The foods you put into your body help determine the environment in which your cells live. So, your diet and drink choices can make your internal environment less than the best for your cells, organs, and systems. When your cells live in an atmosphere that is best for them; they work better, longer, and manage day-to-day stress without being worn to a frazzle. When your internal environment is a mess however, cells and systems must work harder to clean up that mess so your body can survive. That’s exhausting. And you know where exhaustion leads – pain, disease, and all sorts of places you don’t want to go! High protein foods are “messy” foods. Eating too much of them for too many years is the problem. Your internal environment becomes a mess, and the mess comes from acid.

But, we need protein! Protein is a major building block of cells. We couldn’t live without protein any better than we could live without water. Just about everything you eat has protein – even fruits and vegetables. And so, we have a bit of a protein paradox! Protein is a vital ingredient in your body. Your body can’t do without protein. And you need protein in your diet. However, eating too much protein is behind many of our physical problems.

Your survival-oriented body comes equipped with many backup systems. And there are backup systems for the backup systems. It’s a beautiful design. Yet, despite our wealth of internal backup systems, most of us go through our days with much more acid in our bodies than is good for us – acidosis. Our bodies are toxic – they are being “poisoned” by too much acid.

So, how do you know if you have acidosis? pH testing of your urine is the best way. And, there are three other ways to recognize signs of acid toxicity – the fist test, the sniff test and the stiff test. For the fist test, when you wake up in the morning, make a fist. If that fist is lackluster and not firm and strong or if it is painful, that’s a sign of too much acid in your system. For the sniff test, if your urine has an ammonia odor, that’s a sign of too much acid in your system causing it to use a back-up system to deal with the acid. For the stiff test, if you start the day feeling stiff, creaky and sore, but then “loosen up” as the day goes on, this isn’t a just a sign of age as so many people believe, this is a sign that you have too much acid in your system.

There’s no instant cure for acid toxicity. It takes time, commitment, and some new choices on your part. Start by adding one serving of cooked vegetables to your daily diet. Diet changes must be made gradually, especially if your body is extremely toxic. We’d also recommend adding Alka·Green® to your diet. These small steps will get you started in the right direction – a new diet of fruits and vegetables you can gradually add to.