The Alkaline Diet: Does Your Acidity Matter?

Susan Hoff
April 24, 2020

Are you pH balanced? The Alkaline Diet can help!

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Many diet trends have popped up over the last 10-15 years. I'm thinking of the Atkins Diet, the South Beach Diet, and the Keto Diet, among others. The most important part of any diet plan is getting in all of your nutrients and moving toward your goals. I personally believe a Paleo lifestyle is the healthiest way to achieve optimal health and fitness, but I know many people like to explore their options. The buzz is now around the Alkaline Diet — here’s the lowdown for those wanting to learn more!

What is the Alkaline Diet?

Well, I haven’t heard too much about acidity and alkalinity since chemistry class. However, in this case it refers to your body’s pH levels. You embark on the Alkaline Diet with the plan of keeping your body in a more alkaline state. The pH scale goes from 0(acidic) to 14(alkaline), with 7 being neutral. Alkaline Diet supporters believe that you can manipulate your body's pH by eating mostly alkaline foods. Fruits, nuts, legumes, and vegetables are considered to be alkaline. On the other hand, foods like processed sweets, dairy, meat, grains, and eggs are acidic. Supporters say that high body acidity will result in the mining of alkaline minerals from various body tissues, causing a slew of health issues.

Does Science Support the Alkaline Diet?

The average American diet contains too much trans fat, sugar, sodium and calories, and not enough vitamins, minerals, and fiber. You’ll notice most of the diets I have mentioned above push clean and unprocessed food sources and nutritious fruits and vegetables. When people stop making poor food choices and start following the recommendations of the Alkaline Diet, do you think they experience the effects many other healthy eaters do? The National Institute of Health believes so, and they published a lengthy research article on it.

Is my body pH balanced?

Alkaline dieters often use urine pH test strips to measure their body’s alkalinity. But urine’s pH varies. Blood pH usually hovers around 7.35 (slightly alkaline), and the body doesn’t allow it to be easily controlled by outside factors. For example, a steak dinner could cause very acidic urine following the meal, but this doesn’t reflect total body pH or health.

The Alkaline Diet definitely seems to be a healthy diet. The benefits just may not be for the reasons commonly stated in popular sources. Are you currently following or have you ever followed the Alkaline Diet? Please share your experience in the comments section below!




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