Demystifying the Alkaline Diet: A Beginner’s Guide Print 43 LikeDislike By Ashley Nickelsen Everywhere you go these days, it seems like someone is swearing by the “Alkaline Diet,” a trending diet phenomenon that has recently become popular. Celebrities are touting this diet for its transformative and restorative effects, but when it comes down to it, what exactly is this food plan, and why is it supposedly so good for the body? Here’s a brief rundown.The Alkaline Diet (also referred to as the “alkaline ash diet” or the “alkaline acid diet”) is a loosely-based diet prescription that emphasizes foods that “alkalize” the body (i.e., increase pH) and eliminates foods that promote acidity. When the body metabolizes (or breaks down) food, a residue is leftover at the end of the process. This “ash” is either acidic or alkaline, and consequently affects the pH of bodily fluids like blood and urine. The alkaline diet, therefore, is founded on the notion that certain foods affect the body’s pH. Contrary to popular belief, the diet is not based on the pH of the foods themselves.So, in adopting the alkaline diet, what foods should you eat and what foods should you avoid? Alkalizing foods include fruits, vegetables and whole grains. This particular veggie and umeboshi soup is particularly alkalizing and detoxifying. These broad categories are encouraged, while acidifying foods like meat, wheat, dairy, processed foods and refined sugars are eliminated. Although the body is equipped with specialized mechanisms (i.e., in the kidney) to neutralize acidic environments, the alkaline diet can help to alleviate the stress put on these detoxification systems. This helps to maintain the health of integral organ systems in the body.The Alkaline Diet is often used for dealing with GERD, bone health, and even cancer. Although the evidence-based research supporting this diet has a long way to go and is not yet conclusive, some of the health claims associated with the alkaline diet have some merit, as the diet does reduce some of the acidic “burden” on the body. Whatever you might be treating with this diet, it can be challenging to come up with alternatives to the acidifying foods you may be used to.To help you think creatively about substitutions, I have come up with the following cheat sheet: Note: PLEASE consult with your doctor before making any changes to your diet or medications. The material on this site is provided for educational purposes only, and is not to be used for medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.Check out The Alkaline Diet Plan by Dr. Connie Jeon for recipes and advice! Ready to cut sugar out from your life? Take the #SugarPledge and sign up for our FREE 7-Day Sugar Detox Challenge BE HEALTHY EVERY DAY with Further Food Collagen Peptides! Collagen heals your body from the inside out. Learn more here!
Christine September 5, 2021 at 7:43 amI don’t understand the lemon & lime suggestion. Their PH’s are between 2-3. I have LPR, & I have personally found that lemon, especially, has Been very diffult to consume. It’s also really messed around w/ my voice box! Reply ↓
Stymie December 15, 2020 at 7:30 amAlkaline diets may especially help people that suffer from GERD and/or LPR. But I think some of your “cheat sheet” is kinda splitting hairs. For instance, must nuts are fine for people with LPR looking to lower acid, as are red potatoes. Sure, maybe ideally it would be better to replace regular potatoes with sweet etc etc…but regular ol’ potatoes have a pH of around 6 (fine to eat). From my experience the best approach is to adopt rules of thumb….avoid all foods under 5 pH; limit those in 5-6 range; avoid all the classic LPR/GERD triggers (onions, garlic, mint, chocolate, alcohol, caffeinated drinks, fried or fatty foods etc.); eat diary (if you eat it) in moderation. I personally found relief from LPR by eliminating glutton…even though it is not acidic. I’m not alone in this, but it certainly isnt a cure-all. Reply ↓
Gary Catona April 21, 2019 at 4:27 pmI have LPR and very confused about what my proper diet should be. As I look online there are so many contradictions as to what to eat – e.x., grains, rice, avocado, gluten-free pasta, almonds, almond milk.PLease offer a consistent diet. Reply ↓
Shermere April 6, 2019 at 6:56 pmI’m to lose weight I was told alkaline diet was the I really hope so cause I done tried everything Reply ↓
Marina Rutter July 11, 2017 at 5:04 amVery interesting. I have arthritis in my left thumb and right hand index finger will it help? Reply ↓
ALEXANDRA HEITZ RNP February 24, 2017 at 1:23 pmdoes the alkaline diet help to eliminate renal cysts and calculi? i very much appreciated information given here. Reply ↓
Melissahaf January 14, 2017 at 1:50 pmwhoa1h this blog is great i love reading your posts. Keep up the great work! You know, a lot of people are looking around for this information, you can aid them greatly. Reply ↓
JulieNip January 13, 2017 at 8:24 pmGood post! I read your blog often and you always post excellent content. I posted this article on Facebook and my followers like it. Thanks for writing this! Reply ↓
acandee March 1, 2016 at 6:56 pmI agree, the body does balance it’s blood pH and if it is too acid will rob from anywhere in body to maintain that…often the bones. Acidity = inflammation. The focus of this lifestyle is reduce inflammation which is the basis of most chronic illness. Reply ↓
julie.a February 29, 2016 at 9:34 pmThis is a healthy diet, but not for the reason it claims. This diet, while healthy, absolutely does not affect your blood pH. A body’s blood pH is highly controlled (7.35-7.45) and your body, not the food you eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner, works hard, and well, at keeping it within that range (1). I will agree that an alkaline diet will cause urine to be more alkaline, but there is little (to no) evidence to suggest that alkaline urine is a reliable index of blood pH or of a person’s overall health. The recommendations of this diet are healthy, but it is a fable that one can change their blood pH with diet. It’s articles like this, that don’t include any science to back up these fad diets, that perpetuate misinformation. 1.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3195546/ Reply ↓
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