subject: Toxic Homes And The Acidic Diet [print this page] Toxic Homes And The Acidic Diet Toxic Homes And The Acidic Diet
How strict are you each time your kids ask for soft drinks or junk food when you take them grocery shopping with you? How often do you say yes, even though you know it is not the best option for developing good eating habits? Sometimes we make choices thinking a little junk won't hurt, and rarely do we think our grocery choices are adding to the toxic homes challenge.
The truth is, most people are aware that soft drinks and cookies are not healthy food choices for us. However, most parents do not realize the compounding effects of the entire menu, offered to families each week. The majority of children and families today are consuming highly acidic diets, without even knowing it.
You're probably wondering what an acidic diet is. First, the human body needs to maintain a pH level of around 7.365 for optimal health. The reference of pH is measuring acid and alkaline, with an average range of zero (acid) to fourteen (alkaline), with neutral at seven.. We are designed to function in an alkaline state. If you feed your children a diet rich in red meats, white breads or yeast breads, white rice, hard cheese like cheddar, apples, most citrus fruits, or if they drink a lot of sodas, sports drinks, fruit juices, they are consuming a high acid diet. So many families today focus more on poultry instead of red meats, but poultry is also acidic. There are great resources available today for acidic and alkaline food types on the Internet.
How does an acidic diet contribute to the toxic homes problem? Due to the fact that our bodies perform best when we are slightly alkaline, if we consume high amounts of acid, our body has to work harder to eliminate the acid waste. Many people are living with acidosis, which happens when there is high levels of acid within body fluids. Research has proven that disease thrives in an acid environment. Even weight loss is more challenging when the body is acidic.
So when you think you are feeding your family a healthy diet, and adding a few snacks here and there won't hurt, you are actually creating a bigger toxic homes issue, because you just added more acidic snacks on top of the acidic dinner they just ate, not to mention that fruit juice they had at school for lunch. If your body is not performing at it's best, then it weakens, and has to fight harder to protect itself from other foreign invaders, which can be a cause of chronic illnesses.
So what is the solution? You want to introduce more alkaline foods into your kids diet such as salad greens, plenty of veggies like broccoli, asparagus, potatoes, spinach, and fruits like bananas, or nuts like almonds, to name a few. Proper hydration is vital in reducing the effects of acidic food. The average person should drink at least half of their body weight in ounces of water per day (150 pound person should drink 75 ounces.)
Not all water is created equal, so you want to be selective with your drinking sources. If you jumped on the bottled water band wagon, because you were under the impression it is better for you, you might want to rethink that. The sad truth is, most bottled waters test below 7.0 on the pH scale, which is on the acid side.. Since pH levels change with time, exposure to light, and vibration, even if the water is bottled at a netural level, chances are by the time you open the bottle, it is already acidic. Not to mention, studies have revealed many contaminants in bottled water, but we'll save that for another story. Tap water can be an option, but you want to test it first, and make sure it is free of chlorine.
The best solution that I have found to combat the acidic toxic homes problem, is through proper diet, and having an ionized, alkaline water system installed right at my tap. Due to the fact that we don't have year round access to freshly delivered high alkaline type foods, the easiest and most convenient choice, is definitely the ionized alkaline water technology, not to mention we like the antioxidant properties of the water with the push of a button!
