There are a lot of health problems that are beginning to be linked to an overly-acidic diet, and sadly, the standard American diet is very acid producing (as is the Standard Island Diet.) However backwards as it may sound, an acidic body is NOT caused by eating acidic foods, like lemons and pineapple. Oddly enough, fruits are very alkaline-forming in the body as your body digests it. On the contrary, an acidic body is the result of a high meat, high refined carbohydrates (white bread, white rice, sugars, pop, etc), high dairy diet.  It can sound somewhat confusing, but a food’s acid or alkaline-forming tendency in the body has nothing to do with the actual pH of the food itself. There is a difference between a food being acidic, and being acid-forming.

So, whether you’re trying to battle arthritis, gout, bone weakening, or fatigue (all of which are linked to an overly acidic body) we could all use a little more alkaline-forming foods.

And what are the best alkaline foods? Fresh fruits and veggies!

Some of the most alkaline-forming vegetables include:

• asparagus
• spinach (raw)
• broccoli
• parsley
• celery
• zucchini
• beets
• carrots
• tomatoes

Some of the best fruits include:

• all citrus
• watermelon
• cherries
• papaya
• grapes
• kiwi
• pears
• blueberries
• peaches

Try to eat some of these foods every day, while cutting back on your processed meats, fats, and sugars.

Start your morning off with a glass of water and squeeze in some lemon – cool, or warmed is fine, just not boiling. Too much heat will begin to degrade the nutrition of your lemon. Start small, if you find lemon an overpowering flavor and tartness.  Just a little squeeze, and gradually see if you can work you way up to half of a lemon, fully squeezed in to a glass of 8-12 ounces of water.  It’s a wonderful enzyme-full, vitamin C-rich way to kick off the day!