Healthy Nutrition
A Healthier Diet Means Getting the Acid Out
When researchers compared the healthy diets of Paleolithic man to those of modern man, they found an interesting difference. The biggest factor that has turned us into sickly acid-producing machines is eating too many grains and fattening nutrient-poor foods (like sugar and processed oils) instead of the wild game and vegetable foods1 of our ancestors.
They concluded that we could get back to a healthier more alkaline pH by replacing grains and foods high in sugar with nutrient-dense vegetables like various leafy greens. Amazingly, this simple dietary change can help prevent a number of serious health conditions like painful kidney stones, weak bones, and cardiovascular diseases from calcium plaque in the arteries.
While healthy greens may be the goal, starchy vegetables like potatoes don’t count. In recent surveys, it was found that consuming French fries, ketchup, and iceberg lettuce was the only reason many Americans made it to almost five servings of fruits and vegetables a day. If these foods are taken out, we fall far short of the mark, especially in the category of dark green and orange vegetables, the ones with the most health benefits.2-3
Besides eating leafy green salads daily, you should try to eat nutrient-dense alkalizing greens like kale, mustard greens, and collard greens at least once or twice a week. Not only are they great sources of vitamin K, vitamin A and vitamin C, they are good sources of the alkalizing minerals calcium, potassium, and magnesium.
Foods like collard and turnip greens are better known in the southern US, and most of us still haven’t learned how to prepare and eat them. I know I was surprised at how tasty some of these recipes really are.
If you have never prepared a “greens” recipe, there is no time like the present! This week’s Mediterranean Greens recipe is a great way to get started.
References
- American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 76, No. 6, 1308-1316, December 2002
- Johnston C, et al. Journal of Nutrition, 2000;130:3063-3067.
- Guenther, P. Journal of the American Dietetic Association, September 2006; Vol 106. News Release, American Dietetic Association.
[Ed. Note: Laura B. LaValle, RD, LD is presently the director of dietetics nutrition at LaValle Metabolic Institute (formerly part of Living Longer Institute). She offers personal nutritional counseling at LMI for clients who need help with their diet in relation to illness or disease. Laura also provides educational services in the areas of health promotion, wellness, and disease prevention. For more information, click here.]
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Tags: acidosis, alkaline diet, body ph, healthy greens, vegetables
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