Your body is alkaline by design and acid by function. Remember that! Although your cells live in an alkaline environment, they produce acid as they function. Acid must be either neutralized or eliminated. Acid produced by cells is "natural", and self-made acid is easily eliminated through the lungs, the urine, and feces.
Acid from foods is handled quite differently. There are intricate systems to neutralize dietary acid. The body can handle reasonable quantities of dietary acid. However, too much acid-producing food overloads neutralizing mechanisms; the environment of your cells deteriorates; and your body becomes overly acid--it becomes toxic. Too much acid is termed acidosis.
Acidosis=Toxicity!
Any substance that interferes with the natural workings of the body is a toxin--food included.
Acidity and alkalinity are measured in terms of pH. Your internal systems operate in a slightly alkaline environment. We were designed to be slightly alkaline.
Acid that eventually gets inside your body where your cells are operating comes from food that is broken down in the digestive tract. Most digested foods leave a residue called ash. This ash is either acid, alkaline, or neutral. High- protein foods like meat, that make up such a large portion of our diets, leave acid ash. Fruits and vegetables (with a few exceptions) leave alkaline ash. By reducing the amount of high-protein, acid ash-producing foods, and at the same time increasing the amount of alkaline ash-producing foods, your internal environmental conditions become right for optimum health.
Recall the basic four food groups that are almost second nature to us as the cornerstones of a "good diet": meat, poultry, and fish; dairy products and eggs; cereals and grains; fruits and vegetables. Most of us have been drilled throughout our lives on the importance of including a balance of each of these groups in our daily diets. Lets take a look at how they stack up as far as acid or alkaline ash is concerned.
Meats, poultry, fish Very Acid
Dairy products, eggs Acid
Cereals, Grains Acid
Fruits, Vegetables Alkaline
When we follow the advice instilled in us, our daily diets contain 75% acid ash foods and only 25% alkaline ash foods. Let's be realistic about it: fruits and vegetables rarely make up 25% of the daily diets of most Americans.
It's just as easy to be healthy as it is to be sick. Just give your body a chance by giving it the kind of foods that it works with best.
The first step: increase the amount of cooked vegetables you eat every day. For many people, one serving a day of any vegetable is a dramatic increase.
The second step: Reduce the amount of protein foods you eat each day. Have a smaller serving of beef, poultry, or fish as you continue to add more cooked vegetables to your meals.
The third step: cook the vegetables less and include one serving of raw vegetables or fruit every day.
The fourth step: begin to reduce your intake of salt, coffee, tea, cola drinks, and processed (fabricated) snack foods.
How fast can you make these changes? How fast is too fast? To answer these questions, we should understand the goal we are shooting for. Ideally, your daily diet (other than thanksgiving, the fourth of July, your birthday, and a limited assortment of other special occasions) should consist of a combination of:
45% cooked fruits and vegetables
30% raw fruits and vegetables
25% grains, nuts, seeds, meat, fish, or poultry
Since each of us follows his own individual eating pattern, the guidelines that follow are very general. The time frames suggested are for those who have been living on a diet of meats, "Fast Foods", processed or prepared ready-made foods, refined carbohydrates, and stimulants such as coffee, tea, cola, or alcoholic drinks. You may have been following a more healthful diet that already includes fresh, whole foods such as vegetables and fruits. If you have, you may be able to telescope the time periods recommended to suit your own health level. If your body has suffered food abuse for many years, you may need to extend period. How your body responds is the best indicator of how fast you can improve your diet. No matter how fast you go, if unpleasant symptoms begin to appear, back off. Reinstitute some of the foods your body is accustomed to, then again slowly eliminate them from your diet.
The next logical question is, "Are the recommended quantities by caloric value, bulk, or serving?" My answer: No matter how you calculate it, ideally your menu items should be broken down into the 45%, 30% , and 25% proportions.
That is the Ideal Diet: 45% cooked vegetables/fruit, 30% raw vegetables/fruit, and 25% whatever else you want--meat, ice-cream, chocolate cake, or any other favorite. This pattern is radically different from the way most of us now eat. You can expect to improve your diet and health for six months to a year or more before you even consider trying the Ideal Diet. For those who have been catering to their taste buds rather than to their bodies needs, slow and steady movement toward better heath is realistic.
Start balancing your acid/alkaline ratio today! It's easy, and if you need help, please do not hesitate to ask me!
Be well,
Dr. M
