ACID VS ALKALINE, THE BATTLE THAT COULD SAVE YOUR LIFE!

One really interesting matter that’s helped me a lot in regards, of what foods to choose on a daily basis it’s learning how to balance my body’s pH and how this directly impacts my health (that’s why I think I don’t get the flu anymore…hooray!...knockin’ on wood) and now I’m going to explain it to you guys, so it can be applied with every meal… things are going to get a little scientific but there’s really no other way to explain it.

First of all…. What is pH? We’ve heard of it all our lives but the reality is that we don’t know what it really is about. The pH of a substance shows how acid or alkaline is and it’s measured on a scale of 0 to 14. Above 7.0 is alkaline and under that is acidic, really simple. The perfect blood pH is around 7.3, similar to the skin which is a bit alkaline. Your intestines and vagina (if you are a girl), should be on the acid side.

What causes acidity in our bodies?

-          Mineral deficiencies
-          Use of recreational or pharmaceutical drugs
-          Stress
-          Negative emotions and anger
-          Constipation
-          Cigarettes
-          A diet high in animal meats and processed foods
-          Weakness in liver and intestines
-          Excess eating

If your body is acidic, you are providing a perfect environment for candida, fungus, bad bacteria and illnesses that could range from flu to cancer. Actually, Brendan Brazier in his book Thrive says that "it is impossible for cancer to develop in an alkaline, balanced body".

The decisive factor on what foods are acidic or alkaline is basically, their mineral content. Foods that are rich in alkaline minerals (calcium, silicon, iron, magnesium, sodium and manganese) generate alkalinity in the body and the ones that are rich in acidic minerals (iodine, nitrogen, phosphorus and sulfur) create the opposite. This doesn’t mean that acidic foods are bad for you or shouldn’t be consumed as a part of your diet, but they need to be neutralized with balanced ones. 

Under an acidic condition, your body has to find a way to restore the balance in order to keep you alive, so it takes alkaline minerals from your reserves (since it’s not getting it from your diet!), bones, teeth and organs. As a consequence people suffer from conditions like osteoporosis and loss of bone density.

Now probably you are a bit traumatized like I was before having knowledge of this… the first thing I thought was, how can I know if I’m acidic? Well, if you are, then you may be experiencing muscular tension, headaches, anger, explosive moods, addiction to coffee, cigarettes, alcohol, marihuana, cocaine or other drugs, itchy skin, inflammation, water retention, tissue degeneration, calcification, between other things.

How can you guarantee that you are keeping yourself in an alkaline level? In every meal fill your plate with 80% alkaline foods and 20% acidic. In the beginning is tricky to know which are which but you get the hang of it pretty soon.


This is what I do: 

- First thing in the morning I drink a glass of water with lemon. Our bodies become slightly acidic when we sleep; lemon provides you with an instant boost of alkalinity. 

- After my glass of water I prepare a green juice or fruit smoothie (after that I usually exercise) if I’m hungry towards mid-morning (usually when I only had the green juice) I have a grain (quinoa, millet, gluten free oats or buckwheat) with a bit of fruit, a millet arepa with avocado, tomato and spinach or whatever my body craves.

- With every meal I enjoy a green salad or raw/steamed veggies. (makes 80% of my plate)
In the afternoon I usually have a second green juice or smoothie (not with fruit just veggies and sometimes cranberries).

- You can also drink water with lemon or raw apple cider vinegar (with the mother) with stevia throughout the day.

- I usually eat grains that are alkaline or neutral.

- The only sweetener that I use is stevia because is natural and alkaline, the rest are very acidic.

- I never drink sodas or beer and sometimes once a month I drink coffee with flax seed milk. These are the most acid beverages so my advice is to stay away from them.

- Chlorophyll raises the body pH, so I add a teaspoon of spirulina and chlorella to one of my smoothies every day. Any supergreen powder of your choice is good too as long as it’s certified organic. I also add nori powder and dulse flakes (sea vegetables) to my salads and soups.

Practicing yoga, deep breathing exercises, light stretching, meditation and doing activities that you love, contribute to maintain the alkalinity of the body.

Here I provide for you the link to a list that I found of acid/alkaline foods so you have an idea and start designing your menus with this as a base. After a little while it will be intuitive.

Acid/Alkaline Chart

When you see the chart, save it (right click-save as) so you can read the words with clarity.

Keep alkaline and healthy!

With Love,

Romina