Acidity vs. Alkalinity: What’s the proper pH balance for your body? | Dr. Josh Axe

everybody dr. axe here one of the biggest questions I get on a regular basis is about alkalinity and acidity and the importance of an alkaline diet so today I want to bust any miss and also talk about hey is there is it legit that we need to become more alkaline so here’s what you need to know number one it depends on the area of your body you’re actually stomach should be pretty darn acidic where is the rest of your body maybe needs to be a little bit more alkaline so it really depends on the body your entire body in different organ systems often times operate best at different PHS so it’s important to remember and listen people tend to be more acidic but not everybody some people can become too alkaline so the most important thing is balance and I’d also say it’s not just about becoming more alkaline it’s how you’re becoming more alkaline okay so because think about this let’s say you’ve been trying to become real strong and you try and build big muscles there’s ways to do it where you leave the joint joints healthy but if you’re trying to lift heavy weights and you’re moving really fast and doing things that are hard on the joint yeah you build a big muscle but your joints are suffering I’d say the same thing you can try and force yourself to become alkaline by consuming something really alkaline like bleach but you’re also going to be damaging your digestive tract while doing it so remember that there’s actually a specific way to become alkaline and you do that by consuming foods that are rich in minerals and healthy minerals okay I’ve seen water companies talking about hey become alkaline and the truth is they’re getting their alkalinity from rocks which we can’t digest that’s not good we should be getting our minerals from vegetables for the most part which vegetables that you know if you remember a periodic table CA plus mg plus magnesium calcium these are more alkaline minerals which help alkalize your body so the truth is that becoming alkaline is really important for the health of your bone your bone strength it’s important for relaxing muscles and decreasing pain it’s important for your general digestive health it’s important for the health of your blood your energy levels so becoming more alkaline for most people is important and the way you do that is by consuming lots of vegetables and some fruit okay and by doing that you’re good on the same end you want to be consuming some wild organic meats something nuts and seeds for some people some healthy sprouted long cooked whole grains and by doing that you balance yourself out of being perfectly alkaline and acidic right there in the middle where you should be that’s how all of us should be balanced I get questions oftentimes on hey how important is it to eat alkaline on keto diet it becomes even more important because when you’re consuming a higher amount of fat which is slightly acidic and meat which is more acidic you need to go really really high on the vegetables herbs and spices so vegetables herbs and spices are very alkaline and so and also doing things like matcha green tea green tea is a fantastic alkaline-forming food that’s high in chlorophyll so that’s great broccoli spinach but things that are very green sprouts you know radishes but foods that are very green and fresh that you’d have in a salad or veggie juice we want to be doing loads and loads of those on a keto diet because when you do go keto it’s easy to become a little bit more alkaline or to – I’m sorry a little too acidic when you want to support your body and getting more alkaline you also need to be conscious of not going overboard on the sodium rich foods you want to keep those minerals balanced especially having higher levels of potassium and magnesium potassium magnesium are critical for the health of many of your organs and also for keeping your blood and other fluids in your body with your right levels of electrolytes is really critical as well but to answer your question hey should you become more alkaline most people should be but don’t think hey I’ll become alkaline it’s a magic bullet to hit all these conditions know your body is like a building you need different types of materials to produce the best type of home for your body you need amino acids from meat you need healthy fats for all of your cells from things like avocados and coconut and even things like ghee and grass-fed butter and animal meats but then also you need minerals you need vitamins you need antioxidants and especially minerals which are alkaline your body needs that your heart your kidneys different organs to function properly so should you become more alkaline should all of us get more vegetables and fruits for the most part yes by doing more vegetables and fruits you are going to become more alkaline but remember this it’s not all about drinking alkaline water it’s not all about taking this supplement to make you alkaline it’s about getting more vegetables fruits herbs and spices in our diet and by doing that you’re naturally going to become more alkaline I hope this help helps answer your questions about the importance of alkalinity and acidity in your diet