Are you going to make a start on the alkline diet? What foods are alkaline?The following chart is a good and useful guide to the pH of many common foods. Use it as a tool for following an alkaline diet.
A study in 2019(1) concluded that 'The consumption of diets with positive acid loads causes low-grade metabolic acidosis, which has been associated with the development of chronic diseases, such as diabetes, hypertension, chronic kidney disease, renal lithiasis and non-alcoholic fatty liver, among others' Alkaline water may also help alleviate acid reflux (2).
It is perhaps telling that the vast majority of acidic foods fall into the 'ultra-processed' (3) category which, according to a 2018 study, increase one's risk of cancer (4).
ALKALINE FOODS |
ACIDIC FOODS |
|
VEGETABLES Asparagus Artichokes Cabbage Lettuce Onion Cauliflower Radish Swede Lambs Lettuce Peas Courgette Red Cabbage Leeks Watercress Spinach Turnip Chives Carrot Green Beans Beetroot Garlic Celery Grases (wheat, straw, barley, dog, kamut, etc.) Cucumber Broccoli Kale Brussels Sprouts Greens FRUITS Lemon Lime Avocado Tomato Grapefruit Rhubarb DRINKS Green Drinks Fresh Vegetable Juice Lemon Water (pure water + fresh lemon or lime) Herbal Tea Vegetable Broth Non-sweetened Soy Milk Almond Milk Condiments (Tomato Sauce, Mayonnaise etc.) Artificial Sweeteners Honey SEEDS, NUTS & GRAINS Almonds Pumpkin Sunflower Sesame Flax Buckwheat Groats Spelt Lentils Cumin Seeds Any Sprouted Seed FATS & OILS Flax Hemp Avocado Olive Evening Primrose Borage Oil Blends OTHERS Sprouts (soy, alfalfa, mung bean, wheat, little radish, chickpea, broccoli, etc.) Hummus Tahini |
MEATS Pork Lamb Beef Chicken Turkey Crustaceans Other Seafood (apart from occasional oily fish such as salmon) DAIRY PRODUCTS Milk Eggs Cheese Cream Yogurt Ice Cream CONVENIENCE FOODS Sweets Chocolate Microwave Meals Tinned Foods Powdered Soups Instant Meals Fast Food FRUITS All fruits, aside from those listed in the alkaline column. DRINKS Fizzy Drinks Coffee Tea Beers Spirits Fruit Juice Dairy Smoothies Milk Traditional Tea SEEDS & NUTS Peanuts Cashew Nuts Pistachio Nuts FATS & OILS Saturated Fats Hydrogenated Oils Margarine (worse than butter) Corn Oil Vegetable Oil Sunflower Oil OTHERS Vinegar White Pasta White Bread Wholemeal Bread Biscuits Soy Sauce Tamari |
|
General Notes: Salads, fresh vegetables and healthy nuts and oils are great everyday food. If possible eat lots of raw foods and drink at least 2-3 litres of purified alkaline antioxidant water daily. |
General Notes: Avoid fatty meats, dairy, cheese, sweets, chocolates, alcohol and tobacco as they are all acidifying on the body. Processed and packaged foods often contain many hidden offenders. Over-cooked food removes all of the nutrition from the food. |
If you're keen to maintain a properly balanced pH, Super Greens such as Green Vibrance and pHresh Greens certainly help.
The main thing, of course, is to focus on one's diet: quality supplements will never be able to compensate for an over-reliance on acid-forming foods. Is the above list a little too much to take in? Our article charting the Top 10 Alkaline Foods to Eat Frequently for Great Health is a terrific resource. You will not fail to note the benefits after switching to a largely alkaline diet!
Article Updated 29/11/24
Sources
1. I.A. Osuna-Padilla, G. Leal-Escobar, C.A. Garza-García, F.E. Rodríguez-Castellanos,Dietary acid load: Mechanisms and evidence of its health repercussions,Nefrología (English Edition),Volume 39, Issue 4,2019,Pages 343-354,ISSN 2013-2514. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2013251419301129
2. Koufman JA, Johnston N. Potential benefits of pH 8.8 alkaline drinking water as an adjunct in the treatment of reflux disease. Ann Otol Rhinol Laryngol. 2012 Jul;121(7):431-4. doi: 10.1177/000348941212100702. PMID: 22844861. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22844861/
3. British Heart Foundation. Heart Matters. Ultra-processed foods: how bad are they for your health? https://www.bhf.org.uk/informationsupport/heart-matters-magazine/news/behind-the-headlines/ultra-processed-foods
4. BMJ 2018;360:k322. Consumption of ultra-processed foods and cancer risk: results from NutriNet-Santé prospective cohort. https://www.bmj.com/content/360/bmj.k322
Leave a comment