People sometimes ask me for advice on how to be more healthy or lose weight. First thing I always tell them is to start eating more vegetables. Along with fruit, vegetables have the ability to do a lot more good for you than you ever realize. By simply adding more produce to the diet we can positively affect our biochemistry and function at our highest level, without ever being sick.
What we eat not only matters from a vitamin and mineral perspective but food also has the potential to alter the pH of our blood. The pH or “potential of hydrogen” is a determining factor in our immediate health and well being. Human bodies are around 7.3 to 7.4 and we need to maintain this to remain functioning properly. Push this number into the wrong direction and the opportunities for disease and body fat present themselves. Keep this number in an alkaline state and it will be nearly impossible for any disease to flourish in you. As you are now beginning to express interest in health, you can start by creating a healthy balance within yourself by consciously choosing the best food for you.
By clicking at the following link you can acquire a comprehensive chart of each food group and how it affects your pH. It is called the PRAL or Potential Renal Acid Load chart. Fruits and vegetables generally fall under the “alkaline” category because they have a base effect and thats the ones you need to load up on. There are a ton of benefits from eating meat, fish, and eggs but because of their acidity we need to combine them with alkaline foods during each meal to maintain an overall alkaline balance.
This is health we can not only feel but also see for ourselves. Alkaline people usually have a glow to them and they have a high level of energy. As you may have noticed for yourselves, meals traditionally served in a standard American diet often include large amounts of gluten and complex carbs with very little vegetables. You may also notice a sudden drop in energy and mood at this time because the body is struggling to find an equilibrium. Food should energize us and not give us the “2:30 feeling” after lunch, for example. When you deprive your body of minerals and other nutrients it is forced to use up our own supplies, exhausting them over the years. Perhaps most of Western diseases can be a direct result of our bodies being out of balance and deprived of what we are designed to consume. Among vegetables I am also interested in probiotics and maintaining a good gut flora. We will also discuss super supplements like fulvic acid and humic acid that allow your body to break down free radicals and flush heavy metals.
Today take the first step to health and roam your cart in the produce section for a little while. Consider fruit and vegetables that you like or have considered trying before. Whether it is a form of a salad, blended in a smoothie or eaten as a side dish, vegetables need to be present in our daily diet. They can easily fix deficiencies and fill the gaps in your health. I get up in the morning and start by consuming fruit and vegetables smoothies, wheatgrass and many other alkaline things way before breakfast. This gives me energy for days. Next time in the supermarket spend some time in the produce department and try new things.
