Acid v Alkaline – why all the fuss?

Everywhere you look these days, from magazines to health journals, there seems to be debate about acidic food versus alkaline-producing food. Could an alkaline diet assist with weight loss? Could it even help prolong your life? Recent studies suggest it could, on both counts.
Connell University has found that the absence of alkaline-giving nutrients makes people prone to various degenerative diseases, including the US’ top two killer diseases – cardiovascular problem and cancer. Scientific studies have also shown that systemic weight gain or obesity results from the imbalance. If we could only eliminate cardiovascular-related diseases, then that immediately translates to an additional 9.78 years to a person’s life span, according to the U.S. National Center for Health Statistics.
What happens when we are out of balance?
If the pH balance is disrupted, the body reacts by trying to restore equilibrium, which leads to serious losses of essential minerals that make you feel sluggish and prone to catch various degenerative diseases in your later years.
The secret for optimal health using alkaline diet is not in eliminating all acid-producing foods in our diet, but rather in creating balanced acid and alkaline producing foods mix in our meals. This essentially means that you do not need to starve yourself to stay in shape. A generous mix of acid and alkaline producing food is what you need to sustain a healthy lifestyle.
And in this day and age of consumerism when what you consume is likely to be acid-rich meat and carbohydrates, then it helps that you veer your diet towards healthy alkaline producing food products consisting of fresh fruits and vegetables.
Connell University conducted studies back in 2003 on cancer cells and test tube tests revealed that cancer cells and tumors thrive and grow in a more acidic environment. When the level of acid is lowered, tumors grow much more slowly. If this occurs in the test tube, it stands to reason that cancer cells in the body would also be detrimentally affected by an overall alkaline environment. It would also make sense that if the body’s pH is acidic, then the growth of cancer cells and tumors would be encouraged. By eating mostly foods that make the body’s pH more alkaline, there would be less of a chance for cancer cells to develop and grow. So, by adjusting the diet, it is actually possible to create a less hospitable environment for cancer cells, thus improving a person’s chances of good health.

All study material sourced form Cornell University and the US Notational Center for Health
Office of the Vice Provost for Research
222 Day Hall, Cornell University
Ithaca, NY 14853
(607) 255-7200

Kids and Calcium

Most of the adults we are talking to are receptive these days to reducing or eliminating the dairy consumption in their diets. However, there is a lingering concern for children, since the dairy industry has been brainwashing people for years about the value and the necessity of milk for building bones.

First, exercise is a much more important factor than calcium in building bone health. A recent report in Pediatrics found that inactive teens had lower bone density by the age of 18 than active teens. The researchers also concluded that calcium consumed from milk or any other source, for that matter, had no effect on bone density. In other words, children develop bone as a result of movement, not food, and that is why teaching kids a sedentary lifestyle is so dangerous.

Additionally, other nutrients are needed for calcium utilization, such as Vitamin K, Vitamin C and potassium. These nutrients are abundant in citrus fruits, tomatoes, peppers, bananas, potatoes, green vegetables, beans, soy foods and fruits and vegetables in general. And, the calcium found in many of these plant foods is absorbed twice as well as the calcium in milk.

We teach in our program that the more milk you drink and animal protein you eat, the more calcium is drained from the bones. Yale researchers documented this fact in a recent study that looked at hip fracture rates in 16 countries. Those with the highest meat, fish, egg and dairy consumption had the most bone breaks. A Harvard study of 78,000 women showed that those who got the most calcium from dairy products actually had more broken bones than women who got little or no calcium from dairy products.

So, the bottom line is that milk does not do a child's body good any more than it does an adult body good! To find out more email or call to book in a one on one consult