Natural's Corner – By Sachet You Are What You Eat

Life is all about harmony and balance, and strength comes from within, literally. Recently, I was talking with my friend BigShug on BeyondMass.com about whether or not a bodybuilder who uses AAS could do something to strengthen his immune system. Since I know the horrid eating habits of bodybuilders, I explained that boosting the immune system is merely a matter of making intelligent food choices & fueling your body with the things it requires with the least amount of drama.

Acid and Alkaline foods and their effects on our body is my main topic of discussion, but negative emotions such as depression, rage, anger, etc., can contribute to an acid build up as well.

If you are one of those people who can't understand why you're catching colds, while others don't seem to ever get sick.. it's most likely because the 'others' know the value to monitoring their body's pH {*pH is a measure of acidity or alkalinity of the body} and the benefits to keeping their bodies out of an acidic state.

When the body is in a constant state of acidosis, all of the organs which are pathways of elimination get backlogged. Our bodies simply can't keep up with the demand put on it to attack germs entering our bodies and eliminate the backlog of acid buildup in our cells, tissues, organs and muscles due to poor food choices.

Our immune system is in a constant battle to neutralize the problem, but it ultimately reaches a point where it becomes overwhelmed, resulting in depression & fatigue.

By keeping your body happily in an alkaline state, it allows the immune system, which tightly regulates the pH of the body on a constant basis, to combat the true intruders rather than having to battle the foods which are causing the stress.

When too many acidic foods are consumed and not enough alkaline foods are, it causes an acid-base imbalance when the foods are broken down in your body. Basically, after nutrients from the foods you consume are metabolized in the cell, they may produce an excess of mineral elements that are potentially acid or base. This balance is what determines whether our enzymes, cells, tissue and organs will work to keep us healthy or if they'll be stressed and not work effectively to protect us from bacteria and disease.

Disease and sickness occur when the pH level of the cell and body become acidic, when the cell is normally alkaline.

Let's remember one very key point; All disease is in the blood and over acidifiction of the blood and tissues is the primary contributor to disease and sickness.

If your body's pH is balanced, digestion improves, energy increases, and colds and viruses are limited.

Findings have indicated that alkalizing your body assists in breaking down fat so it aids in weight loss, sparks up a sluggish metabolism, aids in chronic fatigue syndrom and it may also help those with diabetes and PMS.

Speaking from an American's point of view, our diets do not include enough detoxifiers to alkalize our bodies. Our general diet is high in protein and low in fruits and vegetables which generates way too much acid.

Most of our fruites & veggies come from farmland that has had it's vital nutrients stripped from recrops, {unless you can afford to consume organically grown food}. Plants utilize 65 to 70 vitamins & minerals from soil and most farmers only add a few nutrients back.

Our diets only provide {on the up end} 50 megahertz of energy for our cell's regeneration. Our body's cells need a certain electromagnetic frequency to stay healthy through the life cycle of that cell. Scientists have determined that the minimum energy level for proper cell regeneration is 70 megahertz.

Well, since every single cell of our body functions optimally within a certain pH range, our bodies are in a constant state of acidosis.

Without the proper amounts of amino acids, minerals, proteins & vitamins to revitalize cell regeneration, the body's pH gets thrown off and becomes acidic. Common nutritious foods in our diets such as meat, brown rice, oats, wheat, barley, lentals are all acid forming foods. We don't want to eliminate these foods because of their nutritional value, but we do need to balance them with alkalizing foods to keep proper cell regeneration.

Bodies take approximately four months to regenerate. If it's abused on a regular basis, your cells fall into a perpetual degenerative state. That's why it's so important to view food as your body's fuel to keep your blood healthy. As much as I hate to say it, vitamin suppliments are necessary in order to help cell regeneration.

When the body is in an acidic state, {which most of ours are from improper mineral & vitamin intake} disease producing levels are at their highest. Combine that with our junk food lifestyle, a high meat intake, improper carbs, improper fruite & veggie intake and not taking the proper amounts of vitamin and mineral suppliments to strengthen the cells, your cells are not receiving the necessary revitalizing ingredients in order to regenerate properly.

Many studies have been conducted to evaluate the effect of different food sources on the acid*base balance in the body.

I will list them in the event that you would like to research this further~

1994 Remer and Manz
1998 Frassetto
1998 Barzel and Massey
2000 Todd
2000 Metes and Berth
2002 New
2002 Reddy
2002 Sebastian
2003 Kerstetter, Brien and Insogna
2003 Dimitriou, Remer and Manz
2003 Bushinsky

Remember.. prevention IS the best medicine! You control what you're putting in your body.

Colds, viruses, cancer & disease can only proliferate in an acidic environment. If you keep the necessary amounts of alkalizing foods entering your system, you will stay healthier.

Burning, itching and aches, are generally a sign of acid in the organs, tissues or muscles.

A small time investment into educating yourself and understanding what nutritional components are in foods when they're broken down and which foods leave behind either an acid or alkaline {ash} residue after they've been metabolized, is your ticket to a healthier life.

Interestingly enough, the foods that taste acidic such as lemons, strawberries, tomatoes, grapefruite, etc., actually leave behind an alkaline residue, thus alkalizing the body.

It's quite easy to find out the metabolization process of the foods we eat and which residue they leave behind, simply by locating a research chart as seen below.

In addition to changing your food choices, other ways in which to help your body rid itself of toxins is through deep breathing, meditating, walking, steambaths, massage, fasting and make a point of surrounding yourself with things which make you feel upbeat including music.

If you want a quick fix to rid your body of toxins, look into H202 therapy.

See the Acid/Alkali Food Lists.

Copyright 2003 BeyondMass.com