The Alkaline Trifecta of Awesomeness
…it’s genius.
This is going to be a VERY special guide for you in what has already become my most popular Alkaline Diet Series yet. Hundreds of comments, facebook likes and re-tweets tell me that I really hit the mark with my first part of this three-part series “Alkaline Bootcamp #1 – Avoid These 3 Mistakes And ROCK The Alkaline Diet“.
If you haven’t read that first guide I really recommend you do – it is some of the most important information I have ever covered. It reveals the 3 alkaline diet mistakes that are SO easy to make, that you probably don’t even know that you’re making – but if you are (like 90% of people) you’ll be finding the alkaline diet 10 times harder and also be getting almost none of the results you deserve.
I certainly made these mistakes (many for years) so I know first hand the difference it makes when you stop making them. The alkaline diet becomes easy, enjoyable and POWERFUL.
Click here to go to Alkaline Bootcamp #1 – Avoid These 3 Mistakes And ROCK The Alkaline Diet
Alkaline Bootcamp #2 – The Three Secrets of the Alkaline Diet Revealed (The Alkaline Trifecta of Awesomeness)
In todays training I am going to reveal to you three brilliant concepts, that when used together, make your health goals very, very easy to reach – and all through easy to watch and learn video from Ronnie at our Energise LIVE event in April 2011.
One of them is based upon pH – so you’ve already got some of it covered. But used in conjunction with these other two ideas…things get exciting.
And the best part is, I won’t be doing all of the explaining – as I have this awesome video from Ronnie Ruiz to explain it all to you!
The Trifecta of AWESOMENESS: 7-minute video
Why I Love Ronnie Ruiz (and why you HAVE to too!)
You may have heard me mention Ronnie before (in Part One for example) and I genuinely credit Ronnie for teaching me SO MUCH about alkaline water and the alkaline diet – in fact, he changed my whole approach in many different ways and made MY results SO MUCH BETTER with his ideas and suggestions.
The Trifecta
It’s simple – but important – so take notes of this…
It’s not just about pH. Get that – it’s NOT just about pH.
There are THREE essential components I want you to master, because when you hit on all three you put your body into overdrive and your health goals will become a reality VERY quickly.
While I am not one (EVER) to promise miracle-cures and I never say there is a magic bullet that can fix everything, I truly believe that the three biggest contributors to illness and health issues are:
1. Dehydration
2. Over-acidification
3. Oxidation (free-radical damage) of cells
Trifecta Part 1: Hydration
We talked about proper hydration in the Alkaline Bootcamp #1 so I won’t touch on that this much here other than to say you HAVE to be hydrated and it HAS to be with good quality, filtered and preferably alkaline water – every day, without fail.
Instead I’ll use this space to really, really reaffirm the importance of combining ALL THREE of these components. When you combine hydration with #2 (pH) and #3 (antioxidants) you start to get something very special happening inside of your body.
Here are some of my other articles on hydration if you want to cover this in more detail (remember it was covered in part I of this training too)
> Importance of Hydration
> Ultimate Comparison of Alkaline Water Methods
> Why Ionized Water is More Hydrating than Other Waters
> Problems With Tap Water
So let’s rock on to part 2:
Trifecta Part 2: Over-Acidification – The Basics
As microbiologist Robert Young states:
The pH level of our internal fluids affects every cell in our bodies. The entire metabolic process depends on an alkaline environment. Chronic over acidity corrodes body tissue, and if left unchecked will interrupt all cellular activities and functions, from the beating of your heart to the neutral firing of your brain. In other words, overacidity interferes with life itself.
As Ronnie mentioned in the video – pH is SO important (it’s why we’re here right?) – and when you over-acidify, the body goes into chaos to balance the pH (in the same way that it regulates your temperature) stealing alkaline minerals from wherever it can to neutralise the acids. Ronnie’s examples in the video are great.
You probably know the basics, but just in case you’re new to all of this:
So Here’s How It Works
Our body will maintain an alkaline balance of pH 7.365 no matter what we do.
If we eat crap, sit on our ass all day and smoke, drink and do drugs our body will still stay alkaline. It is how we are designed. There is almost nothing on Earth that we could do that would cause our body to allow our blood and other cells to drift away from the pH of 7.365. Your body will always do whatever it has to in order to maintain this balance. Our body will stay alkaline at any cost.
But this cost is huge.
Put Crap In – Get Crap Out
When we throw acid after acid into our body, our body will, absolutely break down and the above symptoms will show up. When we put acid forming foods and drinks (and others) in, our body has to deal with it and this means using the small amount of alkaline buffers that we have to maintain this alkaline balance.
However, we didn’t evolve to eat so much unnatural, refined foods and sugars and so we only have a tiny buffer. After that the body starts to draw alkaline minerals from wherever it can in the body to neutralise the acids.
The outcome of this is that your body is constantly in a state of absolute panic. On top of this, over-acidification is a vicious cycle – the more acids we throw in, the more toxins we have in our system. Here is my super-simple-diagram to help explain what happens when we keep consuming sugars & acids that ferment into yeast and mold:
In an acidic state, the body is constantly being ravaged. The stress of maintaining this level of alkalinity is just too much and so we get sick, tired and full of disease.
How You Can EASILY Stop This
The single biggest step you can take to instantly and easily make sure that you don’t end up suffering from the symptoms of overacidification is to infuse your body with the alkaline substances it needs (see my articles on the 12 reasons to avoid over-acidification & a rundown of what acidosis is).
Of course, you need to cut out the acids, you know this already but the biggest gift you can give your body is to start getting these alkaline minerals in! As I mentioned, your body only has a very small amount of alkaline buffers, and it relies upon us to provide more through what we eat and drink.
When we consume foods and drinks, their alkaline or acidifying effect on the body is related, mostly, to the mineral content of the food. A good example of this is spinach, which is one of the most alkaline foods of all and is high in magnesium, calcium and potassium. Three of the top four most alkaline minerals.
The four main alkaline minerals are:
- Calcium
- Magnesium
- Potassium
- Sodium
So by including foods rich in these minerals, our body will always have plenty in reserve, will be able to start cleansing and rebuilding any past damage and very soon you’ll feel on top of the world!
As an aside, spinach and other greens are also high in chlorophyll, which is also really, very alkalising.
Sources of Alkaline Minerals
To make sure you’re getting plenty of alkaline minerals in your life I believe you should both consume good quality (pref organic) fresh, vibrant, healthy, high-water content, often raw foods PLUS I believe that you should supplement this to ensure that you always have a safety net. It is SO important to get enough of the right minerals every day that I fully believe in supplementation in this case.
This is particularly important if you have been out of balance, because there will be a lot of repair, detoxification and tidying up to do in your blood and other cells, so providing your body with an abundance of alkaline minerals is one of the very best things you can do.
But first, here’s the whole food sources:
- POTASSIUM:
- Avocado
- Spinach
- Soybeans
- Lentils
- Swiss Chard
- Tomatos
- Broccoli
- Squash
- Cucumber
- Sweet Potato
- Beetroot
- Greens
- Carrots
- Kidney Beans
- MAGNESIUM:
- Pumpkin Seeds
- Spinach
- Soybeans
- Swiss Chard
- Salmon
- Broccoli
- Cucumber
- Sunflower Seeds
- Navy Beans
- Pumpkin
- Tomatoes
- Celery
- Quinoa
- Almonds
- Brown Rice
- CALCIUM:
- Basil
- Turnip
- Thyme
- Spinach
- Greens
- Kelp
- Broccoli
- Swiss Chard/Silverbeet
- Romaine Lettuce
- Kale
- Celery
- Cabbage
- Squash
- Green Beans
- Asparagus
- Brussel Sprouts
- Garlic
- SODIUM:
- Avocado
- Carrots
- Cabbage
- Cauliflower
- Kale
- Lettuce
- Greens
- Parsley
- Peppers
- Radish
- Sunflower Seeds
- Sweet Potato
- Turnip
- Beets
Note on Sodium:
We are talking about proper, pure sodium, not table salt or the salt added to refined foods. According to Robert Young:
Today’s common table salt is a poison that has nothing in common with natural liquid colloidal salt. Most common table salt is made up of chemicals that pollute your body and wreak havoc on your health. Your table salt is actually 97.5% sodium chloride
and 2.5% chemicals such as moisture absorbents, and iodine. Dried at over 1,200 degrees Fahrenheit, the excessive heat alters the natural chemical structure of the salt causing the potential for a myriad of health challenges in your body. [see the full article here]
Sodium is essential in the body, and the above listed alkaline vegetables provide you with a good, clean source of this important salt.
SUMMARY
Your body really needs you to minimise the acids you consume and keep putting alkali in. When we consume acids, your body uses the alkaline substances in your body (calcium from bones, for example) to neutralise these acids which causes havoc. The body only has a very tiny supply of alkaline buffers and so by giving the body an abundance of alkalinity we not only ease this burden but also give the body the tools it needs to work optimally.
The four main alkaline minerals are calcium, magnesium, potassium and sodium (clean, not refined table salt). These are abundant in fresh vegetables (particularly greens), and we advise you to eat plenty each day!
Trifecta Part 3 Antioxidants: The Basics
Antioxidants literally do what they say on the tin, they prevent oxidation reactions in the body. They are anti-oxidising.
And why is this important? Because oxidation reactions in the body produce ‘free radicals’ which are serious cell damagers and the cause of many diseases and aging. In fact, oxidative stress has been shown to be pivotal in the onset of many diseases including Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, motor neurone disease and a number of different cancers.
These oxidation reactions are natural in the body (they happen when our cells use oxygen) and we cannot and should not try to prevent them. But we do need to ensure we are consuming enough antioxidants to clean up the by-product of these reactions, the free radicals.
Antioxidants are free-radical scavengers, scuttling about through the body, not only removing these free radicals, but also repairing the damage that they have done. Brilliant.
Where Can I Get Some?
Thankfully antioxidants are found in tasty, tasty foods! Here are some of the most important, with a list of our favourite (alkaline, vegetarian) sources:
- Glutathione: because all other antioxidants depend upon the presence of glutathione to function properly, scientists call it ’the master antioxidant.’ To give your body the best chance of manufacturing enough you have to eat a nice, wide variety of sources. Foods that help are asparagus, broccoli, avocado and spinach.
- Vitamin A and Carotenoids: these ones are easy to get, just hit the fresh aisle of the supermarket or grocery store and head for the colour! Carrots, peppers (capsicum), broccoli, sweet potato, greens, tomatoes are all a really great source. If you’re living alkaline then you’ll be getting plenty of vitamin A from your greens!
- Vitamin C: people naturally assume oranges and other citrus, but if you are trying to live alkaline and/or trying not to consume too much sugar you can get your vitamin c from green capsicum (peppers), broccoli, spinach (and other greens), tomatoes and cauliflower. Can you see a theme emerging with some of these antioxidant sources?
- Flavonoids / polyphenols:green tea is great, but don’t go overboard on the caffeine! Vegetables high in flavonoids include onion, kale, green beans, broccoli, celery, tomato, pepper/capsicum, cabbage, carrots and peas!
- Vitamin E: no tomatoes in this list! Vitamin E is all about the almonds and sunflower seeds! Leafy greens are also pretty good, but almonds and sunflower seeds have almost double the Vitamin E of other food sources.
- Lycopene: you probably already know to hit the tomatoes hard for your lycopene fix, and they are pretty much, hands-down the best source. The jury is still out as to whether lycopene is absorbed better from cooked instead of raw tomatoes, but it has been proven that vine ripened tomatoes outscore those tomatoes ripened off the vine. Pink grapefruit is also a decent source if you want to mix it up a bit (grapefruit is also great for the liver).
- Lutein: greens, greens, greens. That’s all there really is to say on this one!
- Lignan: flax seed/oil is the very best source of this antioxidant, giving another argument for the case to consume plenty of flax oil every day! Sesame seeds are also a great source, so if you use an oil blend like Udo’s Choice you should be flying! Again, greens are another of the best food sources. Are you getting tired of me mentioning greens yet?
The Four Easiest Ways to Antioxidants
So in order to get your body’s requirement of antioxidants daily there are three great sources:
- Drink Ionized Water: water that has been ionized is rich in antioxidants. Measured using a method called ORP (oxygen reduction potential) ionized water has an ORP of -450. To give this context, green tea has an ORP of -200, meaning that ionized water has over twice the antioxidant content of green tea. Drinking 304 litres of water from your ionizer each day will dramatically increase your antioxidant intake.
- Greens & Tomatoes: by getting plenty of serves of leafy green vegetables, other greens such as asparagus and tomatoes you will be getting a really good range of antioxidants and also providing your body with the sources it needs to manufacture Glutathione
- Dr Young’s Glutathione: Dr Young has created ‘the first natural water-based oral Glutathione from avocados. This product is a fantastic way to guarantee that you will give your body all of the Glutathione it needs to support the function of all the other antioxidants you ingest. What a great safety net!
- pH Ion’s Berry Superfruit: this is an absurdly amazing product. Each serve of Indigo has an ORAC (Oxygen radical absorbance capacity – the standardised measure of the antioxidant capacity of foods) level of 8000 – that’s the same amount of antioxidants as 4lbs of fruit in one serve – and without the sugar! This is easily one of the best products I have ever come across!
The Energise Anti-Oxidant Super Meal
So, to help you on your way to antioxidant heaven, here is our Energise Anti-Oxidant Super Meal. It is delicious, filling and takes about 10 minutes to make! Brilliant! Oh and it is so vibrant and colourful you’ll probably just want to look at it for ten minutes before you start eating.
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Serves: 2
1/4 Red cabbage thinly sliced
2 Handfuls of spinach leaves
2 Vine-ripened tomatoes, sliced
1/2 red onion, diced
4 spring onions, thinly sliced/shredded
1/2 cucumber, cut into thin matchsticks
1 carrot, cut into thin matchsticks
1/2 broccoli, chopped small
Handful of beansprouts
1 serve of soba noodles
1 handful of coriander leaves
Juice of 1 lime
Bragg Liquid Aminos/Soy Sauce
Optional: handful of alfalfa sprouts
Directions:
Firstly, tear the coriander and squeeze the lime juice over it to marinate a little. Now slice everything as indicated above and quickly prepare the soba noodles (they don’t take long). Then simply mix everything together in a big salad bowl with the Bragg or soy sauce and eat!
This is a fantastic meal because it is 90% raw, but the noodles give it warmth and some satisfying substance.
With the Bragg or Soy choice it is up to you. If you want to keep this meal as being highly alkaline then go for the Bragg because soy sauce is highly acidifying in the body.
What are you waiting for?
The combination of these three simple principles will rock your world. I have no doubt about that. And it seems simple, but in reality so few people actually give focus to all three – especially when there is the inclination to focus ALL of your energy on pH.
The alkaline diet, in reality is a combination of these three simple, but powerful areas of health. And when you get them right it is absolute MAGIC.
If you have any questions or comments PLEASE feel free to leave them below.
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