Remember High School chemistry? Liquids are either base or alkaline. Our bodies are no different. And here's a very interesting fact: While our bodies are supposed to be slightly alkaline, about 7.2 on the scale, our diets and lifestyle habits make the vast majority of us too acidic. And this acidity provides an environment where disease and germs flourish.



"If I could live my life over again, I would devote it to proving that germs seek their natural habitat- diseased tissue- rather than being the cause of the diseased tissue; e.g., mosquitoes seek the stagnant water, but do not cause the pool to become stagnant."

-Rudolph Virchow (Father of Pathology)

I learned about this concept about a year ago. Everything I read said that an alkaline diet had to be almost exclusively green and yellow vegetables, nuts, water and "green drinks" (A.K.A. swamp water- gag), but I tried it anyway. Here are a few things an alkaline diet promises:

-Increased energy -Immunity from disease -Your body weight will drop to what it should be naturally -You will more easily build and maintain lean muscle mass

To quote Anthony Robbins, personal development guru:

"?you will experience a revolution in the quality of your life. The simple understanding of which foods produce the most energy for your body and the impact of the acid/ alkaline balance will add immeasurable value to your life."

So I jumped in, and started what I refer to now as the "rabbit food diet." I first of all bought a PH test kit from the health food store and tested my level. I was acidic, measuring 6.0. But after 6 weeks of the rabbit food diet I was much improved! I got up to 6.5. Now that may not sound that great to you, but the scale is a geometric one, 6 is ten times more acidic than 7, 5 is ten times more acidic than 6, and so on.

Here's the problem; I didn't like being on a rabbit food diet. I love food! I decided I would rather die a little earlier and take my chances than eliminate all the tasty stuff I enjoy.

But recently I was given two handy little tips that got me intrigued again. First of all I was introduced to a different water additive than the green drinks I had tried, that had no flavor and was less expensive. Before I took any I tested my alkaline level again. It was right back to where I started, 6.0. I took this handy little supplement for two weeks and didn't make any other dietary changes, and much to my surprise when I tested again my level had gone up to 6.75, higher than when I was doing the strict alkaline diet!

The other discovery I made was a simple little concept called Michi's Ladder. Michi's Ladder is a five tiered chart, that ranks foods from the best (tier one) down to the worst (tier 5). They say if you eat only foods from tiers one and two you will have a perfect diet. I don't know who "they" are, but looking at the chart it sounds right. It is more liberal than the all veggie diet. You can find this chart easily by doing a Google search for "Michi's ladder".

So I stuck the Michi's Ladder chart on my fridge and tried to pick foods from the top every time I had a meal or snack.

I can now personally vouch for the whole Alkalinity argument. I now have vibrant energy, I have lost excess fat, I don't feel like I need a nap every after noon like I used to, and at the age of 40 I am competing with the young guys in my Triathlons and basketball games. And I was able to do it without giving up my social life!

Copyright (c) 2006 Dave Sherwin