0:10

Today on the You Can Heal

0:12

Your Life podcast, you'll hear an

0:14

excerpt from The Alkaline Life, the

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brand new audio book by health

0:18

coach Ross Bridgeford. Ross introduces his

0:20

comprehensive plan for maintaining a healthy

0:23

and balanced lifestyle, emphasizing the importance

0:25

of trusting your body's natural ability

0:27

to heal and thrive. The

0:29

book is a step-by-step guide to

0:31

effortlessly incorporate alkaline living, focusing on

0:34

foundational principles, debunking myths, and addressing

0:36

common health challenges through a 14-day

0:40

alkaline life plan. If you

0:42

enjoy this excerpt, you can listen to the

0:44

full audio book free with a trial of

0:46

the Empower You unlimited audio app. To

0:49

download it today, visit

0:51

heyhouse.com/empower you. The

0:59

Alkaline Life, new science

1:01

to rebalance your body, reverse aging, and

1:04

prevent disease, by Ross Bridgeford.

1:07

Titania, Leo, Joe, and Kai.

1:13

Introduction. My first book,

1:15

The Alkaline Reset Cleanse, was all about

1:17

the kickstart. It gave you the

1:19

blueprint for the most sensational reboot for your body

1:21

and to get you moving with six month's worth

1:24

of results in just 21 days. And

1:26

I've been so thrilled to hear the results that folks

1:28

who have followed my cleanse have achieved. It's

1:31

one of my biggest accomplishments and the emails

1:33

that I receive daily from people fill me

1:35

with so much joy and positivity. It's

1:38

honestly been one of the most incredible things

1:40

to experience during these last few challenging years.

1:43

But while that is the start, the

1:45

book you're listening to now is the complete

1:47

plan. This is how to make it happen

1:49

and make it stick for life. And

1:52

this is something that I've dedicated my life to.

1:54

A lot has changed since 2003 when

1:56

in earnest, I coded my first web page

1:59

to share. alkaline thoughts and

2:01

ideas. Yes, pre-facebook,

2:03

pre-blogging, pre-youtube, it was more Ask

2:05

Jeeves than TikTok. I

2:08

remember my first article, my first subscriber

2:10

and the first sale of my alkaline

2:12

diet course 1.0 like it was yesterday

2:14

but wow things were different back then.

2:18

Back then my passion was strong. I

2:20

was a 23 year old boy with a big

2:22

idea and I was writing and researching and my

2:24

entire business plan was to travel to Tony Robbins

2:27

events to hand out my little flyers until they

2:29

kicked me off site. Tony and

2:31

I patched things up later. My

2:33

life has changed somewhat dramatically since then.

2:36

I now have three busy boys and I'm living

2:38

on a different continent of a

2:40

thriving ever-evolving business that I love

2:42

and holy smokes life is busy. Frankly,

2:45

those days as young man with a dream and

2:47

a backpack full of homemade flour seem like a

2:49

much simpler time but the lessons

2:51

that I've learned in my own

2:53

life about how to juggle and

2:55

prioritize health while maintaining a relentlessly

2:57

busy schedule have been invaluable. I've

3:00

had serious slip-ups just like everybody else,

3:02

periods when I almost lost myself but

3:05

every experience has taught me more valuable lessons

3:07

that have made me a far better coach.

3:09

I understand what it's like to feel like

3:11

you can't possibly fit another thing in your

3:14

life but you still need to find time

3:16

for your health. Every

3:18

lesson I've learned alongside my experience

3:20

of coaching thousands of people to

3:22

health within their busy lives, hectic

3:24

lives has gone into this book.

3:27

Trust. My message has

3:29

remained consistent over these 20 years and

3:31

it really comes down to trusting your body. Trust

3:34

that your body knows what to do and how to

3:36

do it. Trust that your

3:39

body knows how to heal, rebalance,

3:41

rebuild and thrive. This

3:43

has never been more important and as we're on the

3:45

cusp of the AI revolution and who knows what this

3:47

will look like by the time you finish this book,

3:50

it's harder than ever to know whom

3:52

or what to trust. In

3:54

a day and age when a hot looking 21 year

3:57

old can open an Instagram account and start selling health

3:59

advice and supplements. overnight. When

4:01

influencers saying that kale is bad for you

4:03

and then spinach is bad for us, then

4:05

legumes and then broccoli and what's next, air,

4:08

it can be a little exhausting. And

4:10

so I want to earn this trust with

4:12

you. If you read the

4:14

Alkaline Reset Cleanse, you'll know I am heavily into

4:16

the studies and the data and you'll see this

4:19

again in this book. Everything

4:21

I teach is verified in the literature.

4:24

I will not tell you to do something without

4:26

the evidence. And this is verified with my practical

4:28

experience and the results that I see with my

4:30

students in the Alkaline Life Club. These

4:32

absolute rock stars are living outline and

4:35

getting results day in, day out

4:37

and you'll see many of their stories over the next few

4:39

chances. Their results

4:42

with challenges such as cancer,

4:44

heart disease, osteoporosis, fibromyalgia, rheumatoid

4:46

arthritis, chronic fatigue, acid reflux,

4:49

brain tumors, fatty liver and

4:51

more are amazing. But

4:53

more amazing is the difference it has made to

4:55

their quality of life, to get out

4:58

of pain and fatigue and into their true health

5:00

and energy. Being able to

5:02

follow their passions, spend quality times

5:04

with loved ones, pursue dreams and

5:06

experience more fulfillment, this is

5:08

what it's really all about. Life

5:11

and food is about enjoyment and

5:13

fun. In my

5:15

20 or so years of helping people, the one

5:17

constant that I've continued to double down on is

5:20

that any health plan must be

5:22

achievable, realistic, fun and delicious. I

5:25

feel like over these almost two decades I've gotten

5:27

pretty good at delivering on this and I've continued

5:29

to try and improve my coaching. And

5:32

what you're listening to right now is

5:34

the very best step-by-step coaching to living

5:36

a sustainable and doable Alkaline Life. In

5:39

just the last three or four years, I've

5:41

leaned into the psychology of behaviour change, building

5:44

beneficial habits that stick and breaking

5:46

the habits that don't serve us. You'll

5:49

see this all woven throughout the book.

5:51

It might always be obvious but there

5:53

is a ton of research into the

5:55

best practice habit forming inside these chapters.

5:58

It's all designed to make living our own. line

6:00

as easy and enjoyable as

6:02

possible. Because life is meant to be

6:04

enjoyed, we are meant to live with a smile on

6:06

our face. What you will

6:08

not find in this book is a hardcore

6:11

diet. You will not be told to give

6:13

anything up, do it all at once, push

6:15

through the pain and cravings or suck it all up

6:17

and rely on your willpower. That is

6:19

not living and frankly it does

6:21

not work. I really mean

6:24

this, do not cut anything out,

6:26

just focus on the good. Again, life

6:29

is meant to be enjoyed. Food

6:31

can be a source of this enjoyment. I never

6:33

want you to lose that or feel guilt around

6:35

it. Food can be a wonderful

6:37

source of pleasure, connection and joy. But

6:40

alongside this, the biggest smile

6:42

will come from feeling energy, vitality and

6:44

strength and the level of connection you

6:46

will feel with your true self when

6:48

your health is abundant. When you

6:51

focus on the good it feels so

6:53

easy and when it feels easy you enjoy it,

6:56

you stick to it and when you stick to it

6:58

you get results. But isn't

7:00

getting started supposed to be the hardest part? Not

7:03

with me, not with the plan you have

7:05

in this book. My first single

7:07

focus for you is to get results

7:09

quickly. Results bring

7:12

confidence, confidence brings motivation,

7:15

motivation brings momentum and

7:17

momentum brings results. You'll

7:19

avoid overwhelmed stress, cravings, pressure,

7:21

pain or any need for

7:24

willpower. As you'll discover in chapter

7:26

20, willpower is a

7:28

myth anyway, it doesn't work so let's not rely

7:30

on it. Let's make living outline

7:32

so fun and so delicious and so

7:34

easy, you naturally just want to do

7:36

it, stick to it and look forward to

7:39

it. Here's how

7:41

this will work. In part

7:43

one I give you the foundations of the outline

7:45

life where you'll learn what it means to live

7:47

outline and what this looks like in the real

7:49

world. Importantly I'll bust the

7:51

ridiculous myths and misunderstandings and show you

7:53

the science and don't worry I'll keep

7:55

it light around how and

7:57

why the body needs this outline balance.

8:00

You'll learn how to create the biggest impact on

8:02

your health as quickly as possible with the least

8:04

amount of hard work and stress. I

8:07

will also show you what happens when you fall out

8:09

of balance and the impacts that this has on your

8:11

health and longevity. You'll learn

8:13

the foundational steps of the alkaline life including

8:15

the foods to focus on and avoid and

8:17

the practical steps of getting set up and

8:20

started. Then

8:22

in part two we'll move into the alkaline

8:24

life and your goals covering the most common

8:26

health challenges and the link between these and

8:28

acidity. I'll show you the

8:30

most powerful laser focused steps for you

8:32

to add to your alkaline life plan

8:34

for your individual goals. We'll

8:36

cover weight, energy, cancer, atherosclerosis,

8:39

stronger bones, digestion, autoimmune

8:41

conditions and more. You'll

8:44

have an understanding like never before which

8:46

will motivate and inspire you to step

8:48

into part three, the alkaline

8:50

life plan. Part

8:52

three is the day by day step by

8:55

step breakdown of effortlessly living the alkaline life.

8:57

It is 14 delicious, varied, immensely

9:00

enjoyable days of alkaline living. You'll

9:02

have the complete blueprint, advice and

9:05

encouragement to see you through. I've

9:07

covered everything so you can

9:09

rapidly get results and build that confidence

9:11

and momentum without any overwhelmed stress, cravings,

9:14

hard work or willpower needed. You

9:16

can use this baseline plan as the foundation

9:18

for a lifetime of alkaline living. Part

9:22

four is included in the supplemental PDF

9:24

and contains alkaline food charts, shopping list,

9:26

recipes and resources. The

9:29

alkaline life is natural, whole

9:31

food based, nourishing, flexible and

9:33

proven. It is intuitive, it

9:35

makes sense and it puts you in alignment

9:37

with your body. You feel

9:39

in tune and that feels wonderful.

9:42

This is all about loving and nourishing

9:45

your body and it will repay you

9:47

tenfold. I can't wait to

9:49

hear your story and the results that you

9:51

achieve with the simple steps in this book.

9:54

So, let's do this. Part

9:58

one, the foundations of the alkaline life. Chapter

10:01

1. What is the alkaline life?

10:05

Your body craves alkaline balance. This

10:07

is indisputably proven in the scientific

10:10

literature. Study after study shows

10:12

us that maintaining the correct pH throughout

10:14

the organ cells and fluids in your

10:16

body is important to every system and

10:19

process required to keep you healthy and

10:21

thriving. From your hormonal balance

10:23

to your digestion, your immune system to

10:25

your cognitive health. Your body works

10:27

tirelessly to be in pH balance all

10:29

day every day. Yet

10:32

our modern diet and lifestyle is almost

10:34

the exact opposite of what the body

10:36

needs to maintain our delicate pH balance.

10:39

The way many of us eat today puts the

10:41

body under constant stress. The modern

10:43

diet of fast food, convenience food, processed

10:45

food, sugar, gluten, chemicals and preservatives drives

10:48

our pH down day in and day

10:50

out forcing the body to work to

10:52

bring the pH back to where it

10:55

needs to be. And maintaining our

10:57

pH balance is not just important,

10:59

it is essential. Eating

11:02

and drinking in a way that puts the body

11:04

into an acidic state known as diet induced acidosis

11:07

has been proven to dramatically increase the risk

11:09

of cancer, atherosclerotic disease, neurodegenerative

11:11

disease and type 2 diabetes and

11:14

these are by far the biggest

11:16

killers in the developed world. This

11:19

type of diet has also been proven

11:22

to increase the likelihood of the foundational

11:24

diseases of autoimmune disease, fatty liver disease,

11:26

chronic kidney disease, osteoporosis, chronic

11:29

fatigue, fibromyalgia, adrenal fatigue, irritable

11:31

bowel syndrome and more. In

11:34

fact the risk of all cause

11:36

mortality dying from anything goes up

11:38

dramatically. But when we give

11:40

our body the nutrients it needs to easily

11:42

maintain our pH balance everything

11:44

changes. Abundant health

11:46

becomes effortless. Your

11:49

vitality and energy skyrocket and your

11:51

risk of disease dramatically lowers. You

11:53

look and feel amazing. This

11:56

is the Outline Life. A

11:59

simple solution. Your body,

12:01

cardiovascular system, endocrine system, aging,

12:04

immunity, digestion and brain are

12:06

all very complex. Sickness

12:09

and disease are incredibly complex and

12:11

the science behind alkaline balance is incredibly

12:13

complex too. But the

12:16

solution to living a vibrant,

12:18

healthy, energised alkaline life is

12:20

simple. The core premise is

12:22

this. Your only

12:24

job is to give the body

12:26

the tools it needs to thrive. You

12:28

don't have to stress or worry about anything

12:30

else and I repeat, you simply

12:33

give your body the tools it needs

12:35

to thrive. And Mother Nature

12:37

has provided us with these tools. The wonderful

12:39

abundant nutrients in nature are all we need.

12:42

The vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, plants, water,

12:45

sunlight and air are all there

12:47

for us in abundance. And

12:49

when you combine the power of Mother Nature

12:51

with the awesome ability of your body to

12:53

heal and thrive, magic happens.

12:56

We'll dive into exactly what these nutrients are

12:58

as we progress forward but the common thread

13:00

is that they are alkaline forming, antioxidant

13:03

rich and anti-inflammatory. Foods

13:07

with these nutrients are abundant in nature

13:09

and while some recommended foods are more

13:11

alkaline than others and some are

13:13

more anti-inflammatory, they all contribute to the

13:15

goal of providing balance to the

13:17

body. Balance is

13:20

essential. The biggest mistake

13:22

I see with most diet approaches today

13:24

is that they demand so much change

13:26

and perfection from day one. This

13:28

does not work for 99% of people. It's

13:32

essential to start small and take little

13:35

steps day by day, building one success

13:37

on top of the life. When

13:40

we try to change everything at once, our

13:42

brain actively scans for the things we've deprived

13:44

it of. We make it too

13:46

hard for ourselves with too many rules, too

13:48

much stress, too much pressure. And

13:50

it's crazy to think when we decide to

13:52

change everything at once that we'll become experts

13:54

in everything at once. It leaves

13:56

us exposed to making mistakes and being

13:58

underprepared as well as... acceptable to lapses

14:01

in willpower. If you're the

14:03

sort of person who likes to highlight things in

14:05

books, this is a good one for you. Most

14:08

people wildly underestimate the benefits

14:10

they can gain by consistently

14:12

practicing just a small number

14:14

of positive actions. In

14:17

other words, you can get huge results from

14:20

tiny changes. This is

14:22

central to my coaching. It's

14:24

so important. To start seeing

14:26

dramatic progress towards your goals, you do

14:28

not need to change everything. You

14:31

just need to start consistently doing the

14:33

one or two things that are most

14:35

important for your health right now. Soon

14:38

we'll talk a lot about what those steps and tiny

14:40

changes should be for you. They can

14:42

be different for everyone depending on where you are with your

14:44

health and what you've done in the past. But

14:46

for the vast majority of people, it

14:49

just comes down to picking one or two

14:51

of what we call the four

14:53

core actions and sticking

14:55

with just those until they become

14:58

automated effortless habits. It's

15:01

essential to relax, have treats, go on

15:03

date night, brunch with friends, have fun.

15:06

We need these things in our lives. This is

15:08

one of the most important elements of balance in

15:10

the outline life. This is

15:12

the first of the two concepts of balance. The

15:15

other essential balance is the balance within

15:18

your body. The body craves balance. There

15:20

are myriad balances that need to be

15:22

maintained throughout what I call your five

15:24

master systems, which I discuss in

15:27

depth in my first book, the alkaline reset cleanse.

15:29

The immune, endocrine, digestive, detoxification

15:32

and pH buffering systems.

15:35

And it's your body's pH that is

15:37

at the foundation of everything. We

15:40

call it the alkaline life because the pH

15:42

of your blood must be maintained at a

15:44

slightly alkaline level. The optimal level is

15:46

pH 7.365 and the body will do anything and

15:51

everything to ensure that it does not

15:53

fall far below this level. If

15:55

it does, you will die quite

15:57

quickly. It is that important. When

16:00

your body has to drop everything and

16:02

anything to focus on returning your blood

16:04

to a safe pH over and over,

16:06

the stress and imbalance it causes everywhere

16:08

else in the body is

16:11

devastating. As I've

16:13

mentioned, practically every disease can be traced

16:15

back to excess acidity and the stress

16:17

caused by the body having to constantly

16:19

buffer your blood pH. Cancer,

16:22

heart disease, tachy diabetes and

16:24

strokes all have excess

16:26

acidity either directly or indirectly

16:28

at the root of the problem. But

16:30

as we get into what the alkaline life looks

16:33

like and what diet induced acidity does to your

16:35

body, I want you to always

16:37

keep front of mind. A. The

16:40

only thing you need to do is nourish your body.

16:42

B. You never need to be perfect.

16:45

80-20 and the

16:47

minimum effective dose. You've

16:50

probably heard of the 80-20 rule before known

16:52

as the Pareto Principle. It's

16:54

a rule that can apply to practically everything

16:56

in life, yet I don't know anybody applying

16:58

it directly to healthy living and nutrition. The

17:01

Pareto Principle is a concept that in any

17:03

given situation or pursuit, 80% or more

17:06

of the output is always a result

17:08

of 20% or less of the inputs. We

17:12

see it everywhere in everyday life. In

17:14

the workplace, 80% of the work is done by 20% of the employees. In

17:19

a business, 80% of the revenue comes from

17:21

20% of the customers. In

17:23

a city, 80% of the traffic is on

17:25

20% of the roads. In

17:28

personal finance, 80% of the expenses

17:30

come from 20% of the spending

17:32

categories. In the home, 80%

17:34

of the mess comes from 20% of

17:36

the activities. When it comes

17:38

to your alkaline life, you can reach 80% of

17:40

your goal with just 20% of the activities.

17:44

And rather than 80-20, I actually

17:47

prefer to call this the 20-80 because it

17:49

leans more into the concept that by focusing

17:51

on the 20% of the actions that have

17:53

the biggest impact for you and making them

17:56

into habits, you truly can get

17:58

to 80% of the weight. towards

18:00

your goal. 80% is

18:03

the first goal. To be clear, I'm

18:05

not suggesting that we'll get you to 80% of

18:07

your health goals and then stop. The aim

18:09

with my 2018 approach is to get

18:12

you to 80% of your health goals

18:14

as quickly and easily as possible. Think

18:17

now about one of your biggest health goals and

18:19

picture what it would be like if you were

18:21

already 80% of the way

18:23

there. What would your energy be

18:25

like? What would your outlook and mood be

18:27

like? How much better would you feel, move

18:30

and sleep? How much positivity

18:32

would be in your life and how much hope

18:34

for the future? Our

18:36

aim together is to get you to that

18:38

place as quickly and easily as possible. Once

18:41

you're 80% of the way there, your energy

18:43

and vitality will be such that achieving the

18:46

remaining 20% of your goal will be easy.

18:48

You'll feel so good and have so much

18:50

momentum that taking the next steps will be

18:52

desirable and exciting. As

18:55

we get started, I want you to keep this top of

18:57

mind. It may seem simple at

19:00

first, but I know from experience, just

19:02

a small number of seemingly

19:04

little habits practice consistently can

19:07

yield huge results. They're

19:09

the little leavers that list big

19:11

weights. Most

19:13

people dramatically overestimate what they can achieve in

19:16

a day or a week but vastly underestimate

19:18

what they can do in 14 days.

19:21

If you apply the principles in this book and build them

19:24

as habits over a 14 day period,

19:26

you'll see results beyond what you could have

19:28

possibly imagined. All I

19:30

need you to do is just pick your

19:33

first 28 year actions and that's where I

19:35

can help. I'll guide you

19:37

through each of these powerful moves step

19:39

by step and give you everything you

19:41

need to make it real, make it

19:43

happen and make it stick for life. Corona's

19:47

Story I had been

19:49

on letrozole, a cancer medication, for 18 months

19:51

and had lost so much hair. I

19:54

felt sick all the time. An oncologist conceded

19:56

to allow me to go off this medication but on the

19:58

condition that I had to go off. I start

20:01

Tamoxifen immediately, which started another

20:03

nightmare. The Tamoxifen left me

20:05

extremely nauseated and weak with so much pain

20:07

in my bones I could barely stand. My

20:11

baby sister, ten years younger, had stomach

20:13

cancer. She wasn't into any

20:15

form of health protocol and used chemotherapy

20:17

and radiation. She was dead within a

20:19

year. This is when I

20:21

discovered the alkaline way. Things turned

20:24

around so quickly. Within no time I

20:26

had two consecutive days without wanting or

20:28

needing to spend my days over the

20:30

toilet being paralysed with nausea. And

20:33

now this is my normal. My friends

20:35

from Vancouver, British Columbia saw me last week and

20:37

they told me they never saw me look so

20:39

good. They knew right away that something pretty significant

20:42

had happened to me. This is not temporary. This

20:44

will be for the rest of my life. I've

20:47

not felt like this in years. I'm

20:49

now medication free with the support of

20:51

my wonderful general practitioner and thriving.