Your body is acidic in nature, here’s how to alkalize your body and balance your pH to reduce/eliminate acidity related problems.
Well, we will not be going too deep into the technicalities of this subject, but it helps to be aware of our body, how the various foods affect it, and what can we do to reduce eating related problems.
We Indians complain a lot about the burning sensation in our stomach; there are so many ads on television where they show various products that help you relieve of that burning sensation.
The burning in your stomach (and at times in the chest) is because of acid accumulation!
About pH (Potential of Hydrogen)
The various metabolic activities in our body release substances that are acidic in nature. The good thing is that our body is equipped with a buffer system that neutralize these acids.
However, when you eat food with excess acids, more than what your natural buffer system can handle, the pH becomes lesser than optimum (around 7.35).
This leads to several problems in the stomach.
What Happens If Your Body Is Acidic?
Apart from discomforts like acidity and ulcers, an acidic environment can cause infection. Blood starts depositing all the acid into the tissues, resulting in the corrosion of the cells. It damages more free-radicals, leading to faster aging.
In worst cases, a low pH may also cause diabetes, obesity, reduced bone density, and neurological problems, including dementia and Parkinson’s.
How to Restore the pH Imbalance – What to Eat
So, how does one avoid/restore the pH imbalance? What should be done and what should be avoided?
Remember the word ‘alkaline’ learnt in school – which neutralizes whatever is acidic?
Yes, you need to eat more of alkaline-forming foods to neutralize the acids.
So what should you eat? Here’s what you should eat and what you should avoid:
- In general, foods of plant origin are alkaline, whereas that of animal origin are acid-forming. Soif you’re having several acidity, avoid eating meat, eggs, and fish for some time, at least until your body’s pH balance is restored.
- Doctors/Nutritionists/Dieticians suggest that you should consume more of alkaline-forming foods (70-80 percent of your diet) in order to lead a healthy and balanced life.
- Drink lots of water (along with electrolytes if acidity is bad) to restore your body’s pH.
- Cut down on sugar intake to avoid making your body more acidic. Replace acid-forming refined sugar with alkaline-forming stevia – one of the best-known sugar substitutes.
- Avoid processed foods, dairy products, such as cheese and milk, and coffee. Limit protein intake to restore the optimum pH of your body.
- Raw milk is one exception (among dairy products) that is actually good to reduce acidity. Its full of “good bacteria” that heals your body inside out. Remember grand parents telling you to drink a glass of milk before going to bed (they show it in the movies too)? Its precisely for this reason, so that you also get a good night’s sleep.
- Eat more of green vegetables – asparagus, kale, broccoli, spinach, mint, etc. Eat fruits like lime, grapefruit, and avocados (these are more alkaline).
- Include foods that are rich in Sodium, potassium, magnesium, and iron in your diet; are excellent alkalis and do wonders to neutralize the body.
- You may also use supplements, but do thorough research – as some supplements are more acidic.
- Last but not the least, get up and get some exercise daily. Do more of aerobic exercises (running, swimming, cardio), to reduce lactic acid build-up.
Final Thoughts
As you can see, its all about eating the right food. So start having more alkaline-forming foods in your diet to restore your body’s pH levels. Once in a while you may satiate your taste buds, but otherwise its important to pay attention to eat the proper diet (that suits your body).
Did you try foods/recipes that helped you combat acidity? Feel free to share it here, to help others suffering from this problem.
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