I’ll try to make this my last post for a while about foods and what we should eat and not eat. Alex, my other half, found out that he is suffering from an ulcer. I did a presentation on ulcers back in high school anatomy so I felt like I knew a decent amount about them. Considering his diet, it is not surprising that he has an ulcer. Our bodies have mechanisms that regulate our blood PH to be between 7.35 and 7.45. But most of what we eat and what we consider to be filling is either mildly or highly acidic. Most grains, meats, dairy, favorite beverages, sweets, and condiments are acidic. Fruits, vegetables, and some nuts are basic. A family friend suggested trying juicing vegetables and fruits to add quantity to his daily diet.
What is “juicing”? It is essentially blending up vegetables and fruits to make a drink. You can do this with a blender and then strain most of the pulp out if you like, or buy a juicer. They range from $30 to $300. The difference? I don’t know. There is another blog that I read, Health Blogger, that also did a post on juicing. I thought I would look more into it.
It has been shown that making up to 75% of your diet “raw” will improve overall health significantly; from mental, physical, and emotional. People have written books on how it has saved their lives: Raw Energy by Leslie and Susannah Kenton, Juicing for Life by Cherie Calbom, and etc.
There are also books that give juicing recipes that will help prevent or alleviate the symptoms of almost any illness that you have (acne, alzheimers, ulcers, depression). A good start to your research of this topic is juicingbook.com. There are recipes to try and precautions to be aware of. The author of the Juicing Book, teaches responsible juicing. Vegetables are powerful and cause upset stomachs and headaches if too much of certain vegetables are eaten in excess. To start, make juices using common vegetables that you already eat. “Start slow. Don’t start out juicing like a kamikaze.”
Alex and I are going to start experimenting with a borrowed juicer. I look forward to hearing if anyone else has done this before.
I've heard about these "juicing diets" where you only drink juice, if that's what you're talking about. They seem to be very unhealthy, but it would seem that if you complemented all of your meals with a glass of juice it would be very healthy. It also seems like an expensive diet to start, especially for a college student, but probably something I should try.
ReplyDeleteI think Nate's comment is a good one. But i'm surprised about the diet-ulcer connection. I had heard that some researchers determined that ulcers were caused by a bacteria, and not by diet or stress. Did you hear something different from your doctor? I'm curious about the causes.
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