Alkalinity sounds science-y and irrelevant, but stay with us. It could very well be the difference between feeling like trash and feeling on top of the world.
What Is Alkalinity
Alkalinity refers to one side of the pH scale, which measures how acidic or alkaline something is. The term’ pH’ stands for ‘potential of hydrogen,’ which measures a solution’s hydrogen ion concentration. The scale goes like this:
Acidic 1-6
Neutral 7
Alkaline 8-14
The human body tries to keep a tight range around neutral on the pH scale – between 6.8 (slightly acidic) and 7.4 (slightly alkaline). The more positively charged particles, called ions, we have in our bodies, the more acidic we become. The more negative ions we have in our bodies, the more alkaline we become.
Here’s the thing: Our bodies require pH perfection, and even being just a couple of degrees off can wreak havoc.
Take your stomach, for instance— it requires a specific acidity to break down your food for digestion. Blood is similar in that it has this super tight pH window, just slightly on the alkaline side of neutral, and any change needs to be balanced ASAP.
Why Does Being Alkaline Matter?
Now, when we talk about alkalinity, we’re talking about tipping the scales slightly higher on the pH spectrum, promoting vitality and wellness throughout our system.
Health experts understand that an alkaline body pH promotes good health, and an acidic body pH is an environment for potential health problems. You’re vibrant and energetic when your body is on its pH game. With a slightly alkaline pH, your body will have optimal cellular function, enhanced metabolism, and strong immunity. But flip the script to an acidic body, and you’re more prone to issues from colds to diseases. Do you care about alkalizing your body now!?
How to Alkalize Your Body
Diet
We say this all the time: wellness is like the spokes of a wheel, with each spoke representing a different way of supporting optimal well-being. Diet is one of these spokes because so much of how your body operates is based on what you put into it. Some believe that diet can positively alter your pH levels, although we gotta say reliable sources do not yet back this up.
Nonetheless, an alkaline-focused diet can be healthy because it emphasizes whole and unprocessed foods. Think fruits, veggies, soybeans, tofu, some nuts, seeds, and legumes, which are fresh and nutrient-dense. It can also be limiting as it is a predominately vegan diet, avoiding dairy, eggs, meat and most grains, thought to be acidic. Protein is important to help grow and repair muscle, supply nutrients to your body and much more. But if you’re adhering closely to the alkaline diet, many common sources of protein are off-limits. If a vegan diet works for you, this diet is great! But for us, our preference is focusing on a balance. Incorporating whole, healthy foods, protein and limiting processed, high acidic foods. Ideally, we’re talking about loading up your plate with about 60% to 70% alkaline foods every day, paired with a solid 2 to 4 litres of water throughout the day (bonus points if it’s spring water!).
Lifestyle
Any activities that reduce your stress load, decrease your exposure to toxins, and get you to breathe deeper will reduce acidity in the body, promoting optimal pH levels. This could include:
- Exercise. Moving and sweating help remove acidic waste from the body and improve your breathing patterns.
- Yoga. Yoga not only helps with flexibility and stress management, but it increases your practice of deep breathing.
- Deep Breathing. Research shows that setting aside even 30 seconds for purposeful deep breathing exercises profoundly affects acidity in the body.
- Meditation. This effective stress management tool can also help reduce acidity in the body.
- Massage Therapy. Massage is a great stress reducer; some techniques can even help with lymphatic drainage.
- Dry Brushing. A simple way to stimulate your lymphatic system, this promotes the circulation of blood and lymph fluid to help remove acidic waste.
- Grounding. In a modern world where we have put more and more stuff between us and nature, we have become disconnected from Earth’s energy. Grounding, or Earthing, is the act of connecting directly with the Earth’s surface to absorb its natural electrical charge. While grounding doesn’t directly affect your pH, it can help with the balancing act. It’s believed that the beneficial electrons you gain from earthing can create the ideal conditions to support alkalinity.
All of the above and an alkaline-rich diet make an excellent strategy for nailing your natural pH balance!
Tips for Getting Alkaline on the Daily
- Taste the rainbow. Make sure you’re eating a colourful array of veggies and other nutritious foods. Yummy salads, hearty stir-fries, and mouthwatering veggie bowls bursting with flavour will work wonders.
- Hydration Station. Stay hydrated with plenty of H2O—hello, spring water! Add a squeeze of lemon for an extra alkaline boost, and sip your way to balance.
- Move it, move it. Exercise, stretch and sweat out the toxins holding your pH back.
- Get grounded. Take a chill walk barefoot on lush grass or sandy shores, or, if you’re like us and this Canadian winter is dragging on, make that connection with the help of a grounding product.
Essentially, alkalizing your body is getting those pH levels right! Through nourishing practices like earthing and grounding, you can support your alkalinity and give yourself the power of vitality. So kick off those shoes, load up on veggies, and get alkalized!