Hello All Friends,
After the onset of industrial revolution, processed foods became ubiquitous and inevitable. They were introduced into the market for helping the workers to focus on work rather than on household chores. Also, this was the time when women started to go out for jobs, hence the concept of fast food was launched which helped them in time conservation.
This is how contemporary dietary habits came into existence. At that time nobody realized but now after so many years, its negative impacts can be clearly seen and felt. Our existing dietary habits (high in calories but low in nutrition) have put a lot of burden on our body systems resulting in numerous health problems. But, what is the main reason behind???
What’s wrong and where???
The prime cause is the increase in dietary acid load on our internal organs. Every dietitian suggests the avoidance of carbohydrates and increase of proteins for a slim and attractive body but not a healthy body.
Proteins increase the acid load on our organs and acidify the urine pH which leads to chronic disease such as osteoporosis, kidney diseases, muscle wasting etc in later years of life.
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First of all, lets understand what is pH and then what should we eat to maintain healthy acid-base balance in our body.
Scientifically talking, pH is the measure of acidity or alkalinity/basicity of the medium. The pH range is shown below on a pH strip:
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Fasting urinary pH is an important indicator of dietary acid load. Fruits, Natural juices, vegetables and low phosphorus beverages (red and white wine, mineral soda waters) pose negative acid load. Whereas, grain products, meats, dairy products, fish, and alkali poor and low phosphorus beverages (e.g., pale beers, cocoa) have relatively high acid loads.
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Since our stomach fluids are acidic in nature we should try to eat more of foods having negative acid load. Let’s discuss which alkaline foods, we should include in our daily routines and their benefits.
Improved Muscular health: Potassium rich diet (alkaline diet) like bananas, oranges, potatoes, cucumbers, mushrooms, peas and dried fruits preserves the muscular health by reducing the acid load. Balanced acid-alkaline diet also improves the production of growth hormone. Right amount of growth hormone can improve the quality of life and memory, can prevent osteoporosis in later years of women by preventing calcium degradation of bones and its loss.
SourceHelps with Chronic Back Pain: Magnesium rich diet (Avocado, Green leafy vegetables, Nuts and seeds, Beans and Lentils) helps in activation of Vitamin-D and some enzymes, thereby reducing back pain.
Hypertension and Heart related problems: Increased intake of alkaline fruits and vegetables improves the sodium/potassium balance which is beneficial for hypertension and other heart problems.
Along with the above mentioned benefits, another crucial benefit of including fruits, natural juices and vegetables to our daily diets is that they help us in dealing with obesity, hormonal imbalance, stress and over-eating, regulating sleep thereby improving our overall health.
Source of scientific information:
Acid-Alkaline Balance, Alternative Therapies, Jul/Aug 2007, Vol. 13, No. 4.
Journal of Environmental and Public Health, Hindawi Publishing Corporation, Volume 2012, Article ID 727630, 7 pages doi:10.1155/2012/727630.
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