March 15, 2011
Foods with Acid
Maintaining a balanced diet doesn’t just mean eating an adequate portion or serving from each food group in the food pyramid. Health professionals recommend that individuals keep pH balance in mind when choosing what foods and beverages to consume on a daily basis. Avoiding certain foods can go a long way in decreasing the potential for diseases and medical conditions like acid reflux to arise.
Classification
Food with a pH of 7 is considered neutral. Higher pH levels are classified as alkaline and lower pH levels are classified as acidic. Human blood typically ranges from 7.35 pH to 7.45 pH. While this falls just above neutral and within the alkaline classification, people shouldn’t eat a large share of acidic or alkaline foods. Striking a balance between the two groups is ideal for a healthy lifestyle and disease prevention.
Health Risks
Consumption of large quantities of acidic foods can lead to undue emotional stress, toxic imbalance and changes to naturally occurring immune system functions. Mineral absorption rate is compromised by the abundant intake of acidic foods and can cause a significant decrease in energy and cell repair. Cancer forming cells may increase as well as the likelihood of fatigue, disease and death.
Making a Change
Regulating your diet is the most effective method of adjusting your body’s pH level. People with high pH levels are prone to illness and should make every attempt to change their diet. By replacing some foods that are acidic with foods that are alkaline, you can ward off several harmful conditions.
Food Groups
- Vegetables: Instead of acidic olives and winter squash, try cucumbers and pumpkins.
- Fruit: Replace blueberries, cranberries and currants with strawberries, raspberries and raisins.
- Protein: Nix high fat animal protein like beef and pork and opt for almonds, whey, and chestnuts.
- Dairy: Products like ice cream, cheese and butter are highly acidic. Balance them with non-traditional products like lecithin granules, molasses and bee pollen.
- Sweeteners: Alkaline sweeteners such as Stevia, can be used instead of corn syrup and sugar.
- Alcohol and Caffeine: Beer, coffee, and most sodas have high acidic levels. Drinking water or vegetable juices are a much healthier option.
Acid Reflux and Diet
A perfect diet is not one that features alkaline foods only. It is essential to eat a variety of foods that will help the body maintain the appropriate pH balance. Knowing the types of food that will help to prevent acid reflux is very important. Eating foods that hinder the symptoms of acid reflux is one method of controlling this medical condition. Eating smaller portions throughout the day, limiting meals right before bed, and consuming more meals per day will decrease the occurrence of acid reflux. In general, the consumption of citrus, fatty foods, caffeine and alcoholic beverages should be closely monitored. Diet is an excellent tool for remedying acid reflux and should be taken seriously.
Filed under Foods with Acid by admin
March 10, 2011
Foods for Reflux
Acid reflux is a condition that can be very painful and irritating. A backup of stomach acid in the esophagus is harmful, causing inflammation, heartburn, regurgitation and difficulty swallowing. If gastric acids continuously enter the esophagus, acid reflux disease may be the result. Heartburn, nausea, stomach pain, and regurgitation are all harmful symptoms of acid reflux. Diet is an important method for controlling acid reflux and its symptoms. In order to curtail your diet to treat and prevent acid reflux, you must understand which foods are suitable for you to eat, and in what amount.
Balance
The body needs a balance of acidic forming and alkaline forming foods to maintain proper nutrition and health. This goes beyond getting the perfect amount of vegetables and grain. Eating foods for reflux requires a serious consciousness of what foods are good for the body’s pH balance. The pH balance of the body is controlled through the regulation of hydrogen in the body. A large amount of hydrogen within your bodily fluids raises the chances of developing severe acid reflux. Acidic foods increase hydrogen bonds while alkaline abundant foods remove or neutralize hydrogen ions.
Common Misnomers
Acid forming foods are not necessarily foods that taste acidic. Foods that on the tongue may be alkaline and acidic, may have the opposite effect once the nutrients are extracted and supplanted in the bloodstream. A diet that is heavy in either type of food is unhealthy. Eating in moderation is the best bet. A balance of pH will allow the body to efficiently absorb nutrients, vitamins and minerals that are needed for superior health. Although citrus foods like lemons and oranges taste acidic, if eaten in moderation, they do not increase the level of acid in the blood or instigate reflux.
Action
Taking a serious look at your diet is probably the safest way to control acid reflux. Eating a large amount of vegetables is great for increasing alkalinity. Eggplant, broccoli, lettuce, onions, pumpkins and collard greens are just a few of the vegetables with high alkalinity. Oatmeal, white flour, corn, lentils and chick peas are acid forming foods. In general, eating lean meats, limiting fats and oils, and minimizing alcohol, are all great methods of reducing the symptoms of acid reflux disease. People who initiate a rounded diet plan can keep the symptoms of acid reflux at bay. Avoiding garlic and onions is wise, although their effects vary from person to person.
Future Risk
If reflux becomes a consistent problem, this can lead to more serious, life-threatening conditions. Minerals cannot be properly absorbed into the bloodstream if the acidity is too high. It is imperative that you recognize how diet relates to your struggle with reflux and use the natural tools to combat the problem. A diet that is high in fat can trigger heartburn, the leading symptom of advance acid reflux disease and Gastroesophageal reflux disease.
These are just a few of the foods that will help to guide your diet plan. For more information on foods for acid reflux, visit refluxremedy.com today.
Filed under Acid Reflux by admin