Becoming More Alkaline, Avoiding an Acidic Body, and Maintaining Proper pH Levels

Acidic pH levels in the body cause strain and stress on the organs, affecting a person’s overall health. It forces the body to borrow calcium, sodium, potassium, magnesium, and other valuable minerals from vital organs in order to neutralize the acid and force it out of the body. If the condition is allowed to continue over a period of years, it can cause premature aging, immune deficiency, joint pain, aching muscles and lactic acid buildup. Yeast and fungal overgrowth is very common among people who are over-acidic, as well as low energy, chronic fatigue, weight gain, obesity and diabetes.

Health Problems that are Caused by an Acidic Body

Because the organs are being overworked and strained, it can easily lead to cardiovascular damage, including the constriction of blood vessels and the reduction of oxygen, bladder and kidney conditions, including kidney stones, acceleration of free radical damage, possibly contributing to cancerous mutations, and hormone concerns. The least of the problems one might experience would be slower digestion and elimination, which could cause constipation and buildup of toxins in the digestive system.

Most people who live in industrialized countries have become too acidic, and suffer the health problems that are associated with high acidity, such as depression, chronic fatigue, back pain, arthritis, cancer, ulcers, brittle bones, yeast infections, and premature aging. To balance the body, foods high alkaline foods must be eaten to counteract, or neutralize the acids. Most meats and sugars should be avoided, as well as milk products other than goat milk and cheese, which are low alkaline foods. If you do eat animal products, try to follow up or combine with high alkaline foods, or alkaline water, to balance out the pH level in your body. Test strips to determine the pH level in your urine or saliva are available in most health food stores, and can help you monitor your alkalinity, or to determine if your body is too acidic - and make healthy dietary changes that will help to become more alkaline. 

  

Foods that Cause your Body to be More Alkaline

Foods that are considered low alkaline foods, but not quite acidic: Raw honey, raw sugar, oranges, bananas, cherries, pineapple, peaches, avocados, carrots, tomatoes, fresh corn, mushrooms, cabbage, peas, potato skins, olives, soybeans, tofu, chestnuts, canola oil, amaranth, millet, wild rice, quinoa, soy cheese, soy milk, goat milk, goat cheese, whey, and ginger tea. Foods that are higher in alkaline include: Maple syrup, rice syrup, dates, figs, melons, grapes, papaya, kiwi, berries, apples, pears, raisins, okra, squash, green beans, beets, celery, lettuce, zucchini, sweet potato, carob, almonds, flax seed oil, breast milk, and green tea. Some of the most alkaline foods include: Stevia, lemons, watermelon, limes, grapefruit, mango, papaya, asparagus, onions, vegetable juices, parsley, raw spinach, broccoli, garlic, olive oil, herbal teas, and lemon water.

Two Very Preventable Yet Major Causes of Breast Cancer

Breast cancer, among other cancers, is affecting more women today than ever before. While the medical industry is providing few answers as to how to prevent the deadly disease, there are a few things that you should know about two of the major causes of breast cancer today.

Cancer Causing Fats

There is an ever-growing assortment of cancer-causing foods that are sold in grocery stores across the nation, but even if you are shopping at a natural health food store, you could be preparing cancer causing foods for your family on a regular basis. Reading labels can help you to avoid chemically processed foods, as well as food additives and preservatives, but your decisions in the meat department may be the most dangerous stop you'll make on your trip to the local grocer.

Okay, so we all know that there are dangers associated with eating red meat, but preparation is a key factor in just how dangerous the meat you prepare for your family really is. High fat and protein contents combined with high temperatures can be a deadly combination, and the result is a cancer-causing substance known as benzopyrene.

Benzopyrene is one of the main cancer-causing substances in cigarette smoke, and yet it is produced in incredibly high concentrations in char-broiled beef. The amount of benzopyrene that is produced by flame-broiling a one-pound steak is the equivalent of smoking 300 cigarettes! Yet we are taught at a very early age (typically through television advertising) to avoid smoking and eat red meat several times a week to meet your dietary requirements of protein and iron.

Dangerous Drinking Water

Recently in the news there have been several reports of a dangerous substance leaking out of the plastic bottles and into the water that people commonly bring to work or school. Some reports claim that the toxic chemicals leak out of the plastic when the bottles are refrigerated or frozen. Other reports state that the toxins drip out when the bottles are exposed to heat as well, and points to the dangers of leaving your water bottle in the car during the heat of the day. This is not new news, as the dangerous toxins that seep out of plastics are present in nearly all plastic dishes and containers, and therefore should never be used in microwave cooking or freezing leftovers. Use a glass bottle or container whenever possible - for storage, cooking, food preparation, beverages, and reheating.

Cancer Cell Growth and What They Feed On

Cancer is one of the most well known and feared diseases, affecting millions of people every year. But by gaining an understanding of what feeds a cancer cell, you can learn to create an environment within your body that makes it extremely difficult for cancer cells to live. You may be surprised at which foods feed cancer cells, and it's not just foods. Substances used in our cookware, food storage containers, and wraps, as well as how we cook our foods, and other envronmental and emotional factors can encourage the growth of cancer cells.

Cancer cells thrive in acidic environments, and feed off of substances already present in the body such as mucus, or substances you put in your body, such as sugar and milk. Your body can become more or less acidic depending on your diet, with certain foods either helping to lessen the acidity, and other foods producing the acidic environment in which cancer cells thrive. With sugar and milk being major contributors to the growth of cancer cells, it could be speculated that the morning breakfast of cereal and milk could be could be creating the perfect growth medium for cancer. Sugar is hiding in most of our store-bought foods, and should be avoided as if it were cancer itself.

Since milk encourages the body to produce mucus, especially in the gastrointestinal tract, (among other extremely harmful effects of milk,) it can also be assumed that the combination of milk and sugar together could have detrimental effects on the immune system and the ability to fight off the growth and production of cancer cells. Meat based diets are acidic, an also produce the perfect growth medium for cancer cells. Meats like beef and pork (which are known to cause other health issues as well,) are livestock animals. These animals are raised on antibiotics and growth hormones, (including rBST and BGH) which are extremely harmful to our bodies, and commonly contain parasites (especially pork). Fish helps promote a healthy system, and chicken is far less harmful than other animal meats.

Eliminating the presence of milk and sugar from the diet, as well as lowering the acidity of the body, can work to "starve" cancer cells, giving them little to nothing to feed off of. An alkaline environment is a cancer "unfriendly" place for cells to grow. This can be achieved by developing a diet high in fresh vegetables and juices, whole grains, seeds and nuts, and some fruits. Limiting the amount of cooked foods in the diet can be extremely beneficial, providing your body with enzymes that promote and build healthy cells. Cooked foods should include beans, vegetables, fish, and rice. It's a good idea to keep in mind when preparing meals that these enzymes are destroyed at tempuratures of 104 degrees F (40 degrees C) and above.

Other factors that can produce a cancer friendly environment include caffiene, heavy metals in tap water, acidic distilled water, undigested meats, sugar substress and anger, and lack of oxygen in the cells. Green tea is a powerful anti-oxidant, and contains substances that actually fight cancer. Dioxin chemicals also cause cancer, and can get into your food sources through plasics. Avoid microwaving in or on plastic, such as fridge-to-microwave storage containers, and plastic wrap. Dioxins can also be found in water that has been frozen in a plastic water bottle, and should not be done. Heating high-fat foods in the microwave in or on plastic can also lead to dioxins entering into the body. Use containers and plates made of tempered glass, Corning Ware, Pyrex, or ceramic containers for microwave cooking and heating. Ramen and frozen dinners should be removed from their plastic containers before microwaving. Use paper towels instead of Saran Wrap to cover foods when heating, because the toxins actually melt out of the plastic wrap and drip onto the food.

Are Food Dyes and Additives Harmful?

One of the biggest changes in our lives over the past 100 years is the introduction of modified foods, fast foods, and food additives. Our food has become the subject of genetic testing and modification, and has been treated to make it more tasty and colorful, quicker to prepare, and in some cases - ready to eat right from the box. But what price are we paying for quicker, more appealing foods? In an earlier post, I mentioned the use of FDA approved viruses in lunchmeats, but there are also other modifications that have been made to our foods, some may even have serious consequences on our health. While the FDA has defended that their use of chemicals and natural additives are perfectly safe in small doses, our children don't always obey the "recommended servings" on the packaging of their favorite foods. Think about it, do you know very many people who eat just one cookie or 12 potato chips? Quite the opposite, many people struggle not to eat the whole bag.

If you analyze the ingredient listings on your favorite snack foods, you will most likely find that there are many additives listed that most people can't even pronounce - and yet continue to eat them without questions, or concern. There is plenty of research proving that food additives can be dangerous to our health, including food colorings, which are deemed safe in small doses by the FDA. But can we really trust the FDA to decide what is safe for human consumption? What are some of the side effects of the additives that are commonly listed in our foods? Let's take a brief look at some common food dyes present in a popular "quick-cook" food product:

Idahoan Loaded Baked Flavored Mashed Potatoes:

• FD&C Yellow #5 - Can cause: Allergies, Thyroid tumors, Lymphocytic lymphomas, Chromosomal Damage, Trigger for asthma, Urticaria (hives), Hyperactivity (Rowe & Rowe, Egger, 1985)
• FD&C Yellow #6 - Can cause: Urticaria (hives), Rhinitis (runny nose), Nasal congestion, Bronchoconstriction (combined with Amaranth, Ponceau), Anaphylactoid reaction (combined with Ponceau), Eosinophilotactic response, Purpura (bruising), Allergies, Kidney tumors, Chromosomal damage, Abdominal pain, Vomiting, Indigestion, Distaste for food
• FDD&C Red #3 - Can cause: Bronchoconstriction (combined with Brilliant Blue, Indigo Carmine), Sequential vascular response, Elevation of protein-bound iodide, Thyroid tumors, Chromosomal damage, and other unspecified symptoms.

Combine this food product with a few other "quick-cook" items on your plate, and you may have the recipe for incurable diseases. As it was in the beginning, a diet of fresh fruits and vegetables, unbleached whole grains, and unprocessed natural foods are what we are meant to eat. Unnatural foods can produce unnatural body responses, and should be avoided as often as possible. The body has the natural ability to repair minor damage, but if the foods we eat on a daily basis continue to pollute our bodies, the damage may be permanent.

FDA Approves Viruses to be Used as Food Additives

In August of 2006, the FDA approved viruses to be added to ready-to-eat (RTE) meat and poultry products, such as lunch meats, hot dogs, and sausages. This is very disturbing, considering viruses are a self-mutating organism. The FDA claims that the viruses have been "purified" and are safe for human consumption, yet this is the first time that viruses have been used as food additives. The part that concerned me the most is their reasoning for using viruses to combat bacteria in RTE meat products, as quoted directly from the FDA:

"The phage preparation will be applied to the surface of RTE meat and poultry products at a level not to exceed 1 ml per 500 cm2 food surface just prior to packaging. These foods can become contaminated with Listeria during production, but unlike fresh meat and poultry, these foods are consumed without additional cooking that would kill the bacteria, thereby increasing the risk to Listeriosis, an infection caused by the bacteria." (From the FDA's Q & A website.)

Okay, so as I ponder their reasoning for adding viruses to lunch meat, it occurs to me that there could be another solution. But since I'm just a typical average run-of-the-mill betty, let's get your take on the situation. The meat products "can become contaminated with Listeria during production..." Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't this saying that the Listeria bacteria is introduced into the food source through the production process? Wouldn't the likely solution be to improve sanitary conditions in order to prevent the possibility of contamination of the meat products? Perhaps cleanliness is more costly than purchasing viruses.

Another concerning thought is that these viruses are designed to kill bacteria, and the FDA assures the public that the viruses will not attack human or plant cells. The human body contains beneficial bacteria, and although these viruses are not known to attack human cells, they could potentially attack the bacteria in our bodies. The concoction is made up of six different viruses, any one of which could prove to be harmful to the bacteria present in the human body, or mutate into something more dangerous. Remember, the cold and flu viruses mutate to ensure their survival as our system creates antibodies to fight against the virus, and to this date - we have no cure for either. Prevention is only possibly for those flues that already exist, but since the virus mutates, there will be a new set of threatening flu viruses next year. The flu shot, as we all know, is only a good preventative for the flu viruses that already exist. It seems clear to me that we could be facing the possibility of "hot dog flu" in the near future, or something like it. At the very least, we could be looking at harmful immune reactions, causing allergies, asthma, cancer, or other disorders and diseases caused by the introduction of these viruses.

If any of this has got you considering the possibility of becoming a vegetarian, our worries aren't over. According to the FDA, phages have been used as part of pesticides that are sprayed on crops. The only upside is that the FDA is requiring that any packaged foods in which the viruses have been used will be properly labeled accordingly, however with very evasive wording. The viruses will be listed as a thinly disguised ingredient such as "bacteriophage preparation". This is not all good news, as some meat and poultry products have "standards of identity that do not permit the addition of antimicrobial agents", and yet the viruses will still be added to the foods, as long as they are described as having been "treated with an antimicrobial solution to reduce microorganisms." If this is as much of a concern to you as it is to me, now is a great opportunity to begin reading the labels of the foods you eat, as well as the favorite foods your kids may be eating. In fact, if you'll excuse me, I'm heading to the fridge...I have some reading to do!

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Pasteurized Homogenized Milk and Your Health

Publication
With all of the milk in the media these days, it's hard to sort out the facts from the myths. The real point is that milk receives a lot of "good" publicity, while the facts remain hidden from most milk lovers. The truth is, no matter how you look at it, milk is a "species specific" beverage, designed for young growing mammals who are not yet ready for solid foods. Even Dr. Seuss had it right when he wrote, "Moose juice is for mooses, and goose juice is for gooses." As silly as that analogy may be, a cow's milk is designed for calves, and a goat's milk is designed for kids - not yours, the goat's.

Americans today consume more milk per year than any other country. We are taught from birth that we must drink a certain amount of milk per day for strong bones and teeth, and we as a country are now the number one milk drinking people of the earth. If both of those are true statements, then why does research also prove that we have the highest number of cases of osteoporosis and bone fractures than any other country? Are we not drinking enough milk? Or, could it be possible that one of the above statements is actually not a fact - such as drinking milk will make for strong bones? Perhaps there is more to consider about why we are drinking it, and what is it doing for our bodies, or doing to our bodies.

Assimilation
Cow's milk contains a large amount of phosphorus, which combines with the calcium making it less likely to be absorbed by your body. In addition, the type of protein in the milk accelerates the excretion of calcium from the blood through the kidneys, causing you to loose much of the calcium through urine. (The same is true of eating meat, enabling vegetarians to need only about 50% of the calcium that meat eaters need, due to loss of calcium through the urine due to the animal proteins.) This could help explain why in other parts of the world less milk and dairy products are consumed, and yet the people still have healthy bones.

Americans also suffer one of the highest rates of heart disease in the world, which brings me to two more dangerous facts about milk, involving the processes of pasteurizing and homogenizing milk.

Pasteurization
Pasteurization was introduced for the purpose of killing tuberculosis in milk, but has continued for just two reasons: It allows the farmers to lower their cleanliness standards since heating the milk kills bacteria caused by contamination, and it extends the shelf life of the milk from less than five days to about two weeks. So in other words, for convenience and not health. The process actually destroys enzymes in the milk, such as lactase (needed by the body for assimilation of lacose), galactase (needed to assimilate galactose), and phosphatase (needed for the assimilation of calcium.) Many more equally important enzymes are also destroyed in the process, making milk even harder for the human body to digest, putting more stress on other organs in the body. Pasteurizing milk destroys not only enzymes, but kills the beneficial bacteria lactobacillus acidophilus, Vitamin A, Vitamin B complex, and Vitamin C. Pasteurized milk fed to baby calves will cause them to die within just a few months, which has been researched many times.

Homogenization
Homogeniztion is a high-speed and high-powered "mixing and straining" process, originated to keep the butterfat from rising to the top of the milk. During homogenization, the fat globules in the milk are reduced in size and encapsulated into liposomes, which pass through the stomach undigested, (the liposomes are protected from the digestive acids.) Because of the tiny size of the fat globules after the milk has been homogenized, the liposomes are then able to pass into the bloodstream through the walls of the intestines, and this is where the damage occurs. The liposomes contain a partially destroyed enzyme called xanthine oxidase, better known as XO. XO is only found in the liver, unless a person drinks homogenized milk. Then it is found in the liposomes that enter the bloodstream, where it begins to attack plasmalogen. (Plasmalogen makes up 30% of the membrane system in human heart muscle cells.) XO can only either use the plasmalogen, or destroy it, and in most autopsies of people who have died from heart and circulatory disease - plasmalogen is missing, arterial inner linings are eaten away, and mineral deposits covered in fat and cholesterol create a deadly plaque in the arteries. The addition of The addition of Vitamin D in the milk actually enhances the activity of XO.

Immunization
Another disease contributing factor in milk is rBST or BGH, bovine growth hormone, which is injected directly into the cow to increase the milk production by 10-25%. BGH is banned in Europe and Canada, and produces elevated levels of IGF-1 in the milk, (an insulin-like growth factor which is one of the most powerful growth factors ever identified.) IGF-1 stimulates the growth of cancer cells, and has been proven to greatly increase the risk of breast cancer and prostate cancer. Cows that are given BGH more often suffer from mastitis, which is then treated with a plethora of antibiotics and sulfa drugs, traces of which are found in the milk produced from those cows, along with pus and bacteria from the infected utters.

Association
Along with all of the scientifically proven dangers of cows milk for humans, the consumption of milk has been associated with allergies, asthma, diarrhea, iron-deficiency anemia, colic, gastrointestinal bleeding, sinusitis, acne, arthritis, diabetes, chronic ear infections, cramps, skin rashes, constipation, tooth decay, excess mucus, increased frequency of colds and the flu, and heart disease, osteoporosis, and auto-immune diseases, just to name a few.

For more on the dangers of milk, I highly suggest obtaining a copy of the book, Don't Drink Your Milk, one of the few books I advocate reading. It is an excellent book, written in a highly entertaining style, and extremely well researched.

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Proper Food Combining Can Dramatically Improve Your Health

Why Food Combining is Important

When it comes to cooking healthy, beginning with the right foods is a must. Certain foods are most beneficial when eaten in the right combinations. Certain other foods may even prevent absorption of vitamins and minerals if not eaten in the proper combination, sometimes even wreaking havoc on your digestive system. In some people it can cause serious weight gain. In many cases, when people eat wrong combinations of foods they can suffer indigestion, bloating, and foul smelling gas - all of which are indications of fermentation or putrefaction occurring in their digestive system. Quite a few foods won't digest in combination with other foods, and some things we eat don't digest at all. Pickles and olives are prime examples of foods that won't digest well in our system, and in fact pass through the body undigested similar to the way a small pebble or a penny would. It is important to our overall health to choose healthy combinations of foods, and to learn which foods digest well together, and which foods don't.

Basic Food Combining

The main rule of thumb is that carbohydrates and proteins should be taken into the body separately. This is mainly because these two food types are digested in completely different ways. When eating carbohydrates, the body begins working on the food immediately, while it is being chewed. Saliva acts as to "pre-digest" the sugars in the food, working to break down the carbohydrates before they are introduced into the stomach. The saliva used to break down carbohydrates is entirely different from the saliva produced while eating a high protein meal.
When protein is eaten, the saliva has a different job, which wets the food with slippery substances that enable the food to pass easily into the stomach, where the digestive acids go to work on breaking down the protein. If carbohydrates and proteins are eaten together, the body enters a state of confusion, unable to sort through mingled foods in the mouth in order to facilitate the breaking down of carbohydrates, and they will most likely pass into the stomach with the protein. Once in the stomach, the gastric acid will have trouble properly digesting the protein due to the presence of undigested carbohydrates. At this point, the undigested mass of food will quite often sit in the stomach for many hours, causing the carbohydrates to ferment and the protein to putrify.

You can basically eat whatever you want while still eating the right food combinations. The key factor in combining foods properly is knowing which foods can be combined, and which food combinations will cause improper digestion. There are many ways to catagorize the foods in which you eat, but the main categories should be proteins, carbohydrates, and neutrals. Make a list of your favorite foods, separated into the three categories. Proteins would be foods such as cooked chicken, beef, lamb, or cooked meats, milk, eggs whites, low fat cheese, some fruit, wine, beans (legumes), and fish. Carbohydrates would be cereals, grains, sugars, breads, potatoes, rice, bananas, and dried fruits. Neutral foods are those which are either rich in both protein and carbohydrates, or are low in both protein and carbohydrates, and can therefore be used as meal enhancers when putting together a balanced meal, and can be foods such as milk products, fatty cheeses (over 60% fat content) raw meats and fish, vegetables, salad, coffee, and tea. Make a list of your favorite foods, separating them into the three categories. Experiment with different food combinations and discover how creative you can be, and you may even start to see some extra pounds falling off!

24 Ounces of Soda Can Diminish the Immune System

As little as 24 ounces of soda for the average person is quite a bit of soda. But many people drink more than that on a regular basis - hence the 48 ounce super-gulpy mega drinks they serve at most fast food restaurants. But that amount of soda packs more than a few servings of sugar, and enough to send the immune system into a five hour coma.

The white blood cells need vitamin C to fight of infection, and both vitamin C and glucose use the same "entry portals" to get into the white blood cells. If your body is over-flowing with sugar, you are bound to have more glucose entering into your blood cells than vitamin C, and not helping your immune system fight off bacteria. In fact, the body's ability to fight off infection is reduced by at least 50% for around five hours, just by ingesting the amount of sugar in 24 oz. of soda. That's a huge risk on the body, and especially if included in the daily diet. If the body is constantly in a reduced state of immunity, the risk of illness increases greatly. But there is a balance to everything, and certainly to the body's ability to fight off infection. Finding your body's balance, while maintaining a healthy diet, will provide your immune system with the best defense against infection, and a better quality of life.

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Milk Causes More Harm Than Good

For much of our lives in America we are programmed to believe that the choice of breakfast drinks should be milk, that we should have a glass of milk before bed, and the latest scam - we should have three glasses of milk a day to help loose weight. Huh? Okay, so let me see if I understand their concept...drink the substance that is maternally designed to facilitate the growth of a six-hundred pound animal, and it's going to help you shed some weight? I think not, and even worse, it can and will cause more harm than good in the human body. Why do we stop drinking breast milk after infancy? Because the properties that are found in milk are designed specifically for the needs of the growing youngster, not for toddlers, teens, and adults.

Most people don't know that milk by itself is not what most people are allergic to. The pasteurization process causes changes in the milk, and the result of those changes are what cause most people to have allergic reactions, intestinal tract disorders, and other digestive problems. The process of raising the temperature of the milk (pasteurizing) can destroy the lactase enzymes, preventing in some people the body's inability to process the milk sugar. Most of those people are fully able to digest "raw" milk. Pasteurization also alters the protein in milk.

One important fact to know, that there is not much publicity about, is that the pasteurization process was designed to kill bacteria in milk. Most dairy cows are now being kept in close quarters, are not permitted exercise, often their bodies are rubbing against each other causing sores, and their diet consists of manufactured protein substitutions and grains. Cows naturally walk through pastures eating grass, as naturally intended. Since many dairy cows are fed an unnatural diet with little or no exercise, and kept in an crowded unclean environment, they are fed antibiotics, which you then ingest when you drink the milk. First the milk is altered by the diet the cows are fed, pumped up with antibiotics, and then cooked to make it "safe" again.

There is another part of the hidden danger of milk that very few people talk about. The milk of cows is not designed for digestion or the absorption of vitamins in humans, and therefore much of the nutrition you would assume you are getting is not being properly assimilated by your body. Pasteurization was originally created to destroy the possibility of tuberculosis in the milk. Not the tuberculosis bacteria was not guaranteed to be in the milk, but acidophilus and bifidus (good bacteria) that is supposed to naturally occur in the milk was being destroyed as well in the heating process, again changing the chemicals present in the milk.

All of these factors have a potentially dangerous effect on the human body, and more people should take their health into their own hands and make informed decisions as to what is best for themselves. If you'd like to get a full indepth look at medical research on the effects of milk on the body, read the book Don't Drink Your Milk, it's an excellent resource. Should so many people continue to trust the multi-million dollar dairy industry asking us if we've "got milk?"

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