Alkalizing Your Body

20 Reasons To Eat Less Meat

Here’s 10 things that made us stop eating meat seven years ago and decide to take the plunge to go vegan at that time and eat very little meat now:

 

1. I had to. My partner pronounced that day he had stage III of IV stomach cancer and had 2 years to live if he didn’t change his diet. It was “do or die” and all the motivation we needed to change our diet immediately.

 

2. Within a few weeks I was rid of the need for 25 years of prior medication. And lo and behold, my digestion and health improved. I got a buzz from doing “my bit” to fight diseases, and within months even the thought of chewing on a piece of charred animal flesh seemed oddly less appealing to me. I confess, I didn’t want to give up meat then but I’m glad I did and now it’s a choice.

 

3. I no longer had to vomit every day without some of my medication because my body became alkaline. For the first time I discovered just how acidic meat and dairy are and the side effects from the toxicity.

 

4. I read the book, The China Study, the largest ever human study into the health benefits of a whole foods, plant-based diet. T. Collin Campbell tells it straight: eat vegan to dramatically cut your risk of pretty much every major degenerative disease going, from heart disease to diabetes to cancer. This is the book that inspired my veganism seven years ago.

 

5. I fell down the Netflix vegan rabbit hole. Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead; The Gerson Therapy; Vegucated; a vegan smorgasbord of documentaries about the benefits of going meat-free. Just watch a couple shows and Netflix will recommend the rest.

 

6. I listened to Charlotte Gerson and the teachings of her father, Dr. Max Gerson. Dr. Gerson was an eminent scientist, closely involved in the debate in the U.S. Congress on policies for cancer treatment, and was acknowledged for his brilliance by Nobel Laureate Dr. Albert Schweitzer. From a true healer, precious tools to maintain and improve your health if you are fit and well or to regain it if you are ill, and a far cry from the pill-popping instant ways of conventional medicine.

 

7. I bought a great alkaline way cookbook making eating vegan downright delicious. That book is called Eating The Alkaline Way. Click on the link to order it for yourself. Let’s face it, eating just salads every day for my family was just not going to cut it so I had to make it interesting and tasty. I’m just waiting for some local hipster restaurateurs to get with the program and do it up plant-based style. I was secretly hoping my brother, Ron, would embrace this culinary fare in his restaurant but it didn’t happen.

 

8. I started meditating and journaling more. This, along with the other holistic practices I’ve been exposed to, has served to make me a more self-aware, consciously switched-on human being. Thinking about my life, including my food choices, from a more soulful perspective has made it obvious to me that mostly veganism is a great way forward.

 

9. I read every cancer and disease fighting book I could during every spare waking moment I had and they all advised a predominately plant based diet. This was the final straw. And that’s how I ended up writing this and starting a website. I honestly believe that one day we’ll put eating meat in the same category as smoking cigarettes.

 

10. All my research pointed to mostly veganism being the healthiest diet to combat disease and avoid medication. You don’t have to be totally vegan to embrace the benefits of eating less meat.

 

Whether you’re thinking of going vegan, vegetarian or just cutting down your meat intake, there are plenty of great reasons to reduce your consumption.

 

Eating more veggies, fruits, beans, lentils, whole grains, nuts, and seeds instead of meat can have huge implications for your health, as well as the environment.

 

Need some motivation? Here are 10 good reasons to consider.

 

1. You’re likely to reverse heart disease. Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States. Switching to a plant-based diet has been shown to not only treat heart disease, but reverse its progression.

 

2. You’ll stay slim. Research has shown that eating meat has been linked to obesity. Let’s get real. For lots (I’ll say “most”), eating healthy goes hand-in-hand with wanting to stay a certain size, however messed-up that sounds. Does the oft-quoted observation “there are no obese vegans” play a part in my decision? Absolutely. My 40 lb weight loss was great incentive after not being able to lose weight for many years prior. You don’t have to blame weight gain on age. I now weigh the same as I did over 40 years ago.

 

3. You’ll save money. Vegetarian and vegan meals tend to be less expensive than meat.

 

4. You’ll reduce greenhouse gases. Animal agriculture is estimated to produce more greenhouse gases than the whole transportation industry combined. Lowering or eliminating your meat intake can have huge implications on climate change.

 

5. You’ll reduce animal cruelty. Millions of cattle and poultry are killed each year for meat, with a huge number of these being raised in factory farms.

 

6. You’ll be aligning with some of the greatest minds in history. Albert Einstein, Benjamin Franklin, Gandhi, Charles Darwin and George Bernard Shaw, T. Colin Campbell, Dr. Robert Young, and myself (LOL), all thought it was a smart idea to follow a plant-based diet.

 

7. You’ll join many ultra-endurance athletes in following a plant-based diet. What do marathon-runner Bart Yasso, triathlete Rich Roll and ironman Brendan Brazier all have in common? No meat in their diets!

 

8. You’ll help save the Amazon from destruction. The Amazon is being destroyed to grow feed crops for cattle. The situation is severe, the majority of Amazon deforestation is due to animal agriculture.

 

9. You’ll discover more delicious recipes. Reducing the meat in your life allows you to expand your food horizons and discover exciting new main dishes.

 

10. You’ll be making a choice embraced by religions around the world. Whether you’re non-religious, spiritual or a God-fearing person, it says something that many world religions endorse a meatless diet in some form. For example, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Jainism all encourage followers to adopt a plant-based diet. As I mentioned in a previous article, the Bible tells us God gave us plants as a plan for our diets.

 

Reducing or eliminating your meat intake has so many benefits: look better, feel better and save the planet. Eliminating meat from your life is one of the more significant things you can do for your health.

 

If you’re still on the journey of decreasing or eliminating meat from your diet, start taking baby steps today. Improve your health and the planet, one meatless meal at a time.

12 Amazing Benefits of Lemons

By Barbara LeGrand Cockrell

“We are living in a world today where lemonade is made from artificial flavors and furniture polish is made from real lemons.” –Alfred E. Newman

 Lemons are alkaline-forming in the body, although acidic in taste. They are in fact one of the most alkaline-forming foods making them great for balancing a highly acidic condition in the body. So what can we do to initiate feeling better, be more energized, and help alkalize our diet? Simple, drink lemon water.

Lemons offer an excellent source of Vitamin C, to help boost immune system and our mood. The scent of lemon alone is known as an excellent uplifting scent, promoting concentration and reducing anxiety. Drinking lemon water every morning can reduce your need for a caffeine boost and help to alkalize your diet.

12 Benefits of Drinking Lemon Water:

1. Lemons are alkalizing for the body: Lemons are acidic to begin with but they are alkaline-forming on body fluids helping to restore balance to the body’s pH.  Acidifying foods like refined carbohydrates, sugar, caffeine, meat, and dairy can create an acidic environment in the body which is a foundation for illness.

2. Aids digestion, encourages bile production, reduces mucous and helps eliminate toxins.

3. Breaks down excessive uric acid in the body which helps to minimize joint pain and inflammation.

4. The vitamin C and antioxidants found in lemon water help with the formation of collagen, reducing wrinkles, smoothing and brightening your skin.

5. Pectin fiber in lemons aids regular bowel movements and reduces hunger.

6. The citric acid in lemon juice helps to dissolve gallstones, calcium deposits, and kidney stones.

7. The lemon peel contains the potent phytonutrient tangeretin, which has been proven to be effective for brain disorders like Parkinson’s disease.

8. It destroys intestinal worms.

9. Lemons have powerful antibacterial properties; experiments have found the juice of lemons destroy the bacteria of malaria, cholera, diphtheria, typhoid and other deadly diseases.

10. Blood vessels are strengthened by the vitamin P (bioflavinoids) in lemon thus preventing internal hemorrhage, also, making it useful in treating high blood pressure.

11. The symptoms of eye disorders, including diabetic retinopathy have been shown in research to improve due to the rutin, found in lemons.

12. Lemons contain 22 anti-cancer compounds, including naturally occurring limonene; oil which slows or halts the growth of cancer tumors in animals, and flavonol glycosides which stop cell division in cancer cells.

 

We challenge you to try lemon water for 14 days and see how it improves your energy, digestion, and well-being.

When you wake up in the morning, squeeze half a lemon into a large glass (min. 16 ounces or two cups) of room temperature water. After squeezing out the juice, you can place the lemon into the glass, or discard. You should not eat or drink anything else until approximately 20 minutes after finishing the lemon water. If you happen to have weak tooth enamel, you can sip the water through a straw to avoid the lemon juice affecting your teeth.

Understanding How Acid Alkaline Balance Affects Health

Making sure your body is in an alkaline state is one of the major keys to overcoming diseases. Excessive acidity is responsible for degenerating and weakening all systems in the body.

The decline in health is rising at an alarming rate, despite the knowledge of the consequences of unhealthy eating. In order to achieve good health, the body needs to maintain sufficient alkaline reserves to ensure the energy demands of the body are met. The body depletes electrolyte reserves when there is a need to eliminate excess acidity, which is why maintaining health pH levels by eating alkalizing food is the key to sustaining overall health and well-being.

According to Dr. Theodore Baroody, Alkalize Or Die, the countless names of illnesses do not really matter but what does is they all come from the same root cause…too much acid waste in the body.

Understanding How pH Works 

Hydrogen, known as pH is the method of which alkalinity or acidity is measured in a solution on a scale of 0-14; 0 being extremely acidic and 14 being extremely alkaline. Ideally it’s healthy to keep the fluids in the body at neutral which is pH 7.

Infection and disease occur when there is an imbalance of positively (acid) and negatively (alkaline) charged ions of body fluid tissues.

When the pH drops to 5.3 and below (highly acidic), vitamins and minerals aren’t assimilated.

Oxygen circulates well at healthy levels and the natural process of healing and detoxification is no longer compromised, the cells regenerate optimizing the immune system’s function, and the body is less susceptible to disease.

Most people have imbalanced pH levels leading to problems such as obesity, premature aging, fatigue, and diseases.

You can get inexpensive pH strips from stores like Whole Foods and test yours in a few minutes.

The body constantly needs minerals and nutrients, such as potassium, sodium, calcium, and magnesium to assure a healthy and balanced pH level. These neutralize the harmful effects of the acidity in the blood. If the natural process fails, the acid spreads to the various organs and causes extremely negative consequences.

The pH level controls each and every bodily function. 

Iodine is one of the most essential minerals needed for the thyroid to function properly. The thyroid is deprived of iodine if the pH level range is not ideal or close to perfect.

Ask around and you can see thyroid problems on the rise in a society with a widespread state of pH imbalance.

Why is this important? Because thyroid problems have been associated with arthritis, diabetes, heart conditions, depression, obesity, chronic fatigue, cancer, and so much more.

Are you beginning to see why your pH level is so important? 

Over-indulgence in excessively acidic foods, massive soil depletion, and mineral deficiency is degrading our health.

The body ideally has the proper tools and capability to eliminate excess acid, but due to poor and unhealthy eating habits, inadequate breathing and exercise, high levels of toxins, this results in liver stress and kidney failure, and the body can’t eliminate these acids so it stores it.

The pH level, without oxygen, changes into an acid pH level, and this is where cancer cells start to develop. Candida, fungus, and mold thrive in this type of environment as well.

This is not a new discovery for society; the ideal environments of cancer have been known since it’s discovery in 1903.

Don’t you find it odd very few people know what‘s causing diseases like cancer or know how to effectively treat them? 

That’s the reason I’m sharing these simple truths with you so you can see how off balance we’ve become and reverse it.

Typical Causes of Acid Alkaline Imbalance 

Standard American Diet (SAD)

80% of the standard American diet consists of acid food, which leads to a vast number of health problems.

Chronic Stress

Experiencing stress that occurs often for a long period of time is extremely damaging to the body, and is the cause of conditions such as ulcers, upset stomachs, backaches, headaches, insomnia, depression, anxiety, hypertension, anger, varicose veins, and hemorrhoids, panic disorders and attacks.

The growing cases of chronic stress is doubling at alarming rates. Doctors have documented the significance of the relationship between diseases and stress.

A healthy diet with sufficient amounts of magnesium assists in controlling and eliminating stress. Exercise, adequate rest, relaxation techniques and hobbies, and doing what you love also helps.

Dehydration 

Excessive loss of water in the body leads to significant loss of nutrients as well. Since our bodies are 70% water, dehydration leaves it vulnerable to diseases and other problems.

NSAIDs and Aspirin 

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications and aspirin promote acidity, leaving us susceptible to acid related diseases.

Illnesses Associated With Excess Acidity

• Parkinson’s Disease
• Multiple sclerosis
• Seizures
• ADHD
• Alcoholic tremors
• Teeth grinding
• Stuttering
• Blood clotting
• Poor circulation
• Back pain
• Fibromyalgia
• Gout
• Scleroderma
• Tuberculosis
• Acid reflux
• Lupus
• Cancer
• Many more

 Wow, how many of these affect you or someone you love?

The compromised immune system results in a decreased resistance to colds, fever, infections, herpes, sores, reduced energy, asthmas, and increased allergic reactions.

Allergies are caused by an inflamed reaction, which is triggered by excess acidity.

The alkaline diet involves the consumption of organic fresh fruits and vegetables, and nuts.

It avoids the consumption of mainly refined grains and salt, dairy products, and meat; mostly the SAD diet.

Chlorophyll, the pigmentation in the leaves of plants prevents infections and diseases because of its alkalizing effects to the body.

An alkalized diet is an effective means of treatment for various diseases. It increases vigor and muscle mass, clears your mind, and promotes weight loss.

Looking for the fountain of youth? The alkaline diet delays the rotting effects of aging and is gaining momentum.

Would you agree it provides a wealth of benefits that we all need? How can we focus on business if we’re suffering from many of these ailments?

My Dad always said “the show must go on”. But if won’t if you can’t perform at your peak.