Not only did I not eat dairy today, but I haven’t had dairy, sugar, wheat, meat or much of anything besides veggies and some fruit for the past four days. I’m on the alkaline diet.
This is a tough one. The premise is that our bodies should ideally be about 7.3 on the pH scale. Owing to our Western “evolved” diet (processed foods, sugar, caffeine, meat, dairy, alcohol), our systems are pretty acidic (mine started at 5.5). The “ash” that is left behind when our body processes these acidic foods are what allegedly lead to chronic illness and disease like cancer. Mind you, I’m doing this all for an article. It’s a good excuse to purge my system from Paris. But I miss my sweets.
Morning
Green tea
Green juice (kale, celery, banana, lemon & ice blended together, which is tastier than it sounds)
Soy nuts
Afternoon
Giant salad of kale (kale is super alkaline), sprouts, tofu, celery, red pepper and cucumber
Almonds
Carrots
Evening
Roasted asparagus and carrots over arugula
Four days down, ten to go!
I can't wait to hear how you feel with proper pH goin' on! Speaking of kale, I'm dying to try this: http://smittenkitchen.com/2010/03/baked-kale-chips/. Maybe it could make a spot of happy in the next 10 days for you?
ReplyDeleteHave you seen the previews for the movie "Forks over Knives"? I think it's opened in NYC, but it's essentially The China Study. I've been inspired by your vegan Mondays AND The China Study to follow suit and forgo all animal products. That being said, I do make an exception for sushi every now and then! ;D
ReplyDeleteWow! Fourteen days of that regimen, eh?! But I'm sure you'll look and feel like a million bucks when you're done:)
ReplyDeleteWow that sounds hard, but I kind of want to try it now.
ReplyDeleteI guess you will feel great but I bet you lose weight too ! If not just in water weight .. good luck, it sounds difficult but you know me, I have no will power. Besos.
ReplyDeleteWhat? No chocolate?
ReplyDeleteCynthia
http://coffeeonthepatio.com
http://www.cynthiasblog.com
I'm quite intrigued, let us know how it goes! :]
ReplyDeleteIt IS interesting, and it IS tough! I'm much more in tune with what I'm putting into my body instead of eating, eating, eating. But it requires a lot of time and strategy - not a bad thing, overall. Again, I think mindfulness is part of the equation. I'm okay - until I see or smell sweets...
ReplyDeleteI am reading these back posts about staying alkaline, eating in a limited way, and thinking, "Welcome to my world!" :D For the past two years, this is how I eat almost all the time, with the exception of consuming chicken and fish because to go *too* long on just veggies is not a good idea for me (not if there are no beans or grains involved, which I have problems with, too). I certainly fall off the wagon with it, especially when it comes to potatoes and strawberry Tagada candies. ;-) But, it does get easier over time. It's definitely good to do this now and again just as a matter of course!
ReplyDeleteIt makes me wonder something though: note that you said you got sick again in a later post. Did getting sick happen after eating reintroducing grains (wheat) and other acidic foods? When I get sick from eating things I can't tolerate (notably wheat, rice, diary products, and too much sugar), I come down with flu-like symptoms, including body aches, joint pain, swollen glands, headache, runny nose, and a whole host of other things that make it hard for me to know whether I have caught a cold or if it is a reaction to one of those foods. The difference is that I have noted a pattern, over and over through the course of time, and journaling about what I ate and how I felt later. It has clearly been the food. (Whether it is the food that is lowering my immunity and then I get sick with an actual virus, or whether the food itself is causing flu-like symptoms, I don't know. It seems like a bit of both.)
I just thought I would throw my experiences out there because they may give you a clue to your re-cycled illnesses you have been coming down with since you moved back to NYC. The best way to find out if food is making you sick is to keep to a diet like this for the same 10-14 days, and then one at a time, re-introduce a food (like *just* dairy), then note the symptoms you have, if any, even up to 72 hours after eating the food (sometimes more -- there are people who have food reactions up to five days later). If you note a pattern of being sick after eating a certain food, in a kind of cycle, it could be that something you are eating is what is making you relapse. Especially if you are getting something like chronic sinusitis. That's the one I get: rhinopharyngitis (my sinuses fill up and my voice goes out, and I get a nasty cough, blah blah blah). Diary and wheat for me are guaranteed foods that will make me sick like that.
Food for thought. (Haha.) But like I wrote, it is my own experience, and if sharing a little bit of my journey with you (in a giant, over-sized comment) helps, then I am glad I wrote something. :)
*ahem* "Did getting sick happen after eating reintroducing grains (wheat) and other acidic foods?"
ReplyDeleteI was editing as I typed, and obviously forgot to delete one of the words. I'll let you pick which one you like. :)