Integrative Health Blog

Barbara Solomon M.D. will be retiring at the end of July after a remarkable career in environmental medicine.  

How's Your pH level?

PH is the balance of acidity and alkalinity in our blood, and it has an effect on almost everything in our body! It is a scale ranging from 1-14 with 1 being very acidic, 7 neutral and 14 very alkaline. Healthy humans want to be in the range of 7.3 - 7.45, slightly alkaline. Your body fights hard to counterbalance acids and keep the proper pH in your organs, tissues and body fluids. But it can only do that for so long before a condition known as acidosis occurs. You have to give the body what it needs, so that it can properly maintain the acid/base balance.

The average American diet is full of chemicals and nutritionally unbalanced meals which affect the body’s acid-alkaline balance.  Now throw in lack of exercise and you have yourself a very biased pH level.

Water cleans, purifies, enlivens, refreshes and quenches thirst. It splashes, rains, runs and makes everything grow…Water is this unique substance that seems to contain the essence of life itself.

Water is as much a nutrient as food. The human body is composed of 25% solid matter and 74% water. The brain is 85% water. You can survive for weeks without food; however, you can’t survive for more than a few days without water.

Water is the most important detoxification agent and is the solvent that makes all bodily functions possible. The quantity and quality of the water you drink has a direct effect on your short and long-term health.

Natural drinking water is the most critical factor to health. The quantity and quality of the water you drink has a direct effect on short and long term health.

Quantity- How much Water Should You Drink?

The quantity of water is important! Try to consume 1-2 quarts (or 4-8 eight ounces) of water a day.

The easy answer is drink whenever you are thirsty; however, if you have chronic dehydration your thirst mechanism does not work well and you may not feel thirst. Whether you are recovering or maintaining your health the suggestions are the same, drink a minimum of 6-8 eight ounce glasses of water per day and more if you are exercising or in hot weather. Alcohol, tea, coffee and caffeine-containing beverages and sugar/sports drinks do not count because these liquids cause dehydration. The best time to drink water is away from food. If you drink over half a glass of water at meals you may dilute your digestive juices. Your thirst should be satisfied at all times.

Hydration Takes Time

It takes time for hydration therapy (drinking water) to take effect. Like a sponge, the tissue membranes will take on water slowly. The kidneys must be watched for adequate functioning when increasing your water consumption. Measuring your intake of fluids and urine output may be helpful if there’s a question about your kidney function. In addition, electrolytes (salt) and minerals in the water are very important, for we are not just replacing water but the salts and minerals in the water also.

Hydration Therapy

We suggest hydration therapy for many of our patients as an initial step to balance their body chemistries. All biochemical indicators in the bodily fluids are always improved with hydration therapy. To adequately hydrate the body, it is best if you drink a little water at a time over one, two or three days. Tissues and membranes can only take on water slowly. Hydration therapy may take one to three days, depending on your weight.

1. Drink 4 ounces of water each half hour

Anita Capizzi RN

Anita's Healthy Tips

Today, in honor of the most patriotic day of the year, July 4, I offer you a recipe for a nutritious and EASY dessert to accompany any picnic or barbecue!

Creme Filled Strawberries  -   read through recipe first!

1 carton strawberries

1 carton of organic heavy cream

blueberries

Wash and hull strawberries, cutting ends so that they sit flat on plate.

Make a batch home made whipped creme using organic heavy whipping cream.

If you have never done it before, it’s easy! It’s best to use a bowl that has been chilled in the freezer for 30 min or so. To the bowl, add 1 carton of organic heavy whipping cream and sweetener, if using. It’s perfectly fine without sweetener, though!

Using an electric beater, beat on high until soft peaks form, which should take only a few minutes.

You may find the little stickers on your produce a bit annoying and hard to peel off, but they do have a huge purpose- and it’s not to just to speed you through the check-out line. In fact, that number is telling you a whole lot more.

If  the first number of the five digit PLU (price look-up) code is 9, it means that the produce was grown organically.  For example, if the barcode reads 94663, then it is organic because it has 5 digits and starts with a 9.