Alkaline, alkaline, alkaline…

This word gets tossed around a lot in the health communities. There is an ongoing belief that achieving alkalinity within the body is  the only way to truly heal.

The Guru’s claim that all dis-ease is a by product of an acidic body.  They claim that all fruits, nuts, seed and vegetables are ‘alkaline’ while meat and animal products are ‘acidic.’

As a result, meat and animal products need to be avoided at all costs.

However, there is more to the story that isn’t being told…

Stomach Acid And Health

Contrary to popular belief, having an acidic stomach is something we should all be aiming to achieve.  Stomach acid is needed in order to break down and extract the vitamins and minerals found in our food. Stomach acid also protects the body against foreign invaders such as parasites, bacteria, and candida (1)(2).

If stomach acid levels are adequate, these invaders will be neutralized quickly and effectively.

Furthermore, those with low stomach acid are at risk for developing nutritional and mineral deficiencies.  Overtime, these nutritional and mineral deficiencies can develop into serious illness or dis-ease.

Unfortunately, this is not well known in the alkaline health communities.

Bitter Foods Are Essential For Stomach Acid Production

The biggest problem our society faces is the easy access to sweet foods.  Thousands of years ago, coming across something “sweet tasting” in the wild would be a rarity.  Even those living in the tropics thousands of years ago would rarely have access to the sweet foods we have access today.

It’s important to understand that many of the sweet fruits we find in the grocery are BIGGER and SWEETER.  This is because of man made modifications to the fruit.

The modern day banana is the perfect example: seedless, sweeter, and bigger than its ancestor.  Wild bananas left to grow the way nature intended contain large amounts of seeds, are bitter, and tiny!

A quick google search for the term “wild bananas” will leave you amazed…

With that said, the need for bitter food in the diet is unquestionable.  Without it, we are unable to produce adequate levels of stomach acid needed for good health (3). In fact, the overabundance of sweet foods actually lowers stomach acid production and promotes the formation of candida.

On the contrary, bitter foods promote healthy stomach acid formation which in return lowers candida levels (4).  It’s important to understand that Candida thrives in an alkaline environment.  Those with inadequate stomach acid levels (too alkaline) are at risk for developing an overgrowth of candida.

check out my video below for more information of bitter food and its role in stomach acid production.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UH5nzozYeDc

 

The Need For Animal Products In The Human Diet

Without animal products in the diet, stomach acid production will be lacking severely.  Vegan diets (alkaline diets) will eventually lower stomach acid levels.  This is because animal foods require stomach acid for proper break down.

Vegan diets contain zero animal products and don’t force the body to produce adequate levels of stomach acid for good health.  They also don’t contain adequate levels of zinc.  For those unaware,  stomach acid production requires zinc.

All zinc found on vegan diets is bound to anti-nutrients which makes it extremely hard for the body to absorb…

In fact, when long term vegans try to switch back to eating animal foods they notice they can no longer ‘stomach it.’  This is because their stomach acid levels are severely depleted.  Unfortunately, many vegans fail to realize this and attribute the inability to no longer digest animal foods as being “clean” and no longer needing it.

Eventually, their health will continue to deteriorate as food sensitives, poor digestion, brain fog, and allergies begin to arise.  This is all a result of the body not producing the necessary stomach acid needed for good health…

Be sure to drop your comments below!

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sources:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9350560

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4519257/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4446506/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15932169