“The darkest places in hell are reserved for those who maintain their neutrality in times of moral crisis.”

Dante Alighieri

This time, it is the departure of someone I loved -that reinforced my commitment to life-, which has compelled me to write for her and all the other departed people who have shaped my character and sense of uniqueness.

“The diseases that unnatural diet causes are so rampant that they are thought to be an inevitable part of life. This is not the case. Western medicine approaches this problem in convoluted ways and continues to spend billions of dollars developing sophisticated technologies to treat headaches while continuing to bang its (and our) head against the proverbial wall. The one who chooses to stop banging his or her head against the wall by giving up destructive food habits is often ridiculed.” [1]

I feel strongly that if, collectively, we had understood that some things that we take for granted -mainly processed food and artificial ingredients- are harmful,  we could naturally enter into a healing process that could transform our world.

My intention is to introduce in a playful manner concepts like optimal nutrition, or the condition of vibrant personal and planetary health. It’s simple, the word is alkaline. We could inhabit in an alkaline world, we could live an alkaline life, have alkaline relationships. We could use alkaline words or ways. But, what exactly is alkaline?

Alkaline: Higher Ph, greater than 7. Having a relatively low concentration of hydrogen ions. Capable of neutralizing an acid. Relating to an alkali compound.

Alkali: A mixture of soluble salts present in some soils.

Alkaline diet: Ideal balance between acidifying and alkalizing foods. Eating in a balanced way. Natural, unprocessed and organic food.

When we eat something, after digestion, a residue remains -called ash- and this can either be acid or alkaline. But is our body naturally acid or alkaline? The answer is the latter: the normal pH of the blood is slightly alkaline [2].

So the idea behind the alkaline diet is to respect this natural balance by eating [3]:

• Fresh foods
• Vegetables
• Low sugar fruits
• Nuts, seeds and pulses
• Salads
• Foods that are as close to nature (unrefined) as possible

And avoiding or reducing:

• Sugar
• Artificial sweeteners
• Fast foods
• Junk foods and refined foods
• Excessive animal protein & dairy
• Sweets, confectionary, chocolate, trans-fats, chips etc.
• White foods (white bread, white pasta etc.)
• Caffeine
• Soft drinks, alcohol
• Smoking
• Drugs

Living in Argentina -the largest beef consumer in the world-, people often asked me why I didn’t eat meat. Since I can remember, I always disliked meat and this was a problem, simply because there was no replacement. This information came with me, I didn’t get to choose this, this wasn’t a temporary trend to follow because it’s fashionable, it just happened. This doesn’t mean that I didn’t have to make adjustments on the way. Gradually, I experimented with lower quantities of certain foods, beginning with wheat flour.

This led me to further confirm the impact of the diet on my body and spirit and deeply make contact with ethical and moral issues regarding cruelty to animals. The food we eat, directly affects our body, emotions and mind. I absolutelly adhere to the idea that everyone could develop a diet taking into account non-cruelty to animals. So, eat and live in balance and harmony with the natural world. Showing respect for the whole creation.

This takes me to the issue of difficulty: is following this diet easy? No, not at all. But it is possible and very liberating.

“Because the alkaline diet promotes excluding certain families of foods, it could result in a less-balanced diet with resulting nutrient deficiencies such as essential fatty acids and phytonutrients. The level of effort needed to use this diet is considered “High” as there are many foods that need to be excluded in this diet” [4].

But keeping the right PH level goes beyond our bodies: in the last century, human impact on Earth and its ecosystems has grown exponentially changing the PH of the environment.

“As a comparison, in the past 100 years with increasing industrialization, the pH of the ocean has dropped from 8.2 to 8.1 because of increasing CO₂ deposition. This has a negative impact on life in the ocean and may lead to the collapse of the coral reefs. Even the pH of the soil in which plants are grown can have considerable influence on the mineral content of the food we eat (as minerals are used as buffers to maintain pH)” [5].

 If we have a lower PH, our immune system decreases allowing all sorts of micro-organisms, such as bacteria and fungus, to thrive in our bodies. According to Dr. Tullio Simoncini: “…from the microbiological point of view, instead, it is always the fungus Candida that invades various anatomical parts, evoking different reactions as a function of the organs it feeds on”. Simoncini has observed that Candida is always present in oncology patients. These are the reasons why I think that an alkaline diet is absolutely indispensable for someone going through any sort of cancer and also for its prevention.

 Just simply with a flexible mind and body we are changing the world into a more kindhearted one.

In loving memory of my mother Marta Ladillinsky, my dearest Ballet master Alfredo Gurquel, my German teacher and friend Enrique Furhman, and my one and only psychologist Silvia Pipkin.

[1] Conscious Eating, Gabriel Cousens, M.D.

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alkaline_diet#Evidence_base

[3] http://liveenergized.com/alkaline-diet-scientific-proof/alkaline-diet-proof

[4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alkaline_diet#Adverse_effects

[5] The Alkaline Diet: Is There Evidence That an Alkaline pH Diet Benefits Health? Gerry K. Schwalfenberg, University of Alberta