The pH Balancing Act: Alkaline for Vitality

Alkaline your body for greater health

In modern times, health issues have become both widespread and complex, largely due to the myriad factors contributing to the imbalance. Some of these factors include environmental toxicity like electromagnetic radiation, cigarette smoke, pollution and industrial chemicals like fluoride; other toxic substances such as vaccines and chemicals in household cleaning products, as well as skincare and beauty products.

In some instances, heredity may be an issue, and some babies may be born with low immunity. The largest factor of all – regardless of whether modern medicine chooses to acknowledge it – is undoubtedly diet. Many use food and drink for entertainment or emotional comfort – if they perceived it as fuel for the body, their choices might be different.

The majority of the substances passing as food these days are in essence synthetic, or so heavily processed or drenched in pesticides that they don’t have much in common with natural whole foods at all. For example, coffee is one of the most popular substances on Earth, grown all over the world and consumed daily in most households in the West, and with the popular coffee culture established over the last decade or so it is showing no signs of abating any time soon.

Is this harmful? Well, our bodies are resilient, which is why we often manage to make it through to the age of 80 despite the life-long assault our bodies have endured. Coffee alone is probably not enough to seriously hamper your vitality unless you have a major habit; even when considering that it is the single-most pesticide covered product on the planet, there are other hidden detriments in the processing and some of its natural effects have been shown to be harmful in themselves. The main consideration here is the acidity level it causes in your body.

MediMush aim to educate as much as possible on these issues so that you can achieve optimum health and vitality. We can tell you that acidity in the body is one of the major reasons for poor health, and it is caused largely by poor dietary choices. Most people by now will have heard of acidity and alkalinity in the context of health. Perhaps you even remember the litmus papers in science lessons at school. It was fun to test the pH of things and watch the colour of the paper change, but we weren’t taught to use this on ourselves.

Alkalising is the name of the game but it is hard to maintain an alkaline environment unless you are dedicated to natural living, especially if your lifestyle is challenging and you are not fully educated on the effects of foods within your body.

Alkalising needn’t be a balancing act

The pH (or potential hydrogen) scale goes something like this: pH 0 represents total acidity, pH 14 represents total alkalinity and pH 7 is neutral. Your blood will be slightly alkaline and will fall somewhere between pH 7.30 and pH 7.50, but you can find varying pH levels elsewhere in the body with the stomach being naturally extremely acidic at pH 3.5 or less; this is, of course, necessary, or we would not be able to break down and digest food.

At MediMush we feel that the overall pH you should be aiming for is between 6.5 and 7.25, and you can test it easily to find out if you’re in the ideal range. Your body is continually working to maintain the natural pH of the blood, and if it drops or raises in either direction your cells can lose the ability to function and they start to die; obviously, this is not good news for your health because your body becomes incapable of healing itself.

With the majority of foods and food combinations (think ready meals) being consumed in the Western world, acidity is waging war on the bodies of the unsuspecting and the inert. Yet alkalising can be done simply if you arm yourself with a little knowledge about which foods to eat, and dedication to changing poor habits. It has been shown that more alkaline foods can prevent problems like type two diabetes, colon cancer and kidney stones to name a few.

If your pH is too acidic, you may find that you suffer from hormonal imbalance, carry excess weight, have poor digestion and low energy… acidity has even been blamed for promoting the growth of tumours and many chronic diseases. This list is by no means exclusive, so the acidity issue should be taken seriously if you wish to regain or maintain good health.

Alkaline choices – which foods should you consume?

Fortunately, there is a large element of common sense involved in choosing alkaline foods, simply because they are the most natural, unprocessed ones! However, it should also be noted that the pH of the food itself doesn’t tell you if the food is alkaline or acidic. Lemons, limes and other citrus fruits test acidic, but they actually have an alkalising effect on the body. Likewise, meat products often measure alkaline but this is misleading – they create acidity in the body so they are definitely a no-go area for people with acidity issues. For this reason, when you are doing your homework it is better to always research the effects of the foods on the body rather than the pH level.

There are also a handful of fruits and vegetables that don’t promote alkalinity: corn, olives, winter squashes and lentils are the vegetables that won’t; neither will canned fruits, cranberries, currants, blueberries, or plums. There are many foods that promote alkalinity. Tofu, soybeans and seeds are considered to be alkaline, but remember that soy products should be consumed in moderation unless they are fermented – you should also check that any soy you eat is organic and not genetically modified. Some nuts are great: such as almonds and chestnuts, but some are not: peanuts or walnuts are acidic. If you are looking for protein, millet and fermented tempeh are good choices.

Sad news for some, no doubt, but nevertheless it is true that dairy, eggs, seafood and many grains will promote acidity. You may not be prepared to give up meat, dairy, coffee etc. completely, but consuming them in moderation should show at least some improvement in your acidity levels. Your diet should consist of about eighty per cent alkaline-promoting foods and around twenty per cent acidic foods. Once you have regained the balance, around sixty per cent of alkaline foods should suffice for maintenance.

You will notice many benefits once you have been alkalizing a while: your skin has more elasticity, you’ll sleep better, feel more youthful with lots of energy and you’ll have better digestion. Your immune system will function efficiently, any candida issues will be reduced and you’ll have a lot more mental clarity. At MediMush we know how great it feels to experience this, and we want the same for you. Fortunately, it is not only dietary changes that have a positive effect on your alkalinity levels. MediMush can help you to supplement with various products to give your body that extra boost it needs.

MediMush recommends pH Plus to alkalise within half an hour