Alkalinize or Croak! Part 1

Forty-four years ago yesterday, I was born. So, imagine a beautiful 70 degree day, light breeze, not a cloud in the sky kind of a day to have a birthday...that was what yesterday was all about.

I woke up, went down to the fishing pier and watched the sunrise, got adjusted at the chiropractor, met with my webmaster to make changes on the site, chatted with my mom via telephone, went into work, and by this time, I had consumed 1 quart of water, 1 kale/keifer shake (will reveal contents of this green ditty later) , 3 cups of expresso and half a sugary cashew carmel bar. A dozen roses arrived from Kiwanis club that I ordered for myself to support their local educational programs, and another dozen roses arrived from a friend I've known since I was 16. Ok, ok, I was feeling very appreciated. I then started a semi-interveinus barage of spirulina water to shift my now highly acidic body after the caffiene and sugar imbibing to return my body as temple to a more relaxed, alkalined state. I sat out in the sun for a half hour to get some Vitamin D as well.

Cancer can't grow in an alkaline body. Thus, we need to maintain a healthy pH balance. It is possible to be too alkaline and many, many folks are too acidic. Migrating nerve and joint pain, insomnia, early morning stiffness that improves as you move around are all symptoms. Acidic bodies happen with chronic cellular dehydration (i.e., not enough water), massive amounts of stress, and by consuming highly processed foods, fried foods, caffiene, alchohol, sugar and soda pop. Dis-ease loves these kind of environments.

If we are working towards staying alkalinized rather than acidic, which I think we can all agree we are as we gather more information on this topic, there are a few tricks of the trade when it comes to alkalinizing your body. Each time you partake in something that is going to create an acid environment within you, think about what you can do to counter balance it...munching on raw fruits and veggies are one of the quickest and easiest ways to turn an acidic body to an alkaline state. Super green foods take you back to an adequate pH rapidly as well...I add 1/4 tsp. of spirulina powder to my water and drink about 3 or 4 12 oz glasses of it after drinking a few cups of organic dark roast strong coffee or eating sugar.

When I'm conscious about my food intake, my whole day is spent finding that equilibrium. I have more energy when I eat good foods and I get real sluggish after the sugar or greasey foods. You can really tell where your body is at just by the way you feel after you eat something. More energy equals a balanced alkaline body, less energy equals a more acidic body. I don't think we need to continuously test our pH levels largely because our pH levels are continually changing throughout the day. I do sell pH tape for those who want to test, however.

Birthdays are highly prone to indulgence....so guess what happened? Acidity won out yesterday. Uggghhhh.

Lucky me...after a benign debate about organic vs. nonorganic apples with the local apple orchard guru, I landed a fantastic tour of this amazing apple orchard mecca where we tasted dozens of varieties of apples right on the farm...fiber was being enhaled with each new apple. Was I getting more alkalinized by the apples grown with pesticides or less? I continue to ponder this question. With the all the pesticides in the apples I was ingesting, what was the chemical make-up of each apple? Was my body more impacted by the nutrition of the apple itself or the pesticidal residue? The apple guru would say just as many organic pesticides if not more are sprayed and sprayed at more frequent intervals on organic apples to make them presentable to the organic consumer than the spraying program used on conventional apples sprayed with chemicals. YIKES....another tipping point issue to grapple with?!?! Which apple is better for us? Organic or conventional? Later on this after more research.

Back to alkalinity at the orchard...I don't want to tangentalize just yet. We'd bite and toss, bite and toss....imagine walking around the most successful apple kingdom in the state of MN with the padron/owner himself, trying all the new varieties of apples he is passionate about and holds the rights to...an unbelieveable plethora of complex flavors flying on my palate for 2 hours straight....take a bite of this one, toss the rest....zillions of apples on every tree...tossing an apple was no big deal...awwwww. I was feeling good eating all those apples, believe me, they were bursting with flavor and zinging all sorts of good fiber and sugar at me in a rampage.

Beautiful grounds, gorgeous trees, smells wofting from every direction..apple, apple, apple...brown hands picking them, lots and lots of brown hands which brought me to the realization after a hearing a hardened statement of blank truth out of the apple god: brown hands pick all the food Americans eat....if brown hands were stopped from doing this harvesting and packing, there truly would be no food in the grocery stores in a matter of days and weeks. That cold hard FACT was difficult for this compassionate progressive to stomach.

Back home, after touring the juice plant and apple packaging facilities, I rounded up my tribe to go out for a birthday meal. Heck, I was surely not going to cook on my day. Well, truth be told, we headed for the family-friendly restaurant in town. What was ordered? ACID producing food all the way around from frenchfries, to cheese and bacon burgers to corn dogs, to lots of chocolate birthday cake complete with whipped cream and those fake red dyed cherries....nothing alkalinizing to speak of.....wow, a toxic symphany of junkfood.

Got home...took a long moonlit walk down to the fishing pier again in a feeble attempt to walk off what I just ate. Back at the ranch so to speak, I quickly ate 15 chlorella tablets and 2 fish oil pills and headed upstairs to read and pass out quickly from the massive grease and sugar experience.

I woke up, felt aged, looked yucky and dehydrated, and was not a real happy camper. This is what happens to me when I take in toxic food....I feel like crap the next day, I look wenchy and my mood is affected...low energy, a bit down--not the greatest space to be in when dealing with the public...similar to a hangover...it's like a toxic food hangover.

The key is to not repeat this eating pattern the day after. Our cells get used to what we put in them, messages to brain will say I crave more grease and sugar....but when we find the discipline to not go there again the next day...to let yesterday be done and to allow today to be a new day, a clean food day. It works....try it sometime--indulge one day and then eat clean next....your body will love you for it especially in the days to come and the clean food habit will take hold and cravings will subside.

So, here I sit, drinking massive quantities of spirulina water. Later, I'll drink a raw enzyme drink made from a kombucha culture called Synergy by GTS to add to creating more alkalinity. This discussion on pH levels and alkalinity isn't over yet. Part 2 coming soon after I dive into the positive aspects of kale and keifer.

Another gorgeous October day in the neighborhood today....lots to be grateful for. Here's to choosing health!