If anyone reading this is like me and has over indulged over the past few weeks for the silly season and Christmas, you may be feeling (besides very guilty) bloated, lethargic and ” heavy”. Than its time to join me on a mini detox, to help with the sluggish metabolism and digestion. Now if you have been hearing all about this “ alkaline diet” in all the gossip mags, or possibly overheard girls in the tea room at lunch talking about this new “Fad diet” im going to give you a little run down on the basics and why its good for detoxing or making it a new permanent way of eating.

So, what’s the theory?

The theory is that the Ph balances within our body influences whether our bodies host a disease or helps fight off disease. A high acid diet can creates a breeding ground for disease, which can lead to poor health and chronic disease. If you, like me are gaining weight, craving carbs and sugar, wake up or frequently have a foggy brain than you are running too acidic.

The Run Down

This diet makes the body less susceptible to inflammation and disease whilst promoting increased energy, weight loss, stomach upsets indigestion and fights fatigue. It’s recommended that if you consume alkaline foods 80% of the time it can transform your life.

Acidic Vs Alkaline Foods

• Foods that cause excess acidity include Meat, Dairy, Sugar, poultry, fish, eggs, grains, alcohol and flower ( All my favourite foods).
• Alkaline foods consist of Vegetables, Fruits, Legumes , Nuts.

When talking about the alkaline diet, it is important to understand the meaning of the pH value. So as nurses ill give you a quick cheat sheet on what ph is. When talking about the alkaline diet, it is important to understand the meaning of the pH value. Put simply, the PH is a measurement of how acidic or alkaline something is. The pH value in the body ranges from 0 to 14

• 0-7 is acidic. (Think of the acid in the stomach that brakes foods down)
• 7 is neutral.
• 7-14 is alkaline (your blood is more alkaline sitting around 7.35)

Now im keeping this simple because I am only taking on components if this diet to detox myself off the Christmas treats I have been scoffing down as of late. But if you want to read all about it and follow the diet down to a fine line here is a link to one of the many websites dedicated to this lifestyle choice Alkaline Diet

Examples of Alkalising Vegetables: Broccoli, Cauliflower, Celery, Cucumber, Kale, Lettuce, Onions, Peas, beans, sweet potato, Peppers, and Spinach, carrots and garlic.

Examples of Alkalising Fruits: Apple, Banana, Berries, rockmelon, Grapes, Melon, Lemon, Orange, Peach, Pear, Watermelon, pineapple and mango.

Alkalising Protein: Almonds, Chestnuts, cashews, and Tofu.

For an extensive list go to Alkaline – Acid food chart

Ready steady…. and juice

As of this week, im starting each morning with a smoothie made with fruits and veggies on the allowed list. Today I mixed up in my nutribullet, Blueberries, watermelon, pineapple, celery, pear, apple and carrot and let me tell you I don’t know why I hadn’t thought of this earlier. It was so refreshing especially in this heat wave (Temperature already reaching 28o at 6 am) I couldn’t of started eating healthier at a better time.

Lunch time I had roasted sweat potato, garlic, carrot and broccoli

And for dinner I had zucchini pasta ( yes made with a red wine and garlic pasta sauce) with a side of cauliflower mash.

Its only been 3 days and I can tell you I already feel lighter, my stomach no longer looks like Uncle Francis beer gut and I found im getting my spring in my step. You don’t have to completely change your lifestyle, I still sit at star bucks before work each morning with my sugar free vanilla latte and read my book, but im choosing not to add my buttery raisin toast to add with it, and now I make a conscious choice when I grab for snacks also when I go food shopping.

However, you might want to consider some of these extra tips to get you back on track while detoxing.

Here we go….

Hydration

Everything is influenced by the quantity of the water you drink. Getting adequately hydrated will make a huge difference to your health, immunity, energy and vitality. So gulp up, flush those Christmas puddings out! Aim for 6 to 14 cups a day, remember not to overdo it, listen to your body and never force it!

Transition

Take it slowly! It is far better to transition and get there slowly, by sticking to it for the long-term rather than being perfect for a day or two and then crashing (which is what I normally do eek)

Supplements.

Supplements are another effective way to assist your body in returning to its healthful state, Supplements are great at replacing lost nutrients with vitamins and minerals to give your immune system a boost.

So good luck and happy detoxing, if you have any handy tips or ideas please comment below.

By Andy Jackman x