Lately I have been researching the PH level in the body and how to maintain the required balance our body needs in order to be healthy and fight off disease. The pH level scale runs from 1 to 14 with 1 serving as “very acidic” 7 being “neutral” and 14 being “very alkaline”. Our bloodstream goes to great lengths to maintain a pH level of 7.35 to 7.45. Finding a balance of 70% alkaline and 30% acid foods seems to be the key. This means that you can still enjoy the foods that you love as long as they are balanced by alkalizing foods.

You can’t alkalize your body if you continue to drink or eat high sugar drinks and fruits. Sugar is  one of the most acidic things you can put into your body. The more acidic a body becomes, the more fat the body will store. Overweight conditions result from too much acid in the body and for those of us that drink alcohol you should know this will definitely disrupt the pH of your system.

It pains me that coffee, soda and teas are also a no no. The best beverage to drink for alkalizing is ionized water, but I can’t afford one of those ionizing systems. Also starchy foods like potatoes, pasta and breads all break down to sugar, and then produce acid waste that collects in the body. Eating any of the animal proteins (chicken, beef, pork, lamb etc) will create excess acid waste in your body as well. Dairy products have concentrated sugars that break down into lactic acid, which creates acidic waste.

So many things that I have a habit of eating and love just isn’t good for me and my body or yours, but it’s your choice. There are so many diet plans out there and so many people swearing by their particular one, but keeping your bodily ph balanced just makes the most sense to me. I’m sure anything in moderation would be okay, but I tend to go over board with the foods and drinks I like, however I do intend to start using more alkalized fruits and vegetables in my daily life I need the energy and I’m tired of feeling sick.

Learning which foods and supplements that add alkaline to your pH levels is just the beginning and many items are listed below, but we need to learn how to Implement them. After adding these healing foods to our diet we can test our body’s pH levels with a  saliva strip test available at most health food stores. Keeping your pH level between 7 and 8 is the target for good health and bringing your bodily pH back to normal  will give us relief from a variety of symptoms.

Most people eat a lot of acidic foods like animal protein, dairy products and wheat. Many health problems are due to excess acidity in the body like chronic fatigue, excess mucous production, nasal congestion, frequent colds and infections, stress, anxiety, weak nails, dry hair, dry skin, headaches, arthritis, muscle pain, hives and leg cramps are all signs of excess acidity and I am prone to most of these lately.

You can simply and easily infuse your body with alkaline foods by using green drinks one to three times per day you can buy it in powder form at health food stores. Green drinks are made from grasses, sprouted grains and other green vegetables. These will help your body become more alkaline and they have the vitamins, minerals and amino acids that your body needs to repair itself, anything we can do to reduce the acidic state  will help our organs to function properly.

Minerals that have an alkalizing effect on the body are: cesium, potassium, sodium, calcium, and magnesium. Minerals are essential to optimum health so by paying attention to which minerals have alkalizing effects can add the proper balance to your blood pH. All protein derived from animals is acidic. Proteins that are alkaline are: almonds, chestnuts, millet, tempeh, tofu, and whey protein powder.

Kamut grass can decrease cholesterol levels, help with weight loss and add protein to the diet. Broccoli is a strong anti-cancer food and it also helps boost the immune system and improve digestion. Dandelion greens help with weight loss and cholesterol levels. They are also a good source of iron and calcium. Kale contains vitamin C, A, Iron, Calcium, Potassium and Magnesium. Alfalfa sprouts can help redistribute your body weight after you lose weight. So by using green drinks you can help boost the alkaline level.

Vegetables that are alkalizing are: alfalfa, barley grass, beets, beet greens, broccoli, cabbage, carrot, cauliflower, celery, chard greens, collard greens, cucumber, dandelions, eggplant, garlic, green beans, green peas, kale, kohlrabi, lettuce, mushrooms, mustard greens, nightshade veggies, onions, parsnips, peas, peppers, pumpkin, radishes, rutabaga, sea veggies, spinach, sprouts, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, watercress, wheat grass, and wild greens.

Fruits that have an alkalizing effect are: apples, apricots, avocados, bananas, berries, blackberries, cantaloupe, cherries, coconut, currants, dates, figs, grapes, grapefruit, honeydew, lemons, limes, muskmelons, nectarines, oranges, peaches, pears, pineapple, raisins, raspberries, rhubarb, strawberries, tangerines, tomatoes, tropical fruits, and watermelon.

Alkalizing condiments are: cinnamon, curry, ginger, mustard, chili pepper, sea salt, stevia, miso, tamari, and all herbs. Other ways to add alkaline to your diet are: apple cider vinegar, alkaline antioxidant water, bee pollen, lecithin granules, molasses, probiotic cultures, soured dairy products, green juices, veggie juices, fresh fruit juice, and mineral water.

The Ophthalmologist that examined Bill yesterday did a full examination and he has decided that Bill has pigment dispersion syndrome even though he is over the age of 40 and has had glaucoma for years. He has put drops in his eyes since he was in his early 30’s and has undergone laser surgery twice to put little holes in his eye to relieve pressure and still the pressure isn’t under control, the drops aren’t working for him. So on June 4th he will have a procedure called laser iridotomy done. The consent form that we have to sign explains the procedure like this:

Consent To Perform Laser Iridotomy

Purpose: A laser iridotomy is a hole created in the iris in the eye by means of a laser light. This procedure replaces a surgical procedure that must be performed in the operating room. When argon laser is used, the energy of the laser is transformed into heat at the point where it’s focused, creating a small burn. By placing multiple burns close to each other, it’s possible, in most cases, to create a small hole in the iris. A neodymium-Yag laser causes a cut at the point where it’s focused. If several of these cuts are superimposed, a small hole is created, in most cases.

Method: Several factors (such as eye color) must be considered by your doctor in determining which laser is most appropriate for your eye. Sometimes one type of laser is not satisfactory and the other type of laser must then be utilized. The eye is anesthetized with an eye drop, a special contact lens is placed onto the eye and a sufficient number of applications is applied. Slight discomfort may be felt as the laser light strikes the iris.

Complications: In almost all cases, the eye will be red and have a foreign body sensation for a few days. The vision is typically a bit blurry for a few days as well. These are not serious problems. In 25-30% of eyes in which the argon laser has been used to create the iridotomy, retreatment is necessary because the body tends to heal over the hole. The retreatment rate is much less with the YAG laser. The YAG laser sometimes causes a small hemorrhage at the iris at the site of focus, but it always clears within a few days.

There may be a transient rise in pressure within the eye following the procedure, but this can usually be controlled with medications if necessary. Burns of the cornea and/ or lens can occur, but these do not usually affect vision and can be left alone. Although it’s not a complication, the laser procedure alone does not always control the glaucoma, and drops, other types of laser treatment, or surgery, are sometimes required in addition to the iridotomy.

The young doctor was very nice and explained everything as he went along and he really put our minds at rest about Bill not losing his sight anytime soon. He explained that he would do this procedure in his office and that it was less evasive than the other procedure that we had done last year at the hospital. He seemed very confident and told us in the past 12 years he hadn’t seen any of the slits close back up so we’re very hopeful that this will help and may even lessen the drops he has to use everyday.

Of course Bill asked him if he knew his daughter Jodi the nurse because she had mentioned to her dad that he performs surgery where she works although she has never assisted him and he does know her and was very concerned because he had already heard about her ectopic pregnancy and voiced his concerns. Bill assured him that she was recuperating, it helped Bill in his mind to establish a bond that they both shared namely his daughter Jodi, now he feels like the doctor will take better care of his eyes.

I liked the young man and am quite sure he would have taken great care regardless of Bill’s daughter. He assured us that if plan A doesn’t work he will have a plan B ready. We did learn something useful yesterday that we didn’t know before. Bill always takes the rest of the day off work when they dilate his eyes because it takes forever to go back to normal. Yesterday we found out they have reverse drops they can put in your eyes to make the process a whole lot quicker.

So now we have to wait for the procedure which is easier now since we know his eyeballs aren’t going to explode any time soon from pressure. Have a great weekend.

I spent the day researching vocal cord dysfunction because last night Bill couldn’t breath and it was horrible. I even had 911 on the phone asking for an ambulance before he was able to get a breath and he told me later that this had happened several times before with him, but this is the first time since we’ve been together. He has asthma or so he was diagnosed with many years ago and always keeps an inhaler close by, but this wasn’t an asthma attack.

He was at work years ago and they thought he was choking and his co-worker did the Heimlich maneuver on him and it opened up what he says is a flap, he said it closed up and he couldn’t breath in. I had no clue what I was looking for today until I ran across a very informative website called  CAN’T BREATHE? SUSPECT VOCAL CORD DYSFUNCTION! so I spent the day reading and then doing other research on other websites.

Apparently you don’t use medication to treat this, but you do have to see a speech pathologist to learn a different way of breathing and other techniques. After doing a lot of reading I’m thinking that he has been so stressed over his eyes that he may have brought this episode on. It was horrible and scared the crap out of me. I better learn how to do the Heimlich maneuver Bill said he didn’t care if I cracked his ribs so long as he could breath.

On the website above she even shares some tips she learned on how to breath which I’m going to make Bill try and practice so he wont panic if this happens again. More doctors and emergency teams are only recently themselves becoming more aware of  vocal cord dysfunction the main cause of this disorder still remains unknown and to properly diagnose it would be to do a nasal endoscopy during an episode.

I’m sure they would have to trigger an episode in a clinic because unless the passage were to be open as soon as possible I’m quite sure someone could die so screw the endoscopy I’ll be cracking some ribs if this ever happens again and since he wasn’t able to breath in I will definitely have him practise those breathing out exercises so we’ll at least be better prepared.

I also intend to keep a small bottle of water with a sprayer on hand so he can keep his throat moist instead of dry. Got to get back to my researching so I can find more helpful tidbits for Bill, so type at you all later.