If you are a health nerd or fitness enthusiast, then the alkaline diet is something you must have heard about. If not, then this article is your go-to guide to learning all about it.
The alkaline diet has gained quite popularity for longevity and staving off diseases. Several studies claim several health benefits of adding alkaline foods to your diet, from weight loss to heart care and bone health to preventing cancer.
What Is The Alkaline Diet?
The alkaline diet, also known as the acid-ash or pH diet, balances the body's pH, keeping it alkaline.
The food we eat undergoes digestion, absorption, and metabolism in the body. These processes leave behind a residue called metabolic ash. This metabolic ash is either acidic or alkaline. The acid or alkaline pH of the metabolic waste directly affects our body and health.
An acidic metabolic ash is associated with morbidity and an increased risk of chronic diseases. The alkaline ash, on the other hand, is protective and offers several health benefits.
What Is pH?
A pH is a measure of how acidic/basic a solution is. The range goes from 0 - 14, with 7 being a neutral pH. A pH lower than 7 indicates acidity, whereas a pH greater than 7 indicates a base, i.e. an alkaline medium. Most body fluids fall in the pH range of 7- 7.4.
Our body fluids are both alkaline and acidic. For example, our blood has a neutral pH, while our stomach fluid is highly acidic owing to hydrochloric acid.
Any change in the body pH can be fatal. Kidneys help maintain this acid-base balance by balancing minerals like sodium, potassium, magnesium, and chloride.
The Alkaline Diet
The alkaline diet promotes including alkaline foods in your diet and eliminates acid-forming foods. An alkaline diet is a form of a vegetarian and vegan diet. Since it restricts cereals, it is also gluten-free.
The Alkaline Food List: What To Eat.
- Fruits and vegetables form the bulk of the alkaline diet, and can be eaten raw as a salad or as juices and soups. Some of the best alkaline fruits and vegetables are mushrooms, citrus fruits, dates, raisins, grapefruit, spinach, cucumber, kale, wheatgrass, cabbage, watermelon, figs, garlic, ginger, oregano, tomato, avocado, broccoli, green beans, etc.
- Plant proteins include nuts, seeds, beans, and legumes. Soya beans, chickpeas, peas, and sprouts are a few legumes that are a must-add.
- Alkalizing water is water with a pH of 9-11. You can make your own alkaline water by adding lemon or lime to the water.
- Green drinks include drinks made from green leafy vegetables and plants. These vegetables are high in chlorophyll. Chlorophyll is structurally similar to blood and helps alkalize the body.
Foods Not To Eat On An Alkaline Diet
Eliminating the following foods from your diet is crucial, as they leave an acidic residue and will negate the effect of an alkaline diet.
- High sodium foods, processed and packaged foods that flood our market, are high in sodium and highly acidic.
- Egg and animal protein are rich in protein, but they are highly acidic and need to be restricted.
- Milk and milk products, though high in calcium, leave an acidic residue.
- Oats, whole wheat products and processed cereals also need to be avoided.
- Caffeinated drinks and alcohol consumption are also discouraged.
- Foods with artificial sweeteners, colouring, and additives are best left out.
Health Benefits Of The Alkaline Diet
The alkaline diet is highly acclaimed and popular for its health benefits. Let's delve into these health benefits and decipher if an alkaline diet is a real deal or yet another health trend to come and go.
1. Bone health
A decrease in bone strength and muscle wasting are signs of ageing. Research shows that an alkaline diet, high in fruits and vegetables, offers protection by balancing minerals critical to building bones and maintaining muscle mass. These minerals include calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus.
Vitamin D plays a significant role in bone health. The alkaline diet promotes absorption of vitamin D, by enhancing the production of growth hormones
2. Heart Health
Many heart-related complications like cholesterol, stroke, hypertension, and atherosclerosis are due to inflammation and consumption of acid-producing foods, high in sodium, sugars, and unhealthy fats.
An alkaline diet rich in fruits, vegetables, plant proteins, nuts, seeds, and healthy fats helps reverse inflammation and improve cardiovascular health.
3. Chronic Pain
We all complain of headaches, joint pains, and muscle spasms now and then. These chronic pain and even menstrual cramps are due to acidosis, i.e. increased acidic ash in the body.
Many studies associate the alkaline diet with decreased chronic pain. Research by the Society of Minerals and Trace Elements in Germany reported that people who took alkaline supplements daily for four weeks reported a significant decrease in chronic back pain.
4. Cancer Prevention
Cancer cells need an acidic environment to grow and multiply. According to an article in the British Journal of Radiology, cancerous cell death is more likely in an alkaline environment. Thus, maintaining a steady alkaline pH can help prevent cancer.
However, one hypothesis also highlights that cancer cells do not need an acidic pH but can create an acidic environment by themselves and multiply.
Nonetheless, the alkaline diet induces an alkaline environment, which helps certain chemotherapeutic drugs work better.
5. Weight Loss
The alkaline diet gained popularity due to its role in promoting weight loss. Our bodies can burn fat efficiently in an alkaline medium.
The alkaline diet helps in weight loss and prevents obesity by lowering the levels of the hunger hormone, leptin and reducing inflammation in the body.
The hormone leptin helps regulate hunger signals and fat burning. The alkaline diet for weight loss includes fruits and vegetables that are anti-inflammatory. Anti-inflammatory foods help achieve normal levels of leptin and promote weight loss.
Not A Fad!
Indeed, an alkaline diet offers several health benefits. While these health claims may still be under research, eating alkaline foods like fruits and vegetables, legumes, and nuts will only make you healthy and strong.