Image Courtesy: Liz West
Got stress? If you don’t, you’re either living on an imaginary spa retreat, or you’ve captured life’s biggest secret. But if you do, you’ll probably want to read on.
Whether you’re in the middle of a move, writing your thesis, dealing with sickness, or simply overwhelmed with your daily activities, stress causes your blood to become acidic.
Acidic Blood
Remember, back in seventh grade chemistry, when we used litmus paper to test the acidity of household chemicals, water and rain? Consider that the same measurements can be taken of our blood. And, when our blood reaches pH levels of lower than 6 – we have acidic blood. Just as acid rain destroys natural resources, acidic blood wreaks havoc on our systems.
Disease can only live in an acidic environment, so you can bet that if you aren’t feeling well, your blood has shifted to the acidic side of the pH scale.
pH Imbalance
A pH imbalance in our blood can induce a number of health disorders in our bodies. These disorders may be associated with digestive, respiratory and immune systems among others. An acidic condition is also associated with diseases like constipation, allergies, obesity and osteoporosis.
If acid levels increase, body organs like the liver and adrenal glands can not function efficiently. An increased acidic level in the body tissue forces the oxygen levels to come down and there is a slowdown of the metabolism. As a result, our body has no other choice than to draw on alkaline minerals within these tissues as well as bones and muscle to make the pH balance neutral.
Fortunately, a good alkaline diet and nutrition can restore the proper pH balance and thus bring vitality back to a person’s health. You have to start this restoration by ditching processed foods and sugars.
Alkaline Diet
An alkaline based diet can help balance internal stress, allow your body to easily absorb the nutrients it needs for healing, and give you energy to properly maintain your outer-world stress. Holistic practitioners often recommend transitioning into a completely alkaline diet when the body is in great distress. However, simply eliminating acid forming foods and eating more alkaline will benefit you some.
Most vegetables and fruits except a few like berries, rhubarb, and juices are alkaline forming. For example, cabbage, cauliflower, celery, cucumber, eggplant, kale, lettuce and mushrooms are alkaline forming vegetables. Similarly, apples, bananas, cherries, dates, figs, nectarines, oranges, pears and watermelon are alkaline forming fruits.
Shifting your diet to 80% alkaline is desired for getting rid of toxins and balancing stress and then you must maintain this level at 60% alkaline in your regular diet. Use this chart to identify foods that can balance your blood. You can purchase litmus paper at drug stores or online, that will verify how much your stress is impacting your blood and body.
The answers to your stress may be as simple as what you buy on your next trip to the grocery store!
Gina Laverde is a Chicago-based writer and researcher whose expertise in natural health stems from her experiences with Body Ecology Diet, Blood Type Diet and homeopathic remedies. Gina believes that we’re in the midst of a serious world health crisis, and that the key to survival lies within our guts.
check this Out says
Any chance you might be posting more content like this?
This was a seriously great read and I would love to
return and read even more if possible. I guess I’ll just check back later. Extraordinary job!