QUESTION

Ms. Murphy:

I have been reading about your Alkalarian lifestyle and have become quite interested in adopting it for myself. I bought the pH Miracle book by Dr. Young a week ago from Amazon and have read the whole thing.

I have a major concern though... it is a HUGE change. I'm not sure I can do it. I have to have my coffee in the morning, I love chocolate and I do crave the occasional hamburger. Do you have a plan for someone like me? I'm sure I'm not unique in this concern.

Thank you so much,

Susan

ANSWER

Dear Susan.

What I tell my new/skeptical students is that it's OK to drink your coffee. It's OK to eat your Chocolate. It's fine to have a cheeseburger when you want one.

What I do know is that as long as your body is acidic you'll crave acidic foods and drinks. When you adopt the alkalarian lifestyle your body will crave alkaline foods and you will no longer want coffee, chocolate and cheeseburgers!!

You will learn to look at food differently and you will know which foods honor your body and which ones break the body down.

With this being said....when can we get you started on my 12 week E-Class featuring Dr. Young's "The pH Miracle for Weight Loss"?

Even if you don't have an issue with weight, this way of eating will get you to your ideal weight, whatever that may be!

Welcome to alkalarian living!!

Think Green,

Bonnie

1. Try the "Three Bite" Strategy - Made popular by the recent book, French Women Don't Get Fat, by Mireille Guiliano, it is commonly accepted that the first three bites of any food are the most enjoyable. This is contrary to what many people practice which is, "It tastes so good, I must eat more." Try the three bite strategy for one week with desserts or any other food that you would normally eat until it's gone. Most people are pleasantly surprised to find they can be satisfied with less food than they thought.
   
   
2. Incorporate as many colors as possible into your meals - As most of the color variety in our food comes from fruits and vegetables, you are sure to have a balanced, and quite healthy, meal.
   
   
3. Bring your lunch to work two days a week - and eat it outside. It is easier to control the nutritional quality of your food when you know exactly what's in it. This is also a great way to bring a little relaxation into your workday, enjoying the outdoors along with your own home-made lunch. Eating outside should be limited to summer months so that your food doesn't freeze before you can eat it
   
   
4. Organize an area of your home each month - It certainly burns more calories than watching TV and you have the side benefit of a clean and organized living space.
   
   
5. Grow your own vegetables, herbs or sprouts - This carries a double bonus: you can grow your plants without chemicals and gardening will put more activity into your day.
   
   
6. Make a list - Do you ever find yourself lying awake in bed, thinking about everything you didn't get done that day or making mental lists for the following day? Experts recommend writing out a list before bed of all that you need to do the next day. This can help you get to sleep quicker and sleep more peacefully, which is more important to health than most of us realize. Our bodies need rest in order for our muscles to recuperate and grow; so get a good night sleep if you want the maximum benefit from your workouts.
   
   
7. Try applesauce - as a replacement for one third the butter or oil called for in cake and brownie recipes. Applesauce keeps it moist so you don't miss anything in the texture or taste. What you do miss out on is hundreds of fat calories!
   
   
8. Instead of sending an email to your officemate - walk over to their office. Look for ways to be more, rather than less, active.

1. Sugar can suppress your immune system and impair your defenses against infectious disease.^1,2


2. Sugar upsets the mineral relationships in your body: causes chromium and copper deficiencies and interferes with absorption of calcium and magnesium. ^3,4,5,6


3. adrenaline, hyperactivity, anxiety, difficulty concentrating, and crankiness in children.^7,8Sugar can cause can cause a rapid rise of


4. Sugar can produce a significant rise in total cholesterol, triglycerides and bad cholesterol and a decrease in good cholesterol.^9,10,11,12


5. Sugar causes a loss of tissue elasticity and function.¹³


6. Sugar feeds cancer cells and has been connected with the development of cancer of the breast, ovaries, prostate, rectum, pancreas, biliary tract, lung, gallbladder and stomach.^{14,15,16,17,18,19,20}


7. Sugar can increase fasting levels of glucose and can cause reactive hypoglycemia.^21,22


8. Sugar can weaken eyesight.²³


9. Sugar can cause many problems with the gastrointestinal tract including: an acidic digestive tract, indigestion, malabsorption in patients with functional bowel disease, increased risk of Crohn's disease, and ulcerative colitis.^{24,25,26,27,28}


10. Sugar can cause premature aging.²⁹


11. Sugar can lead to alcoholism.³⁰


12. Sugar can cause your saliva to become acidic, tooth decay, and periodontal disease.^31,32,33


13. Sugar contributes to obesity.³⁴


14. Sugar can cause autoimmune diseases such as: arthritis, asthma, multiple sclerosis.^35,36,37


15. Sugar greatly assists the uncontrolled growth of Candida Albicans (yeast infections)³⁸


16. Sugar can cause gallstones.³⁹


17. Sugar can cause appendicitis.⁴⁰


18. Sugar can cause hemorrhoids.⁴¹


19. Sugar can cause varicose veins.⁴²


20. Sugar can elevate glucose and insulin responses in oral contraceptive users.⁴³


21. Sugar can contribute to osteoporosis.⁴⁴


22. Sugar can cause a decrease in your insulin sensitivity thereby causing an abnormally high insulin levels and eventually diabetes.^45,46,47


23. Sugar can lower your Vitamin E levels.⁴⁸


24. Sugar can increase your systolic blood pressure.⁴⁹


25. Sugar can cause drowsiness and decreased activity in children.⁵⁰


26. High sugar intake increases advanced glycation end products (AGEs)(Sugar molecules attaching to and thereby damaging proteins in the body).⁵¹


27. Sugar can interfere with your absorption of protein.⁵²


28. Sugar causes food allergies.⁵³


29. Sugar can cause toxemia during pregnancy.⁵⁴


30. Sugar can contribute to eczema in children.⁵⁵


31. Sugar can cause atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease.^56,57


32. Sugar can impair the structure of your DNA.⁵⁸


33. Sugar can change the structure of protein and cause a permanent alteration of the way the proteins act in your body.^59,60


34. Sugar can make your skin age by changing the structure of collagen.⁶¹


35. Sugar can cause cataracts and nearsightedness.^62,63


36. Sugar can cause emphysema.⁶⁴


37. High sugar intake can impair the physiological homeostasis of many systems in your body.⁶⁵


38. Sugar lowers the ability of enzymes to function.⁶⁶


39. Sugar intake is higher in people with Parkinson's disease.⁶⁷


40. Sugar can increase the size of your liver by making your liver cells divide and it can increase the amount of liver fat.^68,69


41. Sugar can increase kidney size and produce pathological changes in the kidney such as the formation of kidney stones.^70,71


42. Sugar can damage your pancreas.⁷²


43. Sugar can increase your body's fluid retention.⁷³


44. Sugar is enemy #1 of your bowel movement.⁷⁴


45. Sugar can compromise the lining of your capillaries.⁷⁵


46. Sugar can make your tendons more brittle.⁷⁶


47. Sugar can cause headaches, including migraines.⁷⁷


48. Sugar can reduce the learning capacity, adversely affect school children's grades and cause learning disorders.^78,79


49. Sugar can cause an increase in delta, alpha, and theta brain waves which can alter your mind's ability to think clearly.⁸⁰


50. Sugar can cause depression.⁸¹


51. Sugar can increase your risk of gout.⁸²


52. Sugar can increase your risk of Alzheimer's disease.⁸³


53. Sugar can cause hormonal imbalances such as: increasing estrogen in men, exacerbating PMS, and decreasing growth hormone.^84,85,86,87


54. Sugar can lead to dizziness.⁸⁸


55. Diets high in sugar will increase free radicals and oxidative stress.⁸⁹


56. High sucrose diets of subjects with peripheral vascular disease significantly increases platelet adhesion.⁹⁰


57. High sugar consumption of pregnant adolescents can lead to substantial decrease in gestation duration and is associated with a twofold increased risk for delivering a small-for-gestational-age (SGA) infant.^91,92


58. Sugar is an addictive substance.⁹³


59. Sugar can be intoxicating, similar to alcohol.⁹⁴


60. Sugar given to premature babies can affect the amount of carbon dioxide they produce.⁹⁵


61. Decrease in sugar intake can increase emotional stability.⁹⁶


62. Your body changes sugar into 2 to 5 times more fat in the bloodstream than it does starch.⁹⁷


63. The rapid absorption of sugar promotes excessive food intake in obese subjects.⁹⁸


64. Sugar can worsen the symptoms of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).⁹⁹


65. Sugar adversely affects urinary electrolyte composition.¹⁰⁰


66. Sugar can slow down the ability of your adrenal glands to function.¹⁰¹


67. Sugar has the potential of inducing abnormal metabolic processes in a normal healthy individual and to promote chronic degenerative diseases.¹⁰²


68. I.V.s (intravenous feedings) of sugar water can cut off oxygen to your brain.¹⁰³


69. Sugar increases your risk of polio.¹⁰⁴


70. High sugar intake can cause epileptic seizures.¹⁰⁵


71. Sugar causes high blood pressure in obese people.¹⁰⁶


72. In intensive care units: Limiting sugar saves lives.¹⁰⁷


73. Sugar may induce cell death.¹⁰⁸


74. In juvenile rehabilitation camps, when children were put on a low sugar diet, there was a 44 percent drop in antisocial behavior.¹⁰⁹


75. Sugar dehydrates newborns.¹¹⁰


76. Sugar can cause gum disease.¹¹¹