The Importance Of Alkaline Minerals For Optimum Health!
This week Gareth Edwards, our Alkaline Diet Expert and highly qualified nutritionist, is writing about the importance of having sufficient levels of alkaline minerals in order for our buffering systems in our bodies to maintain the crucial and delicate pH of our blood at 7.365.
He also explains why Dr Young’s pHour Salts is a fantastic alkaline mineral supplement in helping to maintain the crucial alkaline state of our bodies and therefore optimum health!
The Importance Of Alkaline Minerals For Optimum Health!
The Food Standards Agency (a British Government organisation) issues a thick book known as “The Composition of Foods”. Originally compiled by McCance and Widdowson some sixty years ago, this book shows mineral and vitamin levels present in a wide range of food stuffs. Disturbingly, but not perhaps surprisingly, one can plot a trend over the years that these tables have been produced, showing a progressive decline in essential mineral levels in vegetables and other foods.
Intuitively we probably know that that probably isn’t a very good thing. What makes it particularly important to us, is that we have buffering systems in our bodies that maintain the crucial and delicate pH of our blood at 7.365 and this uses minerals to function.
The next potential challenge to our health comes from the fact that increased use of pharmaceutical remedies, longer distances from field to plate, greater pollution levels and general adulteration of the food chain, means that most of us face a higher acidic “load” than those who were around when the first McCance and Widdowson food tables were issued.
So what are we to do?
Before jumping to Private Frazer’s (from Dad’s Army) conclusion that “we’re all doomed” take a moment to look at some exciting and refreshing scientific research. In March last year, the peer reviewed journal “Cancer Research” published a paper by Robey et al. (and others) showing that the pH (acidic) tumours could be raised (made more alkaline) by giving patients bicarbonate salts. This also resulted in a reduction of metastases (the spreading of tumours to other body parts).
Also last year, The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism published a study by Dawson-Hughes et al. showing that the administration of potassium bicarbonate led to reduced bone depletion (osteoporosis) in older men and women. This is particularly significant because the body draws calcium from bones in order to buffer (neutralise) acids. It is important to note that in this trial potassium alone (not in the bicarbonate form) did not help maintain calcium levels and bone density.
Bicarbonate is the alkaline form of minerals. It is (I imagine) universally accepted that large quantities of alkaline salts are secreted by our bodies as part of the digestive process. If however we are using these resources up in ever greater quantities and yet we are effectively consuming less of them, then there is a strong case for supplementing with bicarbonate salts.
One way to raise your body pH (become more alkaline) with mineral salts is to drink glasses of baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) mixed with water. I have known this to be helpful and effective for patients. Make sure that the baking soda you use is pure (no anti-caking agents or other chemicals) if you want to try this.
There are however compelling arguments for consuming a broader spectrum of minerals in the alkaline form. It is important for the body to maintain a balance between sodium and potassium. Maintaining an intake of both of these minerals is important. The same is true of calcium and magnesium. In short large intakes of sodium or calcium without potassium or magnesium to balance them is not advisable. A healthy balance is naturally maintained by alkaline (high vegetable) dietary choices. Once we start supplementing it is important to maintain a balanced intake.
Dr. Young’s pHour salts product seems to tick a lot of boxes in helping maintain the crucial alkaline state of our bodies in the face of acidic challenges. It contains sodium, potassium, calcium and magnesium in bicarbonate forms. (It is worth noting that producing the latter two minerals in bicarbonate forms is considered chemically challenging. I am however assured that Dr. Young has found a method of consistently producing powdered alkaline forms of these two essential minerals).
How To Take It:
I have now been using pHour salts for several years and I am happy to recommend them to virtually all of my clients (see cautions below to understand where I might not).
I generally recommend mixing a scoop of the salts with a glass of water and consuming before anything else in the morning. This can be particularly beneficial in helping to settle my stomach if… I haven’t followed my own advice in what I’ve eaten the night before. You can then have another glass before lunch and dinner.
You may wish to build up to this slowly and the taste will probably take some getting used to. The other option is to mix the pHour salts with green powder and drink them regularly through the day.
Cautions?
pHour salts is quite a strong alkalising agent. That’s generally quite a good thing, but take a moment to reflect on what happens when you put alka-seltzer in water. There’s quite a fizz! The active ingredients in this once ubiquitous remedy are aspirin, sodium bicarbonate and citric acid. The fizz is what occurs when the alkaline sodium and the citric acid mix with water.
When pHour salts meet with strong acids it is likely there will be some kind of “reaction”. It is therefore advisable that you start slowly with small quantities and build up your intake over time. If you are taking or have taken medication for a sustained period of time, it is advisable to consult with a qualified, pH aware physician before starting.
Some people are concerned that taking pHour salts (or other un-refined salts) may lead to increased blood pressure. My experience with patients has confirmed Dr. Young’s and my opinion that the reverse is true. These substances have been part of regimes that have helped patients lower raised blood pressure.
It is however important to remember that pHour salts are not a substitute for alkalising dietary and hydration choices. They need to be used as a supplement to them.
Who Should Use It?
You should!
For most people looking to improve their health, increasing your intake of bicarbonate salts should be highly beneficial. At a rescue remedy level, it’s particularly good for helping with indigestion and for speeding up recovery times after physical exercise (less aching muscles). They can help stop urinary tract infections (UTI’s) quickly too.
The scientific evidence strongly suggests that they can be protective against and helpful in arresting tumours and maintaining healthy bone mass. These are things we all want. Start slowly.
Remember to consult with a pH aware physician before starting if you are on or have been on regular medication.
How can i get phour alkalized salt
The confusion regarding health, money, mind, nature, sex, and so forth, rage on ad infinitum. Just when you think everything you’re doing is beneficial someone will come along and say it isn’t, often from sources that you trust, at least to some degree. If there is any true guru with all the answers, they probably wisely remain silent. There’s no sense giving examples, we all know many, so what does one do? Some say the key is, ‘Moderation.” MD’s out of medical school have one hour of nutrition, but it’s so far down the list it’s voluntary and few bother to show up and those that do show up often do so out of having nothing else to do or are simply curious, and who is teaching nutrition? Often someone who follows the USDA food pyramid, with the latter being the creation of the industrial food machine, that is, junk food they produce on the cheap and feed it to the masses. Essentially, eat what makes you feel strong, health & wise, sans the obvious crap like sugar, corn syrup, and the most important guide of all, realize that any time money/profit/financial gain is involved, it can’t be trusted, however, there are books and studies available if you have the time and temperament, and can sit and scratch your face hours on end, that will surely enlighten you while driving you nuts from data overload. What to do? Eat real food that comes from healthy soil and animals. It’s quite simple, really, and insofar as water goes, most animals drink top water from lakes, streams, springs and so forth, and seem to do fine. What’s killing all of us is every part of our lives is controlled by money grubbing industrialists and once upon a time I went to war with them and was sure other’s would join me and some did, but most were willing slaves eating junk, drinking booze, taking prescribed drugs, smoked, got divorces, remarried, god what a mess. Try to explain what is needed and their eyes glaze over, they get very nervous, and uncomfortable, what rebel, confront those who own us! They might shoot us, they will beat us, anyway, good luck, I’m done with this. If everyone in the country who are the middle and the poor and the workers who slave daily, went on strike and confronted so called masters with the ultimatum, no rent, no mortgage, no lease, no car payments, no taxes, and no work will be done until equality is the rule and not the exception, real equality, and get those money grubbing creeps who poison our minds, threaten us, etc., on notice, nothing is going to happen until this sociopathic mantra that now rules us is sent into the toilet where it belongs, because that is what has happened, we are ruled by a sociopathic mantra. Live your life as free people and not compare it to people under a dictatorship, this isn’t comparing apples and oranges, this is establishing a new mantra and one that generates health, happiness and love.