The honest self-care

When asked about their morning routine, many celebrities like Miranda Kerr, Toni Garrn or Reese Witherspoon tell us how they start their day with a green smoothie or a smoothie-bowl.

(In this youtube video Reese Witherspoon shares her everyday smoothie recipe )

These green smoothies always contain celery or spinach.

You want to know why somebody would have a spinach drink? Why not something that tastes a little bit – better?

Here is the anwer:

The reason behind this green morning smoothie trend is NOT the purpose of loosing weight.

The reason is because food containing dairy, meat and cereal products allow acids to be formed during digestion. And the consequence is, that our stomach looks and feels bloated.

And most of the time we are even so used to this state, that we don’t really notice anymore.

But Reese Witherspoon knows how to deal with this problem. Her green morning smoothie contains alkaline foods, which neutralize all the acids.

Lets take a closer look step by step.

• 1. How acidic food makes us „bigger“
• 2. Your digestion only works with microorganisms
• 3. How to neutralize acidic food
• 4. Which food is good for an alkaline diet
• 5. When will your belly get flat
• 6. Personal alkaline recipe

1. How acidic food makes us „bigger“.

You don’t need to be super skinny to have a flat stomach. But what you need is a well functioning digestion.

If your digestion is not working properly, it may cause your size to be 2x bigger as it normally would be.

The accumulation of substances in your digestive system (gas, solid matter and liquids) causes an expansion of your small intestine and colon, as these organs try hard to have their work done.

As they need space, they expand in all direction causing pressure on your other organs. Especially women are strongly affected, as the uterus is very sensible.

The intestine presses upwards on the diaphragm and the stomach as well. This causes further indigestion as the stomach can no longer work properly.

2. Your digestion only works with microorganisms

There are living billions of microorganisms in your digestive system.

This microbioma are resposnsible for processing many nutrients that enter the intestine. Also just by number they keep harmful microorganisms from multiplying.

Bacteria need to feel comfortable. And for feeling comfortable, it is not good if your digestive area is acidic.

3.How to neutralize the acidic food ?

To get rid of the bloated body feeling you need to stick to alkaline food.

Simply said, alkaline is the opposite of acidic. So if you eat or drink something that is alkaline, the acids in your body are neutralized.

Acidic (pH <7) + Alkaline (pH >7) -> Neutral (pH = 7 like water)

This has a huge positive impact on your digestion so your expansed intestine goes back to its normal size. Your waist size gets smaller and you will feel so good.

Another great benefit is that alkalines suppress the production of oxidative stress.

Thus eating alkaline foods is the best way to naturally eliminate toxins from the body and improve cell regeneration from the inside.

This has an positive effect on your skin, hair and nails as well. Because if your body is overacified, almost always skin impurities are a common symptom.

4. What food is good for an alkaline diet?

To keep up with an alkaline diet there is only two things you really need to know.

FACT 1:

Only because something tastes sour, this does NOT mean it will produce acids in your body. Example: Lemons tase sour. But during digestion, the body converts its compounds into alkaline substances.

FACT 2:

It is very easy to find detailed lists which classify food as acidic or alkaline. (This chart by Dr. Jaffe is very well organized). You don’t need to make it complicated and try to memorize it. Select those foods you like most and base your meal planning accordingly.

In the following you see my favourites.

Alkanine Vegetables	Alkaline Fruits
Ginger	Lemon and Lime
Celery	Blackcurrant
Spinach	Pear and Apricot
Zucchini	Green Apple
Fennel	Banana

And as you see, there is spinach and celery listed. The main incredients of Reese Witherspoon’s and Miranda Kerr’s green morning smoothie!!

5. How long does it take until your belly is flat with alkaline food?

If you have been eating a lot of acidic foods for a while,your body needs some time to rid itself of the bad substances. In general, it always depends on your personal bodies state of health.

From my personal experience, it takes around 4 days until you notice that your belly gets flat.

And the starting point is when my belly really hurts and my pants are uncomfortable tight. So then I know it is time to change my diet and start eating healthy again.

6. My personal alkaline cure recipes

Of course a green smoothe with spinach or celery is a very healthy and vitamin rich way of starting your day with an alkaline diet.

But honestly, this is something I can only do on the weekends. During my work week I don’t have enough time to clean, cut and preparte my vegetables.

Not to mention cleaning up the kitchen.

So instead I prepare ginger-tea which I keep in the fridge so it lasts for several days.

---

How to prepare ginger tea:

• Rinse the ginger under cool running water, turning constantly until thoroughly clean.

• Cut the ginger into smaller pieces and use boiling water to pour over.

• Let the tea steep at least 15 minutes. If you want to steep it for a longer time, that is also ok. It will taste more intese. Add some lemon or lemon juice.

---

I eat this very simply prepared zucchini meal 2x a day during my cure:

A very simple zucchini recipe:

• Clean the vegetable and cut into smaller pieces.

• Add some olive oil, salt, pepper and rosemary.

• Roast until the zucchini is slightly brown and soft. I like to add some parmesan cheese on top, but not too much as cheese is an acidic incredient. But I simply love cheese so much.

7. Add supplements to your alkaline cure

Support your body by using supplementary minerals.

Magnesium and zink absorb excess acids and neutralize your body.

I recommend these complementary minerals to anyone who travels a lot or works a lot and has little time to cook for themselves.