Is the Alkaline Diet Right for me?

This is a diet based on eating foods that maintain an optimal pH level within our body fluids, including blood and urine. The foods we eat can be classified as either acid-forming or alkaline-forming.Consumption of high quantities of acid-forming foods disrupts the normal pH levels, creating an imbalance which increases susceptibility to illness. The idea behind the diet is that disease cannot thrive in a body that has an optimum pH, which is slightly alkaline.

What can I eat on the Alkaline  diet? 

Foods are classified as either alkaline, neutral or acid:

• Alkaline foods: Vegetables, fruits, nuts, legumes
• Neutral: Starches, sugars, natural fats
• Acidic foods: Meat, poultry, fish, dairy, eggs, grains, alcohol

People on the alkaline diet should aim to eat as many alkaline foods as possible.

What can’t I eat on the Alkaline diet? 

• Dairy
• Eggs
• Canned and packaged snacks
• Alcohol
• Caffeine

What are some of the proposed benefits to the alkaline diet?

• Helps to prevent heart disease, due to lower fat intake.
• Rapidly promotes weight loss.
• A lower acid diet can ease symptoms of kidney damage.
• Alkaline minerals in the diet help to reduce back pains.
• The diet promotes healthy muscles.

Are there any negatives to the Alkaline diet?

• The diet is based on limited research and it is unlikely that a diet can have a considerable effect on our blood PH.
• Our bodies are equipped to balance it’s internal systems and many foods that are avoided in this diet are actually healthy foods such as eggs and whole grains

For further information on modern diets, click here.

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Sources:

• Blackburn, K. “The Alkaline Diet: What You Need to Know.” MD Anderson Cancer Center, Sept. 2018, www.mdanderson.org/publications/focused-on-health/the-alkaline-diet–what-you-need-to-know.h18-1592202.html.
• Cohen, J. “The Trendiest Diets Of 2018: Will They Work For You?” Forbes, 1 June 2018, www.forbes.com/sites/jennifercohen/2018/06/01/the-trendiest-diets-of-2018-will-they-work-for-you/#55a137aa3aca.
• Leech, Joe. “The Alkaline Diet.” Healthline, Healthline Media, 25 Sept. 2019, www.healthline.com/nutrition/the-alkaline-diet-myth.
• Schwalfenberg, G K. “The Alkaline Diet: Is There Evidence That an Alkaline PH Diet Benefits Health?” Journal of Environmental and Public Health, vol. 2012:727630, 2012, doi:10.1155/2012/727630.
• Vormann, J, et al. “Supplementation with Alkaline Minerals Reduces Symptoms in Patients with Chronic Low Back Pain.” Journal of Trace Elements in Medicine and Biology, vol. 15, no. 2-3, 2001, pp. 179–183., doi:10.1016/S0946-672X(01)80064-X.