Know your pH...

Do you know that alkaline foods may be helpful in fighting cancer?  Nobel Prize winner Dr. Otto Warburg said that cancer cells cannot survive where there are high levels of oxygen.   Alkalinity helps to increase the body's oxygen level since alkalized blood can carry more oxygen.

pH, or “potential hydrogen,” is a measure of acidity or alkalinity.  A pH of 7 is neutral; neither acidic nor alkaline.  A substance measuring a pH level between 7 and 14 is alkaline.   Our blood pH has a very narrow range of around 7.35 to 7.45.  If our blood pH falls below 6.8 (too acidic) or above 7.8 (too alkaline), our cells will stop functioning and death will follow.  A healthy pH 7.4 helps to saturate red blood cells with the needed oxygen.

An acidic pH can occur from emotional stress, toxin overload, immune reactions, or any process that deprives the cells of oxygen and other nutrients.  Eating a diet that is very acidic can change your pH levels.  The body will try to compensate for an acidic pH level by utilizing alkaline minerals it has stored.  If the diet does not contain enough minerals to compensate, a build up of acids in the cells will occur, starving it of oxygen.  Hence, people with cancer generally have high levels of acid in their system as oxygen is driven out of the body..

Introducing alkaline foods into the diet is both easy and delicious.  Here is a list of some of the most alkaline foods:

• Leafy vegetables such as spinach, mustard greens and kale

• Cucumbers, broccoli, asparagus, artichokes, cabbage, onions, radishes, peas, leeks, watercress, turnips, carrots, chives, green beans, beet root, celery, avocados, tomatoes, Brussels sprouts

• Lemons, limes, grapefruit, dried figs, apricots, dates

• Wheatgrass and chlorella

• Garlic and ginger

• Almonds and seeds such as sunflower, sesame and flax

• Sprouts

• Organic cold-pressed oils such as olive, coconut, flax, borage

• Grains such as millet and quinoa

• Organic, raw apple cider vinegar

• Miso

• Green tea

Drinking a glass of water before or after meals with a half lemon or lime helps to alkalize the system.  A half-teaspoon of sodium bicarbonate in a glass of water does the same.