As a nutritional consultant, I have the opportunity to interact with a variety of people. Beyond the common desire to lose weight, almost everyone has a longing to feel better in some other area of their health. Whether it be to have more energy or clearer skin, cleansing and rebuilding the body is critical to your success.

Once you set your body up for proper digestion and elimination (see Part 1), the other component of cleansing is to alkalinize and nourish it. With the Alkaline Diet becoming popular in Hollywood, a lot of people have heard of it. But few really understand what alkalinizing is all about.

For optimal health, our bodies must be in a state of balance to function properly. This balance is achieved when the body is at 7.4 on the pH scale. The pH scale indicates how acidic (below 7.0.) or alkaline (above 7.0) something is. With this in mind, our goal is to maintain a balance of 7.4 pH. With our toxic, stressful and unhealthy diets, there is an epidemic of acidity currently in our culture. What does this mean for your health?

An acidic body causes a host of problems including constant fatigue, headaches, depression or anxiety, dry skin, acid reflux, among others. Even coming down with a cold frequently can be a result of your body being overly acidic. Acknowledgement of these symptoms or a simple pH test can reveal if your body is acidic or alkaline.

If you find that your body is acidic, refer to this list to choose mostly foods that are alkaline or have an alkalinizing effect.

Highly Alkaline
Beans String, Banana speckled, Dandelion greens, Dates, Figs, Prune, Raisins, Swiss Chard.

High Alkaline
Almonds, Avocado, Banana-Yellow, Bean Fresh, Beet, Blackberries, Carrot, Chives, Cranberries, Endive, Grapes Sour, Kale, Peach dried, Persimmon, Pomegranate, Plum, Raspberries, Spinach.

Neutral Oils
Cold Pressed, Expeller Pressed, Almond, Avocado, Coconut, Canola, Cottonseed, Linseed, Olive, Safflower, Sesame, Soy, Sunflower, Walnut.

Alkaline
Agar, Alfalfa, Apple & Fresh Apple Cider, Apricot fresh, Artichokes globe, Bamboo shoots, Bean snap, Beans sprouted, Berries most, Blueberries, Broccoli, Brussels Sprouts, Cabbage, Cantaloupe, Cauliflower, Celery, Cherries, Chestnuts, Chicory, Coconut Milk, Collards, Corn fresh and sweet, Cucumbers, Daikon, Eggplant, Escarole, Garlic, Ginger root, Gooseberry, Grapefruit, Guava, Horseradish fresh and raw, Kelp, Kohlrabi, Leek, Lemon and Peel, Lettuce, Lime, Loganberry, Mango, Melons, Milk raw, Acidophilus Yogurt, Whey.

Highly Acid
Alcohol, Artichoke root, Barley, Bread, Buckwheat, Caffeine, Coffee, Corn, dry and products, Custards, Drugs, Flour all, Ginger preserved, Honey, Lentil dry, Mate, Millet, Oatmeal, Peanuts, Rice all, Rye Grain, Soy Bread, Soy noodles, Sorghum, grain, Spaghetti and other Pasta, Sugar Cane, raw beet, Tobacco, Walnut (English), Wheat grain.

Acid
Asparagus, Beans dried, Cashews, Coconut dried, Cranberry Juice and concentrate, Egg yolk, Filbert, Fruit Jellies (Jams Canned, Sulphured, Sugared, Dried), Grapes Sweet, Pasteurized Milk Products, Dry Peas, Pecans, Plums Damson, Tofu fries, Water-chestnuts.

Acid Fats
Butter, Cream, Margarine, Lard.

To support your alkaline food intake, I would recommend adding a greens supplement to your daily nutrition regime. Greens are full of plant-based ingredients that have a tremendous impact on the alkalinity of your body. This is also a way to nourish all the cells in your body that need this type of nutrition to flourish.
Ensuring the body remains alkaline is a life-long effort that you will have to work at every day. The benefits are sustained energy, a positive sense of well-being and a stronger immune system. Alkalinizing your body feeds a powerful machine that will be able to protect you from any disease that may come your way. I’d say that’s pretty important, wouldn’t you?
~by Kim Coventry