AM Alchemy
Zach Greig about Body Acidity
Zach Greig, CEO of Zendo Fitness and Trainer at eXtreme Fitness Camps, explains in an easy way the connections of acidic and alkaline foods on your body.
You wake up – What is the first thing that you think about? Is it coffee? Food? Both?
Coffee, and most breakfast foods (eggs, cereal and dairy) are highly acidic. The opposite of acidic is alkaline. The pH scale goes from 0 to 14, 0 being HIGHLY acidic and 14 being HIGHLY alkaline. Guess where we want to be? Hanging out in the middle of course, but slightly more alkaline.
Imagine your body acidity (pH) as a temperature. That temperature (pH) has a direct effect on all of those little cellular workers in your body. Too too much heat or too much cold makes these workers lethargic. Start the day for your workers as you wish to start the day for yourself: cool, fresh, and caffeinated.
Ok, so what food is Alkaline?
This can get complicated. While some foods, like lemons, are acidic in nature but they become alkaline through the digestion process. Dairy is vice versa. Have a look at the chart below to help you understand the acidic effect of certain foods.
It is not necessarily about removing highly acidic foods, but rather integrating vegetables or supplementing alkaline foods to keep the balance.
Here are my top 3 alkaline hacks:
- Lemon or Lime water
- Cold brew coffee (almost 70% less acidic than hot brewed coffee)
- Baking soda
Where to start?
Choose your hack. Remember, these are just supplements to help keep your pH in balance. Just like other supplements: don’t just rely on these alone for your health. Eat your veggies, and apply your hacks once or twice daily whenever you can; either when you wake up, before food and drinks (preferable for best results) or at night after dinner (still beneficial).
It is not necessarily about removing highly acidic foods, but rather integrating vegetables or supplementing alkaline foods to keep the balance.