It’s all about that base: losing weight through pH mods

February 26, 2016 Ashley 0 Comments

Scale numbers still not budging?

Even though you’ve been actively avoiding Arby’s for an after-workout reward?

Well, that may mean it’s time to look at another scale.

And that’s the one that’s going on inside your body. Your pH scale. Indeed, according to some experts, the answer’s less about how much iron you pump, but how many ions of hydrogen are pumping through your blood. That’s right. We’re taking it back to Mr. Green’s middle school chemistry class here. Little test strips and all. See, the idea is that when your system’s fighting off acidic-making foods (low pH), sickness can ensue. In fact, associations have been made between a host of diseases and low pH: type 2 diabetes, heart disease and – you guessed it – obesity. On the contrary, more basic-making edibles tend to be linked to excellent memory and thought process, less pain, and even better bone health. All things that help keep you blazing your way through your fitness path.

(Research suggests that if you keep your body ’bout that base, there’ll be no trouble.)

Alright, well now we know what we need.

But how do we, ya know, do it?

Just avoid acidic foods, right?

Actually… not so much. I know. I was surprised when I read this too. So let’s break it on down. First thing’s first. Before the woo-woo police come after me, yes, what we’re aiming for here is alkalinity. But we’re not trying to actually alter the pH of our bodies. Your body’ll do that on its own. However, what it also does is ride the struggle bus all the way to balance town if you throw too many acid-makers and not enough base-makers at it in the process. The result? Lots disease and obesity. Thus, the reason we want them pH raisers is so that your body’s not too busy staving off inimical nutriments to slim down, get sexy, and stay healthy for you. And which foods does that include? Well, when it comes to pH balance, what matters is what happens as a result of what food goes into it. Not how acidic the food is before entering the phenomenal system of machinery your were assigned to live in. The two are not the same. I know. Mindblowy, right? But that’s why some items on the following list of nibbles to graze on may be low pH themselves – yet augment alkalinity. It’s the mineral quality that counts when it comes to the overall nature of the blood ‘n bone boat you’re sailing through life in.

Keeping that in mind, here’re some examples of primo pH raisers:

It’s said that if you eat clean, train mean, and start your days with a bit of lemon water (another yes-it’s-acidic-but-ups-the-alkaline-post-guzzling), you’ll alkalize easier. However, as you may’ve guessed from the above spiel, alkalizing isn’t sufficient. The road to acidic hell’s only paved with good intentions by correlation. The causation’s all those vendor stands on the shoulders of it, offering acidic snacks. And what, pray tell, is on there? A lot of stuff you’re not gonna wanna hear. First, there’s bread, beef, and cereal (but not all! See the alkaline types above.). Then there’s milk, pork, and starchy carbs like white rice, pasta, and potatoes (again, check the grains on the chart above for workarounds – like new potatoes and buckwheat pasta). Then, for the even worse acid-formers are alcohol and artificial sweeteners (save for stevia). And cheese and chicken. And fish and eggs. Also, aside from almonds, they say to stay away from nuts and sausage, too. (Hashtag: that’s what lesbian she said.)

Are you still with me after that exhaustive list?

Good. Because here’s the “yes-but” bit… Which I need to add stat because, if you know me, this may all sound like a ploy to go vegan. And, while I’d love that for all of us, gimme a chance to explain how wrong you are. Because A.) If that were so, why would I bother adding the bit about acid-making creature free eats, like rice or potatoes? And B.) I’m about to offer some hope to those of you not ready to do a full on acid extraction. ’cause, in order to alkalize yourself, you don’t have to exile every snack from the above list from your fridge. Think of your pH balance routine like any other successful diet or exercise routine out there. It’s not going to remain the same or ideal every day. There are rest days. There are cheat days. Similarly, pH altering foods’ll oscillate too. But it’s what you mostly do that creates your overall health status. In a way, it’s much like the routine after a night of unexpected, heavy drinking. (I mean aside from telling yourself that “never again” lie.) You undergo a recovery process and then save that kinda behavior for an occasional thing. In other words, you don’t hafta kick your addiction to low pH makers altogether. Just implement a healthy balance that lets you enjoy your fleeting existence. Add the acid-accruing foods to your “cheat day” list, live your life, and get all your naughty noms in once a week.

And after that?

Bring it back to “basics” in between.