Alkalinity

     

 

Alkalinity – the word has been around for ages but is being talked about a lot these days. Well, one may think it is just another passing fad, but alkaline is the ideal environment that the human body functions in.

Since we suddenly got into this health mode on a more conscious level unlike our ancestors who were in the  health mode subconsciously at all times,  it looks like we get bitten by every other health bug that comes around.

But for me, it is being more aware of what is happening inside the body and thus being more sensible and sensitive to what all we choose to put inside it, in the name of food.

We measure the acidity and the alkalinity on a pH scale. pH 7 is considered neutral. Anything above it is alkaline and anything below it is acidic.

The human body functions at its optimum at a pH of 7.365. Most of the enzymes function at a very narrow range of pH and hence it is a delicate balance that the body is striving to achieve at all times.

But there are a lot of factors due to which the this balance get disrupted but with natural regulators inside the body the pH soon gets restored to its most optimum state – something that happens inside a healthy body.

More often than not, the pH tends to shift to acidic because of many reasons like

• Cooked food releases acid though in a healthy body most of it gets flushed out due to natural processes like digestion
• Fried food and wrong food combinations release a lot of acid
• Too much of processed food releases a lot of acid
• It is hard to believe but stress and negative emotions too release a lot of acid inside the body

We have always assumed acidity is heartburn and similar reactions, but acidity can show up in a lot of different forms which is good to know to identify it better.

It can show up as

• Gas
• Flatulence
• swelling in one or more parts of the body (my mother gets a swollen gum when eats a certain food item or starts sneezing when she eats a bitter almond, yes for real, we have grown up seeing this)
• Vomiting
• Nausea
• Drowsiness/Lethargy ( a fruit meal means an active body for me or else I am nearly dead after lunch due to lethargy)
• Allergies
• Pains ( my mother tends to get a headache when some food item doesn’t suit her and this tendency has passed on to me as well.)
• Change in bowel movement

Though the body has its own acid regulators for eg kidney releasing urine, lungs releasing CO2, but sometimes certain conditions and imbalances may send the body into panic mode and it may fail to flush out any excess acid which results in accumulation of acid in the body, making it excessively acidic. An acidic environment does a lot of things inside the body which we may or may not feel at all times. Some of the many things that it does are:

• It prevents toxins from getting flushed out
• A simultaneous effect of toxins not getting flushed out is nutrition not reaching the cells.
• Toxic overload and thus breakdown of defense system bit by bit.

It looks like a scary situation but the good thing is that extreme situations do not  happen overnight and hence we have every day to keep our ph level in check.

But how do we maintain the alkalinity of the body?

• Most raw fruits and vegetables are alkaline in nature and hence it gives us all the more reason to include more of fruits and vegetables in our diet.
• It looks difficult  to begin with, but 60 percent of the total diet in a day can ideally be fruits and vegetables. ( please use your discretion and count out deep fried vegetables from the list, raw, steamed and sautéed is the ideal here)
• Fruit is a natural detoxifier. It neutralizes all acids. There is nothing like too much fruit. Fruit can be a great replacement for a cooked meal, once in a while, just to detoxify or when one is feeling bloated or the body is exhibiting any of the above symptoms. The only thing to take care is not eating fruit immediately after a cooked meal. A gap of at least an hour would give the best results.
• Brightly colored veggies, apart from keeping the body in an alkaline condition, contain a lot of good plant pigments. The magical quotient gets even better if you can lay your hands at organic vegetables or grow some of your own.
• Please use your nuts and seeds for more than garnishing on your desserts. They are small packets filled with extraordinary benefits. Snack on them rather than some sweet or fried snack (okay, I have my moments too) but a healthier choice at most times will help one will feel refreshed immediately.
• Lemon is a wonder food or a superfood which is immensely (read multiple times) beneficial for many reasons. Raw undiluted lemon juice helps restore alkalinity in the body like no other thing ( unless one is allergic to it, I heard of the citrus allergy for the first time in Canada). I understand having it undiluted can be challenging at times, the next best thing is to have it in a cup of warm water without adding salt or sugar. It is best to have a shot when you think you have had a particularly heavy meal or have eaten out.
• Alkaline activities- yes they have a name too but are not new to us. They are the good old exercises like walking, swimming etc which help release stress and thus lower down any acidity in the body. So while the body is working out, it is also getting cleansed, a passive side effect !!!

Why alkaline?

• Now we know that the human body works best at a slightly alkaline pH. So quite naturally, alkalinity is an important prerequisite to improve immunity.
• All big and small diseases take birth in an acidic environment. So when we maintain an alkaline environment, it is hard to fall sick, because healing and repair is going on simultaneously.
• It looks tough to make these minor changes to one lifestyle but when we think of health”ful” body, it is achievable. Bringing in changes in the diet will surely entail some withdrawal symptoms but that is just like a child crying when a favorite toy is taken away. Just like he will settle with time, the body settles with time and a sensible approach towards food. Trusting one’s body and not giving up is the key here. For example, I have pushed my morning tea to a little later and replaced it with fruit. this was after years of having tea the first thing in the morning. I dont know why that comes a s part of growing up, but is totally unnecessary.
• Use food as healer at most times so you(we) don’t need medicine to cure minor everyday issues.
• Planning in advance reduces the possibility of having ready and processed food. I can say for myself that if I don’t attend to my nutrition, cravings hit me and I attack on the easiest possible food available, thus disrupting my own pH balance.

 

The trick is simple, I eat a fruit and go out for a walk when I do not feel my best, because

FOOD IS THE MOST ABUSED ANXIETY DRUG AND EXERCISE IS THE MOST UNDERUTILISED ANTIDEPRESSANT.

Happy to write blog posts as a part of the blog train hosted by Prisha Lalwani of http://www.mummasaurus.com/ . thank you for introducing me jameela ( https://jameestrait.wordpress.com/) please go on her blog to read her wonderful insights. I introduce Kapila of https://www.everylittlethinghappiness.com/topics/parenting/ who writes on very relatable topics.do drop in a word of praise for her.