Most of us won’t follow through with a revised eating plan unless it is pleasant, satisfying, and obviously beneficial – or we are threatened with dire consequences. Certainly, a remedial diet is easier to follow when the threat to survival is obvious. For example, a sixtyish man has a tendency to listen and swear-off meat when told by a doctor to cut down on fat consumption or risk a heart attack in the near future. A severe diabetic has little trouble eating foods that help keep her blood sugar under control. However, we’re not talking here about trying to “treat” a disease by diet. We’re talking about feeding your body the most beneficial types of foods before symptoms appear. To stick with the new regime, it must be pleasant and satisfying.

If you have been one of the “It’s not a meal without meat” set, you may not be excited about converting to meatless meals on a regular basis. But again, if you wean your body off meat slowly, finding new and interesting meatless recipes to follow, before long you will find that you want less and less meat. And again, if you are now “reasonably healthy,” you don’t need to be completely “meat-free” for the rest of your life.

In contrast to the “I can’t give up my meat” mindset is the exuberant “vegetarian convert.” Some people become so enthusiastic about trying to “eat healthy” that they decide to eat nothing but vegetables and fruits – no meats, no grains, no nuts. If you take this route, your appetite probably won’t be satisfied, you won’t feel good right away because your system doesn’t have the enzymes to process this new menu, and you will deny your body some of the nutrients it needs. The bottom line is you need balance in your diet. Every day, you lose protein from your body. This protein needs to be replaced – just not ten-fold! You need protein and other nutrients from grains. Be sure you include grains and nuts with your alkalizing vegetables and fruits.

Once you begin to look at foods as alkalizers or acidifiers and make food choices accordingly, you will find that more and more you will gravitate toward the alkalizers. One of these days, you will realize that you are programming your meals and snacks to the alkaline side without even thinking about it. “Good” food selection becomes automatic. And you will find that when you do eat an acid ash meal, you don’t feel quite as good as usual. A body accustomed to “good” food lets you know when you’ve strayed too far.