PH & Your Body: How to Nurture This Relationship With Care pt 2

On our last blog we went into detail on the pH system and what this incredibly delicate balance of bacteria in your body really is. In this blog, we’ll discuss how you can start hitting this sweet spot by implementing certain practices into your diet.

PACKED FULL OF GOOD BACTERIA, OPT FOR SOME DELICIOUS FERMENTED VEGGIE DISHES

A serving of Kimchi or a hot bowl of miso soup are just some of the fantastic, delicious, and readily available options we have when making conscious choices to fill our diets with loads of good bacteria.

Fermented vegetables are a natural wonder when looking for ways to improve the acidity in our stomach levels. Most of us haven’t even stopped to consider a jar of pickles being a significant health benefit to our lives. With fermented vegetables harnessing billions of helpful probiotics that not only improve digestion and fight harmful bacteria but strengthen overall immune function and lower blood pressure.

In a study of 21,852 Japanese women, it was found that their miso soup (a traditional Japanese soup commonly made of dashi stock, miso paste, enoki mushrooms, and various vegetables) intake was linked to a lower risk of breast cancer. And in a secondary examination, 40,000 were found with a lower risk of stroke. If this point does not convince you, a third study where subjects who ingested miso soup over a long-term period all experienced lower blood pressure levels.

The next time you’re about to devour a Japanese chicken curry (we don’t blame you, katsu curry is marvelous), we recommend you consider starting with a nice bowl of miso soup first, you know – just to balance it all out.

RAW APPLE CIDER VINEGAR: THE WORLD’S 8TH NATURAL WONDER

The award for one of the most popular trends in holistic health these last few years goes to having a small cup of apple cider every day. Many have implemented this well-known health hack daily, but do you really know why?

First, if you don’t know what apple cider vinegar is, it’s a fermented liquid derived from apples, yeast, and bacteria. Its high enzymes and protein levels help break down the bacteria in your food, making it easier to digest as it passes through your system.

It has acidic properties, which help balance your stomach levels and carry more acid into your digestive organs. This makes it a perfect daily habit to help the pH in your tummy. Simply dilute a small amount of apple cider vinegar with water and knock it back!

QUINOA AND LENTILS: TASTY FOOD THAT HUGS YOUR GUT

Quinoa is one of the world’s go-to superfoods. With its high fiber and an endless list of vitamins and minerals that we tend not to get from other foods in our diet, look to quinoa for a great, healthy replacement for rice next time you want to add that health kick into your gut.

And if we take a moment to also acknowledge runner up in the world of superfoods, in a measly half cup of cooked lentils, you’re feeding your gut 9 grams of protein and 8 grams of fiber. That’s a quarter of your recommended daily intake in just a small serving. Lentils are a natural probiotic and add a lot of happy bacteria to your gut, just like fermented veggies.

As a major plus, you’re being kind to the environment while improving your gut, too! As long as no pesticides have been used, lentils are an eco-friendly process leaving no significant damage to air, water, land, or soil in the growing and production process.

ALKALINE WATER

In most countries where tap water is drinkable, the pH levels usually sit at a neutral balance of 7.0, which means it’s neither alkaline nor acidic. However, in recent years, alkaline water, that’s been naturally carbonated, has gained popularity in alternative ways to increase alkalinity in the body. Sitting at a typical pH of 8.8, alkaline water has proven many health benefits, such as decreasing pepsin, the primary enzyme that can provoke acid reflux.

Distilling water removes bacteria, viruses, and contaminants and can be filtered through hydration kits, adding baking soda or lemon to your tap water, or even through specialized pH drops which you can purchase from most health food stores.

Dr. Gregory also recommends two alternative methods to ingesting more liquified pH, such as adding hot water with ginger and key lime or celery juice to your diet.

4 THINGS DR. GREGORY RECOMMENDS YOU AVOID

HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP

On average, Americans increased their consumption of HFCS (High Fructose Corn Syrup) from zero to over 60 pounds per person per year. For the most part, this is due to the high amounts of sugar-sweetened beverages and processed foods that exist in the modern American diet. With one can of soda pop sitting 100,000 more acidic than your natural pH level, lowering your alkalinity significantly, it is truly a wonder why we still drink so much of it per year.

FRIED JUNK FOOD

Frying your food releases acid-forming minerals, which decreases its pH dramatically, making it more acidic the second it hits the smoking hot oil.

Of course, even in general health, we recommend limiting or cutting out fried food altogether from your diet as studies show that the higher intake of deep-fried ‘goodness’ can lead to issues with acid reflux due to the weight you may have gained.

FOOD COLORING

Once a fun way to bring life to bland foods, especially in our kid’s lunch boxes, food coloring throughout the years has proven to be quite the secret devil in the artificial world, adding a lot of acidity to your gut.

Originally manufactured from coal tar, synthetic food dyes today are derived from petroleum or crude oil. This knowledge is not widely available to the American public as the use of artificial food coloring has increased by 500% in the past 50 years.

So the next time you see a friend making pink cupcakes, we recommend preparing yourself for a little ‘chat.’

WHITE FLOUR

According to ‘Pearsons Chemical Analysis of Foods’, natural wheat flour usually sits at a 6.0 to 6.8, making it slightly acidic but close enough to neutral. However, white flour is mostly bleached using ‘chlorine,’ and chlorine itself is very alkaline. Therefore, we’d recommend choosing wheat flour over white flour as bleached food products such as bleached flour have a higher pH (and sometimes, a slightly more bitter taste!)

Maintaining a healthy pH may seem like a balancing act of sensitive proportions. We get it; these changes may feel overwhelming at first. But I do think that with just a tiny few changes you can either welcome or cut from your diet, you will see an enormous difference in how you, your body, and your gut feel in no time while also reducing your chances of experiencing major health problems down the line.

Learn more about your body and what you can do to nourish it at Vital Connection.