Now I have touched on diet regimens to counter the negative aspects of acid conditions.  First let me give you a few examples to relate to.  Kidney stones you will read in our pH article in www.blueeyedcurse.com is a direct result of too much acid.  There are two aspects to pH.   pH is regulated simply by how much  total alkalinity is in the system.  If you have the right amount and you haven't gone out of your way with an acid diet,  your pH in every area will be stable and where it should be.  Remember blood must be kept at 7.37 slightly alkaline.

Gods Little Apples

One example I think will ring a bell as it did for me.  In  my agricultural background where I was dealing with what they to refer to as PPM (parts per million) we used to use a chemical for thinning out fruit set.  There are times where the bees do too good a job.  Too many apples on a branch, hence little biddy apples.  6 big apples are worth 100 times more than 30 little ones.  We used a chemical call Naphlatheniccidic acid.  We used it in doses of ( get this now), anywhere from 5 ppm to 25 ppm.  Now when you equate even 25 parts per million that is minute, let alone the difference between 5 and 25 ppm, yet the dosage was critical and just a little difference, from 5 to 15 ppm along with the humidity over 80%,  was the difference between a nice thinning and a clean out.  I wiped out  a Red Delicious orchard one year,  not one apple left with the wrong concentration, about 20,000 bushels of apples and they brought around 5 bucks a bushel that year.  With that lesson and the help of Cornell U. the next year with a little adjustment (about 10 ppm we had a perfect thinning.

Total Alkalinity

One more example to give you an idea on how delicate the chemistry is in everything.  A swimming pool must be kept at an optimum chemistry.  Two particular readings are pH and Total Alkalinity.  If you don't  keep the chemistry in line, bad things happen, one can be wastes forming on the pool surface, black slimly stuff, another problem is where the pool surface actually starts eating away.  Now the recommended safe range for Total alkalinity (the total amount of minerals in the pool volume)  is anywhere from 80 ppm to 120 ppm.  When my pool stayed around 80 or 90 ppm I didn't worry.  I had to use between 3 and 4 pints of muriatic acid a week to keep the pH up,  the OK range of between 7.2 to 7.6.  (Note: It is not by chance that this range is the optimum range for blood)  I inadvertently noticed that when I brought the total alkalinity up ( the addition of sodium bicarbonate/baking soda) to the higher acceptable range around 120 ppm that I reduced the amount of muriatic acid from 3 to 4 pints of acid a week down to 1 pint and in most cases none.   So it was clear that total alkalinity played a significant role in regulating pH.  Now in the case of a pool,  humans have to step in to make adjustments with the adding of chemicals etc.  (Note: the use of Chlorine in a pool for sanitary purposes increases the pH of pool water and in the process especially if the total alkalinity is low or below the acceptable range mandates the use of acid to bring it down into the safe range)  The human body has its own regulatory ability,  even the extreme extent of extracting needed minerals from the party's skeletal structure,  but if it is abused it fails (usually too much acid forming foods in the diet) to some degree and in some cases a large degree.

The amount of minerals (alkalinity) has everything to do with the health of anything, because a body that is receiving an adequate amount of minerals is countering and neutralizing the excess acids we are subjected to.  This is what it boils down to and if you have a health problem and you want to stick around this earth for as long as you can and you want to feel good, read the list of acid and alkaline forming foods below....

Acid forming foods

All meat (beef, pork, lamb, chicken) and fish , Rice (white, brown, or basmati) Cornmeal, oats, rye, spelt, wheat, bran , Popcorn ,  Pastas   Breads and most other grain products like cereals (hot or cold), crackers, pastries The following beans unless sprouted, in which case they become alkaline-producing  pinto, navy, mung, lentils, black, garbanzo, red, white, adzuki, and broad ,  Cheese (Parmesan is the daddy of them all on the acid side, along with the sharper cheeses) Sunflower and pumpkin seeds  although these two items are border line,  The following nuts: walnuts, pecans, cashews, dried coconut (fresh coconut is alkaline-producing), pistachios, macadamias, filberts, brazil nuts, and peanuts. Colas  are acid bouquo (I've warned numerous times in the past how the phosphorus in cola turns to phosphoric acid and destroys bone.) Alcoholic drinks , Coffee and other caffeinated drinks , Sweetened yogurt , Most forms of sweeteners (artificial sweeteners, cane sugar, beet sugar, barley syrup, processed honey, maple syrup, molasses, fructose, lactose)  Your best bet for a sweetener is Stevia,  a safe herb that is recommended for diabetics.  We obtain Stevia from the Life Extensions in Ft. Lauderdale although GNC and other health food stores have it.  We use just a half a packet in our coffee.  Stevia is an alkaline forming food too.  Refined table salt, Soy sauce , Mustard (dried powder and processed) Ketchup (unless natural and homemade) Mayonnaise (unless natural and homemade) White Vinegar (apple cider and sweet brown rice vinegar are less acid-producing and preferred) Nutmeg , Tobacco , Practically all drugs .  

An Acid you can well afford.

Few foods naturally contain vitamin D. Sardines which have an abundance of important nutrients, including potassium, protein, omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin B-12, iron and calcium in the tiny sardine bones, are a good source of vitamin D.  I personally eat 3 to 4 full cans of Sardines a week,  about 4.25 ounces at a sitting and in fact for 1 lunch a week I take a full can,  chop up the sardines and combine them with a can of Progresso soup either the Manhattan or New England clam chowder.  It is a delicious treat with all the nutritional trimmings.    

Alkalizing Forming Foods 

Practically all vegetables

Practically all fruits with the exception of blueberries, plums, prunes, and cranberries.  That doesn't mean avoiding them, prunes in particular are the champion of all anti-oxidants.  Just go easy on them.   Even citrus fruits such as lemons, which we think of as being acidic, are alkaline-producing in the body. They are rich in organic salts, like citrates, which are converted into bicarbonates.  Beans such as string, soy, lima, green, and snap peas, potatoes with the jacket,  Arrowroot flour grains such as flax, millet, quinoa, and amaranth,  Nuts like almonds, pignoli, fresh coconut, and chestnuts sprouted seeds of alfalfa, radish, and chia unsprouted sesame fresh unsalted butter, milk, cream, goat's milk,  eggs,  whey,  plain yogurt.

Sweeteners like raw, unpasteurized honey, dried sugar cane juice (Sucanat), brown rice syrup, Fruit juices (Go real easy on sweet fruit juices, next to nothing is best, blending that retains the fiber is the best way to go, as it buffers the sugar and acid)  All vegetable juices, most herbal teas,  garlic, the herb Stevia.

Cayenne pepper, gelatin, most all herbs miso

Most vegetable and unprocessed sea salt, most all spices,  vanilla extract, brewer's Yeast

Most unprocessed, cold-pressed oils are neutral or alkaline-forming (even margarine seems to be neutral, but I don't recommend that anyone eat this "liquid plastic")

Expanded list below.  Some contradictions with list above because some foods are close to neutral.   A classic example is when a potato is eaten with the skin it is an alkaline producing food.  Take the skin out as in mashed and fried and it is an acid producing food.

"ALKALINITY - A REQUIREMENT FOR HEALTH”    From Dr. Baroody's excellent book "Alkalize or Die" This book in my opinion is the most important piece of health material that you can lay your hands on.  It will extend your life as well as anyone that you can pass it on to.

 A properly alkalized body is a healthy body. Glands and organs that are overly acidic become diseased.  

HEART
The heart is one of the most alkaline-dependent organs in the body. Acid wastes cause irregularities in heartbeat and function. Blood, oxidized by acid waste, damages the heart.  

LIVER
The liver has over three hundred functions, including processing acid toxins from the blood and producing numerous alkaline enzymes for the system. All nourishment obtained through the gastrointestinal tract enters the blood by way of the liver. When large amounts of acid waste products are in the blood, a burden is placed on the liver.  

PANCREAS
The pancreas is highly dependent on correct alkaline diet. All aspects of pancreatic function reduce excess acidity and regulate glucose balance.  

SMALL INTESTINES
Acid waste from acid-forming foods interfere in the production of a crucially important enzyme called chyle. Chyle plays a major role in alkalizing the body. When this enzyme is compromised, the body is in an acidic state.  

KIDNEYS
In an adult, about one liter of blood per minute passes through the kidneys. The kidneys keep the blood alkaline and extract acid. Kidneys that are overstressed with too much acidity create kidney stones, which are composed of waste acid cells and mineral salts that have become gummed together in a waste acid substance.  

LYMPHATIC SYSTEM

There are several hundred lymph glands in the body. Lymph fluid carries nutrition to the cells and removes acid waste products. When the body is overly acidic lymph becomes sluggish.  Lymph dries and begins to form very tiny to very large adhesions throughout the tissues. These adhesions can interfere not only with lymph fluid, but with blood flow as well. Hindered lymph flow increases tissue acid storage.
Water is necessary to keep lymph moving. Without clean water, waste products from foods that are not properly digested are reabsorbed into general circulation via the lymphatic ducts of the small intestine. In addition, bowel movements that do not completely clear the body of its daily toxins are also reabsorbed.  

EMOTIONS AND ACIDITY
Negative emotions create an acidic environment. Anger, resentment, hate, and other negative emotions that are not transformed to love and acceptance will make you ill. The positive emotions like love and acceptance will alkalize your body.  

ALKALIZING ACTIONS
Moderate exercise is alkalizing to the body. Excessive or strenuous can create an acidic problem due to lactic acid buildup. People who are acidic usually feel worse from exercise. For these people, the bodily systems involved detoxifying the body become even more overwhelmed with the release of lactic acid from exercise. Those who have Chronic Fatigue Syndrome often feel sick and exhausted for a day or two after exercise of most kinds. 

The Great Equalizer

It may be difficult managing your diet to include many of the right foods and minimizing the bad ones.  Even taking in a generous amount of fruits and vegetables can be a chore for some.  We practice every day what we call the "Great Equalizer" The green smoothie that has a nice compliment of fruits in addition to the live greens as in parsley, chard, kale, frozen broccoli, cauliflower and brussel sprouts and the natural sweetening herb Stevia and it really is delicious.  One nice apple really helps the taste.  Actually the body has a fascinating ability to adjust its total alkalinity if you just give it a reasonable break. The smoothie will most likely put you on easy street and scavenge up just the right amount of acids and stabilize your pH.

When you add a potpourri of the elements that we add to a smoothie you will be constructing a power house of anti-oxidants and a synergy of the  combination that will combat the sophisticated nature of wastes.  Free radical/wastes are buggers to neutralize.   It is important that you drink a smoothie as soon as you prepare it to send it into your system in a viable state.  Enzymes etc. are short lived even in a live food state.  Get it down.

Check our http://www.blueeyedcurse.com/smoothies.htm feature

A great link into an intelligent explanation on the pH balance and total alkalinity is  http://biomedx.com/pH/index.html  

This information is intended to heighten awareness of potential health care alternatives and should not be considered as medical advice. See your qualified health-care professional for medical attention, advice, diagnosis, and treatments.

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