This is another good news, bad news story about food. And a simple recipe to enrich your menu and help you stay healthy, hopefully!
This piece was triggered by a health incident that happened to a family member. An acute pain in the lower back led to a short stay in the hospital and a series of investigations. We are not sure about what exactly happened but it was caused either by a small kidney stone or by a beginning bladder infection. Either way this incident led me to look into the phenomenon of our body’s pH. To stay healthy we need to maintain a balance between the acids and bases in our bodily fluids and gases. This is called homeostasis. You can find more info on Wikipedia, among other places.
As a high-schooler I learned about the concept of pH (water is neutral, pH = 7), alkaline (ph > 7) and acidic stuff (ph < 7). Never until said incident did I realize that our body also needs to maintain a stable pH, around 7.4, between 7.35-7.45 to be precise. Alkaline is better than acidic for our body. Why it matters? Because a disturbed balance can lead to health issues.
Eat Alkaline, Avoid Acidic!
Let’s not dwell on the consequences. Just remember that acidity is bad for you. Your digestive system functions optimally if your pH remains neutral. The short-term issues of an acidic system are annoying: fatigue, diarrhea, constipation or bloating, heartburn, loss of libido… In the long term the impact can be serious: osteoporosis, chronic digestive problems, arthritis, joint and ligament problems, and yes: kidney stones! Read this piece, “The effect of body acidity on health” if you want to know more.
There are clearly enough reasons to avoid becoming acidic. The bad news is: acidity grows as we grow older and our body decays. More bad news: some foodstuffs are acidic and contribute to this process. So let’s try and avoid those.
The good news: there is plenty of foodstuff to eat your way toward maintaining a balanced and healthy pH. The recommendation is to eat 80% alkaline and 20% neutral to moderately acidic foodstuff.
As could be expected, plant-based ingredients fall mostly – but not completely – in the first category. And yes, as could be expected, what’s bad for you falls in the acidic category: sugars, alcohol, animal-based proteins, processed food. Surprisingly this category also includes fruits (sugar) and nuts.
Read a complete article on the “Total Wellness” website. Here’s an overview for your convenience.
An Alkaline Recipe
We recently ate at a nice restaurant in Breda, Chocolat, and were treated to a delicious “tomato steak tartare“ appetizer. Here’s my interpretation. Good news: it’s alkaline and it’s quite simple!
Your choice of tomato? Whatever you find but the meatier the tomato, the better. On the photo’s you see “Coeur de boeuf”.
Skin off: slightly slice the bottom and dip the tomatoes in boiling water for a few seconds. Dip them then in cold water and peal the skin off.
Dice it: slice the tomatoes and remove the seeds and excess water. Then chop the fruit (vegetable, whatever) in the smallest dices you possible can chop. Leave the chopped pieces in a strainer to drain.
Season it: prepare the seasoning of your choice. To add umami to the tomato I used two little shallots, chive, tea spoons of chopped capers, a little smoked paprika powder, cayenne and regular black pepper, sweet chili sauce and balsamic vinegar cream. Start with small portions, taste and add seasoning to your taste.
Rest and serve: leave the mix in the fridge to let it geld colder. Drain the water.
Spread the tartar on fresh bread or toast, add sprouts for decoration, crunch and some more alkalinity.
Enjoy and stay healthy!
[…] The older you get the more important it is to respect this basic (pun intended) premise. See here for more information on this topic. As we explained during Valid’s vitality week, one can combine […]
[…] I still believe that a mostly plant-based approach to life is the way to go. From a human health point of view, our menu should be based on 80% alkaline ingredients, vegetables and fruits! This still needs to form the bulk of man’s diet. Why is explained here. […]