Are Your PH Levels Normal?

PH Balance Chart

Acidic ( Healthy Range) Alkaline

5.8-6.0-6.2-6.4-6.6 (6.8-7.0-7.2-7.4) 7.67.8-8.0-8.2-8.4

Human blood pH should be slightly alkaline . Below or above this range means symptoms and disease. Acidic pH can occur from, an acid forming diet, emotional stress, toxic overload, and/or immune reactions or any process that deprives the cells of oxygen and other nutrients. The body will try to compensate for acidic pH by using alkaline minerals. If the diet does not contain enough minerals to compensate, a build up of acids in the cells will occur.
An acidic balance will: decrease the body's ability to absorb minerals and other nutrients, decrease the energy production in the cells, decrease it's ability to repair damaged cells, decrease it's ability to detoxify heavy metals, make tumor cells thrive, and make it more susceptible to fatigue and illness.

Some signs of extended acidic ph levels are:

Weakening of the skin, hair, nails, teeth, bones
Deterioration of the digestive tract, leaky gut syndrome
Candida
Allergies
Excitability of the nervous system, sciatica
Tendency to depressive illness, anxiety, panic disorders
Muscular spasms and cramps
Enhances susceptibility to infections (bacterial, viral, etc.)
Chronic fatigue
Blockage of certain minerals which become unavailable
Increased risk of cancerous cells proliferating

Fibromyalgia patients already have a weakened immunity and keeping track of your ph levels is just one way to stay on top of your diet and what's going on internally.

I am listing the most common foods that are acidic and alkaline. Knowing these may help you determine what you can change when planning your meals if you find you are acidic since most fibromyalgia sufferers are usually on the "more acidic" side of the scale.


ACIDIFYING FOODS


ACIDIFYING VEGETABLES
Corn, Lentils, Olives, Winter Squash

ACIDIFYING FRUITS
Blueberries,Canned or Glazed Fruits,Cranberries,Currants,Plums**Prunes**

ACIDIFYING GRAINS, GRAIN PRODUCTS
Amaranth, Barley, Bran, oat Bran, wheat Bread, Corn, Cornstarch, Crackers, soda Flour, wheat Flour, white Hemp, Seed Flour, Kamut, Macaroni, Noodles, Oatmeal, Oats (rolled)Quinoa, Rice (all)Rice Cakes, Rye, Spaghetti, Spelt Wheat, Germ Wheat

ACIDIFYING BEANS & LEGUMES
Almond Milk, Black Beans,Chick Peas,Green Peas, Kidney Beans, Lentils, Pinto Beans, Red Beans, Rice Milk, Soy Beans, Soy Milk,White Beans

ACIDIFYING DAIRY
Butter, Cheese, Processed Ice Cream, Ice Milk

ACIDIFYING NUTS & BUTTERS
Cashews,Legumes,Peanut Butter,Peanuts,Pecans,Tahini,Walnuts

ACIDIFYING ANIMAL PROTEIN
Bacon,Beef,Carp,Clams,Cod,Corned Beef,Fish,Haddock,Lamb,Lobster,Mussels,Organ Meats,Oyster,Pike,Pork,Rabbit,Salmon,Sardines,Sausage,Scallops,Shellfish,Shrimp,Tuna,Turkey,Veal,Venison

ACIDIFYING FATS & OILS
Avocado Oil, Butter, Canola Oil, Corn Oil, Flax Oil, Hemp Seed Oil, Lard, Olive Oil, Safflower Oil, Sesame Oil, Sunflower Oil

ACIDIFYING SWEETENERS
Carob Corn Syrup, Sugar

ACIDIFYING ALCOHOL
Beer, Hard Liquor, Spirits, Wine

ACIDIFYING OTHER FOODS
Catsup,Cocoa,Coffee,Mustard,Pepper,Soft Drinks,Vinegar

ACIDIFYING DRUGS & CHEMICALS
Aspirin,Chemicals, Drugs, Medicinal Drugs, Herbicides,Pesticides,Tobacco

ACIDIFYING JUNK FOOD
Beer: pH 2.5Coca-Cola: pH 2



ALKALIZING FOODS



ALKALIZING VEGETABLES
Alfalfa, Barley Grass, Beet Greens, Beets, Broccoli, Cabbage, Carrot, Cauliflower, Celery,Chard Greens, Chlorella, Collard Greens, Cucumber, Dandelions, Dulce, Edible Flowers, Eggplant, Fermented Veggies,Garlic,Green beans, Green Peas,Kale,Kohlrabi,Lettuce,Mushrooms,Mustard Greens,Nightshade Veggies,Onions,Parsnips (high glycemic)Peas,Peppers,Pumpkin,Radishes,Rutabaga,Sea Veggies, Spinach, green Spirulina,Sprouts,Sweet Potatoes,Tomatoes,Watercress,Wheat Grass,Wild Greens

ALKALIZING ORIENTAL VEGETABLES
Daikon,Dandelion Root, Maitake, Nori Reishi Shitake Umeboshi, Wakame

ALKALIZING FRUITS

Apple, Apricot,Avocado,Banana (high glycemic)Berries,Blackberries,Cantaloupe,Cherries, fresh Currants, Dates, dried Figs, dried Grapes, Grapefruit,Honeydew Melon, Lemon, Lime, Muskmelons, Nectarine, Orange, Peach Pear, Pineapple, Raisins, Raspberries, Rhubarb, Strawberries, Tangerine, Tomato, Tropical Fruits, Umeboshi , Plums, Watermelon

ALKALIZING DAIRY-soured milk such as yogurt, buttermilk, whey

ALKALIZING PROTEIN
Almonds,Chestnuts,Millet, Tempeh (fermented)Tofu (fermented)Whey Protein Powder

ALKALIZING SWEETENERS
Stevia

ALKALIZING SPICES & SEASONINGS
Chili Pepper, Cinnamon, Curry,Ginger, Herbs (all)Miso, Mustard, Sea Salt, Tamari

ALKALIZING OTHER
Alkaline, Antioxidant, Water,Apple Cider,Vinegar,Bee Pollen,Fresh Fruit, Juice,Green Juices,Lecithin Granules, Mineral Water,Molasses, veggie Juices

ALKALIZING MINERALS
Calcium: pH 12,Cesium: pH 14,Magnesium: pH 9,Potassium: pH 14,Sodium: pH 14


Wonderful Alkaline Apple Salad

1 large delicious apple
1 stalk celery
1 small box raisins
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
1 80z. container vanilla yogurt

Wash and cut apple into small chunks. Wash and dice celery.
Place in a small bowl and add raisins, walnuts and yogurt. Toss to coat with yogurt and chill. Makes 2 servings.

More Symptoms of Fibromyalgia

I just got back from my 7 day cruise with my husband and I invite you to my blog Chris' Comments to see some of our pictures and to read my journal of our trip.

In the meantime, I was doing a little more research on fibromyalgia and thought about listing some of the other symptoms associated with this illness.

I have listed the top 9 tender spots on the side of my blog that are used when diagnosing fibromyalgia, but there are definitely many other factors involved when trying to determine this elusive illness.


Here are a few of the more commonly known symptoms you may experience if you suffer from fibromyalgia:

Pain: First of all the pain is not muscular it is more neurological. Fibromyalgia sufferers experience an increased sensation of pain due to a glitch in the central nervous system's processing of pain information. In short, the pain you feel is very real, but the brain has amplified it many times over. Maybe that is where the stigma "It's all in your head" attached to this chronic problem might have come from.



Pain is pain whether it's your brain telling you incorrectly or not. Some sufferers have mild aching pain, while others feel like you might it you had an ongoing flu. That allover aching, tired, worn down feeling.


One of the first things I told my doctor when I was being diagnosed was that the tasks I perform do not warrant the pain I experience the next day. Now I know why. It's not really anything seriously wrong with my muscles, just my brain telling me there is.


Sleep and fatigue: Because your brain does not shut off at night you could be feeling spurts of pain and discomfort that may be keeping you awake or making you feel restless. Either way, your sleep suffers and you wake up tired before you've even started your day. Sleep Apnea and Restless Legs Syndrome are rather common for patients with fibromyalgia.


I suffer from restless legs and have found a natural remedy online called Great Night Sleep that works wonders. It is designed for sleep, but the combination of ingredients is what seems to work for me.


Memory problems: Difficulty in concentrating and remembering is also something you may experience with fibromyalgia, but oftentimes it is difficult to know as we generally lose a bit of that as we age anyway.


Depression: There are varying degrees of depression from the mild lack of interest in activity to the all encompassing black cloud of despair. For many fibro patients depression can arise due to a lack of proper sleep, fear of a life-changing illness, and the constant pain that can wear down your body and mind. Fibromyalgia is definitely a life-changing illness and depression often follows.


The good news is that it doesn't generally get worse with time and there are medications that can help with the various symptoms. I will be writing about some of these medications in a later post.

I think it takes such a long time to diagnose fibromyalgia because of the type of symptoms associated with it. Many people experience depression or have problems sleeping, but they do not have fibromyalgia. It is a combination of the tender points, the aching muscles or overall fatigue along with some of the above symptoms that can finally bring about a true diagnosis.

One of the things you can do when you have fibromyalgia is to not over exert yourself physically, if possible. Don't start up some new exercise plan to lose weight or whatever, because your brain will be telling you for days that you are in extreme pain.

Go slowly and see how long it takes for your body to respond and condition. Truthfully, I have been told by a physical therapist not to even start any kind of major exercise program, ever. Not because your muscles can't take it, but because your brain misinterprets it and can cause serious havoc on your system.

It's unfortunate that many medical professionals still roll their eyes when you mention the word "fibromyalgia" because it is a very real illness. It is also unfortunate that many people abuse the term and it becomes their excuse for their life. Fibromyalgia may not get worse, but it may be here to stay so we have to learn to make adjustments in our lives to work with it.

One of the main reasons I started this blog is so that others will have a safe forum to talk about their frustrations, their symptoms, their highs and their lows. Having a support system is key in dealing with these issues on a daily basis as it can get overwhelming at times and so many people just do not understand what you are experiencing.

I hope each of you will feel free to comment about whatever comes to mind when reading my posts.

I appreciate each comment and will always comment back.

Tips for Traveling with Fibromyalgia

One of the reasons fibromyalgia is so difficult to diagnose is due to the wide variety of symptoms from one patient to the another, but nearly everyone who has it will probably tell you that they have a hard time when it comes to traveling. This could be anything from riding for long hours in a car to the uncomfortable beds in a hotel or guest room.



My husband and I love to travel and our favorite thing is cruising. One of the reasons we moved to Florida was because we could eliminate the long plane ride, not to mention the expense.

For me it's all about making the bed comfortable. If I don't have a good night's sleep then I won't get the most out of my vacation. Generally the beds are too hard for me and if I can get to sleep at all I usually wake up several times because I am aching all over or I can't sleep in much past 6a.m. because I just hurt too much to lie there.

My remedy was to purchase a twin size memory foam pad that I roll up and stick into the top part of my suitcase. It goes everywhere I go as well as at least one, if not both, of my bed pillows.
I have a special solid foam pillow for my head and a body pillow that takes the pressure off my spine when I lean against it.

Once you get used to remaking the bed every time you stay in a ship's cabin or hotel it's really not a big deal. I leave it on for the duration of my stay and the cleaning staff just works around it. Granted, I don't know what I would do if I had to use an airplane since they charge for every bag, but if mama ain't happy. . .



Another little tip I use is to carry around a little decorative pill holder with me all the time. I keep one in each of the everyday purses I use so as not to ever be without. It has my pain and allergy pills as well as some tylenol. If you find that you change your purse with different outfits on your travels it saves time to have this done in advance.



My sister-in-law has a severe case of fibromyalgia. She has neck pain that is so bad she can't turn her head to the left very well so I always sit to the right of her when we are together. She also has problems (unrelated to fibro) with her lower spine so she always carts around her pillows and back pads. We make quite a pair when the four of us travel together. Our husbands don't even bother to comment on all our gear.



Since I can't sit for long periods of time, my husband and I always check out the rest areas ahead of time for any car trips. Most of the cruise ports are in southern Florida so we have several hours in the car, but the stops along the way where I can walk around for 15 minutes or more is the only way I could survive it. When I start to really hurt I can barely wait to get up and out of the car and stopping at a gas station and just standing around for the few minutes it takes to gas up is not enough for me. Fortunately my husband is very good about stopping and not complaining and for that I am thankful.

As I mentioned before, fibromyalgia is a broad term for the various muscle aches and pains we experience so there is no list of do's and don't's. You may have to make some adjustments when you travel to get the most out of your experience.

If you have some travel tips you use, please leave a comment and let us know.