Kiss Colds Goodbye
It’s nearly Christmas and you’re getting ready to impress at the office party. One problem, though, your nose looks like it’s gone 10 rounds with Rocky. You’ve got a cold and everyone thinks you’ve come dressed as Rudolph. Even though the cold is common, what most people don’t know is that what they eat is one of the major causes. Certain foods are more likely to cause a cold than others and dairy is one of them.
 
Let's take a look at why dairy might be causing you and your kids to go through more kleenex than your mother at a wedding.
 

The Acid Factor
 
Eat lots of dairy products for strong healthy bones right? After all, a product like milk contains 18 of 22 essential nutrients that are important for the skeleton. With high amounts of calcium, phosphorus, and vitamin D, dairy is surely an ideal food for your health. Unfortunately, there is a problem with this idea.
 
Dairy is also one of the most acidic food types available today. In order to thrive, our body needs to remain in a slightly alkaline state. That means avoiding acid forming foods.
 

Inflammation Nation
 
Having an acidic diet is like putting silver foil in a microwave. It creates havoc. The problem with eating acidic foods is that they are a primary cause of inflammation. This leads to colds, viruses, and a whole host of problems.
 
Let me explain.
 
Our body works to maintain a delicate pH scale. pH is a measure of hydrogen ions in solution.
 
Neutral pH is 7.0. Anything lower is acid. Anything higher is alkaline.
 

The pH Scale
 
0 - 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9 - 10 - 11 - 12 - 13 - 14
acidic <------------------neutral------------------> alkaline
 
 
That’s the boring stuff. All you need to know is that your body naturally rests on the slightly alkaline side of the scale at 7.365. If we eat too many foods that bring our body into an acidic state, the body will fight like crazy to keep it in its natural alkaline state.
 
Here's an example.
 
If you eat some cheese which is rated at about 5.1 on the scale, your body will use buffer minerals such as calcium, magnesium, and potassium, to neutralize the acid. This means a lot of extra work for the body which results in lower immunity and inflammation. Inflammation is a big problem for our joint and bone health.
 
Another repercussion of your body going into an inflammatory state is lower immunity and susceptibility to colds. Symptoms of inflammation caused by a cold are swelling and narrowing of the nasal ducts, and mucus production. This leads to runny noses, blocked airways, and headaches. In essence, your day can be ruined by a cold that has been caused by a domino effect of bodily responses to eating too much acidic food.
 

Better Options
 
So what do we do when we love so many dairy heavy foods? It’s easy to say that you will simply go cold turkey and boycott all dairy, but you obviously haven’t walked past an ice cream parlor on a hot sunny day. The simple answer is adopting a plant-based (highly alkaline) diet. This is your best weapon against acid induced illness.
 
But does that mean you have to eat like a rabbit now?
 
Thankfully the answer is no. Food producers have come up with a wide variety of dairy free alternatives that are just as yummy but without the negative impact on your health.

Let’s take a look at some healthy alternatives to these acidic foods.
 
Cheese
5.1 - 5.9 on the pH scale - acidic.
 
You can buy dairy free options from your local grocery store. Or you can make your own from a variety of different nuts and nutritional yeast.
 
Milk
6.5 on the pH scale - acidic
 
Many alternatives such as hemp, almond, soy, coconut, rice, or oat milk are readily available. 
 
Yogurt
4.0 on the pH scale - very acidic
 
You can make your own cultured almond coconut yogurt that is stacked full of healthy probiotics.
 
Ice Cream
5.4 - 6.0 on the pH scale - acidic
 
You can buy many varieties of awesome tasting dairy free ice creams. Or make your own by blending some frozen bananas and berries.


Benefits
 
The benefits of consuming fewer dairy products are:
  • Healthier bones
  • Stronger immune system
  • Better digestion
  • Fewer colds
  • Weight loss
  • Smoother skin
If you or your kids are suffering from regular colds, the problem might be inflammation and low immunity caused by an acidic diet.
 
Try lowering your dairy consumption for a few weeks by using the replacements suggested in this article and we hope you kiss those colds goodbye!