information gathering

There are three different types of alkaline foods: high alkaline, alkaline and low alkaline. The high alkaline is the food with the least sugar and the lowest glycemic level. Although all three are alkaline, the low alkaline is borderline on being acidic and should be limited. According to most alkaline charts, the following are some of the best alkaline forming foods:

Vegetables:

High alkaline: Vegetable juices, parsley, raw spinach, broccoli, celery, garlic and barley grass.

Alkaline: Green beans, lima beans, carrots, beets, lettuce and zucchini.

Fruits:

High alkaline: Dried Figs and raisins

Alkaline: Dates, black currant, grapes, papaya, kiwi, berries, apples and pears.

Nuts and Seeds:

Alkaline: Hazelnuts and almonds.

Beverages:

High alkaline: Herb teas and lemonade (sweetened with stevia).

Alkaline: Green tea.

The high alkaline and alkaline forming food groups are the best alkaline forming foods to follow. Limiting the low alkaline foods will improve your PH and keep your body in balance. As stated above a healthy body can handle up to 40% acidic food. The normal person will consume 2000 calories a day, so that means 800 calories can be acidic forming foods.

Protein can be obtained from organic eggs, nuts, avocados and fish, keeping away from red meat, colas, sugary desserts and saturated fats. In order to follow a proper alkaline diet, the meals need to be charted and planned and then after a few weeks you will start to see how much food is allowed daily on this new program. The best alkaline forming foods are the ones with the lowest glycemic index and the ones that follow food combing principles.

Food combining principles include the basics for good digestion and no fermentation of food such as not eating protein with starches. Not eating sweet fruits with sour fruits and not eating carbohydrates with meats. The foods that help the PH balance best will be the ones that will not leave you bloated after eating. A good rule of thumb is: if you want to sleep after eating, you ate the wrong combinations of foods.

I forgot to cop & paste the source of the above but my next bit is from http://www.energiseforlife.com/wordpress/2009/08/14/top-10-alkaline-diet-questions-answered/:

FAQ;s:

4. Which green drink is best and do I need pH drops?

Ahhh, an interesting question that I get asked ALL the time. It was probably THE most asked question at the Dr Young Live event back in June!

Here is my honest, and official, answer:

Firstly, there are a few checks you need to make before you narrow down your shortlist:

1. Is the green drink sugar-free? There are so many supposed green drinks out there (especially available on the high street) that quite foolishly contain sugar and sweeteners. What is the point in that?! Look out for carob & stevia in particular. Remember it takes 20 parts alkaline to neutralise 1 part acid, so if your greens contains sugar then you are going to end up with pH neutral at best…making your green drink expensively pointless.
2. Is the green drink yeast, fungi and algae-free? Many greens also contain yeast, mushroom extracts and algae’s which I personally don’t recommend and know Dr Young has proven to be highly acidifying.

After that, I’d say the decision is down to taste and personal preference.

I personally use Dr Young’s Doc Broc Greens and here are my reasons:

• This is a 4th generation green drink. Dr Young is the pioneer of these products and it was he who created SuperGreens for Innerlight several years ago. While I do like the SuperGreens taste and used to use it a lot, the formulation and production method has not changed since it was created, whereas with Doc Broc, it is created with the benefit of all of Dr Young’s experience during this time.
• The blend of ingredients he uses is second to none. Everyone has pretty much copied his old Innerlight formulation (note how they all taste similar?) but he has upped the ante by including even more alkaline forming ingredients such as avocado, lemon and lime.
• I just love the taste.

So in my opinion, Doc Broc is the best green drink on the market, but there are a few close runners:

1. MegaGreens: A nice, fresh tasting blend made from organic New Zealand grasses
2. pH Ion Green: Slightly sweeter tasting, but does contain spirulina, so I use sparingly. A lot of our customers LOVE the taste of this one
3. Tony Robbins Pure Energy Greens: a very different tasting green drink, but very effective
4. SuperGreens: and of course, the classic. Still packs a punch.

And as for pH drops…I personally believe that they are essential. Why? pH drops dramatically increase the alkalinity and purity of the water you consume. It takes 20 parts alkaline to neutralise 1 part acid, so if you throw your scoop of greens into tap water (which almost always has an acid pH) then you are really, really lessening the alkalising effect of the greens.

9. How do I test my pH – why are my readings erratic?

Testing your pH is a great way of tracking your progress. But it has to be done right. Here is how:

It is good practice to either test 1 hour before or 2 hours after eating. If testing your saliva, it is a good idea to try to fill your mouth with saliva and then swallow. This helps remove any acidic bacteria that might be lurking. Do not try to wash your mouth out with anything else as this will simply record the alkalinity of the water/liquid you have just used.

For testing urine, let some urine flow before testing as this will give more of an average reading.

It is also a good idea to test 2-3 times in a day in order to get an average, as first thing in the morning the body has retained fluids over a long period of time and it will engage in different processes to remove acid wastes from the body throughout the day (depending on activity and diet).

Why the Differences and Fluctuations?

The reason that there is such a difference between your urine and saliva readings is that a) your mouth is more likely to contain acidic bacteria throughout the day (if you brush your teeth it will show a very high alkaline reading due to the toothpaste so there is not much of a way around this) and b) because your urine is more of a reflection of the processes the body is undertaking to remove acid from the body.

Both of these are therefore subject to fluctuations. I would recommend taking the average of several readings to gain a bigger picture of your progress rather than concentrating on each reading in isolation.

A reading of anywhere between 6.75-7.0+ is excellent for saliva as the saliva tends to be slightly more acidic. For the urine, a slightly higher pH level of 7.5 upwards is great, but remember that due to the kidney’s processing of toxins throughout the day, the urine can give a more erratic reading.

To put all of this into perspective, someone who eats a typical Western diet would be more likely to have a saliva pH average of about 5.5-6.0. This may not seem too much lower, however it is important to remember that the pH scale is logarithmic – meaning each step is ten times the previous i.e. 4.5 is 10 times more acidic than 5.5 which is 100 times more acidic than 6.5 and so on.

Remember:
Testing the pH of your saliva or urine is only going to give you a general trend. Unfortunately, there is no way of determining the EXACT pH of the blood without undergoing a live blood analysis. However, they can give a good indication – so test, test, test and take the average and then follow this trend over time noticing the difference any changes in your diet can make.

10: Which vegetables are the most alkalising?

Not really something you need to worry too much about, but if you do need to know – I believe it is a toss-up between wheatgrass and cucumber. But basically here is my quick and dirty list of the foods to aim for if you want to be super-alkalising:

Green grasses – such as wheatgrass & barley grass
Green leafy veg – such as spinach, rocket & watercress
Cucumbers
Avocados
Tomatoes
Any other salad, vegetable or high-water content, low sugar food!

Just think big bowls of salad and big plates of veggies!

The 7 Most Alkaline Foods

by Ross on January 24, 2012

So many of you who have seen my Definitive Acid / Alkaline Food Chart ask me – “…of the alkaline food list – which are the most alkaline foods?” so I wanted to create a full, in-depth analysis blog post of the Seven Most Alkaline Foods!

For each food I’ve given an intro, nutritional content per 1 cup, a number of free alkaline recipes that I’ve created for this blog or the Alkaline Diet Recipe Book and also a handful of research papers that have been published to validate the benefits stated.

I hope you love this as much as I loved researching and writing it!

From http://www.energiseforlife.com/wordpress/2012/01/24/the-7-most-alkaline-foods/

What Are The Most High Alkaline Foods?

1. Spinach

ALL leafy greens should be eaten in abundance but spinach is my absolute favourite because it’s easy to buy, easy to use in recipes and salads and is delicious. Baby spinach or fully grown spinach are nutritional powerhouses and are incredibly alkaline.

As with all green foods, spinach is rich in chlorophyll (see more about the health benefits of chlorophyll here), a potent alkaliser and blood builder.

It is also super high in vitamin K, vitamin A, manganese, folate, magnesium, iron, vitamin c, vitamin b2, calcium, potassium, vitamin e, dietary fiber….need I go on?

I doubt there is a more all round healthy food on earth and I highly encourage you to eat spinach throughout the day, every day.

Nutrients per 1 Cup

Vitamin K – 1110% RDA
Vitamin A – 337.3% RDA
Manganese – 84% RDA
Folate – 65.7% RDA
Magnesium – 38% RDA
Iron – 35% RDA
Vitamin C – 31% RDA
Vitamin B2 – 27% RDA
Calcium – 25% RDA
Potassium – 23% RDA
Vitamin E – 21% RDA
Fiber – 19% RDA

Energise Alkaline Recipe Containing Spinach

Warm Red Pepper & Spinach Salad

Spinach, Garlic & Tofu Burgers

Alkaline Avo Power Smoothie

Alkaline Raw Soup

Research on Spinach

• Spinach as a powerful antioxidant: Manach C, Scalbert A, Morand C, Rémésy C, Jiménez L. Polyphenols: food sources and bioavailability. Am J Clin Nutr. 2004 May;79(5):727-47. 2004. PMID:15113710.
• Spinach intake and ovarian cancer reduction: Gates MA, Tworoger SS, Hecht JL, De Vivo I, Rosner B, Hankinson SE. A prospective study of dietary flavonoid intake and incidence of epithelial ovarian cancer. Int J Cancer. 2007 Apr 30; [Epub ahead of print] 2007. PMID:17471564.
• Spinach intake and breast cancer: M P Longnecker, P A Newcomb, R Mittendorf, E R Greenberg and W C Willett. Intake of carrots, spinach, and supplements containing vitamin A in relation to risk of breast cancer. 1997. American Association for Cancer Research.
• Spinach and reversing motor and neuronal aging: James A. Joseph1, Barbara Shukitt-Hale1, Natalia A. Denisova1,Donna Bielinski1, Antonio Martin1, John J. McEwen1, and Paula C. Bickford. Reversals of Age-Related Declines in Neuronal Signal Transduction, Cognitive, and Motor Behavioral Deficits with Blueberry, Spinach, or Strawberry Dietary Supplementation. 1999. The Journal of Neuroscience.

2. Kale

Kale is another leafy green beauty that is widely known for its cancer-fighting, cholesterol-lowering, antioxidant-rich, detoxifying goodness.

Less popular than spinach, but only because it has a history of being cooked poorly (like cabbage) – when done right it is absolutely delicious (see recipes below, you’ll thank me).

If you eat kale 2-3 times per week you’ll know it. Like spinach it is massively high in vitamin k, vitamin a and vitamin c and being leafy green it also has a huge chlorophyll content.

The reason it is so powerful against the cancer fight is that kale contains at least four glucosinolates. I don’t want to lose you here by using words like glucosinolates – all you need to know is that as soon as you eat and digest kale, these glucosinolates are really easily converted by the body into cancer fighting compounds.

Also quite amazing for lowering cholesterol, it should be noted that steamed kale is more effective for cholesterol lowering than raw.

Nutrients Per 1 Cup:

Vitamin K: 1327% RDA
Vitamin A: 354% RDA
Vitamin C: 88.8% RDA
Manganese: 27% RDA
Fiber: 12% RDA
Calcium: 11% RDA
Magnesium: 11% RDA
Iron: 9% RDA
Omgega 3: 7% RDA

Energise Alkaline Recipes Containing Kale:

Chickpea & Kale Rolls with Tomato Salsa

Kale & Chickpea Mash

Super Alkaline Kale Salad

Alkaline Chilli Spring Greens

Research on Kale:

• Ambrosone CB, Tang L. Cruciferous vegetable intake and cancer prevention: role of nutrigenetics. Cancer Prev Res (Phila Pa). 2009 Apr;2(4):298-300. 2009.
• Angeloni C, Leoncini E, Malaguti M, et al. Modulation of phase II enzymes by sulforaphane: implications for its cardioprotective potential. J Agric Food Chem. 2009 Jun 24;57(12):5615-22. 2009.
• Bhattacharya A, Tang L, Li Y, et al. Inhibition of bladder cancer development by allyl isothiocyanate. Carcinogenesis. 2010 Feb;31(2):281-6. 2010
• Higdon JV, Delage B, Williams DE, et al. Cruciferous Vegetables and Human Cancer Risk: Epidemiologic Evidence and Mechanistic Basis. Pharmacol Res. 2007 March; 55(3): 224-236. 2007.
• Zhang Y. Allyl isothiocyanate as a cancer chemopreventive phytochemical. Mol Nutr Food Res. 2010 Jan;54(1):127-35. 2010.

3. Cucumber

The beauty of cucumber is it’s water content – 95%. That is phenomenal and you won’t find that anywhere else. It’s the daddy of water-content. This of course makes it an incredibly hydrating food to consume, that ALSO contains superb amounts of antioxidants, including the super-important lignans. These highly beneficial polyphenols have more commonly been associated with the cruciferous vegetables, but their content in other veggies such as cucumbers is gaining more and more attention.

Cucumbers contain a right load of lariciresinol, pinoresinol, and secoisolariciresinol (don’t try to pronounce), three lignans that have a huge and very strong history of research in connection with reduced risk of cardiovascular disease as well as several cancer types, including breast, uterine, ovarian, and prostate cancers.

The best thing about cucumber is that they provide the base for practically every alkaline soup, smoothie and juice – giving you a very alkaline, very nutritious base that also tastes great.

In terms of the actual nutrient RDA per serve, cucumbers contain fair amounts of vitamins K and C, and slightly less of vitamin A and the B vitamins. Cucumbers also contain the following alkaline minerals: calcium, iron, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, selenium, copper, manganese, iron and zinc.

Nutrients per 1 Cup (RDA)

Vitamin K: 23%
Molybdenum: 8%
Vitamin C: 6%
Potassium: 5%
Manganese: 5%
Magnesium: 4%

Energise Recipes Containing Cucumber:

Alkaline Cucumber & Watercress Soup

Alkaline Sushi

Antioxidant Super-Meal

Sweet Chunky Alkaline Shake

pH Boosting Protein Shake

Almond Gazpacho

Research on Cucumber:

• Kumar D, Kumar S, Singh J, et al. Free Radical Scavenging and Analgesic Activities of Cucumis sativus L. Fruit Extract. J Young Pharm. 2010 Oct;2(4):365-8. 2010.
• Milder IEJ, Arts ICW, van de Putte B et al. Lignan contents of Dutch plant foods: a database including lariciresinol, pinoresinol, secoisolariciresinol and matairesinol. Br J Nutr 2005, 93:393-402. 2005.
• Rios JL, Recio MC, Escandell JM, et al. Inhibition of transcription factors by plant-derived compounds and their implications in inflammation and cancer. Curr Pharm Des. 2009;15(11):1212-37. Review. 2009.
• Tang J, Meng X, Liu H et al. Antimicrobial activity of sphingolipids isolated from the stems of cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.). Molecules. 2010 Dec 15;15(12):9288-97. 2010.

4. Broccoli

Broccoli is just a must. If you are serious about living with health, energy and vitality you simply have to eat broccoli, if not on a daily basis, then at least 4 times per week.

Broccoli has been proven over and over and over again to be incredibly powerful in inhibiting cancers, supporting the digestive system, the cardiovascular system, the detoxification processes in the body and also supporting the skin, metabolism, immune system, being an anti-inflammatory and providing ample antioxidants.

Sound good?

Eaten steamed or raw its a hugely alkaline, hugely nutritious food. Please, please, please eat lots and lots of it. Put it in salads, juices, smoothies, soups…steam it with other veggies – you can even roast it if you’re having sunday lunch.

Don’t let a meal go past without thinking to yourself “how could I get some broccoli in here?”

Nutrients Per 1 Cup (as an RDA):

Vitamin C: 135%
Vitamin K: 115%
Folate: 16%
Vitamin A: 14%
Manganese: 10%
Dietary Fiber: 10%
Potassium: 8%
VItamin B6: 8%
Vitamin B2: 7%
Molybdenum: 6%
Phosphorus: 6%
Vitamin B5: 5%
Protein: 5%
Magnesium: 5%
Calcium: 4%
Selenium: 4%
Vitamin E: 4%

Energise Alkaline Recipes Containing Broccoli:

Broccoli & Vegetable Coconut Curry

Spelt Pasta with Broccoli & ALmonds

Mixed Sesame Veggies

Gareth’s Green Smoothie

Spicy Alkaline Summer Soup

Research on Broccoli:

• Broccoli and Cancer Prevention: John W. Finley, Clement Ip, Donald J. Lisk, Cindy D. Davis, Korry J. Hintze, and Phil D. Whanger. Cancer-Protective Properties of High-Selenium Broccoli. Cancer-Protective Properties of High-Selenium Broccoli. 2001. American Chemical Society
• Broccoli and Cardiovascular Disease: Lingyun Wu, M. Hossein Noyan Ashraf, Marina Facci, Rui Wang,Phyllis G. Paterson, Alison Ferrie, and Bernhard H. J. Juurlink. 2004. Dietary approach to attenuate oxidative stress, hypertension, and inflammation in the cardiovascular system. The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
• Broccoli and Cancer Prevention: Ambrosone CB, Tang L. Cruciferous vegetable intake and cancer prevention: role of nutrigenetics. Cancer Prev Res (Phila Pa). 2009 Apr;2(4):298-300. 2009.
• Broccoli and Cancer Prevention: Clarke JD, Dashwood RH, Ho E. Multi-targeted prevention of cancer by sulforaphane. Cancer Lett. 2008 Oct
• Chemo-protection and Broccoli: Konsue N, Ioannides C. Modulation of carcinogen-metabolising cytochromes P450 in human liver by the chemopreventive phytochemical phenethyl isothiocyanate, a constituent of cruciferous vegetables. Toxicology. 2010 Feb 9;268(3):184-90. 2010.

5. Avocado

I eat a LOT of avocado. Not a salad, smoothie or soup goes by without me adding at least 1/2 an avocado per person. I probably eat at least five-seven per week, myself.

Now, I know a lot of people give avocado a bad rep because it is a high-fat food (85% of it’s calories come from fats) – but this is totally insane. These are good fats that will not make you gain weight. If anything, due to the high content of oleic acid (making it an omega 9 fat and very similar to olive oil), it can lower total cholesterol level and raise levels of high-density lipoproteins (HDLs) while lowering low-density lipoproteins (LDLs), also known as the “bad” cholesterol. Oleic acid also slows the development of heart disease, and promotes the production of antioxidants.

These beneficial omega oils also help speed the metabolism, actually leading to weight loss rather than gain.

So now we’re over the fat issue, avocado also contains a wide range of other nutrients that have serious anti-inflammatory, heart health, cardiovascular health, anti-cancer, and blood sugar benefits.

Containing key antioxidants such as alpha-carotene, beta-carotene, lutein, selenium and more – it is a powerful, alkaline, nutrient-dense superfood.

Nutrients Per 1 Cup (as an RDA):

Dietary Fiber: 40%
Vitamin K: 38%
Folate: 30%
Vitamin C: 24%
Vitamin B5: 20%
Potassium: 20%
Vitamin B6: 19%

Energise Alkaline Recipes Containing Avocado:

Alkaline Avocado Power Shake

Raw Avocado Soup

Smooth Avocado & Tofu Dip

Alkaline Quinoa Salad

Spicy Alkaline Summer Soup

Research on Avocado:

• Avocado & Adult Health: Fulgoni V, Dreher M, Davenport A. Avocado consumption associated with better nutrient intake and better health indices in U.S. adults (19+ years): NHANES 2001-2006. Abstract #8514. Experimental Biology, Anaheim, CA. April 28, 2010. 2010.
• Avocado & Cancer: Ding H, Han C, Guo D et al. Selective induction of apoptosis of human oral cancer cell lines by avocado extracts via a ROS-mediated mechanism. Nutr Cancer. 2009;61(3):348-56. 2009.
• Avocado & Cancer: Ding H, Chin YW, Kinghorn AD et al. Chemopreventive characteristics of avocado fruit. Semin Cancer Biol. 2007 May 17; [Epub ahead of print] 2007. 2007.
• Avocado & Inflammation: Rosenblat G, Meretski S, Segal J et al. Polyhydroxylated fatty alcohols derived from avocado suppress inflammatory response and provide non-sunscreen protection against UV-induced damage in skin cells. Arch Dermatol Res. 2010 Oct 27. [Epub ahead of print]. 2010.

6. Celery

Celery, like cucumber is a favourite because it’s alkaline AND really high water content, so is used very frequently as a base in juices and soups (not so much smoothies as you have to juice it first…and then you have double the washing up).

One of celery’s big benefits is it’s vitamin C level, which has the well known benefits – but two of it’s lesser known nutrients are phthalides which have been shown to lower cholesterol and coumarins which have been shown to inhibit several cancers.

The beauty of vitamin C rich foods are that they help with the most common and most challenging health concerns – they support the immune system, inflammation (so helps with arthritis, osteoporosis, asthma etc), and vitamin C also helps significantly with cardiovascular health.

If you are on a weight loss journey, you’ll also be happy to hear that this alkaline staple contains plenty of potassium and sodium and so is a diuretic – meaning it helps rid the body of excess fluids.

Nutrients Per 1 Cup (as an RDA):

Vitamin K: 37%
Folate: 9%
Vitamin A: 9%
Potassium: 8%
Molybdenum: 7%
Dietary Fiber: 6%
Vitamin C: 5%
Manganese: 5%
Calcium: 4%
Vitamin B2: 3.5%
Vitamin B6: 4%
Magnesium: 3%
Vitamin B5: 3%

Energise Alkaline Diet Recipes Containing Celery:

Vegetable Bean Soup

Bright & Breezy Salad

Alkaline Green Drink

Delicious Refresher Juice

Alkaline Chilli Greens

Research on Celery:

• Celery and Hypertension: Kurl S, Tuomainen TP, Laukkanen JA et al. Plasma vitamin C modifies the association between hypertension and risk of stroke. Stroke 2002 Jun;33(6):1568-73 2002.
• Celery & Cholesterol: Tsi D, Tan BK. The mechanism underlying the hypocholesterolaemic activity of aqueous celery extract, its butanol and aqueous fractions in genetically hypercholesterolaemic RICO rats. Life Sci 2000 Jan 14;66(8):755-67 2000.

7. Capsicum / Bell Pepper / Pepper

The antioxidant superpower, bell pepper is one of my all-time-favourites because it is sweet, crunchy and refreshingly delicious. You can use it in almost any meal raw, grilled, fried, roasted and it is always a winner.

Here are just SOME of the antioxidants bell pepper contains:

• Flavonoids
– luteolin
– quercetin
– hesperidin
• Carotenoids
– alpha-carotene
– beta-carotene
– cryptoxanthin
– lutein
– zeaxanthin
• Hydroxycinnamic Acids
– ferulic acid
– cinnamic acid

Of these, the cartenoids are the most interesting. Impressively beneficial to our health cartenoids are highly researched and get a lot of attention in the health field…and bell peppers contain over 30 different members of the carotenoid nutrient family. The only other food that is close to this is tomato…and all other foods are also-rans.

Bell peppers have shown up in research relating to decreasing the risk of cardiovascular disease, type II diabetes, macular degeneration, cancer, inflammation and more.

Alongside these lesser known or more complex-named antioxidants, bell pepper is one of, if not the best food source of the more common antioxidants: vitamin C, vitamin A and vitamin E.

In fact, bell peppers contain twice as much vitamin C as oranges.

Nutrients Per 1 Cup (as an RDA):

Vitamin C: 195.8%
Vitamin A: 58%
Vitamin B6: 14%
Folate: 11%
Dietary Fiber: 7%
Vitamin E: 7%
Molybdenum: 6%
Vitamin K: 6%
Potassium: 6%
Manganese: 5%
Vitamin B2: 5%
Vitamin B3: 5%
Vitamin B1: 3%
Vitamin B5: 3%
Magnesium: 2%

Energise Alkaline Recipes Containing Bell Pepper:

Sweet Chunky Alkaline Shake

Red Lentils with Bell Pepper

Stuffed Tomatoes with Pepper

Red Pepper & Tomato Soup

Antioxidant Rich Smoothie

Research on Bell Pepper:

• Pepper and Dementia: Devore EE, Grodstein F, van Rooij FJA et al. Dietary antioxidants and long-term risk of dementia. Arch Neurol. 2010 July; 67(7): 819-825. 2010.
• Peppers and Antioxidants: O’Sullivan L, Jiwan MA, Daly T, O’Brien NM et al. Bioaccessibility, uptake, and transport of carotenoids from peppers (Capsicum spp.) using the coupled in vitro digestion and human intestinal Caco-2 cell model. J Agric Food Chem. 2010 May 12;58(9):5374-9. 2010.
• Pepper and Cancer: Ambrosini GL, de Klerk NH, Fritschi L et al. Fruit, vegetable, vitamin A intakes, and prostate cancer risk. Prostate Cancer Prostatic Dis. 2008;11(1):61-6. 2008.

——-

THIS IS REALLY IMPORTANT

I really want you to think about this: If you made a smoothie or juice containing just 1/2 a cup of each of these seven ingredients it would give you:

Vitamin K – 1326% RDA
Molybdenum – 13.5% RDA
Vitamin C – 243% RDA
Potassium – 35% RDA
Manganese – 68% RDA
Magnesium – 32% RDA
Vitamin A – 386% RDA
Fiber – 47% RDA
Calcium – 22% RDA
Iron – 22% RDA
Folate – 66% RDA
Vitamin B2 – 21.5% RDA
Vitamin E – 16% RDA
Vitamin B6 – 22.5% RDA
Vitamin B5 – 15.5% RDA

ALL IN ONE DRINK?

Can you imagine this? Leaving the house every morning having already consumed 243% of your vitamin c intake, 47% of your daily fiber needs, 68% of you manganese and 32% of your magnesium, over 22% of you vitamin B2 – imagine all of the incredible antioxidants? Before you’ve left the house?!

This really is giving you not only huge antioxidants, huge alkalinity, huge chlorophyll, huge detoxification nutrients – but if you want to go really mainstream – its giving you the recommended 5 Veg a Day before 9am!

Please give it a try – have a fresh vegetable juice or smoothie every morning for a week and let me know the effect this has!

From http://www.energiseforlife.com/wordpress/2012/01/31/how-to-get-alkaline/

How to Get Alkaline (as quickly and easily as possible…)

by Ross on January 31, 2012

When people first ready my Acid / Alkaline Food Chart they get an understanding of which foods are alkaline, but are then left wondering “…HOW am I going to get alkaline?”.

In this follow-up post to my “7 Most Alkaline Foods” I wanted to show you my five quickstart actions for getting green into your diet and giving you an alkaline kickstart-headstart as easily and quickly as possible.

Getting Alkaline As Quickly As Possible

My approach to coaching the alkaline diet is based around a few key principles:

1. Trying to be perfect from the start leads to failure in 90% of cases
2. For the first month, focus on the 20% of actions that make 80% of the difference
3. Take it slowly, baby-steps, day-by-day and celebrate each success
4. Give yourself a cheat day, or relax every now and then – treat yourself!
5. If you have a bad day, don’t give up – take time to think what happened and start again right this minute!

Step One: Getting Alkaline Means Going Green

Going green is so important because it gets a huge amount of chlorophyll into your body. I recommend reading my Health Benefits of Liquid Chlorophyll article in full, but to give you a short version:

Chlorophyll has the power to regenerate our bodies at the molecular and cellular level and is known to help cleanse the body, fight infection, help heal wounds, and promote the health of the circulatory, digestive, immune, and detoxification systems. Chlorophyll consumption increases the number of red blood cells and, therefore, increase oxygen utilization by the body. Chlorophyll also reduces the binding of carcinogens to DNA in the liver and other organs. It also breaks down calcium oxalate stones for elimination, which are created by the body for the purpose of neutralizing and disposing of excess acid.

So getting a big injection of chlorophyll into your diet is hugely important!

As per point 2 above – you have to focus on the small, simple stuff that has the most impact and in my opinion, getting green foods in is the single most powerful thing you can do to dramatically change your health, energy and vitality. You have to get greens in and while this may seem daunting – here are a few suggestions to make it a LOT easier and less intimidating:

• Have a salad with every meal: carry on eating what you’d normally have eaten, but just add a side salad (no unhealthy dressings though!). This TOTALLY takes the pressure off but the cumulative effect of having several salads a day will have a big impact.
• Disguise green foods: you can shave broccoli heads with a knife over foods or into pasta sauce giving you heaps of broccoli, but you can’t see, taste or smell it. OR wilt spinach down with a little butter, salt and pepper – this gives you a HUGE amount of spinach in just a couple of mouthfuls. OR make pasta sauce by blending tomatoes with steamed pumpkin, broccoli, spinach, watercress etc. When it’s all blended down it still tastes very rich and tomato-ey, but you’ve got a heap of green foods in there too!
• Get into Sprouts: sounds weird but it’s SO worth it – sprouts are sprouted seeds of plants such as broccoli which, when harvested at the sprout stage, contain all (or more) of the nutritional content of the fully grown plant – this means you can easily eat one handful and get a HUGE hit of nutrients. I’ve blogged heaps about sprouts (and have a guide coming) so click here to read all about sprouts.

Making sure you up your green food consumption from 0-1 times per day to 3-5 times per day is easy and it will blow your mind the difference it makes. Your body will thank you, I can absolutely assure you.

Step Two: Getting Oiled Up

This is another really easy fix and is something 90% of people are not currently doing:

You HAVE to get at LEAST 2 tablespoons of Omega 3 EVERY day

Eating more oily fish is great for the health benefits this can bring, but you’d have to eat a really silly amount to get enough omega 3 – and this goes twofold for eating nuts and seeds to get enough omega 3.

Omega 3 deficiency was named in a Harvard Medical School research paper as being the 6th Biggest Killer in the USA – yes it’s that important. It’s critical for our health, energy, metabolism, cardiovascular system, eyes, hair, skin, digestive system…everything – yet around 90% of people in the Western world are chronically deficient.

If you change nothing else but add 2 tablespoons (30ml) of omega 3 to your diet you will really see a massive difference in your body.

I really recommend a supplement to ensure you get enough and Udo’s Choice is my personal favourite.

If you want to learn more about Fats & Oils I really recommend Udo’s website here and also check this article I wrote on oils back in April 2011: Why Essential Fatty Acids are So Essential

This is another 80/20 suggestion – it is SO easy to just have 30ml of omega 3 every day (even if you just buy straight flax oil and use this in salads) but it will make a HUGE difference.

Note: Omega 6 and 9 are also important but we tend to get enough of those through consumption of olive oils, vegetable oils etc.

Step Three: Instant Hits When You Need It

This is a quick step, but a brilliant one – because being able to give yourself a concentrated hit of green goodness is SUCH a powerful tool. I HIGHLY recommend you look into buying a liquid chlorophyll supplement.

Now at Energise we always say that if you can get it from whole foods then this is best, but being able to get ALL of your nutrient needs EVERY day from foods alone is a huge challenge. It is almost impossible in this day and age.

PLUS if you want (or need) to get alkaline quickly having a concentrated shot of liquid chlorophyll each day will give your body a massive boost. It really is awesome. Now if you can juice your own fresh wheatgrass into a shot each day that’s even better – but if not then I really heartily recommend a chlorophyll shot every day.

If you use supplements like chlorophyll smartly and choose the right ones (for you) then they are an absolutely potent weapoon in the fight against acids, fatigue and illness. I firmly believe this.

We’ve had dozens of chlorophyll supplements through Energise over the years but our absolute favourite is Nature’s Sunshine – no fillers, no crap, totally natural and no added sweeteners (you have to be wary of those).

It tastes great and makes you feel vibrant and ALIVE! Click here to find out more…

Step Four: Hydration is the EASIEST Way to Alkalise

So far in this lazyman’s guide to quickly getting alkaline(!) I’ve given you three big steps (and lots of mini-steps) that are all easy, take up almost no time, require hardly any changes to your lifestyle – but get you big-kahuna-changes to your alkalinity, energy, health and vitality.

But I saved the best for now.

The vast majority of people are chronically dehydrated, somehow barely getting through the day on less than 800ml of water. This dramatically effects mental clarity, digestion, the immune system, weight, energy, skin…just a 5% drop in body fluids will cause a 25-30% loss of energy in most people. It is a HUGE problem and SO easy to fix.

Please just start drinking at least 2-3 litres of water every day. This will have as much impact on you than all of the other points in this article combined – it’s that important.

Ideally you’d be drinking 3-4 litres, but if you can even get to 2.5 per day for a week you’ll never look back.

In fact, right now, make the promise to yourself that you are going to drink at LEAST 2.5 litres per day. Write it down. Set a reminder in your phone!

The problems/questions most people have when it comes to hydration

In my experience as a hydration junkie, I find that most people have the same few questions when they first start to get hydrated:

– what type of water to drink (tap, bottled, reverse osmosis, ionized, lemon squeezed in etc)
– how much to drink
– …but I keep needing to pee!
– won’t it wash all of my minerals out of my body?
– I can’t remember to drink enough – I always forget!

Thankfully, I have created a very in-depth guide to hydration here for you to download totally for free.

It will answer every question you might have about getting alkaline with water – it’s very very good.

So please do download the guide, follow the steps to choosing the best water for you and read my Guide on How to Remember to Drink Enough!

So getting greens in several times per day + getting enough omega oils + getting shots of chlorophyll + getting hydrated = incredible vibrant health very easily and quickly…so what could step five be?

Step Five: 5 Minutes Per Day to 24-Hours of Alkalinity

IF you read my last guide (The 7 Most Alkaline Foods) you’ll already know the answer to this, but it’s SO super easy, quick and powerful that I just HAVE to say it again:

***DRINK A GREEN VEGETABLE JUICE EVERY DAY***

You’ve just gotta. It’s 5 minutes and it will change your life forever. Honestly, it’s so quick and easy to knock together a juice – it really does take under five minutes from getting the food out of the fridge, to washing, to juicing, to cleaning the juicer to drinking.

But this five minutes a day give your body a waterfall of easily absorbed nutrients that will instantly boost your energy, flood you with antioxidants, rapidly strengthen your immune system and dramatically alkalise you all day long.

Remember – the best thing about this is, it means you’ve already exceeded your five-a-day serves of vegetables before 9am!

And if you want to know what to juice here are some recipes for ya:

Blood Building Vegetable Juice

Delicious Refresher Juice

Anti-Stress Juice

…and of course – The Big Bad Green Drink
…and The Energise Guide to Juicing