Acidic FoodHow Acidic Food Influences Your PerformanceI reported on the effects of acidic food before and how alkalizing foods before influence the body's ph-levels. It is known that a conventional diet that includes meat, fish, dairy produce and larger amounts of processed foods, may cause fatigue and have a detrimental effect on performance in the long-term. The assumption that a vegan diet has highly alkalizing effects on the body and therefore on your well-being can be confirmed when you now take a look at Michael's example. Michael has been on a conventional diet all his life. He is an endurance athlete who engages long distance cycling and running. I've asked Michael to do the same experiment I did a couple of weeks ago. Michael tested his body's pH 3-4 times daily over four days. Remember that on a scale of 1-14, anything below 7.0 is considered acidic and testing above 7.0 indicates that the body is alkaline. Here are the results: 10x acidic ranging from 5.5 - 6.8 and 4x alkaline at 7.4! Michael usually eats a plate of fresh fruit topped with 2-3 tablespoons of whipped cream for breakfast. He eats a big salad nearly every day and consumes cooked vegetables daily. The sauces often include butter and cream. At the weekend he'll eat ham and egg as well as cheese and butter sandwiches. Occasionally he'll have meat and/or fish for dinner. He drinks 2-3 large cups of milk coffee daily and at least two litres of water.Regarding alcohol he does enjoy red wine 3-4 times a week and an occasional beer. What's the verdict? On the surface Michael is on a diet we'd call healthy and balanced. Yet, the results of the pH test demonstrate that he is obviously eating foods that cause high acidity in his body. The fresh fruit, leafy greens and vegetables do not compensate enough to become more alkaline throughout the day. He often suffers from colds in the winter and allergies in spring. It is quite possible that the hidden traces of milk in other foods he eats and the obvious ones like eggs, cheese, cream and cow's milk lead to high acidity levels in his body. Although Michael doesn't intend to make major changes to his diet he realizes that it would be worth a try to skip certain foods for a while and see what happens, especially since he's keen to improve his performance in ultramarathons.
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