Here are some simple tweaks that you can make in your daily diet to move toward healthier, alkaline body chemistry.
- For breakfast, instead of orange juice, coffee and a bagel for breakfast, have a slice of melon or other fruit, herbal tea or a grain-based coffee substitute, and whole-grain toast.
- At lunch, opt for bean or vegetable soup rather than tomato soup.
- Add crunch and color to your salads with celery and sweet red peppers rather than tart cucumber and tomatoes. And instead of an acidic vinaigrette, prepare a dressing using tahini and soy sauce: In a medium bowl, combine 1/4 cup tahini (sesame paste), 1/4 cup water, and 2 tablespoons soy sauce, beating together with a fork. Stir in 1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley, and season to taste with freshly ground black pepper.
- If you feel like a burger, stick to soy meats.
- Choose fish–it’s more alkalizing than red meat.
- Iced ginger tea has the pleasing bite of a cola drink without the high acidity.
- For a dairy fix, choose a small wedge of cheese (typically pH 5 to 6.1) over yogurt (pH 3.8 to 4.2). Yogurt with sugar-sweetened fruit may be even more acidic; once sugar is metabolized, it ends up as acid in your system.
- To make a less acidic fruit salad, use guava, papaya, watermelon, cantaloupe, pear, banana, figs, and dates.
- Raise a glass filled with a favorite beer instead of a tart wine to make a toast.
- Avoid acidity triggers. Food sensitivities can bring about symptoms of over-acidity. Some common culprits include wheat, dairy, nuts, and seafood. If needed, make sure and be tested for food hypersensitivities.