What is an alkaline diet? Does it work actually?
The alkaline diet is based on the idea that replacing acid-forming foods with alkaline foods can improve your health. The alkaline diet is also known as the acid-alkaline diet or alkaline ash diet. Its premise is that your diet can alter the pH value — the measurement of acidity or alkalinity — of your body.
Your metabolism — the conversion of food into energy — is sometimes compared to fire. Both involve a chemical reaction that breaks down a solid mass. However, the chemical reactions in your body happen in a slow and controlled manner. When things burn an ash residue is left behind. Similarly, the foods you eat leave an “ash” residue known as metabolic waste. This metabolic waste can be alkaline, neutral, or acidic. Proponents of this diet claim that metabolic waste can directly affect your body’s acidity. In other words, if you eat foods that leave acidic ash, it makes your blood more acidic. If you eat foods that leave alkaline ash, it makes your blood more alkaline.
Proponents of this diet even claim that it can help fight serious diseases like cancer.
Certain food groups are considered acidic, alkaline, or neutral:
Acidic: meat, poultry, fish, dairy, eggs, grains, alcohol
Neutral: natural fats, starches, and sugars
Alkaline: fruits, nuts, legumes, and vegetables
When discussing the alkaline diet, it’s important to understand pH which is a measurement of how acidic or alkaline something is.
The pH value ranges from 0–14:
- Acidic: 0.0–6.9
- Neutral: 7.0
- Alkaline (or basic): 7.1–14.0
Now the question is whether it works or not. It may work. Your blood is slightly alkaline, with a pH between 7.35 and 7.45. Your stomach is very acidic, with a pH of 3.5 or below, so it can break down food. And your urine changes, depending on what you eat — that’s how your body keeps the level in your blood steady. The alkaline diet claims to help your body maintain its blood pH level. In fact, nothing you eat is going to substantially change the pH of your blood. Your body works to keep that level constant. But the foods you’re supposed to eat on the alkaline diet are good for you and will support a healthy weight loss: lots of fruits and vegetables, and lots of water. Avoiding sugar, alcohol, and processed foods is healthy weight-loss advice, too. As to the other health claims, there’s some early evidence that a diet low in acid-producing foods like animal protein (such as meat and cheese) and bread and high in fruits and veggies could help prevent kidney stones, keep bones and muscles strong, improve heart health and brain function, reduce low back pain, and lower risk for type 2 diabetes. But researchers aren’t sure of some of these claims yet.
Reference
