I Learned that Not Everything that Taste Good is Good.

Soda was my best friend in highschool until it betrayed me before hitting college causing me multiple times of vomiting during class.  So I gave up our friendship.  After college graduation, Coffee befriended me in the Corporate World. Coffee was a big hit in the Call Center Industry. From free office vendo machines to expensive coffee shops around the metro. What kind of an idiot would not drink Coffee at graveyard shift? Our productivity at work depended on Coffee. Our attendance depended on Coffee. Our bonus depended on Coffee. Coffee was everybody's bestfriend. Coffee was family.

I've been "Coffeeholic" for five long years. Until now I'm still rehabilitating myself but I got to say, there has been a huge progress in me since I've been constantly feeling sick. One day I discovered an amazing local home-made cookie which has impressed me with its goodness.  It tastes so good I have forgotten about Mrs.Fields and Oreos.  I ended up awake for the rest of the night, nursing myself with pain.  Merciless acids destroyed my sleep.  I took my meds immediately.  The meds that I have been dependent to for five long years. The meds that won my every night battle with barbaric acids that slaved me. The following week I bought a candy bar. SNICKERS. Chocolate NOUGAT, PEANUT and CARAMEL. Another game night between my extremely expensive meds and the growling acids. My meds scored again. Woohoo! A few days after, a relative sent us Belgian Chocolates. It was one of the most delicious mind-blowing chocolates that taste like heaven! Being the Defending Champion, losing that game was the least of my worries.  But my body has probably been pissed off with all the fighting going on that it disabled the meds to kick in for another night.     In short, my meds got fired with its job. NO MORE FIGHTING. My stomach had surrendered to the acids completely.  It felt like there was a juicer inside my belly extracting freshly squeezed oranges to an open wound. I took a day off from work and rested. Since that night, I had been constantly feeling the scorching pain in my stomach and almost everything I eat makes me feel sick. As in ALMOST EVERYTHING. 


"SHORT TERM GAIN, FOR A LONG TERM PAIN" - If I remember Brian Tracy's quote correctly.  I always come up with favorable excuses to eat the foods I know would hurt me. 

• It's PAYDAY. I deserve an Ice Cream.
• I'm bored. How about Macademia Chocolates?
• I miss him. I need some chocolate cake.
• It's just a harmless cookie.  Don't be too judgmental.
• It's an expensive brand of chocolate.
• It's not fair! Everybody's eating. I should too.
• Give me a break. It's Christmas!

Sure. We could all eat anything we want. But what prevents us from enjoying these things is the fact that most of what we want is not what our body wants. We have to always compromise with our body. If we want to devour a Seafood Pasta, let's give our body something that would top that. Perhaps, fresh apples and papayas every morning. I believe that we should have a constant communication with our body to have a healthy relationship with it. If we communicate to our body and consider what it needs, it will respond to us  productively. We always have the tendency to manipulate the relationship. "This is what I want because it taste good so I don't care what you say after."  Thus, our body walks aways slowly from us and becomes aloof.  So when we eat, say for example, a piece of glorious Mango Bravo, our body will refuse to accept it and withdraws the food as a form of rebellion.  We must love our body and respect its needs. After all, when were younger, (not that we're old now) it allowed us to enjoy all the good stuff:  HOTDOG,  PEANUT BUTTER, CHEESE, SODA, CHIPS, CANDIES, SPAGHETTI, CHOCOLATES... I think all the good stuff are in Birthday Parties.  When you grow a little older, there's BEER, TEQUILA, PIZZA, FRIES, BUFFALO WINGS, CALAMARES AND NACHOS.  Every December we imbibe how many cups of caffeine just to collect a planner from a famous coffee shop and we don't even use it.  


We are young and we deserve to enjoy life. This is why we need the healthy stuff. To preserve the youth in us. A previous conversation I had with my friend Jill gave birth to this idea: "We must eat what is necessary to enjoy the unnecessary."  I'm not sure if this makes sense but I don't want us to deprive ourselves with all the delicious heart-warming food available for us.  I just want us to take cautious steps so we can have a blast in everything we do. 


Lesson learned from Hyperacidity: Some things that could hurt you comes with great packages.  (Hey, I'm not talking about boys here.)


So what am I up to now? 


ALKALINE FOODS!


Consuming wide varieties of alkaline foods will surely help you experience better results by working on it naturally. The balanced diet should be rich or adequate in terms of basic requirements like fats, proteins, carbohydrates, minerals etc. these are some of the essential substances that a body should be enriched with. Alkaline foods are the best resources working extra ordinary in suppressing hyper acidity and helping the person to build a healthy body that is fit, fine and acid free.

Generally, all the fruits and vegetables come under the categories of alkaline foods. Green leafy vegetables like broccoli, spinach, Brussels, cauliflower, asparagus etc. are some of the efficient alkaline foods working phenomenal. All the fruits including citrus fruits fall under the category of alkaline foods, even though there is some amount of acid contents in the fruits, they work by stimulating the alkaline production in the body.

Foods like meats, beef, chicken, pork, certain fish, turkey etc are some of the acid generating elements. To maintain complete body acid levels, it is very much essential to avoid the consumption of these heavy to digest foods and switch to green.

via Health care and Fitness Tips

BALANCING ACID/ALKALINE FOODS

A surprising number and variety of physical problems and diseases can be caused by the problem of foods that are acid-producing after digestion. Today the vast majority of the populace in industrialized nations suffers from problems caused by the stress of acidosis, because both modern lifestyle and diet promote acidification of the body's internal environment.

The current typical Western diet is largely composed of acid-forming foods (proteins, cereals, sugars). Alkaline-producing foods such as vegetables are eaten in much smaller quantities. Stimulants like tobacco, coffee, tea, and alcohol are also extremely acidifying. Stress, and physical activity (both insufficient or excessive amounts) also cause acidification.

Many foods are alkaline-producing by nature, but manufactured processed foods are mostly acid-producing. It is important to consume at least 60% alkaline-producing foods in our diet, in order to maintain health. We need plenty of fresh fruits and particularly vegetables (alkaline-producing) to balance our necessary protein intake (acid-producing). And we need to avoid processed, sugary or simple-carbohydrate foods, not only because they are acid-producing but also because they raise blood sugar level too quickly (high glycemic index therefore fattening); plus they tend to be nutrient-lacking and may be toxic too.

The body maintains correct pH in the blood at all costs, by homeostasis, but that is stressful for the body's systems and resources when the diet is unbalanced in terms of acid-forming foods (the residue after digestion, that is). Within cells it's a different story. Saliva and urine tests show clearly enough the changes in alkalinity or acidity that are caused by diet and lifestyle.

Water is the most abundant compound in the human body, comprising 70% of the body. The body therefore contains a wide range of solutions, which may be more or less acid. pH (potential of Hydrogen) is a measure of the acidity or alkalinity of a solution - the ratio between positively charged ions (acid-forming) and negatively charged ions (alkaline-forming.) The pH of any solution is the measure of its hydrogen-ion concentration. The higher the pH reading, the more alkaline and oxygen rich the fluid is.  The lower the pH reading, the more acidic and oxygen deprived the fluid is. The pH range is from 0 to 14, with 7.0 being neutral.  Anything above 7.0 is alkaline, anything below 7.0 is considered acidic.

Human blood pH should be slightly alkaline (7.35 - 7.45). Below or above this range means symptoms and disease. If blood pH moves below 6.8 or above 7.8, cells stop functioning and the body dies. The body therefore continually strives to balance pH. When this balance is compromised many problems can occur.

An imbalanced diet high in acidic-producing foods such as animal protein, sugar, caffeine, and processed foods puts pressure on the body's regulating systems to maintain pH neutrality. The extra buffering required can deplete the body of alkaline minerals such as sodium, potassium, magnesium, and calcium, making the person prone to chronic and degenerative disease. Minerals are borrowed from vital organs and bones to buffer (neutralize) the acid and safely remove it from the body. Because of this strain, the body can suffer severe and prolonged damage--a condition that may go undetected for years.

via Trans4Mind

I've been trying to self-medicate myself as I believe that organic foods are still the best medicine. Nothing beats the power of Fresh Fruits and Vegetables. Here are the List of Alkaline Foods to balance your diet:

ALKALIZING VEGETABLES

Alfalfa

Barley Grass

Beet Greens

Beets

Broccoli

Cabbage

Carrot

Cauliflower

Celery

Chard Greens

Chlorella

Collard Greens

Cucumber

Dandelions

Dulce

Edible Flowers

Eggplant

Fermented Veggies

Garlic

Green Beans

Green Peas

Kale

Kohlrabi

Lettuce

Mushrooms

Mustard Greens

Nightshade Veggies

Onions

Parsnips (high glycemic)

Peas

Peppers

Pumpkin

Radishes

Rutabaga

Sea Veggies

Spinach, green

Spirulina

Sprouts

Sweet Potatoes

Tomatoes

Watercress

Wheat Grass

Wild Greens

ALKALIZING ORIENTAL VEGETABLES

Daikon

Dandelion Root

Kombu

Maitake

Nori

Reishi

Shitake

Umeboshi

Wakame

ALKALIZING FRUITS

Apple

Apricot

Avocado

Banana (high glycemic)

Berries

Blackberries

Cantaloupe

Cherries, sour

Coconut, fresh

Currants

Dates, dried

Figs, dried

Grapes

Grapefruit

Honeydew Melon

Lemon

Lime

Muskmelons

Nectarine

Orange

Peach

Pear

Pineapple

Raisins

Raspberries

Rhubarb

Strawberries

Tangerine

Tomato

Tropical Fruits

Umeboshi Plums

Watermelon

http://www.flickr.com/photos/40552134@N00/4376438297

http://www.flickr.com/photos/28426323@N08/3777819533

http://www.flickr.com/photos/26936994@N04/5032305225

ALKALIZING PROTEIN

Almonds

Chestnuts

Millet

Tempeh (fermented)

Tofu (fermented)

Whey Protein Powder

ALKALIZING SWEETENERS

Stevia

ALKALIZING SPICES & SEASONINGS

Chili Pepper

Cinnamon

Curry

Ginger

Herbs (all)

Miso

Mustard

Sea Salt

Tamari

ALKALIZING OTHER

Alkaline Antioxidant Water

Apple Cider Vinegar

Bee Pollen

Fresh Fruit Juice

Green Juices

Lecithin Granules

Mineral Water

Molasses, blackstrap

Probiotic Cultures

Soured Dairy Products

Veggie Juices

----------------------------

ACIDIFYING VEGETABLES

Corn

Lentils

Olives

Winter Squash

ACIDIFYING FRUITS

Blueberries

Canned or Glazed Fruits

Cranberries

Currants

Plums**

Prunes**

ACIDIFYING GRAINS, GRAIN PRODUCTS

Amaranth

Barley

Bran, oat

Bran, wheat

Bread

Corn

Cornstarch

Crackers, soda

Flour, wheat

Flour, white

Hemp Seed Flour

Kamut

Macaroni

Noodles

Oatmeal

Oats (rolled)

Quinoa

Rice (all)

Rice Cakes

Rye

Spaghetti

Spelt

Wheat Germ

Wheat

ACIDIFYING BEANS & LEGUMES

Almond Milk

Black Beans

Chick Peas

Green Peas

Kidney Beans

Lentils

Pinto Beans

Red Beans

Rice Milk

Soy Beans

Soy Milk

White Beans

ACIDIFYING DAIRY

Butter

Cheese

Cheese, Processed

Ice Cream

Ice Milk

ACIDIFYING NUTS & BUTTERS

Cashews

Legumes

Peanut Butter

Peanuts

Pecans

Tahini

Walnuts

ACIDIFYING ANIMAL PROTEIN

Bacon

Beef

Carp

Clams

Cod

Corned Beef

Fish

Haddock

Lamb

Lobster

Mussels

Organ Meats

Oyster

Pike

Pork

Rabbit

Salmon

Sardines

Sausage

Scallops

Shellfish

Shrimp

Tuna

Turkey

Veal

Venison

ACIDIFYING FATS & OILS

Avacado Oil

Butter

Canola Oil

Corn Oil

Flax Oil

Hemp Seed Oil

Lard

Olive Oil

Safflower Oil

Sesame Oil

Sunflower Oil

ACIDIFYING SWEETENERS

Carob

Corn Syrup

Sugar

ACIDIFYING ALCOHOL

Beer

Hard Liquor

Spirits

Wine

ACIDIFYING OTHER FOODS

Catsup

Cocoa

Coffee

Mustard

Pepper

Soft Drinks

Vinegar

ACIDIFYING DRUGS & CHEMICALS

Aspirin

Chemicals

Drugs, Medicinal

Drugs, Psychedelic

Herbicides

Pesticides

Tobacco

ACIDIFYING JUNK FOOD

Beer: pH 2.5

Coca-Cola: pH 2

Coffee: pH 4

via Essence of Life

QUICK STORY:

I've been eating Spinach with a bit of my mom's secret ingredient just to put a little taste on her newly invented so-called soup. I'm also currently on cucumber and banana therapy.  Less chicken and meat.  However, yesterday, was one of my 20 Something Single friend's birthday.  I couldn't resist the urge to taste the Buko Pandan and the Chocolate Mousse.  So well, I did took a small cup of Buko Pandan and a small cut of cake.

We had a fabolous videoke right after.  I was expecting to feel the usual painful grumbling of my stomach, the restless helpless body trying to win over the acids just to get a good sleep. The thing is, I felt so well the entire night. I felt so good the next morning! I wasn't sure if it were the veggies I've been taking that fought the supposedly notorious acids that were supposed to hurt me or it was simply the GOOD LAUGH that I had with my friends. I haven't been with FRIENDS for quite some time now.  Being new in the company, I'm still adjusting.  It is only now that I realize how IMPORTANT PEOPLE are. People makes you healthy too. Like foods, people can be classified as alkaline generating or acid generating.  The negative cranky ones and the positive enthusiastic ones. With my new work environment, I'm still trying to cope up with my "new found toxins" at work, that makes most of the early mornings grumpy. I figured, I need to see my FRIENDS once in a while. Just to put balance in everything.

Healthy Diet and Happiness are the best cure for Hyperacidity. 


Alkaline generating people vs. Acid generating people. 


Best advice? Be your own alkaline. Go with the basics:

EAT HEALTHY WHEN HUNGRY

TAKE PLENTY OF SLEEP

AVOID WORRYING

BE HAPPY

SO S I M P LE!