This is a guest post by Esther of Hawkins Health
I’ll never forget the first time I went out to eat for breakfast in America. I was still in the ‘wow’ phase of my introduction to American life which I have to say is vastly different from my life in England. I was with a group of friends ordering from Shonies and the waitress asked my how I’d like my eggs. I thought for a moment and told her that I’d like them fried. She looked bewildered and as my friends cracked up laughing around me, I tried to figure out what I had said that was so utterly hilarious. She then proceeded to use words like, ‘sunny side up’ and ‘over easy’, none of which meant anything to me.
Ten years later, and with a little more understanding of American culture, I am now aware that here, more than anywhere else I have traveled, we are bombarded with a multitude of choices that still make my head spin.
While it can be wonderful to have the freedom and ability to make our own choices, in some ways it can just become overwhelming and confusing. Take for instance the never ending commercials for weight loss products. If you try one diet and it doesn’t work, don’t worry because there are probably another 6000 you can try.
I sometimes wonder when we decided that more is better. With two small children I have found that more just means; more to clean, more to fold, more to pick up, more to fix, more to manage. In an effort over the last year to simplify my life I’ve found the time to enjoy relationships, to focus on doing what I love, and to live more fluidly rather than being controlled by a schedule. The freedom I have found is not in the ability to manage my choices, but in eliminating some of them, so that my life fits into my core values.
One of the key areas that I believe many of us have missed the beauty of simplicity is in the area of our health. Our cells are so incredibly intelligent that no amount of research, technology or money can match our body’s own ability to take care of itself. When our bodies are in balance and have all the nutrients needed, we’ll find ourselves in perfect health and at our perfect weight.
The pH of our bodily fluids is the key to understanding how healthy or unhealthy we are. pH balancing is a measure of acidity and alkalinity. Everything can be measured on the pH scale with 1 being the most acidic, 14 being the most alkaline and 7, in the middle, is neutral.
Disease and inflammation can only exist in an acidic body. This is absolutely vital for us to understand. It doesn’t matter how many generations that have gone before you have had cancer or some other life threatening disease. If your body is in balance, that disease cannot exist in your body. The reason that so many people are suffering in this country with debilitating and life threatening diseases is that our bodies are so acidic.
Surely in America we should be eradicating disease. We should be boasting the best health in the world, but despite the billions of dollars that go into medical research, technology and hospitals each year, the health of this nation is in massive decline.
The reason is this. The acid-alkaline balance of our body is dependent on two primary factors; stress and nutrition, and here in America we are terrible at both! Stress has an incredibly acidic effect on our bodies, creating an environment that invites sickness and disease. Also, the food we eat has either an acidic, neutral or alkaline effect on our bodies. When the bulk of our food has an acidic effect, the repercussions can be devastating.
The most acid forming foods and substances include; meat, dairy, sugar, most grains, most nuts, junk food, processed food, soda, coffee, tobacco, alcohol, chemical additives, preservatives, drugs and medications, synthetic vitamins.
Cooking our foods also makes them more acidic. Unfortunately, the Standard American Diet (SAD) is ridiculously high in extremely acid forming foods. The ideal diet would be 80% raw or lightly steamed vegetables and fruits, and 20% acid forming foods. Just take a look at your plate over the next week and see how close you get to these percentages. We do need some acid forming foods but just not in the quantities that most people consume them.
Once your body is in balance, symptoms of pain, sickness and depression can start to be naturally alleviated. Chasing symptoms doesn’t address the underlying cause. pH balancing gets to the root of the problem. It really is as simple as that!
*** Esther Hawkins is a Naturopathic Doctor and stay-at-home Mom to two young children. She teaches natural health classes and blogs about natural health as well as her life as a Mom. She says, “I love to write, I love talking about natural health and I love being at home with my kids. I blog so I can do everything I love at the same time.” For more about Esther, or to learn about natural health, visit her blog at www.hawkinshealth.com
