For good health, an Alkaline Diet is promoted in several branches of alternative medicine, especially Ayurveda. In modern times the Alkaline Diet became popular when Victoria Beckham tweeted in favour of an Alkaline Diet Cookbook - ‘Honestly Healthy’. An Alkaline Diet includes fresh fruits & vegetables (except cranberries, prunes and plums), soybeans, roots and tubers, nuts and legumes. According to the proponents of this Diet, foods such as meat, poultry, eggs, cheese, milk, grains and processed foods produce acid in our bodies, and should be restricted. The foods suggested in an Alkaline Diet are also considered healthy as they contain lots of water. The proponents of an Alkaline Diet further suggest that we shouldn’t have alcohol, tea or coffee. They believe that eating specific foods that make our body more alkaline protects us against diseases like arthritis and cancer and also helps us to lose weight. A healthy diet, as per them, should include 60-80% alkaline foods and 20-40% acidic foods, but the degree to which a food is alkaline or acidic matters. It is important to note that the above claims are not supported by medical evidence. Many doctors do not believe that an acid-producing diet is the foundation of any illness. However, there is evidence in ‘conventional’ medicine that Alkaline Diets can help prevent the formation of calcium kidney stones and osteoporosis.υ
Alkaline Food: Sprouts, tofu, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, peas, onions, spinach, apples, almonds, ginger, sweet potatoes and herbs.
Acidic Food: Beef, chicken, egg, pork, vinegar, tea, coffee, alcohol, chocolates, peanuts, butter, cheese, yoghurt, oil, fruit juices and soft drinks.
The pH Balance
Going back to high school Chemistry of ‘pH balance’, we know that a pH of 0 is totally acidic, a pH of 14 is completely alkaline and a pH of 7 is neutral. These levels vary throughout our body. With a pH between 7.35 and 7.45, our blood is slightly alkaline. However, our stomach is very acidic, with a pH of 3.5, as it needs to help break down the food in our body. Urine changes the pH level depending on what we eat. Though our body works to maintain an overall delicate pH balance, it is said that an Alkaline Diet helps our body to maintain its blood pH levels. Proponents of Alkaline Diets believe that a diet high in acid-producing foods disrupts this balance and promotes the loss of essential minerals - such as potassium, magnesium, calcium, and sodium - as the body tries to restore equilibrium. This imbalance is thought to make people prone to illness.
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