How to Get More Alkaline in Your System

Your body must maintain a slightly alkaline pH level to enjoy optimal health, according to proponents of alkaline diets. Your PH level represents how much hydrogen your system has. If you have less than seven, you are acidic, while more than seven means you are alkaline. Stephanie Vangsness, R.D., L.D.N. of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Brigham and Women's Hospital seconds the aforementioned claim when she points out in her article "Alkaline Diets and Cancer: Fact or Fiction" that a healthy pH level ranges between 7.35 and 7.45.

Instructions

• 1

  Eat an alkaline diet. This means you should focus on eating things that make your system more alkaline. While everyone is different, the website EnergiseForLife.com points out that "most of us should aim to eat 70 to 80 percent alkaline foods and a maximum of 20 to 30 percent acid-forming foods." Alkaline-promoting vegetables and fruits include artichokes, cabbage, lettuce, onion, cauliflower, radish, peas, tomatoes, cucumber, lemon, grapefruit, rhubarb and watermelon. Eat nuts (no peanuts or cashews), seeds and grains. Stick to organic olive oil when cooking. Food should be consumed raw.

• 2

  Drink two to three liters of distilled and pure water every day. Drink green tea and other herbal teas. Aloe vera juice is another good choice. Avoid alcohol and coffee.

• 3

  Avoid white flour products, fatty meats, dairy, cheese, sweets, chocolates and all processed foods. Stay away from TV-dinners as these tend to have high levels of sugar and salt. Try to always eat your food as raw as possible. Over-cooking food removes important nutrients.

• 4

  Relax and trust that your body will maintain your pH level balanced and healthy. According to Vangsness, your body will correct itself whenever it finds itself out of balance through a series of checks and balances. For example, you can balance your pH level by either decreasing or increasing your breathing speed. Vangness believes alkaline diets are inefficient. However, it doesn't hurt to breathe deeply when stuck in traffic or while stressed out at work, or to begin each day with a green food, like the website GenuineHealth.com recommends.