lemon juice or powder?

Over on my Facebook Fan Page I recently mentioned how important it is to alkalize your body; a great way to start your day is with 16 oz. of water to which you add 2 T. of either lemon juice or raw apple cider vinegar.


This brought up a couple of questions that I thought I would address here.


"If you want to raise your pH, making you less acidic, why are you drinking something with acid in it?"


Although we tend to think of things like lemon and vinegar as being acidic they have an alkaline effect on the body.  The reason is that they produce an alkaline ash; this is the residue left after they have been digested.  Taking in foods that are more alkaline has an alkalizing effect on the body which in turn helps to avoid acidosis and keeps the body in balance.  There are a number of medical experts who feel that a diet that is 70% alkaline is the best for our bodies.  It is important to remember that our bodies seek balance.  If we eat a diet that is too acidic the body must pull alkalizing minerals from our bones in order to balance.  If we eat a diet that is too alkalizing, similarly, the body must return to a balance.


So what are alkalizing foods?  Mostly fruits and vegetables, although there are some exceptions there, sprouted beans and seeds, almonds, millet, buckwheat, honey, molasses, and olive oil.  If anyone is interested I can put up a list of acid alkaline balance foods.


".True lemon is a powdered lemon juice, there's also True Lime and True Orange. For portablity, would the lemon or lime work as well?"


I don't think so.  I looked up the ingredients:  Citric Acid, Maltodextrin, Lemon Juice, Lemon Oil, Ascorbic Acid.  Citric Acid comes from fermenting the raw sugars in citrus fruit.  Maltodextrin is a sugar  that comes from hydrolyzing starch and is usually made from corn or potatoes.  Not until the third ingredient do we get to actual lemon juice.  This means that the major ingredients are not actually juice.  I think I'd stick with the juice itself.  


Photo courtesy of:  Aka | Wikimedia Commons