Alkaline Diet for Bone Health

Natural bone health with the Alkaline for Life® diet

by Dr. Susan E. Brown, PhD

When it comes to improving bone health, very little you do matters more than improving your acid-alkaline balance. You can get many of the needed nutrients, and you can exercise and limit toxins, but if your acid-alkaline balance is off-kilter, you’ll still have unnecessary bone loss in the long run. An alkaline diet is an essential part of natural bone health.

Most of the food we eat has the potential to alter our pH. When digested, some foods leave acidic by-products in the body (acid-forming foods); others leave alkaline by-products (alkaline-forming foods). Acid-forming foods include most high-protein foods, such as meat, fish, eggs, and most legumes (beans and peas, except lentils, which are alkaline-forming). Sugar, coffee, alcohol, and most grains are also acid-forming. Alkaline-forming foods include nearly all vegetables and fruits, many nuts and seeds, and spices (see our charts of acid-forming foods and alkaline-forming foods).

For millennia, our Stone Age ancestors ate hundreds of different types of natural whole foods. Seeds, nuts, vegetables, fruits, and roots were supplemented with game animals and fish, providing on average a pH-balanced diet. Our organs and body systems evolved in adaptation to this diet. It’s as if Nature said, “You can eat acid-forming meat, beans, and other high-protein foods, but you must balance these with an abundance of the alkaline-forming vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, and spices.” And for thousands of years, that’s exactly what we did.

Unfortunately, we’ve strayed from the acid-alkaline balanced diet that our ancestors achieved. We favor meat, sugars, grains, low-mineral processed foods, and other acid-forming foods and get far too few alkaline-forming vegetables, fruits, nuts, and seeds. The net result is that our eating patterns create a condition known as “chronic low-grade metabolic acidosis.” While our bodies can easily handle an occasional acid load, long-term acid build-up can exhaust our available alkalizing reserves. Unless we take steps to neutralize these acids, they can damage our health in many ways — and this is the underlying cause of many of our modern health problems, including osteoporosis.

The general guidelines for an alkaline diet emphasize whole foods, particularly vegetables, root crops, and to a lesser degree, fruits, nuts, seeds, spices, whole grains, and beans (especially lentils). It also includes alkalizing beverages such as spring water and ginger root or green tea, and smaller amounts of essential fats, meat, fish, eggs, and dairy (if tolerated). Processed and artificial foods, caffeine, white sugar, and white flour are eliminated, when possible, but don’t be afraid to use real butter and full-fat milk (if you use dairy), and you may dress salads or cook with high-quality fats such as cold-pressed virgin olive oil, coconut oil, and avocado oil.

Sample Diet

Sample One Day Alkaline Diet Plan

Breakfast:

Veggie scramble: 1–2 eggs per person, scrambled with green onions, tomatoes, chopped bok choy or other leafy green, and bell peppers.
Cup of ginger or green tea.

Snack:

1 pear
Handful (1 oz.) toasted pumpkin seeds.

Lunch:

Lentil soup served with 2 cups of steamed vegetables (broccoli, kale, carrots, onions). Drizzle olive oil salad dressing on lightly steamed vegetables.

or

4 oz. cold or hot salmon (or chicken, tuna, or tofu), served over 2–3 cups mixed greens, tomatoes, cucumber, carrots, broccoli, or other fresh vegetables.
Lemon-dill vinaigrette.

Snack:

Hard-boiled egg, sliced and sprinkled with sea salt and chopped flat-leaf parsley.
Red bell pepper strips, celery or carrot sticks. A handful of almonds is also a snack option.

Dinner:

4 oz. serving of fish, chicken, turkey or other meat served with a baked yam or sweet potato and a mixed garden salad.

or

Pasta (made from buckwheat, rice, amaranth, or quinoa rather than wheat) topped with bitter greens — such as broccoli rabe or arugula—plus chopped zucchini, pine nuts or slivered almonds, garlic, lemon juice and zest, salt, and pepper. Side dish of steamed zucchini with dash of garlic and olive oil.
Add a grating of pecorino Romano or fresh Parmesan, if desired.

Seasonal fruits: In summer, try nectarines and cherries, or grapes and melon; in winter, try roasted pears or baked apples.

Butternut Squash Soup

Butternut Squash Soup

Ingredients

2 Butternut Squash
1 Onion
3-4 cups Water with Celtic Sea Salt
1 can Coconut Milk
Cinnamon and Nutmeg

How To Prepare This Recipe

Cut squash in half and remove seeds remove skin and cut flesh in small pieces.
Cut onion in small pieces.
Bring water to boil with the salt and add veggies and cinnamon and nutmeg.
When all veggies soft…blend with the mixer.
Serve in bowl and onion rings to garnish.

The food you eat can either be the safest and most powerful form of medicine,

or the slowest form of poison.

-Dr. Ann Wigmore

Fatty foods may cause cocaine-like addiction

Fatty foods may cause cocaine-like addiction

By Sarah Klein, Health.com

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Brains of rats that gorged themselves on human fatty foods changed

Dopamine appears to be responsible for the behavior of the overeating rats

Findings could lead to new treatments for obesity

(Health.com) — Scientists have finally confirmed what the rest of us have suspected for years: Bacon, cheesecake, and other delicious yet fattening foods may be addictive.

A new study in rats suggests that high-fat, high-calorie foods affect the brain in much the same way as cocaine and heroin. When rats consume these foods in great enough quantities, it leads to compulsive eating habits that resemble drug addiction, the study found.

Doing drugs such as cocaine and eating too much junk food both gradually overload the so-called pleasure centers in the brain, according to Paul J. Kenny, Ph.D., an associate professor of molecular therapeutics at the Scripps Research Institute, in Jupiter, Florida. Eventually the pleasure centers “crash,” and achieving the same pleasure–or even just feeling normal–requires increasing amounts of the drug or food, says Kenny, the lead author of the study.

“People know intuitively that there’s more to [overeating] than just willpower,” he says. “There’s a system in the brain that’s been turned on or over-activated, and that’s driving [overeating] at some subconscious level.”

In the study, published in the journal Nature Neuroscience, Kenny and his co-author studied three groups of lab rats for 40 days. One of the groups was fed regular rat food. A second was fed bacon, sausage, cheesecake, frosting, and other fattening, high-calorie foods–but only for one hour each day. The third group was allowed to pig out on the unhealthy foods for up to 23 hours a day.

Not surprisingly, the rats that gorged themselves on the human food quickly became obese. But their brains also changed. By monitoring implanted brain electrodes, the researchers found that the rats in the third group gradually developed a tolerance to the pleasure the food gave them and had to eat more to experience a high.They began to eat compulsively, to the point where they continued to do so in the face of pain. When the researchers applied an electric shock to the rats’ feet in the presence of the food, the rats in the first two groups were frightened away from eating. But the obese rats were not. “Their attention was solely focused on consuming food,” says Kenny.

In previous studies, rats have exhibited similar brain changes when given unlimited access to cocaine or heroin. And rats have similarly ignored punishment to continue consuming cocaine, the researchers note.

The fact that junk food could provoke this response isn’t entirely surprising, says Dr.Gene-Jack Wang, M.D., the chair of the medical department at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory, in Upton, New York.

“We make our food very similar to cocaine now,” he says.

Coca leaves have been used since ancient times, he points out, but people learned to purify or alter cocaine to deliver it more efficiently to their brains (by injecting or smoking it, for instance). This made the drug more addictive.

According to Wang, food has evolved in a similar way. “We purify our food,” he says. “Our ancestors ate whole grains, but we’re eating white bread. American Indians ate corn; we eat corn syrup.”

The ingredients in purified modern food cause people to “eat unconsciously and unnecessarily,” and will also prompt an animal to “eat like a drug abuser [uses drugs],” says Wang.

The neurotransmitter dopamine appears to be responsible for the behavior of the overeating rats, according to the study. Dopamine is involved in the brain’s pleasure (or reward) centers, and it also plays a role in reinforcing behavior. “It tells the brain something has happened and you should learn from what just happened,” says Kenny.

Overeating caused the levels of a certain dopamine receptor in the brains of the obese rats to drop, the study found. In humans, low levels of the same receptors have been associated with drug addiction and obesity, and may be genetic, Kenny says.

However, that doesn’t mean that everyone born with lower dopamine receptor levels is destined to become an addict or to overeat. As Wang points out, environmental factors, and not just genes, are involved in both behaviors.

Wang also cautions that applying the results of animal studies to humans can be tricky. For instance, he says, in studies of weight-loss drugs, rats have lost as much as 30 percent of their weight, but humans on the same drug have lost less than 5 percent of their weight. “You can’t mimic completely human behavior, but [animal studies] can give you a clue about what can happen in humans,” Wang says.

Although he acknowledges that his research may not directly translate to humans, Kenny says the findings shed light on the brain mechanisms that drive overeating and could even lead to new treatments for obesity.

“If we could develop therapeutics for drug addiction, those same drugs may be good for obesity as well,” he says.

Carrot & Kale Soup

CARROT AND KALE SOUP

2 medium carrots, diced
1 medium zucchini, diced
1 medium brown onion, roughly chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 sticks of celery, roughly chopped
1 1/2 cups of roughly chopped kale
3 cups of organic chicken or vegetable stock
1 cup of water
1 1/2 tsp of sea salt
2 tbs of chopped coriander (cilantro)
5 cm piece of ginger, grated
1 1/2 tbs of olive oil
1 cup of rice
Lemon wedges for serving

Method:

1. Heat the oil in a soup pot over a medium-high heat. Sauté the onion until translucent for about 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic and fry for 30 seconds.
2. Add the carrot and celery and sauté for 5 minutes. Add the zucchini and ginger and sauté for about 3 minutes. Add the salt and stir.
3. Add the stock and water to the pot and stir well. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 10 minutes.
4. Next, add the rice to the pot and stir. Cover again and cook for another 10 minutes.
5. Add the chopped coriander and stir well. Add the kale, stir and then simmer for 2 minutes.
6. Serve in soup bowls with lemon wedges for squeezing.

Coconut Oil

HEALTH BENEFITS OF COCONUT OIL-

"The Healthiest Oil on Earth"

Coconuts are highly nutritious and rich in fiber, vitamins, and minerals. They are classified as a "functional food" because they provide many health benefits beyond its nutritional content. Coconut oil is of special interest because it possesses healing properties.

Coconut Oil Is:

· Anti-inflammatory
· Antimicrobial
· Antifungal
· Antiviral
· Improves nutrient absorption

Daily Dosage:

Here is a chart outlining the recommended daily dosage of virgin coconut oil for persons over the age of 12. Coconut oil may be consumed by children under 12 but it is advisable to check with a healthcare practitioner on the proper dosage.

Weight in pounds/kilograms	Number of tablespoons of coconut oil daily
175+/79+	4
150+ /68+	3 1/2
125+ / 57+	3
100+/ 45+	2 1/2
75+ / 34+	2
50+ / 23+	1 1/2
25+ / 11+	1

HOW TO USE:

(Orally and topically)

I found the following info on another blog... Looks like good stuff.

1. Skin Care: Wanna look like you just came back from an hour of yoga? Coconut oil works wonders as a moisturizer for all skin types, especially dry skin and aging skin, leaving you refreshed and looking wide-awake. No headstand required! The fat in the oil helps reduce the appearance of wrinkles without any irritation. Coconut oil can also help with skin problems like psoriasis, dermatitis, eczema and other skin conditions. In fact, the oil is frequently used in expensive skin care products. Try our easy, inexpensive recipe for a great honey and coconut oil moisturizer.

2. Stress Relief: Long day at the office, kids won’t stop screaming and your dog left a little “present” on your vintage bedspread? Relieve mental fatigue by applying coconut oil to the head in a circular, massaging motion. The natural aroma of coconuts is extremely soothing thus helping to lower your stress level.

3. Digestion: The saturated fats in coconut oil have anti-bacterial properties that help control, parasites, and fungi that cause indigestion and other digestion related problems such as irritable bowel syndrome. The fat in coconut oil also aids in the absorption of vitamins, minerals and amino acids, making you healthier all around. Try this delicious vegan, creamed spinach recipe.

4. Fitness: Coconut oil has been proven to stimulate your metabolism, improve thyroid function, and escalate energy levels, all of which help decrease your unwanted fat, while increasing muscle. Because of this, coconut oil has shot to popularity by being the world’s only natural low-calorie fat. Sign me up!

5. Healing: When applied on scrapes and cuts, coconut oil forms a thin, chemical layer which protects the wound from outside dust, bacteria and virus. Coconut oil speeds up the healing process of bruises by repairing damaged tissues. Plus, it smells a heck-of-a-lot better than anything from the pharmacy.

6. Hair Care: $20 hair conditioners? I don’t think so! Coconut oil is one of the most nutritious products you can put on your hair. Massage a bit of the oil onto your scalp and presto – no more dandruff. Since it provides the essential proteins required for nourishing damaged hair, it’s used in a ton of over-the-counter hair products anyway. Why not cut to the chase and skip all the unnecessary chemicals? Check out our easy conditioning recipe.

(Found on: http://www.care2.com/greenliving/6-healthy-uses-for-coconut-oil.html)