Much has been said and written about alkalising foods being more healthful. This is actually part of a growing diet trend known as alkaline diet. Some experts agree that it is a good form of diet, some remain neutral and some disagree. But what is it really?
What is an Alkaline Diet and How Does It Work?
The alkaline diet, which is also known as the acid-alkaline diet or alkaline ash diet, is a form of diet which lies in the premise that the food you eat can alter the pH value or the measurement of acidity or alkalinity of your body.
Metabolism, or the process that converts food into energy, is sometimes compared to fire and involves a chemical reaction that breaks down a solid mass. However, the chemical reactions in your body happen in a slow and controlled manner. And when things burn, an ash residue is left behind. This is similar with foods you eat in that they also leave an "ash" residue known as metabolic waste.
And it has been suggested that these metabolic waste can be alkaline or neutral or acidic, depending on the kind of diet that you have. Metabolic waste can directly affect your body's acidity. This means that eating food that leaves acidic ash makes your blood more acidic. If you eat foods that leave alkaline ash, it makes your blood more alkaline.
According to the acid-ash hypothesis, acidic ash is thought to make you vulnerable to illness and chronic diseases, whereas alkaline ash is considered protective. So by consuming more alkaline foods, you should be able to "alkalize" your body and improve health.
What are the Health Benefits of an Alkaline Diet?
Alkaline-forming foods promote weight loss as they're low in saturated fats and calories. What's more important, though, is that such foods neutralise the body's acidic environment, which in turn improves bone health. An acidic diet is believed to increase acid levels in the blood that causes bone corrosion. To neutralise excess acid and maintain a normal blood pH level, the body draws alkaline minerals from the bones, such as high calcium levels, which leads to a reduction in bone density.
To reduce the negative impact of acid-forming foods on your health, which include ultra-processed food, animal protein, dairy products and junk food, among others, turn to a diet with lots of green, leafy vegetables, complex carbs like sweet potato, fresh fruits (except citrus fruits) and plant-based protein like almond milk. An alkaline diet has far-reaching benefits such as the following:
- Combats cancer cells
- Reduces the risk of heart disease
- Lowers blood pressure
- Prevents kidney stones
- Helps with digestive illnesses
- Strengthen immune system
- Helps with inflammation
- Best for diabetic people
List of Alkaline and Acidic Foods
There are many great sources of information available on alkaline vs acidic foods and also various ways in which the pH foods are tested. The following is a list of the more alkaline foods, the more acidic as well as the more neutral foods. Each one is assigned a number which indicates its alkalinity by the (+) sign or its acidity by the (-) sign. Therefore, the higher the number, the more alkaline.
Alkaline Foods
Vegetables
- Alfalfa Grass +29.3
- Asparagus +1.3
- Barley Grass +28.1
- Broccoli +14.4
- Brussels Sprouts +0.5
- Cabbage Lettuce, Fresh +14.1
- Cauliflower +3.1
- Cayenne Pepper +18.8
- Celery +13.3
- Chives +8.3
- Comfrey +1.5
- Cucumber, Fresh +31.5
- Dandelion +22.7
- Endive, Fresh +14.5
- French Cut Green Beans +11.2
- Garlic +13.2
- Green Cabbage December Harvest +4.0
- Green Cabbage, March Harvest +2.0
- Kamut Grass +27.6
- Lamb's Lettuce +4.8
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- Leeks (Bulbs) +7.2
- Lettuce +2.2
- Onion +3.0
- Peas, Fresh +5.1
- Peas, Ripe +0.5
- Red Cabbage +6.3
- Rhubarb Stalks +6.3
- Savoy Cabbage +4.5
- Shave Grass +21.7
- Sorrel +11.5
- Soy Sprouts +29.5
- Spinach +13.1
- Spinach, March Harvest +8.0
- Sprouted Chia Seeds +28.5
- Sprouted Radish Seeds +28.4
- Straw Grass +21.4
- Watercress +7.7
- Wheat Grass +33.8
- White Cabbage +3.3
- Zucchini +5.7
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Root Vegetables
- Beet +11.3
- Carrot +9.5
- Horseradish +6.8
- Kohlrabi +5.1
- Potatoes +2.0
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- Red Radish +16.7
- Rutabaga +3.1
- Summer Black Radish +39.4
- Turnip +8.0
- White Radish +3.1
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Fruits
- Avocado +15.6
- Fresh Lemon +9.9
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Non-Stored Organic Grains and Legumes
- Buckwheat Groats +0.5
- Granulated Soy (Cooked Ground Soybeans) +12.8
- Lentils +0.6
- Lima Beans +12.0
- Quinoa +
- Soy Flour +2.5
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- Soy Lecithin (Pure) +38.0
- Soy Nuts (soaked SoyBeans, Then Air Dried) +26.5
- Soybeans, Fresh +12.0
- Spelt +0.5
- Tofu +3.2
- White Beans (Navy Beans) +12.1
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Nuts
Seeds
- Caraway Seeds +2.3
- Cumin Seeds +1.1
- Fennel Seeds +1.3
- Flaxseeds +1.3
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- Pumpkin Seeds +5.6
- Sesame Seeds +0.5
- Sunflower Seeds +5.4
- Wheat Kernel +11.4
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Fats (Fresh, Cold-Pressed Oils)
- Borage Oil +3.2
- Evening Primrose Oil +4.1
- Flaxseed Oil +3.5
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Foods you should only consume moderately
Fruits (In season, for Cleansing only or in moderation)
- Apples -8,5
- Apricot -9.5
- Banana, Ripe -10.1
- Banana, Unripe +4.8
- Black Currant -6.1
- Blueberry -5.3
- Cantaloupe -2.5
- Cherry, Sour +3.5
- Cherry, Sweet -3.6
- Coconut, Fresh +0.5
- Cranberry -7.0
- Currant -8.2
- Date -4.7
- Fig Juice Powder -2.4
- Gooseberry, Ripe -7.7
- Grape, Ripe -7.6
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- Grapefruit -1.7
- Italian Plum -4.9
- Mandarin Orange -11.5
- Mango -8.7
- Orange -9.2
- Papaya -9.4
- Peach -9.7
- Pear -9.9
- Pineapple -12.6
- Raspberry -5.1
- Red Currant -2.4
- Rose Hips -15.5
- Strawberry -5.4
- Tangerine -8.5
- Watermelon -1.0
- Yellow Plum -4.9
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Non-Stored Grains
Nuts
- Hazelnuts -2.0
- Macadamia Nuts -3.2
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Fish
Fats
Acidic Foods
Meat, Poultry, And Fish
- Beef -34.5
- Chicken (to -22) -18.0
- Eggs (to -22)
- Liver -3.0
- Ocean Fish -20.0
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- Organ Meats -3.0
- Oysters -5.0
- Pork -38.0
- Veal -35.0
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Milk And Milk Products
- Buttermilk +1.3
- Cream -3.9
- Hard Cheese -18.1
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- Homogenized Milk -1.0
- Quark
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Bread, Biscuits (Stored Grains/Risen Dough)
- Rye Bread -2.5
- White Biscuit -6.5
- White Bread -10.0
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- Whole-Grain Bread -4.5
- Whole-Meal Bread -6.5
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Nuts
- Cashews -9.3
- Peanuts -12.8
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Fats
- Butter -3.9
- Corn Oil -6.5
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Sweets
- Artificial Sweeteners -26.5
- Barley Malt Syrup -9.3
- Beet Sugar -15.1
- Brown Rice Syrup -8.7
- Chocolate -24.6
- Fructose -9.5
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- Honey -7.6
- Malt Sweetener -9.8
- Milk Sugar -9.4
- Molasses -14.6
- Turbinado Sugar -9.5
- White Sugar -17.6
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Condiments
- Ketchup -12.4
- Mayonnaise -12.5
- Mustard -19.2
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- Soy Sauce -36.2
- Vinegar -39.4
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Beverages
- Beer -26.8
- Coffee -25.1
- Fruit Juice Sweetened
- Fruit Juice, Packaged, Natural -8.7
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- Liquor -38.7
- Tea (Black) -27.1
- Wine -16.4
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Miscellaneous (These are high acidity)
- Canned Foods
- Microwaved Foods
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While it's good to consider an alkaline diet plan to balance the acidity in your body, it doesn't mean you have to restrict your protein sources and run the risk of developing a variety of physical and mental health conditions. Maintaining a healthy, balanced diet and not going overboard with acid-forming foods will support your body's innate ability to eliminate excess acid in urine and discharge carbon dioxide through the lungs, to ensure that your blood pH stays within the normal range.
Contact a certified nutritionist in your local area through the Natural Therapy Pages to find out which alkaline-forming foods are ideal for you based on your body's pH level.
Originally published on Jul 24, 2019
