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Why you should eat 80% alkalizing foods
Sarah Wragge Wellness practices an 80/20 method to maintain an optimal balance for clients. 80% represents alkalizing foods. We often talk about “ABA” or “always be alkalizing” to keep us balanced and looking and feeling our best. The remaining 20% is reserved for foods that tend to create acidity in the body.
What does alkalizing mean?
Alkalinity is a pH higher than 7 and our bodies are naturally alkaline with a blood pH at around 7.4. There are specific foods that help you maintain an alkaline state and have many added health benefits as well.
For example, plants and good fats create alkalinity in the body and should be the staple of your diet.
An alkaline diet benefits our health in the following ways:
- Improves weight loss
- Removes toxins
- Increases energy
- Supports bone health
- Reduces inflammation
- Repairs damaged cell tissue
- Nourishes kidneys
- Boosts immunity
- Promotes brain health and the central nervous system
A few of Sarah Wragge’s favorite alkaline foods to incorporate daily include:
- Leafy greens
- Berries
- Sweet potato
- Coconut oil
- Asparagus
- Seaweed
- Lemons
- Chia seeds
The body is always trying to maintain a healthy balance. We need some acidic foods like quality animal protein to help regulate blood sugar and provide essential vitamins, minerals, and amino acids. Where possible, choose wild caught, organic, pasture-raised, or free-range proteins as these are less acidic than their conventional counterparts.
Too much acidic food can lead to:
- Weight gain
- Digestive issues
- Heart disease
- Chronic fatigue
- Inflammation
- Skin concerns such as acne
Common acidic foods include:
- Animal protein
- Alcohol
- Dairy
- Sweets
- Refined oils
- Packaged, processed foods
We don’t need to avoid these foods completely, especially animal protein as already noted. We need to make sure we’re balancing our acidic foods with alkalizing plants and limiting them to less than 20% of our diet. Following this 80/20 formula allows our clients to enjoy themselves while also reaching their health goals.
Sarah Wragge
I spent most of my youth in and out of doctor’s offices with chronic digestive and health issues. It wasn’t until my late 20’s that a holistic nutritionist made the connection between the foods I was eating and my symptoms. By simply changing my diet, the health issues I had battled my whole life disappeared. This is the inspiration for Sarah Wragge Wellness.
There is a barrage of information floating around the wellness world. It’s overwhelming and leaves people more confused than informed. I believe in a wellness approach that treats more than the symptoms, and addresses the root cause of the issues instead. With the right information, plan, and support, you can experience a true health transformation like I did.
Food as Medicine for Woman’s Health
“Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food,” said Hippocrates over 2400 years ago. This idea still rings true today.
What you fill your refrigerator with may be a bigger determinant of health than what’s in your medicine cabinet. Most of us eat at least three times per day. That’s at least three opportunities to nourish our bodies with food that creates health, supports hormones, and makes us feel our best.
Exactly How & Why You Should Detox
If you’ve upleveled your nutrition and still aren’t seeing or feeling results, toxins could be the culprit. The toxins we face daily has increased tenfold in the last centuries.
Indulging without the Guilt
One of our top goals when working with clients is helping them find a happy balance to enjoy their guilty pleasures without having the guilt afterwards.
Clients can have their cake and eat it too by creating structure around their indulgences.
Our head of nutrition, Erin Parekh said it best when on vacation:
“Embracing every morsel of my crispy fries and red wine brought great joy, but the truth is, I never fully went “off plan”. This made it easy to get back on track after vacation and still feel great after having my indulgences”.
Here are SWW’s tips on how to enjoy your indulgences and still stick to your meal plan to keep you on track.