pH Miracle Diet Critics
Posted by: admin on: December 16, 2008
When something becomes popular, it invites criticism from other sources. The recently popular pH miracle diet is no different. As the program has gained followers, it has gained just as much criticism from different individuals.
The main criticism of the diet is that it encourages people to become vegetarians and vegans. Critics say that this diet, particularly with its omission of dairy products (a vegetarian protein source), is dangerously low in protein. However, this criticism comes from the common misconception that humans need massive amounts of protein. The recent popularity of low-carb diets (which are really just high-protein diets) has re-cemented this myth in the mind of many people. Health has become equivalent with eating red meat and dairy.
However, there are many sources of natural and healthy proteins that don’t have the harmful acidic effects of red meat and dairy products. The truth is, most people get too much protein and not too little. Women require about 45 grams of protein per day, and men need 55 grams. Once single cup of tofu (which is acceptable on the pH miracle diet) contains 20 grams of protein. Beans contain at least 8 grams of protein per half cup. So it is really quite easy to get enough protein on a vegetarian diet.
Another criticism related to this issue is calcium. Many people equate drinking milk with strong bones. However, American women consume an average of two pounds of milk per day and yet 30 million of them develop osteoporosis. If drinking milk helped make bones stronger, then the opposite would be true. A study conducted by Cornell-trained nutritionist Amy Joy Lanou showed that there was no specific link between dairy products and bone health in children and young adults. There are plenty of sources of calcium available in the alkalizing food categories that will provide protection against osteoporosis.
Many critics also claim that the emphasis on vegetables and fresh foods is the real reason behind the success that people receive from the diet. The pH miracle diet suggests eating almost 70 percent vegetables and acceptable fruits. At this level, whether you are eating alkalizing foods or not, anyone will have an improvement in health. Critics disregard the importance of the pH balance of the diet.
However, there have been many people who have experienced great results after eliminating wheat, an acidic food. Wheat is not a food that one normally associates with ill health, however, eliminating wheat has been a godsend to many people who have suffered the symptoms of over-acidified diets. The amount of alkalizing vegetables in the diet will definitely do anybody good, whether or not they take the rest of the diet to heart. By eating from the list of alkaline foods, you will be improving your health no matter how strict you are on the diet.
This leads to another popular criticism of the book. Many people claim that the pH miracle diet program is too strict for daily life. The elimination of common foods like animal protein, milk and wheat seems overwhelming for people. They cannot fathom going through a whole day without eating something from one of these foods groups. The idea of sticking to a diet that is primarily plant based seems too rigid and strict. However, many people who use the pH miracle diet have seen beneficial results without being 100% strict with the rules of the diet.
Like with many other diets, the pH miracle diet outlines steps toward better health. The emphasis here is on steps. It is unreasonable to expect anyone to do a complete 180-degree change in his or her eating habits overnight. Taking a slower approach to changing your diet will create longer and more successful results. If the diet is followed word for word, it is difficult at first because people are so used to eating a certain way. With time and practice though, you can move toward better health and a more pH balanced diet.
Dairy Products And The pH Miracle Diet
Posted by: admin on: December 9, 2008
The pH miracle diet attempts to control many different conditions in the body, including obesity, through the omission of acidifying foods and behaviors. One of the most surprising inclusions on the list, at least to Westerners, is milk. Dairy products, although a mainstay of the Western diet, are not included in the diets of most of the populations around the world. So what does the rest of the world know that we don’t? Dairy is not necessary for health; from a pH perspective, it is actually harmful to the body.
Many people believe that dairy and milk are essential for bone density and for overall health. However, dairy products have large amounts of protein and fat, which are both acid forming elements. Cow’s milk and products made from cow’s milk produce acid. Goat and sheep milk and cheeses, which have less fat and protein, produce less acid. The only dairy exception is clarified butter that is alkalizing due to the short chain fats within it.
In 2003, the Harvard School of Public Health released an alternative pyramid to the FDA recommendations based on imbalances that the members saw in the original pyramid. Although it did not mention acid and alkaline foods specifically, the pyramid shows a tendency toward alkaline foods. One of the most striking differences between the FDA pyramid and the Harvard pyramid is the inclusion of a dairy serving or calcium supplement 1 time daily. The FDA recommends 2 to 3 servings per day, in addition to dietary supplements.
Dr. Meir Stampfer, a professor in the departments of Epidemiology and Nutrition and the Chair of the Department of Epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health, points out in an explanation of the Harvard pyramid that Americans should be eating less dairy products. The body needs calcium, but not at the levels present in the two to three servings recommended by the FDA. Calcium is necessary for normal bone development and maintenance; yet the average adult can get enough calcium from a supplement. The levels of calcium present in 2 to 3 servings of dairy per day can actually be harmful to health. Excess calcium intake may increase the risk for certain cancers and there have been no links between massive amounts of calcium and osteoporosis prevention.
In addition, dairy is far from being a pure food. The dairy industry has worked hard to proliferate the image of cow’s milk being essential and harmless. Consider, however, that fifty years ago the average cow produces 2,000 pounds of milk per year and today cows average 50,000 pounds per year. Drugs, antibiotics, hormones, specialized breeding and forced feeding all up milk production so dairy farmers can produce in mass quantities. All of these additives are part of the milk that people drink everyday.
A growing number of Americans, including those who follow the pH miracle diet, are eliminating dairy from their diet and having fantastic results. In recent studies, milk has been linked to intestinal colic, intestinal irritation, anemia and allergic reactions in infants and children. In children, the main problems were allergy, ear and tonsil infection, asthma, colic and childhood diabetes. The studies showed that adults suffered from heart disease, arthritis, allergy and sinusitis as a result of conventionally produced milk.
Just a quick search on the dangers of dairy can really open your eyes about this “safe” food. Reading the research and seeing the acidic effects of milk and other dairy products make it clear why it is excluded on the pH miracle diet.
pH Miracle Diet Cooking Tips
Posted by: admin on: December 2, 2008
Adopting the pH miracle diet way of life means changing your approach to eating and cooking. Many people make the transition easily, but for others the pH miracle diet makes them enter the foreign territory of fresh vegetables and vegetarian protein sources.
There is an endless supply of alkalizing recipes in the pH miracle diet books and online. You will never be out of meal ideas if you take the time to look for new recipes each week. Although at first the meals and methods may be unfamiliar, they will become second nature with practice.
Many people who start out on the pH miracle diet way of eating do not know where to start. Their diets used to consist primarily of packaged foods, meats and other acid forming choices. While its okay to eat these foods occasionally, the vast majority of their recipes and meal choices are now a thing of the past.
This may seem overwhelming at first, but really you only need to find 10 recipes that you like and can make well. That’s really all that most families and individuals use. If you rotate only two or three dinner recipes, you are going to get burnt out on the program really fast. Try a few new recipes each week and build your “portfolio” of alkalizing meals until you have 10 meals that you and your family love to eat.
Look over the list of alkalizing foods, and take note of which foods that you and your family already enjoy. Then try to find more recipes that incorporate those tastes and textures. This will be much easier and enjoyable for your family to adapt to if you start off with foods they already like, than all of a sudden introducing tofu, kale and dandelion root.
One of the first recipes you should try is an alkalizing broth. There are many variations but basically the broth is made from alkalizing vegetables and distilled water. The broth has a lot of necessary minerals and can help restore pH balance to your body. It promotes internal cleansing of all of the tissues and organs of the body. This broth can be used as a basis for more complex soups, or it can be served as a first course before any meal.
Many fans of the pH miracle diet rely on juices to help cleanse their bodies of excess acidity. There are many popular juice recipes and they would be a good addition to your new way of eating. The juices can be consumed as a quick breakfast or a snack sometime throughout the day. Most can be made in a blender, so you don’t need a fancy juicer.
If you have children at home, you may be worried about finding recipes that they will love. There are many children’s vegetarian cookbooks that can be adapted for the alkaline diet by substituting certain vegetables. A lot of tasty fruits like apples, raspberries and strawberries are on the alkaline list. Sweet potatoes, which are a favorite of many children once they try them, are highly alkalizing foods and are good for the winter months. In the summer time, celery and other fresh veggies are a great snack and can be dipped in homemade hummus or a dip made from mayonnaise and lemon juice.
With a little practice and research, making alkalizing meals will become second nature to you and your family.
pH Miracle Diet And Water Ionizers
Posted by: admin on: November 25, 2008
The pH miracle diet is a revolutionary new program for restoring balance to the body. By eating foods and drinks that are mostly alkaline, you remove the negative effects of acidic foods. People who have started the diet report that they experience weight loss, improvement in arthritis, removal of concentration problems and more energy as well as many other benefits. The key to the pH miracle diet is eating primarily alkaline foods, however, drinking alkaline water is also important.
Alkaline or ionized water provides your body with the right pH it needs for your cells to function. The human body and all of its cells have a pH of 7.4 that is slightly alkaline. Drinking alkaline water helps support this system. Ionized alkaline water can be created in your very own home with the use of a water ionizer. The water ionizer will take the water from your kitchen faucet and pass it through an advanced filter that will remove pesticides, chlorine and other contaminants. The water will then be pulls through an ionization chamber. In this chamber, the pre-filtered water is run over positive and negative electrodes to split it into acid and alkaline water.
Alkaline water is better tasting and has antioxidant activity. It improves your body’s ability to detoxify itself and increases the oxygen delivered to your cells. The minerals within the water are microclustered for better hydration. Drinking alkaline water each day will help your body become more balanced. If you use green drinks to support your pH miracle diet, mixing them with ionized water will increase their effectiveness. Using ionized water in cooking will also produce better tasting foods. Alkaline water will help vegetables maintain their natural colors when you steam them.
Ionized water helps rid your body of accumulated acid. The water helps flush toxins from all of the body tissues and into the kidneys, where it is then excreted through the urine. If you’ve been eating a highly acidic diet and start the pH miracle diet it is recommended that you drink 4 liters of ionized water per day to get your system back in order. Four liters of water per day may seem like a lot, but it will be better for your health if you flush out the toxins as fast as possible.
A water ionizer has two water chambers, one with positive electrodes and one with negative electrodes. The negative electrodes will attract the positive minerals (which are all alkaline) and the positive electrodes attract negatively charged minerals (or acid minerals). The alkaline minerals are calcium, magnesium, manganese and potassium. The acid minerals are chlorine, fluoride, sulfur, silicon and copper.
The two chambers have a special membrane between them with microscopic holes. The holes are so small that the water molecules cannot mingle, but the ionized minerals can get through. After the process is complete, there will be about 70% alkaline water and 30% acid water. The alkaline water comes through the spigot, and the acid water is expelled directly into the drain.
Water ionizers have been in use for the last 60 years and were first developed in Japan’s agricultural universities. The health benefits of ionized water were well researched and then water ionizers became available to the Japanese public. They are now available to residents in other countries as well.
pH And Energy Levels
Posted by: admin on: November 18, 2008
Did you know that your blood has a pH level? pH is the measurement of how acid or alkaline something is. The pH level scale runs from 1 to 14 with 1 serving as “very acidic” 7 being “neutral” and 14 being “very alkaline”. In fact your bloodstream goes to great lengths to maintain a pH level of 7.35 to 7.45, slightly alkaline. Why is this important? Among many reasons why your body strives for this balance starts with your energy level. The pH miracle diet will help balance your body and increase your energy.
Have you ever put low quality fuel into your car after running it on premium fuel? There is a difference in acceleration, handling, and overall performance and this is directly linked to the quality of fuel you put in the tank. Your body is a finely tuned machine. Like other types of machinery, the parts need to be kept running by fuel. The best fuel for your body is a custom mix, more alkaline than acid. What difference does this make?
It all starts in the bloodstream. Think of the bloodstream as a superhighway with stops all over the body. Red blood cells are the commuting traffic riding along the bloodstream in a hurry to get to work. These red blood cells each have a negative charge on them, and this keeps them from getting into fender benders and collisions in the bloodstream. When the negative charge is stripped away from the red blood cells, they cluster together and can cause gridlock and bottlenecks in the bloodstream. In short, the traffic in the bloodstream isn’t flowing as smoothly and it causes everything to slow down. If you’ve ever been stuck in freeway traffic you know how frustrating this is.
This stress on the body causes a domino effect, which eventually saps the energy away and makes you tired and sluggish. Acid is the culprit in the bloodstream traffic jam. When acid is introduced into the bloodstream it eats away at the negative charge that surrounds each red blood cell and causes all sorts of problems. How can you avoid this? The answer is quite simple and it starts with what you put in your stomach. Red blood cells are created by the food that you eat. When the stomach works on digesting food, it leaves behind natural acidic waste. Your body eliminates this waste through your urine and sweat, but there comes a point when the waste build up is too great to eliminate.
What does your body do with all of the acidic waste it can’t get rid off? The answer is quite shocking, it stores it in your body! The cells in your body are mostly alkaline and this acid waste starts to attack and destroy these cells. A lot of energy is expelled keeping the waste from doing detrimental damage to your body, but this fight can only go on for so long. Eventually the build up is so great that the cells deteriorate and cause energy depletion and leaves the body open to disease.
How can you avoid this slow death? A higher energy level helps to fend off opportunistic diseases and ensures strong cellular regeneration. Making changes to your diet is a huge step in reversing this breakdown of your body while boosting your energy level. The choices you make in what you eat will greatly determine how much of this acidic waste gets stored in your body. The more alkaline your food choices are the less of this waste will be accumulated in your body, tipping the balance in the favor of good health.
The old adage “you are what you eat” is absolutely true. By controlling the amounts of alkaline food you ingest you are giving your body a fighting chance. Find books and lists that outline which foods are alkaline and which ones are acidic. By limiting your intake of acidic foods and increasing your intake of alkaline food with the pH miracle diet you can increase your stamina, endurance, and the overall performance of your body machine.
Parasites And The pH Miracle Diet
Posted by: admin on: November 11, 2008
The pH miracle diet restores balance to body. By eating mostly alkaline foods, you give your body nutrition that is more in line with the alkaline state of your cells. Excess acidic foods can lead to a host of problems. Among other benefits, following the pH miracle diet can also reduce your tendency to harbor dangerous parasites in your system that can wreak havoc on your health.
What do pH and parasites have to do with one another? The human body has a normal pH at the intracellular level of around 7.4. This is slightly alkaline. Parasites, which are unfriendly bacteria, viruses, protozoa, amoebas and microscopic worms, cannot live between a pH of 7.2 to 7.4.
In the United States, we have a diet that produces high levels of acid at the intracellular level. This is called acidosis, and it is a major underlying cause to many diseases. It also allows parasites to run rampant through your body. If you want to maintain health, you’ll need to restore balance to your body with an alkalizing diet.
Over time, everything we consume either keeps our bodies in an acidic state or a base state (alkaline). Processed sugars and starches, which are both a major mainstay of the Western diet, are some of the prime offenders in the acidification process. Natural sugar sources have minerals and vitamins within them. Fruits start out as acids, but have the necessary minerals within them to help the cells turn those acids into alkaline by products. Processed sugars do not, and when they are consumed, they release acid into the body. With heavy use of starches and sugars, the body becomes acidic.
Acidic pH at the intracellular level becomes a breeding ground for parasites and actually causes a mutation of friendly intestinal flora into a condition called candidiasis. Candida is natural yeast that is found in the intestine. It is kept in balance by other friendly bacteria that live with it.
However, with the overuse of sugar and the introduction of antibiotics, these friendly bacteria will becomes less prevalent. Candida will mutate and grow out of control. Candida symptoms include uncontrollable sugar cravings, chronic yeast infections, acne, dry skin, fatigue and frequent sinus infections. Parasites can also thrive when candida does, because the friendly bacteria are not there to keep them in check. Worms that would normally pass through the body find a hospitable environment and take hold in the intestine.
Parasites can destroy cells faster than they can be regenerated. They also produce toxic substances as a byproduct of their digestions. These toxic substances can lead to allergic reactions and can cause you to develop new food allergies. Parasites also irritate and invade body tissues, including the intestinal lining and even the skin. The parasites make it difficult for the tissues to operate correctly.
Over time, organ obstructions can develop and this can put pressure of your body organs and overall body functions. The immune system becomes depressed and the presence of parasites can prevent your body from using its natural healing reactions. Finally, the over presence of parasites in the body can prevent your body from absorbing nutrients properly.
The good news is that by following the pH diet you can restore the balance to your body. Since parasites can’t live in an environment that is between 7.2 and 7.4 pH, alkalizing your diet will help remove them from your system. When you follow this diet you will be able to reverse the acidification process and make your body an inhospitable place for parasites.
Measuring Your pH For The pH Miracle Diet
Posted by: admin on: November 4, 2008
Did you know that your blood has a pH level? pH is the measurement of how acid or alkaline something is. The pH level scale runs from 1 to 14 with 1 serving as “very acidic” 7 being “neutral” and 14 being “very alkaline”. In fact your bloodstream goes to great lengths to maintain a pH level of 7.35 to 7.45, slightly alkaline. Why is this important? Among many reasons why your body strives for this balance starts with your energy level. The pH miracle diet will help balance your body and increase your energy.
Have you ever put low quality fuel into your car after running it on premium fuel? There is a difference in acceleration, handling, and overall performance and this is directly linked to the quality of fuel you put in the tank. Your body is a finely tuned machine. Like other types of machinery, the parts need to be kept running by fuel. The best fuel for your body is a custom mix, more alkaline than acid. What difference does this make?
It all starts in the bloodstream. Think of the bloodstream as a superhighway with stops all over the body. Red blood cells are the commuting traffic riding along the bloodstream in a hurry to get to work. These red blood cells each have a negative charge on them, and this keeps them from getting into fender benders and collisions in the bloodstream. When the negative charge is stripped away from the red blood cells, they cluster together and can cause gridlock and bottlenecks in the bloodstream. In short, the traffic in the bloodstream isn’t flowing as smoothly and it causes everything to slow down. If you’ve ever been stuck in freeway traffic you know how frustrating this is.
This stress on the body causes a domino effect, which eventually saps the energy away and makes you tired and sluggish. Acid is the culprit in the bloodstream traffic jam. When acid is introduced into the bloodstream it eats away at the negative charge that surrounds each red blood cell and causes all sorts of problems. How can you avoid this? The answer is quite simple and it starts with what you put in your stomach. Red blood cells are created by the food that you eat. When the stomach works on digesting food, it leaves behind natural acidic waste. Your body eliminates this waste through your urine and sweat, but there comes a point when the waste build up is too great to eliminate.
What does your body do with all of the acidic waste it can’t get rid off? The answer is quite shocking, it stores it in your body! The cells in your body are mostly alkaline and this acid waste starts to attack and destroy these cells. A lot of energy is expelled keeping the waste from doing detrimental damage to your body, but this fight can only go on for so long. Eventually the build up is so great that the cells deteriorate and cause energy depletion and leaves the body open to disease.
How can you avoid this slow death? A higher energy level helps to fend off opportunistic diseases and ensures strong cellular regeneration. Making changes to your diet is a huge step in reversing this breakdown of your body while boosting your energy level. The choices you make in what you eat will greatly determine how much of acidic waste gets stored in your body. The more alkaline your food choices are the less of this waste will be accumulated in your body, tipping the balance in the favor of good health.
The old adage “you are what you eat” is absolutely true. By controlling the amounts of alkaline food you ingest you are giving your body a fighting chance. Find books and lists that outline which foods are alkaline and which ones are acidic. By limiting your intake of acidic foods and increasing your intake of alkaline food with the pH miracle diet you can increase your stamina, endurance, and the overall performance of your body machine.
