Milkshakes – made from cow’s milk
• Water flavoured with artificial sweeteners
Anti-nutrients
• Cigarettes
• Junk food – including sweets, ice cream, cakes, chocolates and crisps
• Processed foods – all ready-made meals
• ‘Diet’ foods or any ‘low-fat’, ‘fat-free’, or ‘99% fat-free’ products (usually high in sugar, salt, preservatives and additives)
• Sugar
Step 2: Drink Water
Introduce water into your daily routine, starting each day with a glass of warm or cold water with added lemon or lime. The lemon or lime juice is very alkalizing and gives a good start to the day. Additionally, drink a glass of water on the hour every hour until 6pm. It may take a couple of weeks to get used to this, but it will become a habit. Still mineral water is more beneficial than carbonated water. Practise saying ‘no’ whenever you are offered an alcoholic drink, a coffee or anything you are trying to decrease or avoid – you are in control.
Step 3: Eat Breakfast
Have your usual breakfast. If you usually go without, choose something from the Level 2 breakfast list (see page 22). Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, so be sure to eat something every morning – no excuses. If you are keen to start reducing your toxic load, you can also begin to improve your breakfast by choosing something from Level 2 breakfasts.
Step 4: Enjoy Your Usual Lunch and Dinner
Have your usual lunch and evening meal. The objective at Level 1 is to reduce your toxic load by improving the quality of the liquids you are consuming and reducing the anti-nutrients. We concentrate on food more in Levels 2 and 3.
Beware Anti-nutrients
Just as nutrients maintain life, anti-nutrients are harmful to life. In following the pH Diet, you learn not only what to eat and drink for good health but also what not to eat and drink, which is equally important.
An anti-nutrient is any substance that stops beneficial nutrients being absorbed and used by the body, or any substance that promotes the excretion of a beneficial nutrient. Alcohol, cigarettes, man-made chemicals, pesticides, antibiotics and synthetic hormone residues can all be described as anti-nutrients. Even tap water may contain nitrates, lead or aluminium, all of which are anti-nutrients in their own right. Fried food, food cooked on a barbecue and burnt food can all be classed as anti-nutrients as they cause ‘free-radical’ damage to our cells. Free radicals are incomplete cells that attack healthy cells, causing damage that can lead to certain diseases, especially cancer and heart disease.
Many common medicines are also anti-nutrients. Aspirin, for example, irritates the gut wall, making it more permeable. The more anti-nutrients you take in, the more toxic and acidic you will be and the longer you should stay on Level 1, gradually reducing your intake of anti-nutrients over the coming weeks.
If you drink alcohol on most days – even just a glass of wine with dinner – introduce some alcohol-free days into your life. Start with one a week, and gradually build up. Alcohol is rich in calories and poor in nutrients. It also weakens your resolve and is likely to result in cheating, snacking or going off the rails completely. If you do not drink much alcohol but caffeine is your poison – in the form of coffee, tea or cola drinks – then try a caffeine-free day once in a while. As with alcohol, caffeinated drinks are deficient in nutrients, and there are many alternatives you may enjoy (see page 8). Again, start with one day a week and increase it gradually.
Nicotine is another anti-nutrient and should be reduced slowly. If you are having problems giving up smoking, you may find that alkalizing your body reduces cigarette cravings. A recent study has found that people smoke more when their diet is acidic.
Replacement Drinks
It will be easier to give up coffee, tea, hot chocolate, fizzy drinks and alcohol when you find an enjoyable alternative. There are a few ideas to help you in the table (see page 8). Treat your body gently – and give up gradually. Giving up completely is the ultimate goal, but start by omitting the sugar and/or cow’s milk, or make the drinks less strong, and drink less often. Your water intake will dilute the acid from the acid-forming drinks you are still having. So don’t forget the water – on the hour every hour until 6pm.
Your aim is to reach the unlimited column of the table over the coming weeks and months. If you are starting from the most acidic column, drinking coffee, tea, milk and/or alcohol on most days, you can either reduce the number of times you consume the drink, drink it weaker, alternate it with water, or move on to the next column. Each time you move along a column you will be choosing a less acidic type of beverage. Over the coming weeks and months, work your way through the columns from left to right, making better choices and reducing the toxic load each time you move along a column. If your choices currently include tea and cow’s milk and sugar, then gradually reduce the sugar and eventually the cow’s milk before moving on to the next column.
Occasionally you may have a glass of wine, a cup of coffee or a milkshake. On these occasions, make sure you drink more water to detoxify the acidic drink and return to the alkaline-forming drinks and the unlimited column as soon as you can.
Gradually decrease your toxic load by moving along the columns until you reach the Unlimited column. This may take several months – persevere! As you move along the columns, your hair, skin, nails and eyes will look brighter, healthier and stronger.
Acid- and Alkaline-forming Drinks
Green Tea
The health benefits of green tea have been well established by many reputable studies. They contain powerful antioxidants, which have been shown to fight viruses, slow ageing, reduce high blood pressure, lower blood sugar, fight cancer and have an overall beneficial effect on health.
There are three types of tea: green, oolong and black. During the fermentation process, green tea is steamed, baked or pan-heated to prevent oxidation, thus the leaf remains green. Oolong tea is partially fermented. Oxidation is cut short so the leaves are black only on the edges. Black tea is fully fermented, producing black leaves. So why is green tea getting all the attention in the science world? It is mainly because of an antioxidant called EGCG that is preserved in green tea, but lost in oolong and black tea when fermented. Antioxidants are thought to prevent harmful free radicals. The highest amount of any known antioxidant is found in green tea. EGCG has been found to be 100 times more effective than vitamin C, and 25 times more effective than vitamin E, at neutralizing free radicals.
Ginger Tea
Ginger tea is warming and extremely good
