The physical body we each possess was designed by God to be nourished (fueled) with predominantly alkaline foods in order to maintain an alkaline pH environment, for not only our health, but for our very survival! Acidity and alkalinity is measured using the pH scale from 0-14; 0 is 100% acid and 14 which is 100% alkaline. Neutral pH is 7. Every food or beverage has a pH value. Foods or beverages below 7 are acidic, while every food or beverage above 7 is alkaline. Interestingly, some foods have an acid pH before digestion and an alkaline ash after digestion; lemons are a good example of this. Despite being acidic before digestion, the fact that lemons create an alkaline ash after digestion means they are a very healthy food. By contrast, refined sugar — a very unhealthy, edible substance — has the lowest pH of all after digestion (very acidic). Sugar-loaded soft drinks, believe it or not, have a pH somewhere between 2.0 and 3.5.
Alkaline Ash is Protective
Foods that leave a low pH ash, such as foods and beverages containing refined sugars, have a serious effect on the immune system. Refined sugar is an immune system suppressant; it weakens the immune system’s ability to protect us from germs, viruses, bacteria, and cancer. In order to maintain our health and very life, it is of vital importance that our basic body chemistry be kept alkaline! The body needs an alkaline environment in order to overcome disease and to protect us from disease; maintain a sound bone structure; and to sustain a blood chemistry conducive to supporting our very lives. A diet predominantly comprised of foods that leave an alkaline ash helps the body maintain its alkalinity. When digested, all foods leave a resulting ash — either acid or alkaline, depending mostly on the mineral composition of the food. Foods of animal origin leave an acid ash. Most fruits and vegetables leave an alkaline ash. Most grains leave an acid ash. When too many acid foods are consumed, the body moves toward an acidic condition. However, the body fights back, making every effort to maintain a pH in the blood of approximately 7.4 on the pH scale, which is slightly alkaline. The pH of the blood must be kept alkaline for survival! If the pH of the blood becomes acid by dropping to a pH below 7.0, the body goes into a coma and dies.
Calcium is an Alkalizing Mineral
In a normal healthy body, there is a very plentiful supply of calcium, a mineral greatly used by the body for numerous functions. Calcium is also a very alkalizing mineral, and is found in greatest supply in the bones and teeth. When the blood finds its pH tending acid (dropping below 7.4 on the pH scale — the result of consuming too many acid foods and beverages), the body automatically seeks to neutralize the acid using something within the body that is alkalizing: Calcium. Since calcium is a very alkalizing mineral, the body will start drawing calcium from the bones and teeth in an effort to neutralize the acidity. As a primarily acid-forming diet continues for years, the body must continue withdrawing calcium from the bones to neutralize the daily assault of acidity. This removal of calcium from the bones and teeth produces what the medical community calls “low bone density”, or “osteoporosis,” resulting in an ever-increasing risk of bone fracture. Thus, it is imperative that we maintain a good supply of alkalizing, plant-source calcium within the body, so that we can keep our bone structure (and teeth) strong and resistant to fracture. Calcium supplementation will not do the job, but it can be accomplished by making sure that the foods we eat contain a proper ratio between alkaline-forming and acid-forming foods.
The Ideal Ratio of Alkaline to Acid is 4-to-1
The ideal ratio of alkaline-to-acid is approximately 4-to-1 – that is four parts (80%) ALKALINE to one part (20%) ACID. When this ratio is maintained, the body has strong resistance to disease as well as bone fractures, along with strong teeth. But when the diet is overly acid-forming, disease resistance diminishes, bone density decreases, and teeth develop cavities. To overcome disease and low bone density, we need to eat a diet consisting of 80% alkaline-forming foods. This produces a faster recovery!
Alkaline-forming foods neutralize acid and strengthen the immune system while rebuilding and strengthening the bones. The Hallelujah Diet is a primarily raw, alkaline diet, which produces and maintains an alkaline environment within the body! Some of the most alkalizing foods in the Hallelujah Diet are BarleyMax, vegetable juice, and the abundance of green vegetables the diet contains. When the alkaline/acid ratio of 4-to-1 drops to just 3-to-1, health can be seriously challenged! Unbelievably, the average person of today, on the typical standard American meat-and-sugar-based, highly acid diet, is consuming a diet that may have a ratio as low as a 1-to-4, alkaline-to-acid, or even lower. Is it any wonder why disease is so prevalent in our society? The human physical body can only function properly when there are adequate alkaline reserves, and the acid-to-alkaline ratio in the body’s blood is in proper balance. In this state, the body can sustain health, maintain a sound bone structure that is resistant to disease and fracture, and maintain strong teeth that resist cavities. Here are some common foods, grouped into alkaline-forming and acid-forming categories:
From the above, you can readily see that most grains are acid-forming, with the exception of millet and buckwheat, which are alkaline-forming. Wheat, in fact, is a highly acid-forming grain, the grain that is consumed in greatest quantity in our society. Wheat is especially acid-forming in its refined form. Sprouted seeds and whole grains become more alkaline-forming when sprouted. Vegetable and grass juices are highly alkaline! The most alkaline juices are the juices from grasses (like BarleyMax), green vegetables, kale, collards, and spinach, along with carrots, beets (especially beet tops), and celery. On the Hallelujah Diet, the abundance of alkaline juices along with the abundance of alkaline raw vegetables and a limited amount of fruit helps the body maintain its alkaline environment; while cooked, whole grains, seeds, and nuts provide the 20% acid-forming foods needed to maintain the desired 4-to-1 ratio of alkaline to acid foods.
If we want to sustain life, maintain our health, keep a sound bone structure, recover from health challenges and low bone density, it is imperative that we nourish our body with a predominantly raw, alkaline, plant-sourced diet, a diet with a ratio of approximately 80/20, alkaline/acid being the ideal. The Hallelujah Diet provides this ratio, which explains why so many people on the Hallelujah Diet experience a significant increase in the strength of their immune system to help them overcome health challenges. One of the most important points about why this happens is because, when maintaining this ratio, the pH of a person's blood is easily kept in a healthy, life-sustaining, alkaline state. In summary, keeping the body predominantly alkaline is one of the keys to the ultimate health God intended for His people. Please, for the sake of your own health and that of your family, let’s return to the Garden as the source of nourishment for the glorious physical bodies God has given each of us, and let’s stop eating according to the dictates of this world, of which the Bible says:
“The wisdom of this world is foolishness with God." ~ 1 Corinthians 3:19
EDITOR'S NOTE: The use of pH strips to determine the acidity or alkalinity of saliva and/or urine, are basically worthless if used to determine body pH and can be the cause of unnecessary concern. The pH of both urine and saliva can vary from acid to alkaline depending on time of day, foods consumed, and other factors.
If you are not already on the Hallelujah Diet, we recommend you give it a try! Multitudes have made this diet change that we teach here at Hallelujah Acres, and experienced normalization of weight, as well as the elimination of almost all their physical problems.
