12 Reasons to Avoid Acids and Stay Alkaline (Basic)

http://www.energiseforlife.com/wordpress/2006/07/25/12-reasons-to-avoid-acids-and-stay-alkaline/

From Alkaline Diet: "If you have read my post on acidosis & avoiding acids then you will know a little bit about how being acid is not the best of ideas if you want to remain healthy, vibrant and full of energy."

Well, here are my top twelve reasons to avoid acids & stay alkaline!

ACIDOSIS:

1. Makes Us Fat! As discussed in the acidosis post I mentioned earlier - the body creates fat cells in order to protect our organs from excess acids. The fat is designed to carry these acid wastes away to other, less critical areas of the body and it clings to these organs to provide protection. Once the body is rid of acid wastes (through a healthier diet and exercise) it no longer needs to hang onto these fats for protection and it lets them go.

   Alongside this - weight problems are also compounded by the result of yeast and fungus overgrowths wreaking havoc on our digestive systems. And guess what - yeast and fungus thrive in an acidic environment. Because your body is now not able to properly process foods and extract the full nutrition from the foods that you eat - your body is always telling you that you are hungry. To compound this problem, the yeasts and fungus have the greatest shout in this signal to the brain - and what do they make you hungry for - more sugar, which further fuels the yeast growth.

   Following a diet of mostly alkaline foods (fresh and raw vegetables, salads, fresh alkaline fruits, seeds, nuts and pure alkaline water) will clean your system of the yeast, fungus and microform overgrowth and will flush your body of the excess survival fat that it has been clinging onto (literally for dear life!).

2. Robs Us of Energy! Principally, over-acidity will cause our body to leach alkaline minerals from our bones, muscles and other tissues to ensure that the blood maintains its delicate alkaline balance. This removal of alkaline minerals (particularly calcium) inhibits efficient and effective cellular and body metabolism - making us sluggish, tired and cloudy. Put most simply - over acidification drains our bodies of energy and inhibits the body’s ability to use stored energy reserves. And as if that was not enough - with the leaching of calcium from our bones, osteoporosis very often follows.
3. Causes Allergies:The mycotoxins that thrive in an acidic environment severly stress the immune system leading to it being constantly overworked and stimulated into response mode. The result of this is absurdly heightened sensitivity to nutrition and chemicals is what is more commonly known as an allergy. Excess mucus, soreness, swelling, eczema etc are all ways for the body to eliminate toxins.
4. Causes Free-Radical Damage and Premature Aging!: Acidosis is a symptom of - and a cause of - oxidative stress and lipid breakdown. The effect of this is that free radical damage is then promoted, attacking cell walls and membranes before killing the cells themselves. The outcome of this? Wrinkles, age spots, dysfunctional hormonal systems, poor eyesight, bad memory and foggy thinking - at the very least. Healthy cells are essential to almost every body process - so premature aging could become the least of your concerns!
5. Causes Excess Mucus:Mucus is normal. It is just another mechanism by which the body eliminates toxins - it coats everything we ingest and engulfs the toxins. When toxins are engulfed the mucus becomes sticky, thick and cloudy in order to trap the toxins in. Acidic foods and drinks always contain toxins which cause so much mucus that we seem to be constantly blowing our noses! The worst offenders are dairy products, animal protein, white flour and pastas, chocolate, coffee and alcohol
6. Corrodes and Destroys Veins, Arteries and Heart Tissues! Acid is corrosive - and overly acidic blood and bodily fluids almost immediately begins to erode and destroy cell walls of the heart, veins and arteries - leading to a much weakened cardiovascular system.
7. Inhibits the Metabolism of Fatty Acids! Fatty acids are absolutely essential to the proper functioning of the brain and nervous system - without them any number of neurological problems can arise (including depression, bipolar and other mental health problems, Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, brain development and learning in children, mood swings, ADHD and many more).
8. Causes Bad Cholesterol Problems! When we create an acidic environment in our bodies - the body creates LDL-Cholesterol at an accelerated rate. This LDL Cholesterol then causes huge amounts of clogging and cardiovascular problems.
9. Increases Blood Pressure! With the acid problems above, including increased LDL Cholesterol and compromised cell health - the heart has to work increasingly harder to move blood around the body. Acidosis is also to blame for venous vasoconstriction (meaning a decrease in diameter of the blood vessels) - which further adds to the workload of the heart and raises blood pressure!
10. Inhibits the Synthesis of DNA-RNA and Cellular Regeneration! For healthy cell regeneration and DNA-RNA synthesis - a cell pH CANNOT BE ACIDIC. On the flip side of this - for a cancer cell to grow, the cell pH HAS TO BE ACIDIC! An acid pH dramatically accelerates the possibility of the formation of mutated cells - otherwise known as cancer. Cancerous cells cannot contain hydrogen atoms - and healthy (alkaline balanced) cells contain plenty of hydrogen. In fact, the addition of hydrogen to cancerous cells actually heals them!
11. Stops Oxygen Delivery to Tissues! When our body’s are suffering from over-acidification the problem becomes compounded by the fact that an acid pH decreases the amount of oxygen than can reach our cells. Without oxygen our cells die!
12. AND FINALLY - AS A RESULT OF THIS: ACIDOSIS IS THE BASIS OF ALMOST ALL DEGENERATIVE DISEASES! A system that is riddled with excess acids and their wastes is compromised in so many ways - including hundreds of ways that are not even mentioned above! But even from this short list it is possible to see how acidosis can directly lead to:
    • cardiovascular disease (high blood pressure, heart attacks, arteriosclerosis, stroke, high cholesterol etc)
    • diabetes & obesity
    • liver & kidney disease
    • cancer - in any form
    • neurological diseases
    • immune system deficiencies
    • premature aging
    • hormonal problems & imbalances
    • osteoporosis

Young Coconut

One of our experimental food items for the weekend (besides the jackfruit) was a “young coconut”.

Young coconuts are the immature (young) versions of their brown hairy, adult selves. They are white, hard, and are cut into an odd shape by their growers for better shipping and use. Young coconuts are highly nutritious, delicious, and easy to digest. The young coconuts, also known as Thai, jelly, shaved, green, asian, or water coconuts, are usually found in Asian grocery stores. (That’s where we found ours.) They are white and cylindrical with a point on the top. The mineral rich water is very sweet and should be used in recipes in place of water. The coconut tree acts as a water filter and it takes 9 months to create one liter. The coconut water is identical to human blood plasma and has a similar electrolyte balance.

Here’s a young coconut recipe I want to try:

Sweet Double Coconut Chia Pudding
- Makes 1-2 servings

1 young coconut, flesh and water
1/2 cup coconut flakes
2/3 cup chia seeds
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Pinch nutmeg
Pinch cloves
8 drops vanilla stevia (or plain stevia and some vanilla extract)

Blend together the young coconut flesh and water, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and stevia until well mixed. Place the chia seeds and coconut flakes in a bowl and pour the coconut mixture from the blender over the top of the dry seeds and coconut flakes. Mix well and put in the fridge to set for ten minutes.

Raw Diet

I think this is going to be my new lifestyle. I’ve been eating a mostly raw diet (70% to 80%) for over two weeks – and I feel really good. I’ve lost 8 pounds – and am feeling less achy in my joints. Pretty cool for just over two weeks!!

So here’s the basic premise: The basics of a raw food are simple. You eat only uncooked, unprocessed, fresh fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds and oils. The idea is that foods heated above 110 to 120 degrees kills enzymes. The health-giving qualities of food are locked into enzymes. We can acquire more enzymes in raw and living foods. The digestive system has to work harder and longer to process cooked foods to get nutrition and energy from it. Once cooked, a food can lose up to 85 percent of its nutritional value. Raw foodists call that "dead food." Since we are essentially what we eat, consuming the dead energy of dead foods make our bodies feel heavy and stagnant.

A raw foods diet has been linked to more energy, healthier skin, a reduced risk of heart disease and better digestion. Things like allergies, digestive disorders (GERD), weak immune system, high cholesterol, candida and weight problems may be improved on a raw foods diet.

One of my main goals is to make my body more basic (people usually call this “alkaline”). The theory on this is that if your body is slightly basic/alkaline, it’s too harsh an environment for disease to survive in. I’m looking for this change in my diet to help with my reflux, blood sugar issues and weight – and the weight improvement should help with my blood pressure and sleep apnea. I have high hopes for this diet/lifestyle. Can you tell? Well, I’m already feeling more energy, improvement in achiness and have lost some weight, so let’s see what happens! P.S. – The food is really yummy!!