Alkaline Diet
Updated Aug. 06th, 2019
The concept of monitoring the body's acid/alkali balance to maintain health has been around for nearly a century. Since that discovery, a number of diets proposing the reduction of acidity, and increase of alkalinity in the body have been put forward. In general, the alkaline (ash) diet involves eating more alkaline foods such as: fresh low-sugar fruits (with an emphasis on citrus), all vegetables, root vegetables, nuts, and legumes, while at the same time avoiding acid-forming foods such as: grains, dairy, meat, sugar, alcohol, and caffeine.
Such a diet is alleged to help maintain slight alkalinity of blood without stressing the body's regulators of acid-base homeostasis. It has been theorized that these changes can lead to a vast number of health benefits including: prevention of bone loss, cancer and allergies, while promoting weight loss and increased energy.
Acid-Base Balance in the Body: Catabolism of the Tissues
The standard North American diet is high in protein, fat, sugar and phosphorus from the consumption of meats, refined grains, junk foods, salty foods, alcohol, coffee and soft drinks, and this results in a chronic, low-grade, metabolic acidosis (an acidic state in the body). The acid-base balance (pH) of the cellular environment affects almost all of the body's metabolic processes. In order to maintain homeostasis, the body must put in extra work to counteract the acidosis from our diets to allow healthy cellular reactions to continue. In fact, our blood pH is tightly maintained in a narrow range between 7.35 and 7.45. Since this pH balance in the blood is so important, our bodies are willing to sacrifice most other tissues to maintain it. In order to neutralize acidity in the blood, our body uses a complex chain of different acid-base balancing reactions that are often catabolic to our other tissues. One example of this requires leeching calcium out of the bones and into the bloodstream to help neutralize the acidity. Another involves breaking down available protein (often from our muscles) to release ammonia ions to provide base to neutralize the acid. Unfortunately, increasing these levels in the blood stream result in their loss through the kidneys into the urine, further depleting the body. Helping to eliminate the acidity problem can potentially help your body maintain your bone density and your muscle mass.
The Role of Inflammation
Inflammation in the body creates an environment that is also increasingly acidic. That is a possible reason why we see bone disturbances that occur with: ageing, inflammation, fractures, tumours, anemia, kidney disease, diabetes, respiratory disease and smoking. Even beyond alkalinizing the body, in general, reducing inflammation in the body will help to increase overall health.
Acidic Foods vs Acid-Forming Foods
When considering acidity we think of foods that are directly acidic like lemons and grapefruits, but this is not their acid-base role in the body. It is not the physical acidity of the foods that matters as much as the effect they have on our bodies. It is the digestive process and what is absorbed and utilized by our body that matters. The digestion of animal proteins from meat and dairy products increases the acidity in our blood from the breakdown of sulfur-containing amino acids. A vegetarian diet has been clinically shown to promote alkaline outcomes in the body when compared with a non-vegetarian diet. The digestion of grains is also acid-forming in the body. It should be noted that increasing your fruit and vegetable intake can over-ride most of the deleterious effects from eating animal and grain products, so a strictly vegetarian diet is not necessary. It helps if you consider the problem to be insufficient alkaline instead of excess acid. So long as sufficient fruits and vegetable servings are consumed, their alkalinity will counteract a reasonable amount of acid-forming foods ingested.
How to Test Your Acid-Base Balance
Testing and monitoring your own pH levels at home is easy with pH strips. Look for these commercially available pH strips at your local health food store or online. Our pH levels run from zero to 14 on a scale, where zero represents full acidity and 14 represents full alkalinity. The goal is to have a pH close to 7 on the scale, the same as high quality water. Keeping your pH levels between 6.2 and 7.4 will generally improve your health, however these guidelines may not apply to everyone with specific health concerns. Testing is easy and fast – simply take an individual strip and use your own saliva first thing in the morning, or, a sample of your urine taken from your second bathroom trip of the day. Most strips with come with a chart for you to record your pH levels over a period of time so that you can compare your findings. If you have any concerns regarding your pH levels and what is a healthy level for you, please consult your healthcare provider.
Alkalinizing the Body
Changing the diet to foods that promote alkaline conditions helps to ease the body's burden and eliminate the need to pull calcium from the bones and protein from the muscles. It is theorized that an alkaline diet helps to reduce or eliminate low-grade metabolic acidosis, which allows the body's metabolic processes to continue at their optimal rates. Foods that contain higher levels of potassium are alkalinizing, as potassium can act as a natural buffer in the bloodstream. Ingesting more potassium salts is beneficial and can also help us avoid ingesting as much sodium, a mineral involved in hypertension, and cardiovascular disease. Another way of increasing alkalinity is to ingest more sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) in your diet, as bicarbonate is a strong base, and a direct means of alkalinizing your body. Fruits and vegetables are rich in potassium bicarbonate, and are an easy and natural way to alkalinize your diet. In addition to dietary changes, supplementation can be beneficial to increasing your alkalinity. Some examples of alkalinizing supplements are:
Calcium
This mineral plays an integral role in many processes in our body and many aspects of our metabolism. The role of greatest interest here is its use by the body in buffering the blood during metabolic acidosis. For more information on calcium supplementation, please click here and read "Acid-Base Balance in the Body" above.
Magnesium
Much like calcium, magnesium is a mineral that is integral to our normal enzymatic functioning and the working of our muscles. Supplementation can help to improve the absorption of calcium and further increase alkalinity.
Potassium
This mineral is one of the major contributors to alkalinizing the body. It is extremely beneficial, but supplementation must be done very carefully. Excessive amounts of potassium can result in heart palpitations and even cardiac arrest. For more information please click here.
Greens Powder
Because many people find it difficult to eat their 5-10 servings of fruits and vegetables on a daily basis, supplementing with a greens powder can help you to get most of the vitamins and nutrients you are missing out on and can also help to shift your body towards alkalinity.
Chlorophyll
Chlorophyll is the molecule found in plants that gives the leaves their green colour. It closely resembles the structure of the oxygen-carrying molecule in our blood called hemoglobin. Ingestion of chlorophyll, much like the ingestion of vegetables can help to improve alkalinity in the body.
Controversy
The acid-alkali or acid-ash diet, and other similar diets have become the focus of significant attention in the last decade or so. Although the theory behind the health benefits of increasing alkalinity in the diet was initially developed nearly a century ago, there is still a lot of controversy regarding the health benefits to this day. There is positive research showing benefit to bone health (reduced bone mineral resorption) with an increase in dietary alkalinity. On the other hand, a 2011 meta-analysis combining the results from a large number of different studies found that despite this positive effect on bone health, there was no overall effect on reducing osteoporosis. As for the other benefits, there is very little reliable research available. The final answer here is still unclear, but improving your diet in a way that reduces acidity is in line with changes that have been well established to reduce inflammation and improve your overall health. Increasing fruits and vegetables has been long established as beneficial to health in a wide variety of different ways, and can easily be seen as a means of improving wellness.
Important Information
The acid-base balance in our bodies is under extremely tight metabolic control. Exceeding the recommended dosages of supplements can be detrimental to this balance. Certain supplements such as potassium can be extremely dangerous when abused, please follow label recommendations carefully. The effects of the alkalinizing during pregnancy and breast-feeding has not been sufficiently studied, so radical dietary and supplementation changes during these times should not be attempted without consulting a healthcare professional. It can be noted that eating 5-10 fruit and vegetable servings during pregnancy and breast-feeding has been shown to be extremely beneficial, and increased intake of these foods is encouraged.
This article has some great information on how to keep your body in an alkaline state. There are so many acidic foods in our diet, it's important to have balance.
This article covers the somewhat controversial topic of the alkaline diet really well! It seems to be a subject so many people have trouble wrapping their minds around because of the difference between acidic foods versus acid-producing foods. I think they covered the difference really well here.
I have an auto-immune joint disorder that has symptoms very similar to arthritis. In trying to reduce these symptoms, I feel like I tried everything under the sun! I tried a gluten-free diet, which really opened my eyes to reading ingredient lists closely. It helped in that I reduced my intake of grains but I would still get severe symptoms when eating starchy foods (whether or not they contain gluten..). In the end, it has been a lot of trial and error and listening to my body to learn which foods trigger inflammation in me. Many of the triggering foods are in fact acid-producing though, so this article would be a great place to start if you’re embarking on reducing symptoms of rampant inflammation!
Hello Andria,
Thank you for your review on this article. When it comes to food and nourishing our bodies, there's a lot of science that goes into it; after all it is a chemical process. We're glad you found this article helpful in outlining the differences and how they can effect ones health. Since you've been enjoying our articles, you may also like our youtube channel:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClBjYPog9j0VY0gcIt-Tq2Q
Have a healthy day!
It's so nice to see a company like NN write about important issues like alkaline diets. So many of our health problems stem from our bodies being too acidic but it's not something a lot of mainstream health practitioners talk about. Glad that NN shares good information with the public!
Hello Stephanie,
Thank you and we're glad you've been enjoying our articles. We work hard to provide beneficial information our customers can learn from. Acidity can be a big cause in health concerns; therefore it's important to have the information to make healthier choices.
Stay healthy & carry on!
Diet is everything, if not eating an alkaline diet there is no question of getting symptoms of any kind. Too much acid foods are out there tempting the population. The body can only go 2 directions either towards acidity or alkalinity. Human blood stays in a very narrow pH range right around 7.3. Below or above this range means symptoms and disease
Hello Astrid,
Thank you for sharing your thoughts & we're thrilled to see you enjoyed our article. We hope you continue to enjoy many more and further learn how to stay healthy with us!
Stay well!
On the alkaline diet, you’ll be eating lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, nuts, seeds, whole grains and root vegetables. Think: avocados, walnuts, almonds, farro, quinoa, broccoli, celery, peppers and greens. Some alkaline diets allow you to eat legumes and soy products; others suggest avoiding them.
Acidic foods to limit on the alkaline diet include: meat and all animal products (including dairy), processed sugars, sugar-sweetened beverages, caffeine and processed foods.
Hello Paul,
An alkaline diet can help overall health and decrease inflammation. PH balance is important and having a body that's too acidic can cause health issues. Lots of whole foods, as you mentioned, are a great place to start, as are green juices, turmeric and healing herbs. You may enjoy our healthy recipes too:
https://www.nationalnutrition.ca/articles/healthy-recipes/
Who knew that the alkalinity or acidity of your body was so crucial?! I have never really heard much about this topic and am beginning to wonder why as it seems like very important information to know! I didn't realize that a more acidic body was less favorable and it seems like I'm guilty of eating foods that tend to make the body acidic! I love that this article provides foods that make the body more alkaline such as veggies to balance the body out. Great article!
Hello, Rose With Thorns,
Indeed, your body's ph level is very important and it works very hard to keep it at its optimal level. Unfortunately different foods are more acidic and cause your body to work harder to keep its optimal ph level. If your body becomes too acidic, that's where disease can thrive. We're glad this article taught you new information about your health and thank you for sharing your thoughts. If you need healthy recipe inspo. and new veggie dish recipes, check out our section here: https://www.nationalnutrition.ca/articles/healthy-recipes/
I hear an alkalizing diet being discussed a lot in wellness media. A common misconception is that alkalizing foods are alkaline. One underappreciated aspect of pH is its effect on dental health: too much lemon (not alkaline but alkalizing) or any other acidic food, for that matter, can damage enamel which erodes under pH 4.5. Greens powders, which you strongly recommend, tend to be around neutral pH (unlike most foods, which lean towards acidity), and are amazingly alkalizing by commonly used metrics such as PRAL. Overall, minimizing acid and acid production by diet can be benficial for holistic health.
Hello, Rachel,
Thank you for your comment. Yes, some acidic foods can be alkalizing to the body. It's important people have a balance of both and help keep your body at its optimal pH level that it works very hard to stay at. Unfortunately the average Western diet is very acidic so incorporating alkalizing food items can help. Glad you enjoyed this article and don't forget to check out our healthy recipes too: https://www.nationalnutrition.ca/articles/healthy-recipes/
I had to adopt an Alkaline diet in order go help with heartburn issues. It has helped a great deal. It is very important to pay attention to not eat lots of acidic foods.
Hello, L.D,
Thank you for sharing, glad to hear you found something natural that helps. A few tweaks in your diet can make big improvements, consuming more alkalizing foods is a great place to start considering a typical Western diet is very acidic. If you'd like to discover new healthy recipes, check out our recipe section: https://www.nationalnutrition.ca/articles/healthy-recipes/
Have a healthy day.
Thanks for so much help. I have bone loss and rheumatoid arthritis for years and because of hard life of working 16 hrs a day ate anything that came in hand to keep pushing the body and I just see the results now. I buy a lot of nutritional supplements but don’t know if they were right. Now I will pay attention and follow the suggestions of yours and the book that put me to this level. Thanks I know I will make progress for I do not want to go bad to worst.
Hello Daisy,
Thank you for your feedback, we are glad this article resonated with you and can help improve your well-being. You can check out these articles of ours on rheumatoid arthritis and bone loss to see if your supplements are suggested, https://www.nationalnutrition.ca/articles/health-concerns/rheumatoid-arthritis/ and https://www.nationalnutrition.ca/articles/health-concerns/bone-health-osteoporosis/