Finding Balance
Mind-Body-Spirit These three components summarize the human condition. If any one area is neglected or abused the whole body suffers and pays a price. We are focusing on the body and its nutritional needs, which will help to bring all three into alignment and good health.
- Balance in nature manifests in harmony and beauty. The same is true for our bodies which are comprised of a complex set of systems, each with its own unique function. When one is not functioning correctly, all the others are affected to some degree. The result is distress or disease.
- Our blood is the vehicle that transports nutrients to our entire body while removing the harmful toxins that can compromise our health. The optimal pH. balance in the blood is 7-7.2 (slightly alkaline). Below this range the blood is acidic and susceptible to disease. The canary, being a sensitive creature, will be our guide in the kitchen. It will help alert us to the potential hazards of consuming certain foods or food combinations, among other things.
Putting Balance in Your Diet
I'm sure that most of my readers have tried various diets for one reason or another. From wanting to loose a few pounds following the food filled holidays, or just wanting our best summer body to show off a new swim suit. Maybe the pounds just kind of snuck up on us. There are so many diets promoted on the market today. It seems like every few years someone claims to have found the magic bullet for what ails us. Unfortunately, people find it difficult to completely switch to a different way of eating. After all, it is so much a part of our cultural, social and emotional being.
It seems that most new diets are short lived. You reach for some ideal goal, before returning to the familiar. The Canary, on the other hand, is here to help you continue with the familiarity of your current diet, while helping you make some conscious adjustments in food preparation, quantities and timing. Changes that will help you find the right balance for health, energy and best body weight.
pH Balance and the Western Diet
The typical western diet may contribute to the many health issues that people are facing today. From obesity, diabetes, arthritis, fibromyalgia. cardiovascular, crones disease and cancer to name a few. A diet that's mostly comprised of processed foods, meats, grains, dairy, and sugar, is a recipe for a pH imbalance and acid forming blood. Cheeseburger, french fries and soda are a prime example of an acid creating meal.
All foods have varying degrees of acidity and alkalinity. But they may not be what you think. Citrus fruit is acidic in nature, but after it is digested and metabolized it becomes alkaline in the blood. And being vegetarian or vegan does not guarantee an alkaline blood. It is recommended that we consume more alkaline forming foods than acid forming in order to create a more balanced pH. and resistance to inflammation and disease.
There are many charts available on the internet with varying results on the levels of acidity and alkaline levels with many conflicting results. The important thing to remember is that fruits and vegetables are alkaline forming, and meat, grains, sugar, nuts and alcohol are highly acidic.
Brown rice, coconut, buckwheat, millet, almonds, fish and honey are quite low in acidity. A 60% alkaline to 40% acidic ratio is a good goal to work towards. Reducing the grains is probably the most challenging for many people. By replacing white flour pasta and white rice with buckwheat, millet or whole grains and corn tortillas for flour ones, then you will be reducing the amount of acid intake consumed from your carbs.
In my meal planning section, I offer suggestions for a simple balanced vegetarian diet. We can also make recommendations to help with a variety of specific conditions or goals for the individual.
Below is a food pyramid that gives us a visual description of an optimally balanced diet.
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Prolonged Inflammation Causes Disease
When our body detects an unwanted organism as in viruses or bacteria, inflammation can occur. This is the body’s natural response to trauma or foreign organisms. This is a good thing! Our body sends out defensive organisms to attack and destroy the unwanted intruder or remedy the situation.
Prolonged inflammation, however, can begin to destroy healthy tissue and cause cellular damage. This may lead to a variety of diseases including diabetes, allergies, arthritis, obesity and cancer. Prolonged inflammation can occur when the body does not have the right components to restore itself to normal function.
Stress, insufficient sleep, dehydration and poor diet can lead to a perpetual inflammation. The body is in continual protection mode, thereby effectively weakening its defenses.
Medications can also contribute to the problem. Dependence on pain killers such as aspirin, ibuprophen and Tylenol to alleviate pain and inflammation, can worsen the condition by breaking down delicate tissue. Permeable areas in the digestive system are created that allow microorganisms to invade the blood stream.
The key is to not only treat the current symptom, but to restore the body as a whole to correct balance and harmony once again.
When our body detects an unwanted organism as in viruses or bacteria, inflammation can occur. This is the body’s natural response to trauma or foreign organisms. This is a good thing! Our body sends out defensive organisms to attack and destroy the unwanted intruder or remedy the situation.
Prolonged inflammation, however, can begin to destroy healthy tissue and cause cellular damage. This may lead to a variety of diseases including diabetes, allergies, arthritis, obesity and cancer. Prolonged inflammation can occur when the body does not have the right components to restore itself to normal function.
Stress, insufficient sleep, dehydration and poor diet can lead to a perpetual inflammation. The body is in continual protection mode, thereby effectively weakening its defenses.
Medications can also contribute to the problem. Dependence on pain killers such as aspirin, ibuprophen and Tylenol to alleviate pain and inflammation, can worsen the condition by breaking down delicate tissue. Permeable areas in the digestive system are created that allow microorganisms to invade the blood stream.
The key is to not only treat the current symptom, but to restore the body as a whole to correct balance and harmony once again.
