Why over-acidification slows down weight loss: Michael’s approach

Many people wonder why they don’t lose weight despite eating healthy or dieting

One often underestimated reason is chronic over-acidification. That’s why, for Michael, reducing over-acidification and water retention in the body is one of the most important points of his meal plan. Here I show you step by step how he went about it and what role flour products, minerals, and spices play.

What happens in the body when you become over-acidified

1. Fermentation processes in the gut: flour products as a problem

Flour products like bread, pasta, or cake can trigger real fermentation processes in the gut. This burdens the body with acids and harmful substances. That weakens the metabolism and can lead directly or indirectly to inflammatory changes. That’s exactly what you want to avoid when losing weight.

2. Starch as glue: why too much of it puts on the brakes

Foods like potatoes, rice, or pasta contain a lot of starch. Beyond a certain amount, it acts like a glue that hinders various body functions and, above all, the metabolism.

This limit is different for everyone. How much starch you can tolerate depends, among other things, on:

• how well your gut is working at the moment,
• how fit you are overall,
• how healthy you are in general
• and how you’re doing emotionally.

Minerals: the underestimated factor

Minerals help the body flush out excess acids. They also promote faster recovery in areas with inflammatory changes, and they improve how the cells work and, as a side benefit, sleep too. That’s why Michael took two scoops of alkaline minerals after lunch and again after dinner. There’s more on these minerals on the Helpful Nutrients page.

Spices: little helpers with a big effect

Curry and turmeric don’t just add flavor but also have a diuretic and anti-inflammatory effect. That’s why Michael added a teaspoon of curry powder to his vegetable skillet at lunch and again in the evening. By doing this, he wanted to reduce inflammatory reactions when acids and harmful substances are released from the fat cells during weight loss.

Changing your diet: cutting out flour and the like

During his diet, Michael consistently avoided these foods:

• all the classic types of flour, for example from wheat, rye, barley, and also from rice
• everything made from them, for example pasta, bread, cake, pizza dough, cookies, breading on meat, and sauce thickeners
• rice and potato dishes like rice noodles, mashed potatoes, or dumplings

Michael allowed himself two to three exceptions a week, meaning each one was a completely normal meal with pasta, rice, potatoes, or bread. That was his practical compromise. Because the exceptions were spread out over different days, the gut had time to recover in between.

In principle, all other foods were allowed in Michael’s meal plan, and in normal amounts at that. You’ll find an overview on the Allowed Foods page.

Cell metabolism as the key to weight loss

When the body burns more fat and carbohydrates, more lactic acid is also produced in the cells. If there aren’t enough minerals available that the body can absorb well, this acid isn’t carried out of the cell quickly enough. That’s why Michael says: If you want to lose weight quickly, you have to make sure the cells are always well supplied and well cleared of waste. Otherwise, burning fats and carbohydrates well over the long term isn’t possible.

If too many acids build up in a cell, its water content rises. The cell swells up and fills with water. This can promote cellulite and water retention, known as edema, and give the skin an overall puffy look.

Background: gut problems and fermentation processes

Michael points to studies which found that, more than 20 years ago, digestion was already no longer working normally in over 90 percent of people over 30. These figures probably haven’t improved since then. This doesn’t mean serious bowel diseases, but things like a bloated belly, a feeling of fullness, or occasional stomachaches.

When digestion works more slowly and less thoroughly, the gut can’t break down and absorb the food mush quickly enough. As Michael puts it: “We’re starving in front of full plates.” Typical signs of this are:

• A bloated belly, gas in the gut, and flatulence
• Fermentation processes in the gut
• Tiredness or feeling run-down about 15 to 30 minutes after eating

A vivid picture

Imagine you leave a pot of cooked pasta at 37 degrees Celsius, which is body temperature, for three days. Within just a few hours, bacteria go to work on the starch, and the pasta turns sour. The same thing happens with all flour products, with potatoes, and with rice.

Exactly the same thing can happen in the gut, and not just with sluggish digestion, but also when you constantly eat too many foods containing starch or gluten. At some point, the body can no longer manage to fully utilize everything in time. If the food mush isn’t broken down with enough digestive enzymes, the gut bacteria take over part of the work. They ferment the leftover carbohydrates, and the longer they do that, the greater the strain from their breakdown products can become. These include acids, gases, and toxins.

The possible consequences

In this way, the bacteria’s activity releases substances in the body that put a strain on it. This can lead directly or indirectly to inflammatory changes and to over-acidification of the whole body. Other possible consequences are tiredness, the familiar food coma after eating, and a slower metabolism, even though you didn’t actually eat that much.

If you want to understand in even more detail how starch and gluten slow down the metabolism and why black pepper only works properly and has a lasting effect when the system is clear, you’ll find a detailed explanation here:

→ The pepper effect and the role of gluten and starch

The example presented here serves to illustrate typical connections from the perspective of holistic, experience-based healing. Every body reacts in its own way.