Question of the Day - May 1, 2009

TheHolodigm.com

A HEALTHY LIFESTYLE

Torie Zalben asks:

What is your experience with an alkaline diet and what is the best way to incorporate more alkaline foods into a realistic diet plan?


Hartmann responds:

The lives of working musicians and personal managers are very rigorous and akin to being an athlete. Vulnerability to disease and contagious illness can be very harmful to the successful execution of an artist's career. Defensive medicine begins with a healthy diet. Most people are aware of the PH balance in hair products and skin creams.This is the Tao of body chemistry being addressed. Disease is introduced into the body by only four components, air, water, food and blood, which includes semen. Controlling the purity of these things is a way to control all illness. Chinese medicine is conducted by addressing the causes of disease, not the symptoms as in Western medicine. In ancient China people paid the doctor until they got sick; then payment stopped until good health was restored. This established the "food as medicine" concept. In a healthy diet the object is to create an acid/alkaline balance in the PH of your bodily fluids and systems. The perfect food in this regard is short grain brown rice that is PH balanced. This provides the best base upon which to build the vegetable components. The best protein source is tofu which is far more alkaline than flesh foods. The entire American diet leans way into the acidic spectrum and is generally unhealthy. Refined foods are particularly acidic. If a food substance has more than four ingredients should be avoided. Whole food, one ingredient, items are best. The forces in the body that deal with digestion are the exact same forces that deal with rejuvenation and repair, when not otherwise employed. Meat, dairy products and sugars are extremely acidic and should be avoided as much as personal discipline will allow. When taken animal products should be used as condiments for flavor only. The most meat consumed at a meal should never exceed the size of the palm of your hand. The face is the mirror for the state of your health. If complexion is dry, flaky or blemished your diet is too acidic. Go vegan and you will be amazed at the radiance that will return to your skin. We are bombarded by toxins from all four consumption sources. The pollution in the air is hard to control for the individual but water, food and blood can be safeguarded. Control what you can and eliminate the poisons whenever possible. The scale of acidic foods from the least to the highest is: whole grains, legumes, seeds, nuts, roots, sprouts, green vegetables, leafy vegetables, fruits. Animal products are sold by the pound and are artificially loaded with acidic content like hormones and other stimulants designed to make the animal fat. This is the source of most disease in our culture. Fish are loaded with mercury that is compounded geometrically. Each time one fish eats another it concentrates the mercury from the consumed food source. Sorry, get your omega 3 fatty acids from flax seed oil. If you want to live a long healthy life go vegetarian. If you wish to go extreme into this world the best source of study is "Zen Macrobiotics" by George Osawa.