Acid Alkaline Balance

[styersky]

Alkaline Acid Balance . . . I am trying to learn all I can. I know that when we are acid there is a danger of leeching minerals from the bones and causing things such as osteoporosis.

From where do you order your test strips. I have ordered some but think they may be a bit expensive.

Do you take alfalfa capsules to help balance acid-alkaline?

On what book do you rely for info?

I have read that vine ripened fruit is alkaline, but the fruit we buy at the market is nto vine ripened and is, therefore, acid. What do you know?

Do you test several times a day? Only morning and night? Should we always expect to test "balanced"?

Get the point? I am really interested and have read just enough to be confused. Help me out, PLEASE!

[alicemagooey]

Alkaline Acid Balance . . . I am trying to learn all I can. I know that when we are acid there is a danger of leeching minerals from the bones and causing things such as osteoporosis.

From where do you order your test strips. I have ordered some but think they may be a bit expensive.

i just ordered some from a place called "PH ION" i do not have the exact website, but hopefully you can google it..
The test strips are not that expensive..
HOWEVER, They have a lot of other things available for sale on the website..
I still think a lot of places are in this 'alkaline diet' idea to make some $$..THEY quite possibly are in the business to make money, and not necessarily for the best for us..
please use caution.

Do you take alfalfa capsules to help balance acid-alkaline?

Yes, and powdered alfalfa which i mentioned (what it is and where to get it )in a past post..i do this daily with meals.

On what book do you rely for info?

Victoria Boutenkos book "Green for Life" ... an excellent book.

I have read that vine ripened fruit is alkaline, but the fruit we buy at the market is nto vine ripened and is, therefore, acid. What do you know?

This may be true, but GREENS are the most potent source of alkaline elements except for perhaps watermelon and lemon in water.
So why worry? Eat Greens (consult book by Boutenko)( if you must consult a book)

Do you test several times a day? Only morning and night? Should we always expect to test "balanced"?

Best first thing in the morning. May test another time during day.

No..we should not always expect to test 'balanced'..it is very difficult, in my experience,to stay alkaline.
Many many things contribute to the body becoming acidic, including stress,
and anger, ( believe it or not) and taking medications, even aspirin..
many many things.

The point is
NOT TO GET CONFUSED or bewildered, just do your best to eat as much raw fruit and green veggies as possible
.It is simple , really.. and not something to get worked up about..or worried about..
We can only do what we can do..( and not get all worried about what some of these places say about life threatening illnesses caused by acidosis..)(most of them have something to sell.) ( so they try to make us panic into buying things)

I found Victorias book very good, but you do not even need scads of books.

I think that the only thing we should do is try and simplify our lives, get our priorities straight ( your signature, Styersky, puts things in proper order )
and things will work out for the best.

That is all we can do.!

hope this helps.
alice

[styersky]

I ordered from "PH ION" also. Also ordered a book, which is too difficult to understand . . . too detailed I think. I also ordered their "green" capsules. I am having my husband take them, but I do so much greens haven't done that myself yet.

I was depending upon fruit to be alkaline, and then realized most fruits were acid because they are not vine ripened. At least, that it is the way it seems from my perspective. We are eating a lot of watermelon while in season and they do seem to be alkaline.

My favorite green smoothie is watermelon and spinach. Surely hate to see watermelons go. Hopefully I will discover another fruit that is alkaline to go with the greens. I like sweet smoothies with lots of greens.

I think you are right . . . most books are trying to sell something. I have ordered a book on acid alkaline balance and weight loss and am anxious to see what I can learn from that. It is so easy to order too many books!

Thanks, Alice, thank you for all of the info. Will try to digest it soon. Don't know exactly why but I am dealing with sinus problems. Could be more detox, but there seems to be an epidemic of sinus problems here and it is thought to be from the extreme heat we have had and the dry weather. No rain to speak of in months. Very unusual for our area. Whatever, will be glad when sinus problems are gone.

[alicemagooey]

Hi .. a big sympathetic hug from me, Styersky...

this 'going raw' thing is not a 'piece of cake' (* he he) for sure !!

i have been having bananas in my smoothies,some lemon juice with a tsp of honey , spinach or some greens, a big organic apple ( supermarket sells them now), some *alfalfa powder ( i seem to be using more and more of that lately, for the reasons you mentioned about fruit in the market being less vine ripened or whatever)..and
..i do add water, i must admit, as pure a water as i can get..

I do not like really thick smoothies..specially in the hot weather..!!
Then i put this in a pitcher with some ice.. oh yes, you are from Kentucky
( i am from virginia originally) I usually put a sprig or two of fresh mint.
like when we used to have iced tea in tall glasses in the summer , with ice and mint..

This , to me, is NECTAR !!

hope you are feeling better soon..
all this 'thinking about health' can be taxing on the brain...
i am finding that
green smoothies and long walks ( or bike rides, i just took my bicycle out of storage ) really does the trick more than a lot of reading books and talking to people who would make you worry about this or that thing.

Enjoy Nature, each other, and the Creator of it all.
Things will work out as they should, then..

cheerio
alice

[GlimR]

Hello~*s* How cool to have our own space!!!

I was wondering about the acid/alkaline thing. I thought eating a raw diet in itself was very alkalizing. The things that cause acid in the body are mostly meat and dairy...even lemons which are acid turn alkaline in the body, oranges too. I think as long as your fruit is ripe and you balance with greens and raw veggies your system is alkaline.

I'll be curious to see what a difference your testing will show when you eat all raw or not. Wishing you the best~ *hug*

[styersky]

I am really curious about acid alkaline also. I read that only vine ripened fruit is alkaline, so I have really let up on eating fruit and maybe that's good because of too much sweet. The fruit we buy in the market is not vine ripened and, from what I read, therefore, acid. Hope I learn that is incorrect. I love fruit!

[JenniferMooreFuller]

Hi, I really like two of Dr. Young's books (PH Miracle, and PH Miracle for Diabetes) for explaining the acid / alkalinity importance. He suggests eating a diet of 80% or more alkalyzing foods (greens, vegetables, low-sugar fruits, some nuts and some seeds), as much raw as possible. Also drinking lots of alkaline water. When my dh and I became vegans a few years ago we first added lemon to our water as an easy way to alkalyze it, then decided to get an alkaline water filter. We also add dried barley grass (dried at safe, low temps) to a few glasses of water a day. We check our ph levels and they stay pretty alkaline when we eat as we should. I also found a neat little paperbook at Borders that just lists the alkalinity of many foods - for instance almonds being alkaline while walnuts very acid - very helpful.

[alicemagooey]

would you tell us the name of the book , please, which lists the foods.

thanks

alice

[JenniferMooreFuller]

Hi, It's "THE ACID ALKALINE FOOD GUIDE - A Quick Reference to Foods & Their Effect On pH Levels", by Dr.Susan E.Brown and Larry Trivieri, Jr. Introductory chapters are on understanding, testing, and creating an alkaline-acid balance. It cost $7.95.

[styersky]

http://www.essense-of-life.com/moreinfo/foodcharts.htm
This is an interesting chart.

[alicemagooey]

Thank you , Jennifer MF and Styersky..

good sources of info which i plan to look into..

cheerio
alice

[carolg]

Thanks all. Interesting chart showed tomatoes are alkaline. I seem to differ with that.

I truly believe my body was getting too acidic with lots of fruits so now I have really cut back tremendously with fruits. I was self diagnosiing with a visit from chiro who couldn't determine or not "acid reflux' with an adjustment. He said maybe one more in order, but now on a different roll: barley power 2-3x daily to neutralize body, and a green smoothie.

Are fermented veggies really alkalining?

Thanks.

carolg

[alicemagooey]

Carolg.
let's call the fruits which are not alkaline creating to the body processes,
'acid forming'.. and those which help the body be more alkaline :"alkaline forming"

that will help us identify exactly what we are talking about.

.remember ( oh yes, i cannot remember if Styersky mentioned it here or in another thread)..but see below for an important point:

..remember that Styersky mentioned that if fruits are not properly vine ripened ( emphasis italics mine).. that they are acid forming...

if the tomatoes you are eating have green seeds in them, then they have been picked green and are indeed 'acid forming'.

If the seeds are a nice brown colour, then the fruit has been properly vine ripened, and they are very 'alkaline forming.'
It is a fact.
it has been proven scientifically, and cannot be considered wrong just because we think it may be so..

People have been saying at some of our threads about acid/alkaline forming foods, that they feel that they need to give up fruits..but this may not be THE most helpful thing. There is no question that watermelon and lemons and properly ripened tomatoes , also apples and tree ripened fruits like peaches, and figs, and plums..well ripened on the trees..
are alkaline forming..

It is important also to take ample greens to also aid the body systems to be alkaline..ample greens and green powders..
But i , from personal experience, find that quitting fruits altogether is not necessarlily the answer.

As mentioned also, acid condition is caused by stress, and anger, and so many things..We need to take our whole condition..each one of us,..and work with what we have, and with our health care professionals, like you did with your chiro..
we need to put some effort into it..and it may be an uphill battle..but not impossible..

i guess i am one who tries for a balance.. even tho it is difficult..
so do not feel you have to trash what you are doing because it does not necessarily seem to be working.. You may just need a few modifications.

how does that sound?

alice

[luckitri]

I am wondering if the high sugar in the fruit in my green smoothies could contribute to acidity? (Even if the fruit is properly ripened and alkaline?)

I also eat a green salad every day but I find this to be most frustrating as my teeth are separating and I have to religiously floss after. Why does everything have to take so much time?

[JenniferMooreFuller]

Alice, Dr. Young (pH Miracle) says that raw tomatoes are alkaline producing, but cooked tomatoes are acidic. Luckitri, sugar is usually shown as acid producing in the body. But even the charts, books, and experts disagree about the pH level of some foods which must react differently in each individual body. Overall the vegetables and most fruits appear to help raise the alkalinity level I think.

Jennifer