1. Intro: Inflammation & Acid
I designed this first MetaBasics course because so many of our members’ reported gastro type issues with maldigestion, difficulty with swallowing and burning on a daily basis. – To address this takes some understanding of your food, classification and even tracking to create a real change.
When we truly intake more alkaline foods it gets us back to eating better with whole foods and more fruits and veggies that are much less likely to elicit an “acid” response. With our simple concepts and tools moving to a place of better, daily eating and upper GI comfort is here now.
2. Why is Less Acid Important to My Health?
Food is key! To be able to balance you’re your digestion and manage your upper GI issues naturally starts with food. Let’s understand this solid approach. We can begin to improve and increase our (better) alkaline status with a little background and understanding about acid vs. alkaline and the profound impact this has on cell oxygenation and our overall health.
Acid or Alkaline? Balancing pH with Food
How to start a better plan. Let’s talk about the specific foods and trends. What is good and what is not so good?
What’s Your pH? How To Test
This is simple! You only need 1 easy tool. The best way to achieve better, consistent alkaline numbers is to intake those higher pH value foods and track your progress.
Your pH Chart – Know It! Love It ! Live It!
Look and listen before you peek at your pH chart.
Histamine Foods – Lets Know Them
Histamine intolerance could be causing problems with your digestive system as well as with other symptoms you may be experiencing. We all make histamines as part of our functioning immune system and while some can help your body respond to injury or pathogens, too much can cause unwanted discomfort. Our bodies naturally breakdown histamine with an enzyme called DAO (diamine oxidase) and if we are deficient in this, histamine can build to levels that can affect our daily lives and in some cases be quite damaging.
Antihistamines can be taken to reduce histamine levels in an emergency situation, but this is not ideal long term. Antihistamine drugs come with their own side effects and there is a reaction happening in the body that we should be dealing with and not reacting to. We need histamines for defense and for normal bodily functions, but we need to understand why the inflammation is happening and break the cycle and remove what’s bothering you.
Histamine can become elevated in response to food, exposure to certain chemicals or other things in your environment. Often symptoms can range from digestive discomfort, heartburn or GERD, skin rashes, swelling, sweating, racing heart rate, dizziness and even heightened anxiety.
Remember, foods that are high in histamine we eat every day. Some of them are even considered very healthy for people who are not sensitive to histamines. Examples are Kiwi fruit, strawberries, coffee, kombucha, fermented foods and beverages, sourdough bread and even avocados are considered to be high in histamine. We have included a list to help you determine what foods to avoid, at least for the short term, until you pinpoint what is affecting you.
Avoiding the offending foods or things you are sensitive to is a good way to start to lower your histamine level and potentially find relief.
Additionally, a DAO supplement may also help you manage your ingested histamine levels.
Supplements: Help Cool the Burn
Supplements along with better food choices can really help lessen discomfort and may really create an overall faster and better way to normalize digestion.
*We have exchanged Heartburn Soothe for ACID BLOCK – an extremely effective upper GI reliever.