Getting Alkaline- 7 Cool Shortcuts

The concept of "Getting Alkaline" is not the latest health fad, or some trend that will disappear any time soon. It is gaining traction consistently and methodically in the marketplace, and the concept is so fundamental and common sense to health conscious people that they usually have an aha! experience as soon as they hear about it.

So what is it, and how do you do it? Well, the concept is based on the Acid Alkaline balance. The acid alkaline scale starts at 0 and goes to 14. 7 is Neutral, lower than 7 is acidic, and above 7 is alkaline. Babies are born slightly alkaline, at 7.365 on the scale. But as we grow and are exposed to acidic foods, stress, pollution, chemicals and even natural acids like lactic acid, our bodies become acidic. Everything we eat and drink has either an acid or alkalizing effect.

Think of it like a bank account and everything you take into your body is either an alkaline deposit or an acidic withdrawal. For example, soda is a huge withdrawal; green and yellow vegetables and alkaline water are excellent deposits.

When our body is acidic bad things happen. Diseases flourish in acidic environments. Some doctors and nutritionists believe that maintaining a healthy PH balance makes you immune to diseases, even cancer. In his book "Alkalize or Die" Dr. Theodore A. Baroody claims: The countless names of illnesses do not really matter. What does matter is that they all come from the same root cause...too much tissue acid waste in the body.

Eating an alkaline diet offers benefits like:

-Your body will adjust to its natural weight

-You will have increased energy

-Better sleep patterns

-You will gain lean muscle

-Drastically lower risk of illness (some claim you can't get sick at all!)

So how do you do it? Here are 7 cool shortcuts to help you get there:

1. Get a PH test kit and measure your PH level regularly. Just by measuring regularly you start to see patterns, and know what things affect your body either positively or negatively. These test kits are inexpensive, and are readily available at your local health food store.

2. Add alkaline water to your diet. This has had more impact for me personally than any other single thing. Hydration itself is critical to getting alkaline, and most people don't drink enough water. Those that do drink lots of water would get a huge boost in alkalinity they drank alkaline water. To determine how much water you should be drinking, just divide your body weight in two and drink that many ounces of alkaline water a day. In other words, a 180 pound man should drink at least 90 ounces of water a day. Then add an alkalizing supplement, and watch how quickly you see positive health improvements!

3. Start each day with a glass of fresh lemon juice. Just take a lemon or two and squeeze the juice into a glass of water. Although lemons are acidic, they have a strong alkalizing effect on your body, as well as good digestive benefits. A little tart at first, but once you're used to it you will learn to love it!

4. Just add salad. Add a salad to your lunch and dinner every day. Spinach salad is particularly good, but almost all green and yellow vegetables are alkalizing. Also, adjust the portion size on your plate. Cut down on the meat, potatoes and gravy, and increase the serving size of your veggies. Not hard to do, but it makes a big difference.

5. Cut back on refined sugar. We already know sugar isn't good for us, but it also causes acidity in our bodies. Did you know a gram of sugar is what's in the little sweetener packs in restaurants? Understanding that, become a label reader, and check how many grams of sugar are in what you're about to eat. For instance, Kellogg's Smart Start cereal (advertised as a very healthy cereal) contains 16 grams of sugar. Can you even imagine starting with an unsweetened cereal and putting 16 of those coffee sweeteners on it?! I doubt it! Start checking how many grams of sugar are in the things you eat- you're in for a big surprise.

6. Add "Super Alkalizers" to your alkaline diet:

-Greens like Kale, Mustard Greens, and Broccoli

-Millet or Quinoa instead of wheat

-Fish and lamb over beef

-Olive oil instead of other vegetable oils

-Miso broth.

Just dissolve one teaspoon of miso into a cup of hot, not boiling water.

-Use fresh garlic in your cooking

7. Add supplements. Enzymes, ionic form minerals, and vitamins A and D are particularly good at helping the body maintain a healthy pH level.

These 7 shortcuts are much more powerful than any diet fad, they are easy to do, and can deliver dramatic , long term health improvements in a very short time.