Do adopt a balanced acid-alkaline diet
throughout your pregnancy (why: a balanced acid-alkaline level increases your
energy and vitality, neutralizes excess acids in your body, removes accumulated
toxins in your blood, strengthens your immune system and organ systems,
destroys harmful microorganisms, and balances the pH in your body).
Your body cells, as well as those
of your baby, need an optimum environment for growth and replication: they need
a balanced acid-and-alkaline environment. Acid and alkaline are substances that
have opposing qualities. Your body functions at its best when the pH is
optimum, which is slightly alkaline. The pH of your blood, tissues, and body
fluids directly affect the state of your cellular health as well as that of
your baby.
The pH scale ranges between one
and fourteen. Seven is considered neutral.
Anything below seven is considered acidic, while
anything above seven is considered alkaline. Deviations above or
below a 7.30 and 7.40 pH range can signal potentially serious and even
dangerous health conditions.
Don’t let your body become too
acidic (why not: when your body is too acidic, the tissues of your cells are
forced to relinquish their alkaline reserves, depleting them of alkaline
minerals, which are the components of the tissues themselves; the acute
shortage of alkaline minerals will lead to disease and the malfunctioning of
the immune system).
Acidification comes from excess
intake of foods containing great amounts of acid, and insufficient
elimination by the body through the kidneys (urination) and the skin
(sweating). Not too much acid can actually stay in the bloodstream, and,
accordingly, any excess is directed to other body organs and tissues, where it
can accumulate.
Too much acidification can make
you unhealthy, and even sick:
The corrosive nature of acid irritates your body organs, causing
inflammation, which is often a source of body pain, pain, and hardening of
tissues.
Acidic sweat may cause skin allergy, especially in areas where sweat seems
to accumulate, such as the armpits.
Acidic urine may cause infection and inflammation in the urinary tract,
resulting in bladder problems.
Acidification may cause lesions of the mucous membranes, for example, your
respiratory system, making them vulnerable to infections.
Acidification decreases the activity of enzymes in the body, which are
responsible for proper digestion of foods and assimilation of nutrients.
Loss of minerals may result in bone loss and brittle bones for the baby, as
well as joint inflammation and hair loss for the mother.
Diet is the main contributor to excess acidification in the body. Your diet
is the primary source that determines your acid-alkaline level in your body.
All the foods you eat can be divided into three main groups:
Acidifying Foods
Acidifying foods are characterized by their high protein content, and/or
fats, including the following:
Meat, poultry, fish and seafood
Eggs
Cheese
Vegetable oils
Whole grains
Beans, such as broad bean, chickpeas, peanuts, soybeans, and white beans
Bread, pasta, and cereals
Sweets and sugars, including brown sugar and honey
Sugary drinks and sodas
Alcohol, coffee, and tea
Your digestion of protein produces
amino acids (containing acid minerals, such as phosphorus and sulfur)
during digestion, and uric acids during acidic degradation.
You utilize fat in the form of
fatty acids, and your digestion of saturated fat is often incomplete, resulting
in toxic acid substances that contribute to acidification.
Your digestion of glucose may be
adversely affected by inadequate or poor metabolism, turning originally
alkaline elements into acidic ones.
Your consumption of too much sugar
(the average person in the United
States consumes approximately 90 pounds per
year—which is much too much) strains your body’s metabolism in converting it
into energy, and thus creating more acid in the process.
The bottom line: do
consume less acidifying food.
Acid Foods
Acid foods may be alkalizing if
your body’s metabolism is efficient. In other words, if your body can easily
metabolize and oxidize them, these foods can be transformed into alkaline
elements, making your body more alkaline, instead of more acidic.
Acid foods contain a good deal of acid, and are acidic in taste, include
the following:
Blueberries, raspberries, and strawberries
Grapefruit, lemons, oranges, and tangerines
Sweet fruits, such as watermelon
Unripe fruits
Acid vegetable, such as rhubarb, tomato, and watercress
Honey
Vinegar
Yogurt
Do eat the fruit, instead of
drinking its juice (why: alkaline minerals are present in the pulp; the juice
without the pulp is only more acidic). Cooking fruits does not remove their
acidity.
Alkalizing Foods
Alkalizing foods contain little or
no acid substances, and they do not produce acids when metabolized by your
body. Alkalizing foods include the following:
Green vegetables
Colored vegetables (except tomato)
Chestnut
Potato
Avocado
Black olives
Bananas
Dried fruits
Almonds and Brazil nuts
Milk
Alkaline mineral waters
Cold-pressed oils
Potato, especially its juice, is
good for stomach acidity and ulcers. It is often an ideal alternative to
acidifying cereal grains.
Dried fruits are alkalizing (why:
much of the acid is removed through the drying process). Do eat more dried
fruits during pregnancy.
Sally Smart
