QUESTION: What’s all this about acid-alkaline diets. Does it really help my health to eat alkaline foods? - Tory
ANSWER: The notion that we need to eat predominantly “alkaline” foods crops up repeatedly, usually to justify the endorsement of a largely or exclusively vegetarian diet, or fasting based on vegetable juices.
The thesis is that foods in themselves can have immediate acid or [tag]alkaline-forming[/tag] effects on the blood and tissues. The theory derives from the fact that when entirely burned, foods leave an ash or residue that is either acidic, alkaline or neutral.
- Breads, cereals, fish, meats, eggs and poultry usually leave an acid-ash residue due to high amounts of chlorine, sulphur (in the case of meats and eggs) and phosphorus (in the case of meat and whole grains).
- Alkaline-ash foods are those in which the elements potassium, sodium, calcium and magnesium predominate, including most vegetables and fruitseven fruits with a high acid component like citrus and tomatoes, because these acids can be completely metabolized in the body into carbon dioxide, water and energy.
- As for nuts: almonds, chestnuts and coconuts are alkaline-ash foods, while Brazil nuts, peanuts and walnuts yield an acid ash.
- Most legumes are alkaline-ash foods except for lentils, which yield an acid ash.
- Neutral-ash foods are the pure fats like butter and lard, because they can be completely burned, and refined carbohydrates like white sugar and cornstarch, because they contain no minerals.
- Milk products yield an alkaline ash due to high levels of calcium.
- Phytates in whole grains complicate the picture because they bind with alkaline-ash minerals and carry them out of the body.
- Additives found in various foodstuffs have an unpredictable effect on the food residue.
The important thing to stress here is that just because a specific food may burn to an acid or alkaline ash does not mean that it will have a direct acidifying or alkalinizing effect on the complicated biochemistry of the body.
Under normal conditions, the blood, saliva and extra-cellular fluids are slightly alkaline, while the urine is slightly acidic. The pH value of these fluids is maintained by a series of complex feedback mechanisms in the body and, in general, is not dependent on dietary excesses of either acid or alkaline foods. After a meal rich in proteins, the blood will become more alkaline for a short period, which is in effect a balancing reaction to the secretion of large amounts of hydrochloric acid in the stomach. Following this the blood then undergoes a short-lived increase in acidity, which is again a balancing reaction to the heavy secretion of alkaline enzyme-rich solutions from the pancreas. These reactions are completely normal and should in no way be interpreted as justification for avoiding high-protein, “acid-forming” foods.
In the most simple terms, the normal, slightly alkaline condition of the blood is maintained primarily by the action of the kidneys and the lungs regulating the balance between the amount of carbon dioxide and bicarbonate ions in the blood. Problems with the kidneys or lungs, dehydration, ingestion of certain drugs, diabetic conditions or other causes may lead to acidosis, with symptoms of drowsiness, progressing to stupor and coma. This acute condition may be relieved by taking an alkaline solution, such as bicarbonate of soda. The condition of alkalosis may likewise be caused by impaired kidney function as well as hyperventilation, ingestion of certain drugs such as diuretics or steroids, and loss of acid from the body due to vomiting or gastric drainage. Symptoms include cramps, muscle spasms, irritability and hyper-excitability. Treatment of this acute condition may include breathing expired carbon dioxide from a paper bag or taking an acidic solution, such as ammonium chloride.
Unusual chronic or long-term conditions of acidosis or alkalosis may be relieved by stressing more acid-forming or alkaline-forming foods in the diet, but such regimes can also lead to deficiencies that actually worsen the condition. Many people with perfectly normal blood pH values have followed “alkalinizing diets” without realizing that there is no particular need to do so. One particularly dangerous theory suggests that the human diet should be composed entirely of alkaline-forming fruits and vegetables to the exclusion of protein-rich “acid-forming” foods. Under the vast majority of conditions, high-protein foods, such as meat and eggs, do not cause the blood to be pathologically acidic. On the contrary, good quality protein is needed for the body to maintain the proper pH values of the blood and extra cellular fluids and to maintain the health and integrity of the lungs and kidneys, those organs which have the most to do with regulating the pH values of the blood. Phosphorus in whole grains, which is an “acid-forming” mineral, actually plays an important role in preventing the blood from becoming too acid.
The notion that we should consume mostly alkaline-ash foods was proposed during the 1930s, when [tag]Dr Weston A Price[/tag] was carrying out his pioneering studies of traditional peoples. Dr. Price responded to proponents of this theory by pointing out that the diets of healthy primitives contained more “acid” food than “alkaline” foods, because of the high consumption of [tag]animal foods[/tag] and, in some cultures, whole grains. For example, Dr. Weston Price found that the Eskimo, living on a diet composed almost exclusively of “acid-forming” high-protein foods, showed no signs of acidosis. These healthy diets were rich in both acid-ash and alkaline-ash foods, with acid-ash foods predominating.
The important point is that we need lots of [tag]minerals[/tag] in our diets. An unbalanced diet consisting mainly of “alkaline-forming” fruits and vegetables, while possibly useful in the short term as a fast, can lead to serious deficienciesof minerals and also of vitamins–in the long run; for diabetics and those who suffer from hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) a diet composed exclusively of fruits and vegetables can be dangerous even in the short term.
A quick test that is often recommended to determine whether the body is too “acid” is the saliva pH testyou merely test the pH of your saliva with a special strip of paper which turns dark if the saliva is slightly alkaline. Some years ago I tested the saliva of myself and my family–it was consistently alkaline even though we ate a lot of animal foods and whole grains. Then I got the bright idea of testing the saliva of our dog, who consumed only meat, organ meats and bones. His saliva was alkaline also! So much for the theory that eating meat will cause the body to be too acid.
But deficiencies in protein and in minerals can create such a condition, in which case, the solution is a nutrient-dense diet contain adequate protein, one that is rich in minerals and also in vitamins A and D, which the body needs to absorb minerals. [tag]Vitamins A and D[/tag] are found in egg yolks, butterfat and [tag]organ meats[/tag] of grass-fed animals, shell fish, fish eggs and [tag]cod liver oil[/tag]
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