Part Three – Achieving the correct pH balance in your body – The Plan

A really good alkaline start to the day is the juice of half a lemon in hot water. Despite being an acid fruit, lemons are alkaline forming and also get your intestines moving. It also gives you a jolt of vitamin C.. I use an enamel protecting toothpaste and that is one thing to consider when having lemon juice every day.

Rotating your foods is always a good idea as most of us can build up an intolerance to foods that we eat every day and this can have an acidic effect on the body. I have given you some guidelines for rotating certain foods such as carbohydrates, to not only get the maximum benefit from them but to also minimise any intolerances you might have.

Carbohydrates are 30% of your daily intake

The latest word from some of the experts in the field of nutrition is that you should drastically limit your grains in your diet. There is certainly evidence to suggest that a high intake of packaged refined grains are not beneficial and might lead to health problems.

However, there is one very good reason for that. They are industrially produced and contain little nutrition, too many additives and usually a lot of added sugar. If you eat a great deal of cookies, processed white bread, certain breakfast cereals and cakes you will be ingesting sugars which are highly acidic.

A proportion of your diet should include wholegrains that have been minimally processed so that you obtain all the nutrition including B-vitamins that are stripped when refined. This includes white rice which often have had synthetic B-vitamins added to replace the natural ones. You also need the fibre they contain and by eating wholegrains you can aid your digestive system to process food more effectively and to help balance your gut flora.

Suggested Carbohydrates

Whole-wheat or wholegrain bread, whole-wheat Pitta breads, shredded wheat, whole-wheat pasta, Rye Crisp breads, Pumpernickel,  parsnips mashed or roasted. Organic corn tortillas or cornflakes,  Porridge oats, sugar free muesli, Brown Rice, oatcakes, potatoes.

As you will see I have grouped these together in approximate wheat, rice and oat days with the occasional potato thrown in. If you have a wheat intolerance only eating it every 4 to 5 days may well help you with any related allergy symptoms.   Your body is designed to remove toxins from the body efficiently provided you are only eating problem foods on an irregular basis.

Proteins and fats – Rotate so that you are eating them at least 3 or 4 days apart and they should only be 20% of your daily intake

We need protein and also some acid forming foods in our diet otherwise the balance goes too far the other way. We also need healthy fat and apart from extra virgin olive oil, some grass fed real butter (more Vitamin K2) lean protein with a little fat is not harmful. If you do not suffer from arthritis or acid digestive problems, eating a little more lean protein should not be a problem.

Select lean meat beef, lamb, fish both healthy fat varieties such as salmon and white fish, chicken, turkey, Feta cheese, eggs etc.

• If you have acid reflux I suggest red meat only once or twice a week with a few days between eating.
• Try to get organic if you can but good quality anyway.
• Use olive oil for cooking and on bread wherever possible.
• Use grass fed dairy butter as a spread rather than hydrogenated margarine.
• For snacking eat walnuts (14 per day), almonds, Seeds such as pumpkin (all unsalted).
• Avocado is a great source of healthy fats and we have half of one every day. They are also a good addition to a vegetarian diet.

Avoid salted processed meats such as bacon and ham except for once a week.

Fruit and Vegetables minimum 50% of diet. Eat raw or steamed to retain as many of the nutrients as possible. If you buy cut packaged vegetables they will have lost 50% of their vitamin C when sliced and will lose more nutrients the longer they are in the packet.

Figs, olives, apricots (dried as snack ), avocados, carrots, spinach, cabbage, dates, kiwis, limes, raspberries, strawberries, asparagus, bananas, celery, beetroot, melon, lettuce, parsley, pineapple, pomegranate, nectarines, cherries, grapefruit, tomatoes, cucumber, cauliflower, lemons, string beans, peaches, mushrooms (shitake if not too expensive), watermelon, courgettes, apples and pears.

If you like to drink fresh fruit juice, unsweetened are best – they are available freshly squeezed in the supermarket or make at home, but need to be drunk on the day. I do suggest especially if you are trying to lose weight that you dilute with some sparkling mineral water, halving the sugar content. Most fruit juices are made with the higher sugar variety including oranges which burns to an acid ash. I suggest going with vegetable juices such as carrot. They are also expensive and it is better to make your smoothies at home and you then know exactly what is in them.

I start the day with a homemade smoothie which is packed with vitamin c and also has a positive effect on my gut health.

• 1 chopped granny smith apple, cored but not peeled, but scrubbed under a hot water tap.
• Half a medium cucumber, again scrubbed and chopped.
• The juice of one large lemon.
• Blend and you will find that is enough for two days.

I do drink a large glass of coconut water every day. I used to have before breakfast but now have mid-afternoon instead of tea particularly in the summer months and it is very refreshing.. Apart from being a good source of potassium that helps maintain my blood pressure at a healthy level, it also helps maintain the alkaline/acidic balance in the body.

N.B – A word of warning about coconut water and exercise. Some gym goers were fainting after their exercise session and when questioned they had drunk a full litre carton of coconut water – having already reduced their blood pressure by vigorous activity, they then dropped it even more by drinking a potassium rich drink!

Drink plenty of water, herbal teas, a daily green tea and a cup of coffee two or three times a week.

As we get older our circulatory system becomes stiffened and this leads to certain issues such as high blood pressure. Nitric oxide is essential to dilate our blood vessels and adding certain vegetables, particularly beetroot to your diet on a daily basis may be helpful. It is high in alkalinity so definitely can be included along with the green leafy vegetables on the list above.  You can include beetroot in your homemade smoothie or add chopped fresh beetroot to your vegetable mix for your main meal.

One way I enjoy obtaining nitric oxide is by mixing my decaf ground coffee half and half with organic cocoa powder.

N.B The above guidelines are suggested to reduce your acidity especially if you are already experiencing related chronic diseases such as arthritis.

• After six weeks you should experience more energy, better skin tone and less of the aches and pains we associate with getting older.
• Make a note of your symptoms such as joint pain, headaches, lack of energy at this point and then make a note of how you are feeling each week.
• I would be interested to get your feedback at the end of the six weeks.

Next time the importance of a health gut to maintain a healthy immune system.

©Sally Cronin 2026

Sally Cronin is the author of eighteen books including her memoir Size Matters: Especially when you weigh 330lb first published in 2001 which followed her weight loss of 150lbs and the programme she designed to achieve a healthy weight and regain her health. A programme she shared with her clients over her 26 year career as a nutritional therapist and on her blog. This has been followed by another seventeen books both fiction and non-fiction including multi-genre collections of short stories and poetry.

Her latest book Size Always Matters is an extended and updated version of her original book Size Matters and now includes the nutritional element to losing weight and some recipes with ingredients that provide the nutrients necessary for healthy weight loss and continued good health.

As an author she understands how important it is to have support in marketing books and offers a number of FREE promotional opportunities in the Café and Bookstore on her blog and across her social media.

After leading a nomadic existence exploring the world, she now lives with her husband on the coast of Southern Ireland enjoying the seasonal fluctuations in the temperature of the rain.

A selection of my books

You can read the reviews: My books 2026