Despite the current lockdown and January blues, isn’t now the best time to start having a healthier diet and look after our bodies?! With so much information on different types of diets around us, both online and offline, it can leave us confused as to what and whom to listen to and what diet is good for us.
Some of you may have heard of the alkaline diet but don’t know what it is, others may not. In this article I would like to look into it and explain what alkaline diet is in simple terms.
What does alkaline mean? Alkaline is the opposite of acidic. We all have heard of pH scale. The higher your pH score is, the more alkaline your body is.
Same goes with food and drink. Some makes our bodies more acidic, some more alkaline. Our bodies are naturally alkaline, however if our food and drink consumption is highly acidic, this can lead to our bodies becoming more acidic, leading to higher risk of developing health problems, including metabolism imbalances leading to diabetes, and even cancer.
https://www.diabetes.co.uk/diet/acid-alkaline-diet.html
With this in mind, you may have started wondering now what food and drinks are alkaline and what are acidic? Here are some examples:
- Acidic: meat, poultry, fish, eggs, grains, alcohol, coffee, dairy
- Neutral: natural fats, starches, and sugars
- Alkaline: fruits, nuts, legumes, and vegetables
Even though this diet can be a little challenging, as it was for me back in 2008 (I do like my coffee in the morning), I had some amazing results. I cannot recommend it highly enough! It improved my energy levels, vitality and additionally lost some weight. Overall this improved my happiness immensely. Before starting out, I remember feeling tired, having sugar cravings and really bad skin. I only fully committed to it for 14 days (no coffee, no alcohol, fully vegan) and had tremendous results. That’s also when I decided that meat was no longer something I wanted to have in my diet.
Please note that not all naturally acidic food increases the acidity of your body. For example, a lemon is acidic but once in water and inside the body, it is alkaline.
If this is completely new to you I would suggest starting out with taking small steps and, say if you have some meat for dinner, have the rest of the plate alkaline rich food so that its 20% acidic and 80% alkaline. You can check your body pH score by purchasing pH test strips.
I personally feel confident about alkaline diet and its positive effect on the body, however, I am aware it may not be suitable for everybody. Should you have any concerns, do check with a medical professional.
Until next time stay strong, keep fit and healthy!
HEAD & HEART MATTERS 