5 REASONS GOING ALKALINE IS BEST FOR THE PLANET

 

 

This Sunday, April 22nd, is Earth Day. And there’s no better way to celebrate mother earth than to go alkaline!

Now, if you’re like me and most people who strive for the alkaline lifestyle, you started doing it for your health – you feel better, have fewer complaints, and look better too.

But what many of us have realized along the way is that we’re also doing the best thing for the health of the planet.

Today I’m going to explain why and give you ideas to minimize the environmental impact of the way you eat.

While I am certainly more of an expert on the internal environment of our bodies than the one around us, I do think this is important information to share and keep in mind.

Just like we only have one body, we only have one planet. It’s important we take care of both of them!

So let’s get started.

  1. Farm animals pollute more than cars, trucks, and planes combined.

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization concluded that livestock around the world contribute more greenhouse gas emissions than the entire transportation sector!

Cow’s methane emissions are more than 20 times worse for our environment than carbon dioxide. Cow’s nitrous oxide emissions are 250 times worse.

It takes 20 servings of vegetables to equal the greenhouse gas emissions of 1 serving of beef!

However, it’s not just cows that are to blame, although they are by far the worst emitters.

Poultry and pork, the two MOST inflammatory meats, also produce 40 times more emissions overall than legumes.

There are a total of 4.6 billion animals in our food supply each year in the US, so that adds up to a lot of emissions.

And it gets worse than that. 80% of the deforestation of the Amazon rainforest is due to cattle raising. So the very antidote of all of those emissions that are bad for the environment is more big trees that produce oxygen, and we’re doing the opposite.

Simply put, raising animals for our food supply takes a major toll on the planet.

How you can help: Minimize the animal proteins you’re consuming and maximize the plant-based alkaline proteins.

Researchers have concluded that diets based on plants produce far fewer greenhouse gas emissions. This one change will go a long way to decrease your carbon footprint and your acid levels at the same time.

It’s important to keep in mind that you don’t need as much protein as you probably think you do.

According to the World Resource Institute, average daily consumption of protein in the US is 83 grams, whereas the daily recommendation is 51 grams. You can easily eat plenty of protein choosing alkaline, plant-based proteins.

In my new book, GET OFF YOUR ACID, I give you a simple equation for you to figure out how much protein YOU specifically need every day, as we are all different.

  1. The meat and dairy industries rely on lots of grains.

Did you know that 35% of all of the grains grown around the world are fed to livestock, and the United States is the biggest offender.

Four times the amount of grains are grown for each of us here in the US per year compared to people in China, and more than 13 times the grains grown for people in Zimbabwe.

Corn and soybeans are the largest crops for livestock, both of which are acidic, right along with the milk, eggs, and meat that come from these animals.

Corn and soy are also fed to farm-raised fish, and are highly inflammatory, filled with Omega-6 fats which are bad!

  1. Animal-based diets hurt water – both freshwater and oceans. 

Here’s a shocking statistic for you from the Water Footprint Network. It takes 30 gallons of water to produce just 1 gallon of milk!

That’s because 87% of all fresh water here in the US is used for agriculture (both plant and animal). Water is used to grow the corn that’s fed to the cows, which also drink water and then eventually produces the milk.

At the same time, livestock is the leading cause of ocean pollution and dead zones, where marine life slowly dies off (eventually completely).

How? Well remember all of that water it takes to produce a gallon of milk?

Some of it is used to wash away cow manure, which – along with antibiotics and pesticides – mixes into groundwater and eventually into streams, rivers, lakes, and oceans. 

How you can help: Switch from dairy milk to almond milk, or coconut milk. While producing plant milks also requires water, it’s far less than cow’s milk and does not pollute our waterways and oceans. It’s also highly alkaline and better for you.

How you can help: Eat less animal protein. It’s that simple! It’s good for you, and it’s good for the environment as well! If you eat animal protein EVERY day, you can start with Meatless Monday’s. If it’s a little less than that, aim to have meat NO MORE than 2 to 3 times per week.

Anything more than that, you are making your body more inflamed, and here’s a shocker – the protein actually turns to SUGAR via the liver pathway!

  1. Corn and soy hurt the planet too.

You might think that if you steer clear (no pun intended) of meat and dairy, you are doing the best thing for the planet. And that would make major strides.

But two of the biggest crops grown around the world are corn and soy, and both have a negative environmental impact.

Soybean oil is a major culprit, as it is added to so many processed foods. It is also fed to animals as well as farm-raised fish, which is why it’s so important to eat grass-fed meat and wild-caught fish.

According to a study from Dr. Joe Hibbeln (interview from my book, Get Off Your Acid), from 1909 to 1999, the estimated per capita consumption of soybean oil increased one thousand fold. No wonder we are so inflamed and acidic.

Much of the soy we eat here in the US and in Europe is grown in South America on land that used to belong to the Amazon rainforest. More than 15,000 square miles – larger than the whole state of Maryland – of forest land have been destroyed for soy crops.

Combine that with the devastation of the rainforest from cattle raising and you have a serious crisis.

Corn takes a different toll on the environment. It’s a thirsty crop that requires a lot of water, and a lot of fertilizer. So it leads to a lot of pollution. The base of the Mississippi River in the Gulf of Mexico has become an aquatic dead zone as a result of the corn industry upstream.

And as far as EATING corn goes, it has twenty-one different types of fungus that produce a dangerous mycotoxin called aflatoxin, which is carcinogenic!

How you can help: It’s not enough to just limit meat consumption. It’s the type of plants you’re eating that matters as well. Soy and corn are acidic, so avoid them as well as the processed foods that use soybean and corn or canola products.

Aim for a diet that’s rich in green plants, as well as colorful ones, such as:

  • Spinach, chard, kale, romaine, and other dark, leafy greens
  • Zucchini and other squashes
  • Broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, and cabbage
  • Peppers
  • Tomatoes
  • Sweet potatoes
  • Avocados
  • Carrots, beets, and other roots
  1. You can be an agent of change – just by eating alkaline!

Have you ever heard the expression, “vote with your wallet”? Every time you buy something, you’re telling companies what to produce more of – and what to produce less of.

So, by eating plant-based alkaline foods, you’re telling restaurants to put more plant-based options on their menus, grocery stores to devote more of their shelf space to fresh produce and organic options, and food companies to sell less of the stuff that hurts the planet, and more of the stuff that’s sustainable.

It’s no coincidence that in the past few years, as beef consumption has finally started to decrease in America, our food economy is also flush with new plant-based options at the grocery store and in restaurants.

How you can help: Eat a diet rich in the 4 “pHood groups” of the alkaline lifestyle:

  • Alkaline water instead of soda, fruit juice, or alcohol.
  • Alkaline minerals that are found in foods like vegetables, raw nuts, beans, seeds, and low sugar fruits like avocados.
  • Chlorophyll, the plant energy that you’ll find in vibrant green foods like kale, chard, spinach, watercress, herbs, snap peas, green beans, and seaweed.
  • Healthy fats like chia, olive, almonds, avocados, macadamia nuts, coconut, and sustainable fish. Make sure you’re taking a quality fish oil supplement to supply your body with the Omega-3 fatty acids that it can’t get from vegan sources.

Try Alkamind Daily Omega-3 today. This is the MOST concentrated fish oil you will find, so you TAKE LESS to GET MORE!

This is the PUREST fish oil you will find. We TRIPLE organically purify our oil, to get rid of EVERY heavy metal, and over 400 environmental contaminants.

We even have EVERY batch tested by an independent 3rd party, in a FDA-registered lab, to ensure that you get the finest fish oil possible.

And lastly, we are the only company that does all the above, with the ideal 2:1 ratio of EPA to DHA, so that you optimize brain function, as well as fight inflammation.

By focusing on eating these nutritious, alkaline foods, you won’t feel deprived as you cut back on the milk and meat products that degrade mother earth.

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