The typical American diet is a deadly one, consisting primarily of toxic and acid-forming foods like processed sugars, artificial sweeteners, refined grains, conventionally produced meats and dairy, and hidden genetically modified organisms. All this, combined with a plethora of other challenging environmental factors (such as lack of rest, psychological stress, and pharmaceutical drugs), mean it’s no wonder that more and more people are being diagnosed with chronic, degenerative illnesses or otherwise deadly conditions for which modern conventional medicine claims to have no known cure. One of the basic underlying problems with this unsustainable lifestyle – and there are many – is the average consumer’s lack of understanding that the body must balance the blood’s pH levels at a slightly alkaline level of 7.365 in order to survive. When a person ingests food to “burn” for fuel, the digestive and metabolic process transforms it into a kind of ash which is either acidic or alkaline. The laws of modern biochemistry further explain that it is not the organic matter of foods (whether the food itself is acidic or alkaline), but their inorganic matter (such as calcium, magnesium, potassium, sodium, sulfur, phosphorous; that is, how they break down in our bodies), that determines either the acidity or alkalinity of this ashy residue. Of course, the ultimate goal is balance. Eating too many alkalizing foods can lead to its own fair share of complications over time, but the risk of this is seemingly less likely, given the current sorry state of today’s highly addictive consumerist diet. To combat the effects of such a diet, here are six of the most alkaline-forming foods to work into your everyday meals: 1. Root vegetables This vegetables have their tendency to be more rich in minerals than many other vegetables, it may be safe to say that you can’t get enough of them. Look for radishes especially (black, red or white), as well as beets, carrots, turnips, horseradish and rutabaga. Ready to eat after steaming for just 15-20 minutes, root vegetables will help you feel both satisfied and better grounded. 2. Cruciferous vegetables These are the veggies we all know and love, made even more delicious with just a small amount of healthy, homemade sauce like pesto. Choose from broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts and the like. 3. Leafy greens Kale is one of the leafy green beauty that is widely known for its cancer-fighting, cholesterol-lowering, antioxidant-rich,detoxifying goodness. If you eat kale 2-3 times per week you’ll know it. Like spinach it is massively high in vitamin K, vitamin A and vitamin C and being leafy green it also has a huge chlorophill content. Also, Swiss chard, turnip greens and spinach – of which spinach may in fact be the best pick. Known especially for its rich vitamin K and folate content, spinach is also packed with vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals, antioxidants and fiber, helping to improve digestion and even vision. 4. Cucumber The beauty of cucumber is it’s water content-95%. Tha is phenomenal and you won’t find that anywhere else. It’s the daddy of water content. This of course makes it an incredibly hydrating food to consume. It also contains superb amount of minerals,antioxidants including the super important lignans. 5. Garlic. A true miracle food, garlic appears at the top of innumerable lists of foods that encourage overall health, and alkaline-forming food is no exception. Among its other benefits are its ability to promote cardiovascular and immune health by lowering blood pressure, cleansing the liver and fighting off disease. 6. Broccoli. Broccoli is just a must, If you re serious about living with health, energy and vitality you simply have to eat broccoli, if not on a daily basis, then at least 3-4 times a week. Broccoli has been proven many many times to be incredibly powerful in inhibiting cancers, supporting the digestive system, the cardiovascular system, the detoxification process in the body and also supporting the skin,metabolism, immune system, being an anti-inflammatory and providing ample antioxidants.Eaten steamed or raw its a huge alkaline food, hugely nutritious food. 7. Cayenne peppers (capsicum) The antioxidant superpower, bell pepper is all time favorite to many of us because it’s sweet crunchy and refreshingly delicious. You can use it in almost any meal raw, grilled, fried, roasted and it is always a winner. As part of a family of potent, tropical peppers which contain enzymes essential to endocrine function, cayenne is among the most alkalizing foods. It is known for its antibacterial properties and is a rich supply of vitamin A, making it a helpful agent in fighting off the harmful free radicals that lead to stress and illness. 8. Lemons Lemons may be the most alkalizing food of all. As a natural disinfectant, it can heal wounds while also providing potent and immediate relief for hyperacidity and virus-related conditions, as well as coughs, colds, flu and heartburn. Lemon also works to energize the liver and promote detoxification. Source: http://beautyzoomin.com/the-alkaline-foods-to-eat-everyday-for-a-perfect-health
0 Comments
As the saying goes, ‘You are what you eat’. What happens if you are reacting to what you are eating? Most people don’t think twice about eating a breakfast of eggs and toast and a glass of milk or orange juice, but if there is food sensitivity, this could result in many unpleasant symptoms that could even be life threatening. Food sensitivities are due to a toxic reaction to food and include food allergies and food intolerance. Let’s discuss food allergies first. Your digestive system is a barrier between the outside world and the inside world of your body. It is constantly being bombarded with new molecules from the food that we eat. When you have a food allergy, the surveillance part of your immune system is sensing the food, or a substance in the food, as problematic. In order to defend itself, it mounts a response (secretes immunoglobulins such as IgE) against that foreign substance to deactivate or neutralize it. Through this process, chemical mediators (histamines) are released and you can experience symptoms such as hives, an itchy throat, watering eyes, nausea, diarrhea and even anaphylaxis with a severe allergy. Sometimes the food reaction isn’t immediate; there can be a delay up to 48 hours. So, you could eat a tofu dog today and then two days from now have diarrhea. This makes it confusing and difficult to determine the source of the reaction. Common food allergens:
Symptoms of food allergy and food intolerance can be very similar and therefore confusing! Gastrointestinal symptoms such as heartburn, indigestion, diarrhea, constipation, gas and bloating are common. It isn’t so intuitive to consider symptoms beyond the digestive tract to be related to foods that you are eating, but more systemic symptoms are also common: eczema, psoriasis, headaches, migraines, joint pain, fatigue, hives, mood swings, asthma, recurrent bladder infections, and recurrent upper respiratory infections to name a few. More and more people are reacting to foods- be it an allergy or an intolerance. The reasons are complicated and varied. If you have an intolerance due to lacking an enzyme, this is genetically determined (you can thank your parents). If isn’t due to lacking an enzyme, then one must look at the situation more holistically. Why is the immune system seeing a particular food as a threatening invader? Is it the actual food that is the problem or an immune system imbalance? Is there too much inflammation from eating processed foods, air pollutant exposure, consuming Genetically Engineered foods, recurrent anti-biotic exposure, imbalances in healthy gut flora, or an overall higher level stress, challenging our digestive and immune system translating into food reactions? The bottom line is, chronic inflammation produced from recurrent food reactions has been linked to chronic diseases. Regardless if it is food allergy or intolerance, avoiding the trigger is a big part of breaking this cycle. There are few ways to determine if you are reacting to foods. Remember, there is a difference between an allergy and intolerance to food. In order to determine if you have a food allergy or intolerance, the gold standard is an ‘elimination/challenge diet’. This is where you would be on a restrictive diet for a period of time (3-4 weeks) and remove foods that are shown to be common culprits. Then in a systematic way, there is a food challenge, and subsequent observation of symptoms. Due to the fact that the potential offending agent has been removed, it is more obvious when it is added back in if it is problem. If you want to see the ‘hard data’ and don’t want to go through the process of removal and re-introduction of food, you could get a food allergy test. This a blood test specifically testing a surveillance part of your immune system (IgE and IgG4), and determining if the proteins in food are causing a problematic immune system response. If a food is not causing an immune response it isn’t going to show up as a problem on this test, so, if there is a food intolerance, this specific test isn’t going to shed light on this. There are other tests that can check for specific intolerance to foods (ex lactose or gluten). If you suspect that foods you are eating are affecting you, talk to your Naturopathic doctor about how to determine the best course of action. Resources: Most of you are familiar with the term genetically modified organism (GMO). Touted by some to be cutting edge technology and the answer to how we are going to feed our ever expanding population, several experts have serious concerns about the long term effects of these manipulated foods on our health. In a genetically modified (GM) food, scientists take one or more genes from the DNA of one organism, such as a bacteria, virus, or animal, and “recombine” them into the DNA of the plant they want to alter. This new bio-engineered plant will, in turn, express the trait of interest. For example, the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) is transferred into the DNA of corn. This bacterium produces crystal proteins that are lethal to insect larvae. Combining the Bt genes into the DNA of corn allows the corn to produce its own pesticide. This sounds reasonable, actually elegant and even highly beneficial. Depending on the objective of the engineering, it could:
Let’s go back to the Bt bacterium. The effect of this bacterium on insects is that it paralyzes their digestive system, punches holes in their gut lining eventually killing the insect. Until recently it was thought that if humans ingested the Bt bacterium, or the GM corn or soy that contains their DNA, it does not have a toxic effect. But more recent research shows that the effect of Bt corn or soy on humans does have damaging effects. It may increase the permeability of our digestive lining, otherwise known as ‘leaky gut’, setting the stage for a variety of chronic health conditions. Manipulated crops in combination with more chemicals (specifically the pesticide Roundup) have been linked to malformations (birth defects), reproductive problems, DNA damage, and cancer in test animals. Human epidemiological studies have found an association between Roundup exposure and miscarriage, birth defects, neurological development problems, DNA damage, and certain types of cancer. Chronic inflammation is a widely accepted an igniter of chronic disease. With the introduction of GM food, there has been a drastic increase of inflammatory conditions. This suggests that the irritation and toxicity caused by GM foods and related chemicals are increasing people’s susceptibility to chronic health imbalances. So what can we do? Avoid eating GM food. At this point, unless it is labeled non-GMO, or is labeled organic, there is a high probability that these specific foods are genetically modified. Take Action. Many countries have banned GMOs and others have enforced labeling of GM Food. In the US, there is a push to require the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) to label GM Food. The only way to make a decision about whether you want to consume GMO’s or not, is to first know if you are eating them. If this sounds like an important cause, go to Label it WA If you are interested in keeping up on what is in our food the Non GMO Project is a helpful website that has up to date information. There is also the non-GMO shopping guide on this website which is a helpful mobile tool I highly recommend everyone to watch this movie. It is extremely relevant and a wake up call to pay attention to what you are putting in your body and how it affects your health, as well as the health of generations to come. |