Tips to Balance Acid Alkali pH
Beat Chronic Pain, Inflammation, Acid Indigestion, Fatigue and More
Jun 23, 2007
Body pH has an impact on almost every aspect of health. Antibiotics, surgery, drugs, sugar and many of the foods we habitually eat imbalance pH by contributing to acidity. Fortunately there are simple steps we can take to eliminate acidity and improve the body’s pH balance, boosting immunity and eliminating pain and chronic symptoms of disease.
Three Easy Steps to Balance pH:
- Eliminate refined sugar
- Lemons and Cleansing
- Apple Cider Vinegar and Thieves
1. Sugar
Sugar may be the most insidious threat to health the Western world has ever known. It has a very acidic ash value.
If the only change you ever make to improve your health is to remove sugar, corn syrup and artificial sweeteners from your diet, your life will be longer, healthier, happier, and thinner. (Learn about healthier alternatives to sugar.)
2. Lemons and Cleansing
Lemons are one of the gentlest ways to restore pH balance and alkalinity. Although lemon juice is itself acidic, the ash of lemon juice is alkaline. When you consume lemon, it neutralizes acid and makes the body more alkaline.
Lemons are known to promote cleansing and rid the body of chemical and dietary toxins, boosting the immune system and supporting good health. They are central to the Master Cleanse, which is often called the Lemon Cleanse.
Lemons are hardly a magic bullet, but they are a subtle, gradual way to improve pH balance.
Recommendation: Take the juice of half a lemon in a glass of warm or chilled water first thing in the morning (at least ten minutes before any food) to restore pH balance and improve digestion. Replace the white, wine, or other vinegar in home-made salad dressings with fresh-squeezed lemon juice. Most vinegars are acid ash foods, with the exception of apple cider vinegar.
3. Apple Cider Vinegar and Thieves
Apple cider vinegar is an exception: unlike almost every other vinegar, it has an alkaline ash and improves pH by making the body less acidic.
For that reason alone, it is recommended to replace any vinegar in salad dressings and other recipes with apple cider vinegar, if lemon juice (as above) doesn’t provide enough bite.
As a tonic, apple cider vinegar may be taken first thing in the morning, on an empty stomach, by combining in a small glass:
- 1/2 to 1 ounce of apple cider vinegar (or 1-2 tbsp)
- 1 or more ounces pure water
- 2 drops Thieves essential oil blend (optional)
Apple cider vinegar is more potent than lemon juice, but still a gradual way to reestablish healthy pH in the body. The Thieves essential oil blend (containing clove, cinnamon, lemon, eucalyptus, rosemary) give the vinegar an extra immune-boosting kick. It also improves the flavor.
Some people find that if they take the apple cider vinegar and wait too long before eating food, they feel nauseous. It is recommended, but not absolutely necessary, to wait ten minutes before eating.
