Are you tired of feeling tired? Have trouble keeping excess weight off? Seem to constantly battle muscle and joint aches and pains?

The problem may boil down to three words:
Acid Alkaline Imbalance.

Too much acid in your body will slowly kill you. An overly acidic system is a breeding ground for disease. Premature aging, weight gain, irritable bowel syndrome, sinus problems, bladder and kidney conditions, chronic fatigue, acid reflux, diabetes, and even cancer have all been linked to an overload of acid in the tissues and blood-stream. And that’s just a partial list.

In his book, “Alkalize or Die”, Dr. Theodore Baroody says, “The countless names of illnesses do not really matter. What does matter is that they all come from the same root cause… too much acid waste in the tissues of the body!”

The solution is straightforward. Simply restore your body’s natural pH balance.

What Causes Me to be Acidic?

The typical western diet is the main culprit. With our fast-paced lives, we tend to major on processed foods such as cereal, canned soups and pasta, frozen dinners, fast food and dinner-in-a-box. Then we finish off the meal with sugar-saturated sodas, juice, or coffee (all acid producing foods).

Even when we take the time to prepare a meal based on a beef or pork product, we add to our acid problem. I’m not saying you have to cut out all acidic foods, but cutting back on acidic foods and increasing your intake of higher alkaline foods will make a difference.

It’s really a matter of how much you value your health… and how much you want to get out of pain.

So What Should I Eat?

If your Mom was one of those who always told you to eat your vegetables, well, she was right. And it’s about time to start listening if you want to decrease your body acid.

All vegetables aren’t equal. And the way you prepare them makes a difference too. Cabbage, broccoli, lettuce, spinach, celery, cucumbers, beets, radishes, carrots, and green beans are highly alkaline which counteracts acidic foods.

Eating your vegetables raw will usually give you the most benefit, so try including a fresh green salad at meals. Just go easy on the dressings. Mayonnaise and vinegar in particular are highly acidic.

Instead of going for processed dressing, you might try making your own from lemon juice and oil. The most alkaline oil you can buy is olive oil. Since both lemons and olive oil are highly alkaline they’ll help balance the more acidic portions of your meal.

A glass of lemon water or lime water with your meal is one of the best beverage choices you can make for your body’s pH. Certainly better than soda or other sugary drinks.

Fresh fruits are a good choice for salads or desserts. High on the list of alkaline-forming fruits are watermelon, grapefruit, mangoes, papayas, melons, grapes, kiwi, apples, blueberries and pears. They also make great breakfast foods.

Shoot for a diet of 80% alkaline-forming foods and 20% acid-forming foods. A rule of thumb to break that down would be 4 vegetables and 2 fruits to 1 starch and 1 protein per day.

How to Test Your Own pH Level

Testing your own pH level is actually very simple and inexpensive. You can pick up a set of pH Test Strips or pH Testing Tape that’ll give you about 100 tests for around $10-$15 at your local pharmacy or online.

These tests measure the pH found in your saliva or urine (and can be used for either). Understand that the pH level found on these tests are not exactly the same as your blood pH, but they do give you a good indication of an acid problem through regular testing upon waking up and between meals.

If your urine is consistently highly acidic, it’s a good indicator that your body is working overtime to clear your body of acid. At this point health issues may already be occurring as a result of the excess acidity. Saliva tends to indicate the ability of your digestive system to keep up with acidity. High readings in both are an urgent warning sign.

How high is high? Optimum blood pH is around 7.4. Saliva or urine pH tests averaging less than 6.5 definitely indicate an acid problem. But even regular readings under 7.0 might mean you would benefit from a higher alkaline diet.

So, step #1. Start grocery shopping more in the produce department. That’s the primary source of a healthy acid/pH balance!