The decision to commit to a PH balanced diet can be a difficult one to take. In my article ‘The PH Balanced Diet: It’s Easier Than You Think!’ I introduced ways to make the change to a balanced PH a smooth one and to reduce the overwhelming nature of undertaking this change in your eating pattern. In the following article I wish to introduce some of the benefits that can be experienced through balancing the PH levels in your body.
Why Look to a PH Balanced Lifestyle?
Many people look to switch to a PH balanced diet due to either ill health or general feeling run-down but there is no need to wait until this point in your life before starting the journey. A PH diet can help your body face everyday challenges and prevent illness before it takes hold, rather than ‘fire-fighting’ after your body has succumbed to the attack.
General Weight Regulation (Weight Loss and Weight Gain)
During our busy lives, it is incredibly easy to overdose in highly acid foods; orange juice, pastries, burgers and carbonated drinks all have their place in our everyday diets. These foods are high in refined sugars and therefore promote the growth of yeast and fungi within our bodies.
Excessive consumption of these acidifying foods produces a condition of over-acidification in our bodies, known as acidosis. Various symptoms of acidosis make themselves visible when present in the system and one of the most common is weight imbalance.
An excess of acid in our system forces the body to adjust the way it stores waste so as to maintain a safe distance between vital organs and acid wastes. To achieve this, the body produces additional fat cells as a form of protection and to ensure that the body functions as normal. Conversely, as discussed previously, excessive consumption of high-sugar foods produces an ideal environment for the growth of yeast bacteria and fungi; this bacteria and fungi then thrives on the foods that we eat and can deprive our bodies of the nutrients present in the foods that we consume, some investigations would suggest that up to 50% of the nutritional value in our food intake is lost to bacteria when the body’s PH balance is overly acidic. This can in turn lead to a person suffering from acidosis being underweight.
By adopting a PH balanced diet, and therefore reducing the levels of acidity in our bodies, the excess fat cells utilised to store acid wastes away from our vital organs are no longer required, leading to weight loss. In the case of acidosis sufferers who are underweight, balancing the body’s PH reduces the optimum conditions internally for the survival of the yeast bacteria and fungi resulting in a yeast ‘die-off’ effect and enabling the body to commence absorbing the available nutrients in the foods we consume, again allowing regulation of body weight.
Bone and Joint Problems.
Joint pain and arthritis are also two symptoms of over-acidification of the body. Our body needs to combat and neutralise excessive acid levels and it achieves this by utilising essential minerals such as magnesium and calcium present in our system that would otherwise by used by our bones and vital organs. By removing these vital nutrients from our system, bone structure and joints can deteriorate, leading to arthritic pain and bone problems (osteoporosis).
A common remedy used by many people is a high intake of dairy products, believed to help conditions such as osteoporosis. Unfortunately, dairy products are highly acid forming and in fact only add to the problem as our bodies continue to steal essential elements from our bones and teeth to combat the acidification of our system.
A PH balanced diet can prevent these problems by allowing our bodies to utilise the nutrients in our system for their intended purpose.
Further Reading.
Other articles that I have written relating to a balanced PH lifestyle are available on Suite101.com.
The second part of this article, covers heart problems, skin and fatigue.
My article, ‘The PH Balance Diet: It’s Easier Than You Think!’, details how I overcame the daunting prospect of adopting a PH balanced lifestyle using small steps and finding out how to integrate my favourite foods into a balanced diet.
Join the Conversation