Learn more about the Alkaline Diet
Benefits of alkaline-forming foods for everyone
As a general rule, you can classify foods as either acid-forming or alkaline forming. The standard American diet is completely acid-forming, rich in acid-forming meat, dairy and highly processed foods. Your body’s pH is 7.35, or slightly alkaline.
Your body constantly seeks balance and works hard to maintain the healthy neutral alkaline zone.
While the foods you eat cannot change this zone, your body must compensate for a high intake of acid-forming foods by leaching calcium (an alkalizing mineral) from your bones. Over time this may lead to bone mineral loss and potentially osteoporosis. It is also a stressor that leads to inflammation and increased cortisol levels, which has damaging effects on long-term health.
In contrast, alkaline-forming plant-based foods are nutrient dense and rich in antioxidants.
Adding more alkaline-forming foods will help slow down the leech of calcium from your bones, helping maintain your bone health for years to come. They also help fight free-radical damage and inflammation while supporting healthy cellular regeneration within your body, so you can thrive.
How Do We Balance our pH?
Our typical diet consists mostly of acidifying foods (proteins, cereals, sugars). Alkaline foods such as fruits and vegetables are often eaten in much smaller quantities; not enough to neutralize the excess of acidifying foods we consume. Common habits like tobacco, coffee, tea and alcohol are extremely acidifying.
Our body is approximately 20 percent acidic and 80 percent alkaline;
It is recommended that we consume approximately 20 percent acidic foods and 80 percent alkaline foods.
The acid in the acid/alkaline balance is not the same as stomach acid. A healthy stomach pH is acidic, which is necessary for digesting food. What we are discussing here is the pH of the body’s fluids, cells and tissues. Alkalinity is also more about what happens after digestions. For example, lemons and oranges are considered acidic but after digestion they supply alkaline minerals to the body. Foods are either acidifying or alkalizing.
The diet needs to be fairly alkaline – to be energized and get all the benefits for your body and health.
Diet is the safest way to balance.
