As I’ve always said, I’m a bit hesitant about applying strict, rigid dietary rules with defined boundaries.

We can adhere to the strict rules of Diet A or Diet B for a while, but the consequences are disastrous when we can’t maintain them for long.

We wage an intense psychological battle to stay within these defined diets, and when we step outside those boundaries, we either torment ourselves with guilt or revert to unhealthy eating habits. In both cases, we end up with unsustainable diets that always lead back to square one.

I read a book about the Alkaline Diet. This diet also seemed too strict and far-fetched for me. Add baking soda to your water, don’t drink coffee, cut off dinner at 5 pm, and a long list. I’m someone who believes you can never live by lists. I stumbled upon a book by an American doctor and started reading it. The clarity of the information it provided completely captivated me.

What ages and sickens our bodies and cells is what we eat and our lifestyle. As acidity increases in the body, meaning the body’s pH level is disrupted, cellular aging, decreased energy levels, and diseases begin. Most of us already know this.

So, how should we eat to keep the body alkaline, that is, to reduce the strain on the body?

I’ll give an example from the book about an air conditioner. If we think of our bodies as an air conditioner, it’s easier to visualize it. When the air conditioner’s filter gets dusty, it expends much more energy to bring the temperature inside to the desired level. The body is the same. If we think of the dust as acid, the body expends more energy to neutralize itself and return to its natural state. As the dust increases, the energy it expends also increases. As it expends energy, it gets tired and loses strength. To regain strength, coffee, sugar, and carbohydrates are consumed, the acid increases, and the cycle repeats itself. We go back to square one.

I want to talk about what shouldn’t be consumed, rather than what should be consumed.

All packaged, processed, and altered foods

Conventionally produced meats and dairy products (meat and milk from animals fed on grass, without hormones or medication, are suitable in limited quantities 1-2 times a week)

Sugar

Grains, high-carbohydrate foods (bread, pastries, cakes, pasta, rice, etc.)

Alcohol

Carbonated, sugary drinks

Coffee

Looking at it this way, these are things that all healthy eating movements say “don’t eat, don’t drink.” When you don’t eat or drink these, you will automatically incorporate plenty of vegetables, healthy fats, nuts, and seeds into your diet to feel full, or increase the amount of these in your diet. In this case, the body will become alkaline, returning to its natural state.

When you eat or drink something from this list of things to avoid, drinking plenty of water, eating vegetables, or even drinking vegetable juice will help restore balance and allow your body to return to its core functions.

So, we’re back to the topic of balance. Of course, there will be occasional indulgences in our lives, but when we eliminate the things listed above from our routine diet, we’ll be much more energetic and healthy, so we won’t crave those things anyway. Even when we eat them occasionally, we’ll quickly want to return to our core functions.

There’s no need to label our diet. The conclusion is always the same. Regardless of the name, the things to avoid in all healthy eating plans are always the same. Whether it’s called Alkaline, Pegan, or Karatay, the core idea is the same.

Even if we don’t add baking soda to our water or skip dinner at 5 pm, minimizing the list of harmful foods will automatically mean we’re eating healthily.

I wish everyone healthy, happy, and sugar-free days.

With love,

Sema