If you start your day with a coffee and a piece of toast with jam, snack on a coffee scroll, are under time pressure and stress each day, and finish your day with a steak, some pasta, a glass of wine, topped off with a piece of chocolate, then chances are that your system is acidic, creating stress feelings and draining you of energy.     An excess of acid in your body fluids, known as Acidosis, can create joint pain, weak bones, promote weight gain, and can make you feel sluggish, tired or irritable.  As you get older, your body (lungs, kidney, skin) becomes less effective in getting rid of acid.   In his book Alkalize or Die, Dr. Theodore A. Baroody, N.D., D.C., Ph.D says, "The countless names of illnesses do not really matter. What does matter is that they all come from the same root cause...too much tissue acid waste in the body!"   To truly become resilient to pressure in business, work and life, it is not enough to just be mentally tough.  You must also understand how to manage your body so to increase, and sustain, your working stamina when you need it most.   For your body to function properly, it must have the proper balance of acidity and alkalinity (pH) in the bloodstream.  Even small changes in acidity in the blood, and body's internal environment, could affect your health, emotional wellbeing and energy levels.   I asked Lynne Max from www.signatureherbals.com the Principal Herbalist and Iridologist from Signature Herbals in Armadale (Melbourne, Australia), about how to alkalize your body to combat the effects of stress and pressure...   Michael: What actually is pH and how does it affect our health and vitality?   Lynne: The scale used to measure the acid/alkaline balance in your body is called 'pH' scale (potential of Hydrogen).  The pH scale is from 0 -14, where 0-6.9 is acidic, and 7-14 alkaline.  The lower the pH value, the more acidic, the higher the pH value, the more alkaline.  For example, stomach acid has a pH of 1.0 - 3.0, urine from 4.5 - 8.0, saliva from 6.0 - 7.4, and blood from 7.35 - 7.45.   For optimal health, the body should be slightly more alkaline than acid.  Your body works best at a pH between 6.8 - 7.5, where it can take up nutrients and discharge wastes efficiently.  Just a small change in your body's pH can affect your entire wellbeing and vitality.     Michael: How does high acidity affect our body's health?   Lynne: In the body's attempt to alkalize your system it depletes valuable vitamin and mineral recourses.  For example: When Acidity is high the body tries to take sodium from the stomach wall.  If the stomach is lacking in sodium the body takes it from the next best place - the bones and joints. Natural sodium is a youth element and keeps the joints flexible. When the joints lose sodium - calcium takes it's place resulting in arthritis, headaches, stomach and chest pains.     Michael: So what can we do to avoid all these problems?   Lynne:  Diet is the key.  Once food has been metabolized, or broken down, the end products are either acidic or alkaline. Since your body does not manufacture alkaline, you have to get it from the food you eat.   For optimal health, your body needs to be more alkaline than acid,  Ideally your diet should be composed of about 35% acid forming foods and 65% alkaline forming foods.   The majority of fruit and vegetables leave an alkalizing effect. Most grains are somewhat acid forming as are protein foods (meat). Refined sugar is acid forming whilst natural sea salt is not.   Acid-forming foods may be acid or alkaline in nature before being digested. However, after it has been digested and absorbed it causes the pH of the blood and other body fluids (eg urine extracellular fluid) to become more acid.   Similarly, alkaline-forming foods can either be acid or alkaline in nature, but after absorption makes the pH of body fluids more alkaline.   For example, tomatoes and citrus fruits (oranges, lemons) are considered to be acid, but instead they form alkaline urine, blood and extracellular fluid. They are acidic in nature but alkaline in body fluids after they have been digested. However, these foods do contain salicylic acid which causes irritation to some people causing inflammatory pain and allergic reaction. Thus arthritic patients function best on a low salicylate, alkaline-forming diet.     Michael:  Can you list the foods according to their acidity and alkalinity?   Lynne: Sure.  I have also grouped them into different food categories to make them easier to remember.   ACID - FORMING FOODS   Slightly Acid-Forming Fruits:  Cranberries, Plums, Prunes and juice   Acid-forming Fruits: All preserved or jellied, canned, sugared, dried sulphured glazed fruits, raw with sugar, bananas if green, olives pickled.   Acid-forming Dairy Products: Butter, cheese (all), cottage cheese, cream, ice cream, custards, milk, boiled, cooked or pasteurised, malted, dried, canned.   Slightly Acid-forming Vegetables: Soy beans, mushrooms (most varieties)   Acid-forming Vegetables: artichokes, asparagus tips, white beans, all dried brussel sprouts, garbanzos, rhubarb, lentils   Most Protein is acid forming however eggs are said to be neutral-alkaline if raw, coddled or soft boiled however they are said to become Acidic if the yokes and whites are overcooked. Chicken breast is said to be alkaline Next to water, protein is the most plentiful substance in the body. It is of primary importance in the growth and development of body tissues. Protein requirements differ according to nutritional status, body size and the activity of the individual. The National Research council recommends that 0.42 gram of protein per day be consumed for each pound of body weight. Most of us eat way in excess of this and this imbalance can lead to acidity which in turn can put added pressure on the kidneys.   Acid-forming Miscellaneous all alcoholic drinks, candy and confectionery, cocoa and chocolate, Coca-Cola, Coffee, Condiments - curry, pepper, salt, spices, dressings and thick sauces, drugs and aspirin, eggs - especially whites, ginger preserved, jams and jellies, flavourings, marmalades, mayonnaise, preservatives-benzoate, sulphur, vinegar, salt, brine, peanuts, sago (starch), soda water, tapioca, tobacco-juice, snuff, smoke   Acid-forming Cereals all flour products, barley, breads (all kinds), cakes, corn, cornmeal, cornflakes, starch, crackers (all), doughnuts, macaroni, spaghetti, noodles, oatmeal, rice (slightly), rye crisp   Nuts: Roasted Nuts contain harmful oxidized oil which is also present in peanut butter. Peanuts contain long chain fatty acids that may contribute to Atherosclerosis. Acidifying Nuts= Cashews, Brazil Nuts, Peanuts, Peanut butter, Pecans, Tahini and Walnuts.     ALKALINE - FORMING FOODS   Fruits: apples and cider vinegar, apricots, avocados, bananas (speckled only), breadfruit, cactus, carob (pod only), cherries, currant, dates, figs, grapes, cantaloupe, grapefruit, guavas, kumquats, lemons (ripe), loquats, limes, mangoes, melons (all), nectarines, olives (sun dried), oranges, papayas, passionfruit, peaches, pears, persimmons, pineapple (fresh if ripe), pomegranates, quince, raisins, tamarind, tangerines, tomatoes.   Vegetables: cabbage - red and white, carrots, celery (entire), cauliflower, chard, chicory, artichokes, bamboo shoots, beans - green, lima, sprout, beets and tops, broccoli, asparagus (ripe), chives, collards, cowslip, cucumber, dandelions - green, dill, dock - green, dulse (sea lettuce), eggplant, endive, garlic, horseradish (fresh), Jerusalem artichoke,  leek, legumes (except peanuts), lettuce, okra, onions, oyster plant, parsley, parsnip, peppers (green and red), potatoes (all varieties), pumpkin, radish, rhubarb (oxalic acid), sauerkraut (lemon only), sorrel, soy bean extract, spinach, squash, taro (baked), turnips and tops, water chestnut, watercress   Miscellaneous: Agar, alfalfa products, coffee substitutes, ginger, dried unsweetened, honey, kelp, teas - all unsweetened, yeast cakes   Dairy Products: acidophilus yoghurts, buttermilk, milk raw (human, cow or goat), whey, yoghurt   Meat Chicken Breast  * Note eggs are said to be Neutral/Alkaline if raw coddled or soft boiled however they are said to become acidic if the yolks and whites are overcooked   Cereals: Millet, buckwheat   Alkalizing Nuts= Almonds and Chestnuts     Michael Licenblat B.Sc.(Psych) is a Resilience Expert who helps people in business bounce back fast from pressure, stress and burnout in their work and life. He is a professional speaker, coach and author of three books.   To download your free special report on the ‘Seven ways to prevent yourself becoming Over-Worked, Stressed-Out, and Run-Down’, visit: http://www.BounceBackFast.com Please Note: You are welcome to use my articles in your ezine, newsletter, journal, publication, etc., on the condition that you do not change the content or the article, and that you include my contact name and website details (as written in the table/box above).