Found here.
For those of you who
are still in school, great! For those of you, like mahself, who are so far past
the days of lockers and classes, get your notebooks at the ready. We are going
back to chemistry class. As soon as you start to develop your understanding of
cellular nutrition and the scientific reasoning as to what separates healthy
foods from the ‘junk’ at a molecular level, you will start to appreciate food
and its potential in a completely different and deeper manner.
pH 101
I’m sure you’ve seen
this little symbol pop up in textbooks, on talk back shows, in nutrition books
and so on, but do any of you actually know what this baby means? pH actually
stands for potentiated hydrogren and refers to the amount of oxygen present in
any given substance. The pH scale ranges from 0 to 14 with 0 to 7 reflecting a
more acidic composition and 7 to 14 reflecting the substances alkaline nature.
Our bodies strive to maintain a blood pH of about 7.56 in its homeostatic state
(are the human biol recall bells ringin’ now?). But it should be noted that our
bodies are more easily ‘acidified’ (and yes, that’s a made up word) than they are
alkalised. Every day exposures to stress, smoke, pollutants, chemicals and
other industrial nasties send our acidity levels right off. A number of studies
have looked into the affects of an ‘acidic’ blood environment to a person’s
overall health and guess what they found? Cancer, diabetes, heart disease, skin
problems, weight troubles and even mood disorders thrive in an acidic
environment. And it isn’t just external stresses and pollutants that can
acidify our bodies; alcohol, white flour, sugar and artificial sweeteners are
amongst the most acidic substances that we can consume. So how do we combat
this and steer our blood back to its optimal level? Dose up on your alkaline
foods! Get them in you at every opportunity. Natural beauty expert Kimberly Snyder
talks about the benefit of commencing your meal with an alkaline food, which is
a huge benefit when it comes to eating out or enjoying ‘treat meals’ that you
have less power over their choice of ingredients. Start every meal with an
alkaline food and this will boost digestion, aid satiety and lead to a happy
and healthy tummy. Choose foods that boast a high pH and alkaline rating such
as lemons, pineapple, sweet potato and kale, and add them into your daily
bounty of colours and textures!
If in doubt ... Eat the Rainbow.
Found here.
Let me know what you thought of this introduction to food science post! Did you learn something new? Spark up an interest in pursuing your learning further? Holla at me and leave a comment below or via the BTM facebook page!
Blessings, periodic tables and crazy coloured dishes of deliciousness x
