My husband, Ian, does a wonderful job of maintaining our garden.  Our lawn suffered terribly last year as we had a very hot summer with drastic water restrictions.  We also have a couple of beautiful large trees which leach the nutrients out of the ground.

Our beautiful green lawn turned into a dust bowl and the only thing to survive was weeds.   A week ago we had a ‘lawn doctor’ inspect the dust bowl.  Out came his testing kit and, guess what, our soil was extremely acidic !!

Horror, shame !!   Fancy Robyn, the alkaline queen, having an acidic lawn.  Of course it is Ian’s fault as the lawn is his responsibility.

The ‘lawn doctor’ prescribed a dose of garden lime and lo and behold, within 1 week our lawn has brightened up and is looking nearly back to its normal brilliant self.

We are very familiar about the importance of the correct pH for gardens, fish ponds and swimming pools.  Thankfully more and more people are now becoming aware about the importance of having the correct pH for the body.

Just as our body temperature must be maintained at 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit, our blood is ideally maintained at pH 7.365 – very midly alkaline.

How do you know if you are acidic?  Well, for my lawn, I only had to look at the window to see that it was stressed, unwell, and struggling to stay alive.  If you go to my website you can sign up for some free check lists and self tests to see if your body is acidic.  You will also receive lots of helpful advice to get you started on an alkaline lifestyle.

It is possible to get blood tests down but that requires a visit to the doctor which can be expensive.  Next time your doctor requests blood tests ask him to include a pH test.

A very inexpensive, painless and accurate way is to check the pH of your urine and saliva using Diagnostic pH Test Strips.

Urine:

One of the principal systems your body uses for eliminating acids is the renal system (your kidneys).  The normal rate of acid excretion through the kidneys gives urine a pH that falls between 6.75 and 7.25.

Testing your body’s pH will determine if your body is eliminating a normal amount of acid or if your body is too acidic.  If the acid excretion rate is higher than what would be considered optimal, your urinary pH will be more acidic or ‘low’ on the pH colour chart (ranging from 4.5 to 6.5).

A low pH urinary reading is an indication that you are low in alkaline minerals and high in acid, meaning your body is out of pH balance.

Saliva:

Another indicator of pH balance in your body is the pH of your saliva.  When your body has an abundant supply of mineral buffers available, your saliva pH will read between 7.0 and 7.5 (and as high as 8.0 immediately following a meal).

A low saliva pH reading is an indication that you are low in alkaline minerals and high in acid, meaning your body is out of pH balance.

It is important to get both the saliva and urine testing in the optimal levels.  Having either the saliva or urine in the correct range is not an indication that you are alkaline – you need both urine and saliva to be in the safe range (and it is best to keep a record over several days to get an average).

Like everything else in life, when you reach your goal you don’t jump up and down and say “I’m OK” and then go back to eating, drinking and stressing like you did before.  Just like losing weight and getting fit, it is a LIFESTYLE change that you have to constantly monitor, check and bring yourself back on line.

It is all about getting the correct balance.  Now, go and drink your glass of alkaline water!

Recently I spent 5 magical days in Bali – total relaxation and bliss.  The first thing I pack when I travel away from home is my Waterman Travel jug.  The Waterman is great to have in your hotel room to refill  your water bottles and use for cups of tea etc.

When I am out and about during the day I use my Fill2Pure bottle.  This bottle can be refilled from any source and you can be confident that it removes 99.99% of all nasties.

We travelled by budge airline and I was horrified that these airlines do not provide unlimited water at no charge.  Luckily I had my own supply of water (I object very strongly at paying money for acidic water in a plastic bottle!) and refilled my Fill2Pure bottle many times both in the waiting area and on the plane.  However, I noticed that most of the passengers chose to purchase cola drinks, tea or coffee rather than water.

Can you get enough water from just drinking tea or coffee?  The short answer to your question is “no.” Thanks to their caffeine content, both tea and coffee are diuretics – that is, they cause the body to lose water. And you do need the water – when you don’t get enough, your cells start to draw water from the bloodstream. Blood gets sludgy, your heart must work harder, and your body starts to redirect blood away from less vital areas.

Unfortunately most Australian’s are dehydrated and simply don’t know it.  Hydration is so important – you and I are 75% water.  The body is 75% water, the brain, heart, lungs are approx 60 – 85% water.  You need water to function normally.

When you are dehydrated you may be nauseous and your skin, mouth and eyes will feel dry.  You may feel dizzy, have cramp and headaches.  All are symptoms of extreme dehydration.  When you are dehydrated the body cannot flush out the toxins and acids from our body.

If your mouth feel drys you are already dehydrated.  Strangely enough, the more dehydrated you become, the less you feel the desire to drink.   I know many people who have lived for years without drinking water during the day (except for 1/2 glass to wash down their medications at night!).

If you cannot give up drinking coffee, tea, cola, alcohol completely then try to reduce the amount consumed each day.  A simple goal is to start the day by drinking 2 glasses of water to flush the toxins consumed during the night.  Every time you have an acidic beverage make sure you drink 2 glasses of alkaline water before reaching for another acidic drink.  Obviously, it would be much better to replace your caffeine drinks with herbal teas or water with a squeeze of lemon, chlorophyll, sea minerals or Alkaline Booster.

EWG just released its 2011 Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce — an update to the handy guide that helps you avoid the Dirty Dozen, conventional fruits and vegetables that are highest in pesticide residues — and choose items from the Clean 15 list instead. Eat healthier and save money at the same time!