1. Optimize Digestion
Though the selection of our foods is important, what is even more important is how digesting those foods affects our body’s pH. Overeating alkaline food can overburden the kidneys and just as easily, if not more effectively, create an acidic condition in your body. As you learned previously here, it is not your goal to eat alkaline to become alkaline. The key is digestion. You need proteins, and whether you choose alkaline or acid-based protein, your goal is to digest that protein, not just stuff it into your mouth!
Undigested food of any pH will cause an acidic condition in your body because your kidneys will have to work over-time in filtering the undigested waste. Undigested food can also lead to pathogenic and bacterial overgrowth that are essentially what leads to acidic conditions.
To optimize your digestion, try consuming fermented foods like raw sauerkraut with your meals, especially protein meals. Taking herbal digestive bitters or a shot of ginger juice after a meal can help to stimulate stomach acid, improving optimal protein digestion. Eating only when you have truly worked up an appetite, eating smaller portions of proteins with a larger serving of vegetables, or taking a supplement like Enzorb . This breakthrough digestive enzymes product has been clinically proven to enhance the absorption of key ingredients, including amino acids and vitamins, by increasing the transport of these nutrients into intestinal cells where they enter the bloodstream. Trace minerals keep the enzymes working long after other enzymes would quit while antioxidants and adaptogens soothe and protect cells from damage, so they can work harder and faster.
Enzorb is clinically proven to:
- Break down 90–96% of proteins in a pH range from 4–10 within 30–60 minutes
- Absorb more peptides and increase assimilation by 30%
- Increase the absorption rate of amino acids by 61%
Doing these things can all help maintain ideal kidney health and therefore ideal blood pH.
2. Breathe Deeply
The means to perfect health are nearly unlimited and yet one of the simplest means to maintain perfect health is absolutely free! When you breathe deeply you not only work to alkalize your body directly by increasing oxygen intake, relieving stress, and cleansing your body of toxins, you also work indirectly to alkalize your body by improving digestion!
Related: The Importance of Deep Breathing
Breathing deeply is one of the most effective ways to alkalize your body. Breathing too rapidly can cause an imbalanced pH condition by stimulating the nervous system to release too many stress hormones, causing an overactive stress response. On the other hand, shallow breaths can also cause an imbalance by leaving the body oxygen-deprived and leaving excessive amounts of carbon dioxide in the blood, leading to an overly acidic state.
Therefore, deep diaphragmatic breathing is the medicine to a healthy pH balance. Taking full breaths that fill the belly has been shown to increase oxygen intake which cleanses the body on a cellular level, improving digestion by lowering stress hormones.
Simply practice deep, full breaths that fill the lower part of your lungs (this will feel and look like your belly filling up with air). Count to four slowly as you inhale, pause for four, and exhale for a count of four. Just a few minutes of this each morning, night, during a workout, or anywhere you can remember will work to keep the body in its slightly alkaline state!
3. Get your Beauty Sleep
Getting enough rest does magic for your health. The list of benefits range from improved skin, better digestion, mental clarity, a balanced hormonal system, and of course to a more alkaline body. Lacking quality sleep can lead to blood sugar imbalances which can contribute to mental and hormonal imbalances that lead to cravings for overly acidic foods such as refined sugar and carbohydrates.
Getting quality sleep will keep you from destructive habits that usually lead to overly acidic conditions. Sleeping according to circadian rhythm will promote natural cleansing of acidic waste accumulated from stress, diet, and environment. Additionally, high-quality sleep will promote a healthy pH by improving your stress response.
Your adrenals and thyroid play a major role in how your body responds to stress. When you skimp on sleep you overwork these glands and make it more difficult for the body to remain calm. Excessive secretion of stress hormones by the adrenals and thyroid will create an acidic condition in the body and counter-productively weaken your digestive system.
As you can see, sleep is the cornerstone of holding together the key components to maintain a healthy body. The best way to promote healthful sleep is to sleep according to a circadian rhythm. That means sleeping before 10:30 pm (or when the sun is completely set) and rising when feeling fully rested (typically after 8.5 hours). The important factor is that you do not force yourself out of bed before it’s been fully rested.
Additionally, not eating or working out too close to bedtime will provide your body with the energy it needs to sleep soundly. That’s right, you actually need energy to have a good night’s sleep, so staying as stress-free as possible with breathing exercises throughout the day is important for a sound sleep. Also, try “blacking out” your room by making it as dark as possible. This will help promote melatonin production.
Related: Having Trouble Falling Asleep? Try These Easy Methods