A 24-year-old, male body-builder called me complaining that he felt bloated as a result of doing drinking too much fresh organic juices. My first question is if he eats diet high in animal protein, which is highly acidic. He does.

When someone who has an acidic system eats highly alkalizing foods, they often end up with bloating, gas and constipation. On the outside, the body looks like a piece of art. On the inside, though, their body is a ticking bomb. The good news is that the body will eventually adjust.

Unfortunately, I learned this the hard way. I was a competitive runner and triathlete until my early 30s. I thought I had a very healthy diet. One day I woke up and I could barely move. Every step felt like I was walking through hair gel. My
doctor performed several blood tests and found that I had a severe case of
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Epstein Bar. 

I went to see a nutritionist who was well ahead of her time. She told me that 60% to 70% of my diet had to come from alkaline forming foods and that the easiest way to achieve this was to drink fresh, non pasteurized, organic juices. Fortunately I was living in New York City where juice bars were located on practically every corner. Within one week of drinking at least two juices per day, I felt completely rejuvenated.

When we’re young, we feel like we’re infallible, but I can almost guarantee that a poor diet, mixed with heavy work outs and or stress will eventually catch up with us.

Most people should be eating a diet of approximately 60% alkaline foods, but an athlete who is building so much lactic acid, that should probably be even higher.