Due to the stressful way of living that we are having right now, Chronic fatigue is becoming a part our daily routine. We usually blame it to the long working hours, the tiring commutes and the tension brought about by similar things. But did we ever consider the food we take in to play a distinct part in communal fatigue?

How Acidity and Alkalinity affect our body?

In order to understand the difference of alkalinity and acidity we must first define what alkali is. An alkali is the ionic salt of an alkaline earth metal or earth metal element. This salt quickly dissolves in water. In contrast, the word Acidic came from acid; a class of water-soluble compounds, having sour taste, that turn blue litmus red, and react with some metals to liberate hydrogen, and with bases to form salts. Take into consideration that what we eat produces either acidic or alkaline bases into the body’s bloodstream and the fact that our body achieves best performance at a certain pH level (between 7.33 and 7.4), it is only right to say that a diet based on alkaline food is the one we are looking for to be healthier.

Another big thing to consider if this is not enough is the fact that our body is composed of more or less 75% water. Acidic bases that break down in water usually leave an acidic residue that can build up and eventually cause bodily functions to decelerate and occasionally shut down altogether. Unlike Alkaline bases which dissolves and easily absorbed by water. Also, if the body’s pH goes too far below 7.0 (acidic) the body will find a way to defy it. The body will borrow from internal alkalinity foundation. It will get minerals such as potassium, magnesium or calcium which it will extract from the bones. This process is the key cause of osteoporosis or depletion of calcium. Plaque is another disease that can be caused by consuming acidic food. Plaque can take the form of plaque on the teeth or in arteries that can cause heart attack.

But even without the major concerns like osteoporosis or heart disease, high acid levels have been shown to encourage the growth of bacterial, viral or even fungal infections, all things that we could easily keep under control if we were to maintain the optimum pH balance. Considering all this, an alkaline diet may sound absolutely practical; the only problem is that studies show that an average diet of western society produces high levels of acid. It is a diet that we are all familiar with over the last 100 years and which takes some willpower to amend, but once we got adopted has proven to yield phenomenal improvements to our health.

What forms an Alkaline Diet?

There are two ways to increase one’s pH balance: eating more alkaline-rich foods, and decreasing acidic-based foods. The best key is of course to do both of these ways till the body maintains the best pH balance. But before everything, it is important to know your body’s pH balance. Urine or saliva test strips that can be bought at most drug stores can be used to measure pH balance. You need to keep in mind, the goal which is to have a pH balance between 7.33 and 7.4. Vegetables and fruits, non-dairy and non-meat proteins (with the exception of cottage cheese, chicken breasts and eggs) and drinks such as koumbacha, herbal or green tea are considered as High Alkaline foods. Unfortunately, high acidic based foods include things like all meats, almost all grains, sugars and sweeteners, butter, cheeses and all alcoholic drinks.

Strangely enough, even water is not immune to the western tendency towards acidity. This is because of different additives that are put into it to make sure that it is safe for drinking. Drinking water produced by Water Ionizers such as those made by Chanson Water has been tested to turn the water to a more alkaline level.

Obtaining optimum health is a balancing act. The good news is, while we may subject ourselves to acid abuse; abuse that is coming to light as increased infections and chronic fatigue; we can undo the damage by bringing the body’s pH balance back into alignment. It’s just a matter of practice.