The alkaline diet is one of the many fad diets that claim to improve your health, help you lose weight and even fight cancer. But is all of that true? Read more
What Is the Alkaline Diet?
The alkaline diet is based on a belief that some foods cause your body to produce acid, which is unsafe. The goal is that by drinking certain kinds of beverages or eating certain foods, you can alter your body’s pH levels, also called its acid level.
Helps You Lose Weight
The pH scale shows how basic or acidic something is, on a scale of 0-14. Something alkaline is on the first end of the scale, or more than 7. There is a new school of thought that changing the body’s pH level can improve your health and help you lose weight!
What Is the Link Between Cancer and the Alkaline Diet?
Research has shown that cancer cells thrive in significantly acidic conditions – in other words, places with a low pH! Advocates of the alkaline diet believe that if you eat a diet rich in alkaline foods (high pH) and reduce acidic foods, you can spike the body’s pH levels (make the body more alkaline) and make your body a weak receptor for cancer. However, research hints that an acidic environment helps cancer cells grow.
Alkaline Food That Impacts Your Blood
More crucially, there’s no way the foods you eat can alter the pH values of your blood. The pH of the body is firmly managed. If you alter your diet, you may see changes in the pH of your urine or saliva or because these are waste products, but there’s no way you could ever eat enough alkaline food that it impacts your blood.
The Latest Studies
The latest studies indicate that oxygen deficiency is the main factor that contributes to the growth of cancer. This inadequacy results in an acidic state in your bodies. Cancer cells are anaerobic and can’t live when they are exposed to a large amount of oxygen, which is one of the qualities of the alkaline state.
Oxygen and Cancer Cells
Every healthy cell has a specific need for oxygen, but cancer cells can survive without oxygen. If you remove 36% of the oxygen from any cell, it will probably turn into a cancerous cell after two days.
[Read: Budwig Diet To Prevent Cancer]
The PH Balance
What we eat and drink daily determines the proper maintenance of your body’s pH levels. pH balance is a term used to describe the balance between alkaline and acid content in every cell and fluid in the body. Your bodies must find the ideal balance for the pH levels of our blood, which is about 7.365 (a little bit alkaline) to stay healthy and fine!
The American Diet
The regular American diet today includes many acid-supporting and toxic foods, including refined grains, processed sugars, GMOs, etc. Such a diet usually results in harmful acidic pH levels(1). pH values that are not balanced can disrupt the work of cells.
The Aging Process
Significantly acidic pH can also result in the occurrence of many different health issues like cancer, heart disease, osteoporosis, heartburn, and diabetes. If your body spends more time in an acidic phase, it can spike up the aging process.
[Read: High-Fat Foods for Keto Diet!]
The Acidic State of Your Body
Most health issues come as a result of the acidic state of your body. This state is excellent for the growth and development of viruses, harmful bacteria, candida, and parasites. The alkaline state counterbalances its activities. So, the question is how to alkalize your body? By keeping your pH balance intact, you will be able to maintain your health.
You Don’t Need to Hurry and Get Your PH Levels Tested
Worry not; you don’t need to hurry and get your PH levels tested; if your body is significantly acidic, you will know as you will feel sluggish and unwell for sure! Some of the other signs are body odor, skin blemishes(2), bad breath, high or low blood sugar levels, indigestion, and feeling fatigued with less energy.
The Great News
The great news is that there are diet and lifestyle changes you can follow to create a more alkaline environment, which will significantly reduce the risk of inflammation caused by toxic levels of acidity in the body.
Top Alkaline Foods
Courgette, Leeks, almonds, beetroot, cucumber, garlic, avocado, peas, broccoli, kale, asparagus, leafy green vegetables, pearl barley, lentils, spelt, quinoa, oats, oily fish, tomatoes, lemons, grapefruit, green tea.
[Read: Alkaline Foods for Acid Reflux]
Acidic Foods to Limit or Avoid
Peanuts, butter, cheese, milk, seafood, eggs, cream, meat, white pasta, white bread, wholemeal bread, sweets, refined sugar, chocolate, alcohol, biscuits, coffee, tea, high protein foods/supplements, fizzy and high sugar drinks.
A Homemade Recipe That Will Balance the PH
Now is The Time To Alkalize Your Body Naturally! With This Homemade Recipe For Acidity
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons of freshly squeezed lemon juice (you can use organic apple cider vinegar instead)
1/3 teaspoon of baking soda
Instructions:
- Take the parts and mix them well.
- The combination of base and acid will instantly start to foam.
- Continue filling baking soda to the point when the foam stops.
- After that, pour 8 ounces of water in the glass.
[Read: Drinking Alkaline Water Is Better Than Plain Water]
Counteract Stomach Acid
Drink this mixture at one go. With the help of this homemade recipe, you will balance the pH and make an alkaline-friendly environment in your body. Also, this will help you counteract stomach acid and ease acidosis(3).
Plant-based Diet
We recommend a plant-based diet full of fruits, vegetables, beans/lentils, whole grains, and nuts and seeds, and cutting back on processed food, meat, and alcohol.
Conclusion:
If you’re considering starting any diet, it’s essential to talk to your physician first. You should be aware that the changes you make to your diet will not impact the pH levels of your blood, but they could have a positive effect on your complete health.
