Alkaline & Non-Alkaline Foods
The foods that you eat can have a powerful effect on your overall health. Most people are aware of the need to balance carbohydrates, fats and protein levels while ensuring that they get enough vitamins and minerals, but a growing trend in dieting is trying to balance acidic and alkaline foods in the diet to keep the body at the right pH 1.
Acidity and Physiology
The body strictly controls the levels of acidic and alkaline chemicals in the body. The balance between acids and bases can be measured using the pH scale, in which acidic substances have a low pH and basic or alkaline substances have a higher pH; a neutral pH is 7. In order to function properly, the body needs to keep the blood at a pH between 7.35 and 7.45, Intelihealth explains.
Physiological Buffers
Acid Forming Foods Vs. Alkaline Forming Foods
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Because the body carefully regulates the pH, it is difficult to significantly raise or lower the pH of the body via food. What can happen, however, is that consuming too much of acidic or alkaline foods can deplete some of the chemicals that the body uses to maintain its pH balance, Dr. Ben Kim explains 1. For example, the body uses phosphate to neutralize excess acid; the main source of phosphate in the body is calcium phosphate, which is found in bones and teeth. Thus, a diet that is too acidic could weaken the strength of these structures due to depletion of calcium phosphate.
- Because the body carefully regulates the pH, it is difficult to significantly raise or lower the pH of the body via food.
- For example, the body uses phosphate to neutralize excess acid; the main source of phosphate in the body is calcium phosphate, which is found in bones and teeth.
Acidic Foods
Foods that are considered to be "acidic" are those which increase the acidity in the body, regardless of the pH of the food itself. White pasta, alcohol, and many different kinds of beans also increase the amount of acid in the body.
Alkaline Foods
Alkaline Vs. Acidic pH Levels
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Most fruits and vegetables are considered to be alkaline foods, particularly leafy green vegetables. Citrus fruits, although technically acidic, are also classified as "alkaline" foods because when they are digested and metabolized, they overall increase the amount of alkaline substances in the body. Alkaline protein sources include:
- eggs
- why protein
- yogurt
- flax seeds
- pumpkin seeds
- squash
- many kinds of nuts
Spices such as cinnamon, mustard, curry, chili pepper and miso are also alkaline.
Considerations
Although the theory behind balancing alkaline and acidic foods is sound, there is not enough scientific evidence to support the concept that an imbalance between acidic and alkaline foods causes any sort of disease, InteliHealth explains. In addition, people trying to balance acidic and alkaline foods should make sure that they do not neglect other principles of a healthy diet, including eating foods from all the food groups and making sure that they do get enough vitamins and minerals. In spite of what you eat, Dr. Kim Explains that your body is designed to keep itself within a narrow margin of acid/alkaline range.
Related Articles
References
- Dr. Ben Kim: Foods and pH
- The Telegraph, "Cleanse your body with the alkaline diet." Dec. 29, 2014
- Han H, Segal AM, Seifter JL, Dwyer JT. Nutritional Management of Kidney Stones (Nephrolithiasis). Clin Nutr Res. 2015;4(3):137-52. DOI: 10.7762/cnr.2015.4.3.137
- Schwalfenberg GK. The alkaline diet: is there evidence that an alkaline pH diet benefits health?. J Environ Public Health. 2012;2012:727630. DOI:10.1155/2012/727630
- Remer, T et al. Potential Renal Acid Load of Foods and its Influence on Urine pH, Journal of the American Dietetic Association, Volume 95, Issue 7, 791 - 797 DOI:10.1016/S0002-8223(95)00219-7
- Dawson-Hughes B, Harris SS, Ceglia L. Alkaline diets favor lean tissue mass in older adults. Am J Clin Nutr. 2008;87(3):662-5. doi: 10.1093/ajcn/87.3.662
- Fagherazzi G, Vilier A, Bonnet F, et al. Dietary acid load and risk of type 2 diabetes: the E3N-EPIC cohort study. Diabetologia. 2014;57(2):313-20. doi:10.1007/s00125-013-3100-0
- Xu H, Åkesson A, Orsini N, Håkansson N, Wolk A, Carrero JJ. Modest U-Shaped Association between Dietary Acid Load and Risk of All-Cause and Cardiovascular Mortality in Adults. J Nutr. 2016;146(8):1580-5. doi:10.3945/jn.116.231019
- Han E, Kim G, Hong N, et al. Association between dietary acid load and the risk of cardiovascular disease: nationwide surveys (KNHANES 2008-2011). Cardiovasc Diabetol. 2016;15(1):122. doi:10.1186/s12933-016-0436-z
- Jia T, Byberg L, Lindholm B, et al. Dietary acid load, kidney function, osteoporosis, and risk of fractures in elderly men and women. Osteoporos Int. 2015;26(2):563-70. doi:10.1007/s00198-014-2888-x
- Rebholz CM, Coresh J, Grams ME, et al. Dietary Acid Load and Incident Chronic Kidney Disease: Results from the ARIC Study. Am J Nephrol. 2015;42(6):427-35. doi:10.1159/000443746
Writer Bio
Adam Cloe has been published in various scientific journals, including the "Journal of Biochemistry." He is currently a pathology resident at the University of Chicago. Cloe holds a Bachelor of Arts in biochemistry from Boston University, a M.D. from the University of Chicago and a Ph.D. in pathology from the University of Chicago.