I've been hearing these words a lot lately: "Is it alkalizing?" - the trainers, the naturopaths, the health practitioners, they are all at it. Gwyneth Paltrow and Kate Moss are all pioneering the not-so-new-but-not-so-well-known Alkalizing Diet. So what is it all about?
Naturopath Robert Young spearheaded this movement after he discovered that an imbalance of ph level in the system ultimately leads to health problems and an inability to shift weight. The optimum ph level is 70% alkaline and 30% acidic. But with today's dietary habits most people are consuming too much meat and cheese which, in Young's words, lead to hyperactivity in the system, potentially leading to osteoporosis and cancer in extreme cases.
So what can we do to neutralise this and keep ourselves in even better shape than we're already in?
ELLE has found the 6 top products to balance your ph balance...
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Using the green pigment in plants, this is chemically similar to human blood and helps to deoderise and cleanse the body using an extract from the alphalfa plant.
All green foods such as chlorella, spirulina and wheat grass have an alkalising effect on the body and are well absorbed. They are rich in chlorophyll which is chemically identical to haemoglobin, the oxygen carrier of the body. This not only help to maintain healthy pH levels but also helps to enhance energy levels in the body.
Try doing this naturally through your diet: Baked potatoes, cauliflower, spinach, asparagus and avocado are super foods when it comes to alkalizing.
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Burdock is an excellent herb that removes acids and toxins from the bloodstream, explaining its frequent use in acne and skin concerns, and will thus help to gradually restore alkalinity in the body.
Take multiminerals when the body is in an acid crisis, it borrows alkaline minerals such as potassium, magnesium, calcium and sodium from all the vital organs, bones and muscles. You can prevent this by using a good multimineral complex such as Mega Mineral Complex by Lamberts which provides these in good therapeutic doses.
AlkaMax by Trimedica, £19.95, is a clever product that addresses acidic condition in the body by supplying an appropriate supplement and Ph papers which measure your levels at any given time allowing you to either use the supplements, increase the dosage or stop the supplement when alkalinity returns. AlkaMax contains calcium, magnesium and potassium bicarbonate to shift the balance within the body.