Content
The alkalization system of the body is becoming a popular trend in the direction of a healthy lifestyle. Its supporters talk about the need to maintain an alkaline environment in our body to ensure the optimal resource state of the body. Medicine is not against it - and this means that it is worth figuring out what the benefits and harms of alkalinization are in order to apply available methods for daily maintenance of the necessary energy and health in the body.
What is alkalinization of the body
The concept of the benefits of alkalizing the body has a scientific explanation and confirmed facts of the effectiveness of the methods. Each food product has the ability to affect the internal environment of the body, alkalizing or acidifying it. Foods that increase the acidity are harmful to promote the development of inflammatory processes. Phenomena such as acne, gout, slow metabolism, overweight, arthrosis, osteochondrosis and other diseases are sad examples of the harm of the effects of acidification of the internal environment of our body.
The method of alkalizing the body is based on an increase in the use of useful alkaline products (65 - 80%) and a decrease in acidic (20 - 35%). With this ratio, all internal systems adapt to alkalization faster, even if the previous dietary basis was "acidifying" food.
Why is alkalization of the body useful?
Scientists are confident that for the most active and healthy functioning, a person needs an alkaline environment. Useful methods of alkalizing the body improve the functioning of the digestive system, cleanse the intestines. The immune system becomes stronger, cells divide at a faster rate - therefore, metabolism and regeneration occur more intensively, chemical reactions proceed better and without deviations. Alkalization of the body promotes the removal of harmful toxins and toxins - against the background of the developing beneficial flora in the gastrointestinal tract.
Signs of acidification of the body
What is commonly called acid-base balance is assessed on a pH scale. The pH is a measure of the concentration of hydrogen ions in body fluids.
In a healthy person, the pH is 7.35 - 7.45: its maintenance is the principle of the body's alkalization system. If it falls below 7, then they talk about a change in the properties of the balance towards an acidic environment, which in practice is manifested by the harm of serious disorders in human health.
Violations in the acid-base balance provoke, first of all:
- improper nutrition (excessive consumption of sweets, fast food, carbonated drinks);
- "passive lifestyle;
- bad habits (smoking, alcohol).
The presence of at least one of these factors will reflect a high likelihood of acidification of the body, which can lead to such problems:
- erosion of tooth enamel, dry faded skin, damaged brittle hair;
- rheumatism of the joints (inflammatory disease of the connective tissue), cramps after minor physical exertion, pain in the muscles and spine;
- frequent aching headaches, migraines;
- obesity, overweight;
- unstable pressure (very high or low, constant fluctuations);
- diabetes Ι and ΙΙ degrees;
- the risk of developing cancer;
- strokes.
How to check the acid-base balance
If a person has any of the above habits in his life, this should be a signal to pay attention to his acid-base balance and to alkalize the body. Its normal rate varies slightly depending on age, hereditary traits, type of metabolism, but its lower limit will be 7, and its upper limit - 8. Going beyond these limits means an increase in health risks.
You can find out your own balance at home in several ways - to test blood, urine, saliva using special disposable strips. The urine test should be done 2 hours before meals or 5 hours after. Under these conditions, the results will be most accurate.
A blood test will show the most accurate and correct pH of the body. The analysis should only be performed in a hospital setting by a physician. It is also important to remember that in the first half of the day, the acid-base balance is at the bottom, and rises in the evening. This is due to the properties of the daily course of oxidative processes in the body.
Methods for alkalizing the body
Carrying out alkalinization of the body at home is possible in several ways. Most of them are associated with the use of special foods with the right pH level, following healthy recommendations.
- Alkalizing the body with lemon is the most popular "alkaline recipe" as lemon is considered a high alkaline food. Drinking lemon water in the morning on an empty stomach brings benefits for alkalizing the body. The recipe is simple: in a glass of clean drinking water, you need to dilute 2 tbsp. l. lemon juice. This drink perfectly tones the body, gives a useful stimulus to the immune system and improves digestion.
- Alkalinization of the body can also be done with ordinary baking soda. To prepare a drink, add 0.5 - 1 tsp. soda in water brought to a boil and stir.
Attention! The water should "boil" like soda. Only after that you can drink the solution without harm to the stomach. To enhance the alkaline effect of the body, you can drink an alkaline cocktail with the addition of a spoonful of lemon juice or apple cider vinegar, which is useful for its alkaline properties, to soda water.At the first tasting, the drink may not seem the most pleasant to the taste: it is better to drink it moderately hot or warm: this way the soda plume will be less felt by the receptors than when cooled. The habit of regularly drinking baking soda on an empty stomach will bring a steady improvement in the pH of the environment.
- Healthy, full sleep plays an important beneficial role in alkalizing the body. An adult needs to get at least 7 hours of rest a day. Otherwise, the body produces stress hormones - cortisol and adrenaline, which introduce an imbalance in nervous activity, due to which the work of other organs is disrupted. In addition, it is during sleep that our body is fully restored and cleansed.
- Fresh vegetables are the main source of alkaline foods in the human diet. Nutritionists advise consuming at least 2 whole vegetables per day to maximize alkalization.The products have a beneficial effect due to the valuable composition of minerals, essential vitamins and antioxidants. The useful vegetables with the most "alkaline" indicators include green leafy and root vegetables.
- For high-quality alkalization, you should reduce or completely eliminate the use of sugar and sugary foods. Sweets, chocolates, rolls, cakes, carbonated drinks bring significant harm to the body, as well as the passion for artificial sweeteners: sucralose and aspartame. A useful option would be to replace sugar with natural stevia: this supplement has practically no side effects and is allowed when the body is alkalized.
A more powerful alkalization method is described in the video:
Correct diet
An alkalizing (or alkaline) diet has many beneficial properties. It can reduce the risk of kidney stones, cleanse the mucous membrane and intestines, and improve the condition of the body as a whole. To do this, you need to adhere to a special food system based on the following principles;
- In the process of alkalizing the body, acidic food cannot be completely excluded, as this can result in the harm of extremes. Low pH foods should make up about 20% of all foods consumed;
- Vegetables should not be cooked. It has been proven that only in "raw" form they retain their beneficial properties to the maximum and can bring high benefits to the body for alkalization. In an exceptional case, with contraindications to the use of fiber (for example, in diseases of the gastrointestinal tract), to achieve the alkalization effect, vegetables can be boiled, preferably steamed;
- Alkalinization of the body completely excludes the use of animal fats, since butter, cheese, milk, cottage cheese, sour cream and other products of animal origin harm the acidification of the body's environment. For salads, flaxseed, coconut, corn, olive oils will benefit;
- The last meal should be 12 hours after the first. Thus, the day will be divided into 2 parts: the first 12 hours after waking up is allowed, but the next 12 hours are not;
- For optimal alkalization of the body, all grains (cereals, pasta, flour) and seafood can be consumed no more than three times a week.
A sample menu for the day may consist of:
- Breakfast - from fresh red and green vegetables, a glass of soy milk or natural unsweetened yogurt.
- Dinner - from boiled chicken meat, up to 200 g, vegetable garnish and herbal tea.
- Dinner - from 200 g of baked fish, vegetable salad, natural yogurt or ayran.
Alkalizing Products Table
To remove extra pounds, and with them - and inflammatory processes in the body during alkalization, it is necessary to reduce the use of "acidic" foods and increase the amount of "alkaline".
There is a stereotype that foods with a low pH can be identified by their sour taste. However, this is a mistake. An example of this is lemon - it tastes sour, but perfectly alkalizes water.
The table shows a list of common foods that are included in the standard diet.
Regular physical activity
To alkalinize the body effectively, it is important not to forget about daily physical activity. Any workout: running, swimming, cycling or just brisk walking can speed up internal metabolic processes and improve acid-base balance.Experts advise to use the stairs more often instead of the elevator, to walk, since such activity tends to bring significant benefits not only to physical, but also to emotional health: such simple actions can reduce stress levels.
Drinking alkaline drinks
Having embarked on the path of alkalinization of the body, it is important to remember the need to drink enough fluids daily. The base should be simple purified water at room temperature. The calculation is carried out individually (25 - 30 ml per 1 kg of body weight). To diversify the diet, you can vitaminize the water by adding pieces of fruit and berries that have beneficial properties. Strawberries, raspberries, lemon, lime, orange, apple are perfect. Thus, the taste will become much more pleasant, and the body will receive more benefits due to the desired beneficial properties of the added foods.
Positive emotions
An important element of the successful course of alkalinization of the body is to maintain a positive attitude and good mood. A positive mental attitude has a huge impact on physical well-being. "Hormones of happiness" will benefit the functioning of internal systems, improving the functioning of organs, while a negative attitude can provoke oxidative reactions of the body, proceeding with the release of harmful free radicals.
When alkalizing your body can be harmful
The body of a healthy person has the ability to independently regulate its own acid-base balance. "Alkaline" diet has practically no negative effects: it can be introduced to get rid of chronic health problems: an increase in the content of plant foods, due to which the main alkalization takes place, cannot be harmful, since it provides the necessary nutritional complex to maintain normal human life.
Contraindications for the alkalization diet of the body may be individual cases of reactions to foods or diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, in which a strict dietary diet is prescribed.
Conclusion
Studying the question of what are the benefits and harms of alkalization of the body makes it possible to conclude that the concept of alkalization is a safe and innovative approach to the nutrition system. Even without becoming a fan of "alkaline diets", it will be beneficial to pay attention to the maintenance of healthy foods with high pH values in the daily menu in order to maintain the body's natural acid-base balance.
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