I had the distinct pleasure of being a keynote speaker for the New York Corrections and Youth Services Association’s (NYCAYSA’s) Training Symposium in beautiful Alexandria Bay, NY this past weekend. 

Many thanks to everyone there because you were a wonderful audience.  You were attentive, you asked great questions and you even laughed at my silly jokes.

Since my presentation went over so well with the NYCAYSA group, I thought I would share highlights of it with you, my readers, as well.

So here is…

How your diet feeds disease…or fights it

As much as I would like to say otherwise, our current state of health is not “health” at all!

Consider these statistics:

• 7 out of 10 of us take at least one prescription medication per day
• 2 out of 3 of us are overweight or obese
• 70 percent of US adults and 54 percent of children have at least one chronic condition

So in other words, you are a weirdo if you are NOT medicated, sick and/or overweight.

So the begging question here is:  Why is it the norm to be ill and odd if you are healthy?

Although there are many factors behind our poor states of health, including lack of exercise, smoking, excessive alcohol use, lacking sleep and stress, the #1 factor that determines whether you are sick or not, medicated or not, overweight or not, or whether or not you even woke up this morning is…

YOUR DIET!

But the good news is just as the wrong dietary habits can feed disease, the right ones can help fight it!

Here are the three powerful ways your diet can pave the way for optimal good health.

1- Get nutrients in

I know, it seems obvious.  Healthier foods make for a healthier you.

But I can’t tell you the number of times clients have told me, “I know I should eat better, but I just don’t have the time to make healthy meals.”

My response is usually, “Oh, so you’ll make the time to be sick instead?”

Healthy choices don’t have to be difficult or fancy.  You can grill or pan fry a chicken breast or steak, steam some green beans and dump a bagged salad into a bowl in less time than it takes to wait for pizza delivery.

And don’t even try to tell me you’re OK with your bad diet since you take vitamins, because you couldn’t be more wrong.  No vitamin formula in the world comes even close to providing the nutrients your body derives from a consistent diet of healthy foods. 

Remember, supplements are meant to support a healthy diet—not be a replacement for one.

2- Have sound digestion

You can eat the best foods in the world, but if you are not digesting properly, your body won’t get the full benefit of the nutrients from your foods.

And since most diseases have their roots in one or more nutritional deficiencies, poor digestion sets you up to be a breeding ground for disease.

Oh, and you probably have heartburn, acid reflux, gas, bloating and/or constipation on a regular basis too!

But achieving better digestion is a lot easier than you think!  It just takes 2 simple steps:

Make your meals easier for your system to tackle.  Our typical American meals are extremely hard on your stomach to break down, and if the stomach doesn’t get its job done properly, digestive fireworks are a given. 

But my Great Taste No Pain system will show you what foods to pair together for SUPER efficient digestion no more agony after eating!  Since I first wrote Great Taste No Pain in 2007, it has been creating very happy tummies for hundreds of thousands of people all over the world!

Have the enzymes for the job.  Your body must have adequate enzymes to completely break down your foods, but many of us are running low in that department.  That’s especially true if you’ve been a junk/fast food fan for a while, have used acid reducers, are over age 50 or are missing your gallbladder—you are very like behind the 8-ball with enzymes. 

That’s when a complete enzyme formula like Digestizol Max can be a godsend for you.  Our carefully designed plant-derived enzyme formula (which includes stomach soothing herbs) will help pinch hit where you may be lacking and support your body’s efforts to break down your foods like it should. 

3- Support an alkaline pH

You may recall from high school chemistry class that the pH scale goes from 0 to 14, with 0 being pure acid, 14 being pure alkaline, and 7 is neutral.

Your body has different pH levels depending on what area you’re talking about:

The pH of your mouth and saliva is alkaline at 7.1 – 7.4. 

In the stomach, things get very acidic.  The pH inside your stomach is typically 1.2 – 4.5. 

The small intestine is alkaline at about 7.4, and then in the colon it becomes acidic again between 5.7 – 6.7.

But your blood pH is VERY specific—the ideal number here is slightly alkaline at 7.365.  ALL your organs, tissues, bones, joints and cells work optimally when they are nourished by blood with a pH of 7.365.

When your blood pH instead dips down toward the acid range, your body can literally begin to break down.

Your cells become sluggish, and wastes build up in them.  Cellular messages aren't sent, and nutrients can’t be properly used and absorbed.

Eventually chronic inflammation is triggered, which makes you an ideal home for disease to flourish. 

But the good news is, there are 3 very effective ways to support a slightly alkaline blood pH:

Check your pH at regular intervals

You can get saliva or urine test strips at most drug stores or health food stores.  The saliva test is the least accurate and urine is slightly more accurate.

Numbers you should strive for are as follows:

• Urine pH: 5--6.8
• Saliva pH: 7.0--7.4

You can also have your blood pH tested by a doctor--called an arterial blood gas test or ABG test.  This is the most accurate measure, and the number you’re striving for is 7.365. 

Drink pure water

Aim to drink half of the number of pounds you weigh in ounces of water.  So for example, if you weigh 150 lbs., look to drink at least 75 oz. of water.   

Avoid drinking tap water as it can contain chlorine and/or fluoride (which will add to your acid waste pile, among other things).  Strive to drink filtered water.

Eat more alkaline foods

Alkaline foods include most fruits and vegetables.

Note that you can continue to enjoy "good" acid foods that have important nutrients too!  Just make sure that those acid foods are counterbalanced by alkaline foods—50/50 is a good place to start, but 60/40 or 70/30 is even better. 

"Good" acid foods include:

• Eggs and dairy
• Fish (wild caught and not farmed)
• Chicken and turkey
• Brown rice
• Beef

What you must eliminate at all cost are processed foods, fast food and soda.  These have no appreciable nutrients and do nothing but make you sick, overweight and acidic.

Now you are empowered with the knowledge you need to fight disease with your diet, and your body will thank you many times over!

To your health,

Sherry Brescia