Helpful Tips
Always Chew Your Food!
Chewing your food is the first step in the digestive process — small bites, small bites, small bites. When you chew properly, food mixes with digestive enzymes in your saliva, beginning nutrient extraction while preparing waste for elimination. Proper chewing helps your body get the most from your meals, improves digestion, and reduces strain on the digestive tract.
Beef, poultry, and fish are naturally acidic, but there is usually no need to eliminate them. The key is portion control and maintaining the 70–30% alkaline-to-acid balance previously discussed.
Use the Right Salt!
Another important step in balancing your pH is replacing table salt with unrefined sea salt. Modern table salt is bleached, de-mineralized sodium chloride with minimal nutritional value (aside from added iodine). Unrefined sea salt contains trace minerals and is considered far more supportive nutritionally.
- Stimulates saliva production
- Balances and replenishes electrolytes
- Supports resistance to infections
- Helps balance alkaline/acid levels
- Supports healthy digestion
- Assists in reducing toxins
- Provides trace minerals essential for cellular maintenance
Drink Plenty of Water!
Second only to oxygen, water is one of your body’s most essential resources. Poor hydration may contribute to lower pH levels. A general guideline is to drink between ½ oz and 1 oz of water per pound of body weight daily (for example, a 150 lb person would drink 75–150 oz per day).
Add cucumber, mint, or fresh lemon/lime for flavor and potential alkalizing support. When possible, avoid unfiltered tap water — choose high-quality spring water or use a reliable filtration system to reduce chemicals and metals.
Natural Supplements Can Help!
A high-quality multivitamin and mineral supplement can support overall health, though it should never replace a healthy diet. One commonly recommended option is Nutrient 950 by Pure Encapsulations , a comprehensive and highly bioavailable multivitamin, multi-mineral, and trace-element formula with coenzyme B vitamins and antioxidant support. It is formulated to be gentle and hypoallergenic.
Knowledge Is the Best Weapon!
Educating yourself is one of the most powerful steps you can take. A helpful starting point is The Acid-Alkaline Food Guide: A Quick Reference to Foods & Their Effect on pH Levels by Susan E. Brown, PhD, CCN. While many resources are available online and in print, use discernment — some information may conflict. Personal research and thoughtful experimentation can help you determine what works best for your body.
Optimize Your Health: The pH Connection
Part 1 of 3: The pH Connection (1 of 3)
Part 2 of 3: Test Your pH Levels (2 of 3)
Part 3 of 3: Currently reading
Until next time, stay healthy!
Yours in health,
Dr. Gregg Gittins
