnesium and calcium. This can leave our bodies depleted of these essential nutrients which are also so important to heart health.

An acidic body, which is likely deficient in essential minerals, can leave us feeling unwell and lethargic, cause inflammation such as arthritis, and make our bodies prone to illness and disease.

Analyze the list of alkalizing foods below and see if you can add more of them to your daily diet. You will find we use a lot of alkalizing foods in the heart healthy diet plan.

Tips on adding high alkaline foods to your diet

1) Most vegetables and fruits are highly alkalizing, have a large salad or vegetable stir fry every day and add more vegetables to your evening meal.

2) Keep a container of cut up veggies in the fridge to use as snacks: peppers, broccoli, cucumber, celery, radishes etc. Serve with some delicious 'garlicky' hummus.

3) Dr. Bernard Jensen, a favourite nutritional teacher and healer, recommends some delicious juices that are very effective at alkalizing the body and focus on improving our health.

The first three juices on the list are specifically recommended for hypertension, the last three juices are recommended for overall heart health. These include:

Carrot, parsley, celery juice

Lime juice and whey powder

Grape juice and carrot juice

Carrot and pineapple juice with honey

Liquid chlorophyll

parsley, alfalfa and pineapple juice

Some of my clients regularly juice their own vegetables to increase the alkaline content of their diet. Consider buying your own juicer and experiment with delicious combinations.

4) You can also increase the alkalinity of your daily diet by adding some powerful alkalizing supplements, my favourites are:

Whey mineral powder

Whey mineral powder is an awesome source of essential minerals, particularly the heart health minerals: potassium, calcium and magnesium. Add it to yogurt, smoothies and juices to create high alkaine foods. I use the St Francis goat mineral whey powder and have found that the body responds far better to whey powder rather than an over the counter multi vitamin/mineral pill.

Green drinks/ liquid chlorophyll

If you've never tried an 'alkalizing' green drink then perhaps now is the time to try one. There are lots of concentrated green powders that you can add to water, juice, smoothies etc.

Green drinks are a potent source of alkalizing minerals, antioxidants and vitamins. You will notice an immediate difference in how you feel when you start your day with greens.

Oxygen drops

There are many different brands out there but I personally like the cellfood brand, I add 8 drops to my water every morning and feel instantly energized and alkalized!

These additional alkalizing supplements should all be available at your local health food store. There are also some great books out there that explore this topic of high alkaline foods in greater detail, I really like "The PH Miracle" by Robert and Shelley young.

How to do the acid/alkaline test:

The easiest way to measure your acid/alkaline balance is to test youe saliva first thing in the morning. I use ph paper which I purchase at the local health food store. It comes in a very long strip which is rolled into a dispenser. I then tear of about an inch and put it on my tongue, I then check it against the colour chart on the dispenser. I always find that when I am stressed or sick my reading is quite acidic. This means I need to increase my alkaline food intake to get healthy again. Have fun with your ph test, measure your saliva after you have had a high alkaline food..it will turn very blue!

The heart healthy diet plan recommends building a plate that is 30% lean protein, 30% good fat and 40% alkalizing vegetables or what we call freedom foods. This is what is called a balanced plate.

The goal is not to eat a diet composed completely of high alkaline foods, but to be aware and add them as much as possible. Healthy balance is what we are looking for.

References: Robert and Shelley Young "The PH Miracle"

Dr. Bernard Jensen "Foods That Heal"

High alkaline foods