Index
In this diet, it is suggested to replace acid-forming foods with alkaline foods to improve health.
The alkaline diet is also known as the acid-alkaline diet or the alkaline ash diet. It is based on the fact that the foods consumed can alter the human body’s acidity or alkalinity (the pH).
When the food is metabolized, and the calories are extracted from them, this occurs in a controlled and slow way and is known as burning calories.
The ash residues that result from the process can be acidic or alkaline (or neutral). The results in the pH of this combustion can directly disturb the body’s acidity.
So, if you consume foods that produce acid ash, your body becomes acidic, and if, on the contrary, you consume foods that make alkaline ash, the body becomes alkaline, and the neutral ash has no effect.
It is presumed that acid ash makes the organism more prone to diseases, while alkaline ash is considered protective.
Thus, choosing more alkaline foods makes it possible to “alkalize” the diet and optimize health.
The food components that leave acid ash include phosphate, protein, and sulfur, while the alkaline elements are magnesium, calcium, and potassium.
An alkaline diet is defined as one that helps balance the pH levels of body fluids, including blood and urine.
The pH is in part determined by the mineral density of the foods that are consumed.
All forms of life on earth require maintaining the proper pH levels.
If electrolyte imbalances develop and too many acidic foods are often consumed, the changing pH level of the body may cause an increase called acidosis.
Regular pH levels in the body
What we call pH is hydrogen potential.
It is a measure of the acidity or alkalinity of the fluids and tissues of our body.
It is measured on a scale of 0 to 14.
The more acidic a solution is, the lower its pH, and the more alkaline, the higher the number.
A pH around seven is considered neutral, but as the optimal human body is around 7.4, we believe that the healthiest pH is slightly alkaline. The pH levels vary throughout the body, with the stomach being the most acidic region.
So the values include the following ranges:
- 0-7 is acid.
- Seven is neutral.
- 7-14 is alkaline (essential).
This diet suggests that people who follow the regimen control the pH value of their urine using test strips, but it is essential to know that the pH value varies significantly within the body.
Some organs or tissues have a variable pH that can be acidic or alkaline.
The stomach contains hydrochloric acid, which gives it a pH value between 2 to 3.5 (acid); this is associated with their function: break down food.
Human blood is always slightly alkaline and has a pH between 7.35 and 7.45.
The body has many practical mechanisms to regulate the pH balance.
This is known as acid-base homeostasis.
Excreting acids in the urine is one of the primordial ways in which the body systematizes the pH of the blood.
Benefits of the alkaline diet
Bone density and muscle mass
The intake of minerals plays a vital role in developing and maintaining bone structures.
Research shows that the more you eat the alkalizing elements such as fruits and vegetables, the greater the protection that person may have from the decrease in bone strength.
In addition to muscle wasting as you get older, what is known as sarcopenia.
An alkaline diet helps balance the proportions of minerals that are very important for forming bones and maintaining muscle mass, including calcium, magnesium, and phosphate.
Alkaline diets help improve the production of growth hormones and the absorption of vitamin D, which further protects the bones and mitigates many chronic diseases.
Hypertension and stroke
An alkaline diet decreases inflammation and causes an increase in the production of growth hormones.
It has been shown that this fact improves cardiovascular health and offers protection against the most common problems such as high cholesterol, hypertension, kidney stones, stroke, and even memory loss.
Chronic pain and inflammation
Several studies reveal a connection between an alkaline diet and reduced levels of chronic pain.
It has been shown that chronic acidosis contributes to chronic back pain, headaches, muscle spasms, menstrual symptoms, inflammation, and joint pain.
Absorption of vitamin and magnesium deficiency
It requires an increase in magnesium to function in multiple enzymes and bodily processes systems.
Many people have magnesium deficiency and, as a result, experience cardiac complications, muscle aches, headaches, sleep problems, and anxiety.
The available magnesium is also necessary to activate vitamin D and prevent vitamin D deficiency, which is vital for the normal functioning of the immune and endocrine systems.
Immune function and protection against cancer
When the cells do not have enough minerals to get rid of the waste or oxygenate the body thoroughly, the body becomes intoxicated.
The absorption of vitamins is complicated by losing minerals, while toxins and pathogens accumulate throughout the body, weakening the immune system.
It is believed that cancer prevention is associated with alkaline changes in pH due to an alteration in electrical charges and the release of the essential components of proteins.
Alkalinity can help decrease inflammation and the risk of diseases such as cancer.
It has been shown that an alkaline diet is more beneficial for some chemotherapeutic agents that require a higher pH to function correctly.
Healthy weight
Limiting the consumption of acid-forming foods and eating more alkaline foods can protect the body from obesity by decreasing leptin levels and inflammation, which affects hunger and its ability to burn fat.
Because alkaline foods are anti-inflammatory foods, consuming an alkaline diet gives the body the chance to reach normal levels of leptin and feel satisfied by eating the number of calories you need.
Alkaline foods in the diet
- Try to buy organic alkaline foods, such as fruits and vegetables: Citrus (orange, tangerine, lemon, lime, grapefruit), dates, raisins, fresh coconut, watermelon, figs, bananas, asparagus, tomato, avocado, broccoli, chili, pepper, zucchini, dandelion, green beans, spinach, endive, kale, wakame, chives, endive, chard, cabbage, sweet potato, mint, ginger, coriander, basil, Brussel sprouts, cauliflower, carrot, beetroot, eggplant, garlic, onion, parsley, celery, cucumber, watercress, lettuce, mushrooms, peas, beans, beet, potato, pumpkin, radish, alfalfa herb, barley grass, wheatgrass, amaranth, buckwheat, chia, quinoa, lentils, beans, pinto beans, red beans, soybeans, cabbages, bean sprouts, amaranth sprouts, oregano, ginger, cabbage, almonds, flax seeds, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, and sunflower seeds, among others.
- All raw foods must be consumed; the foods when cooking are depleted in alkalizing minerals; you should try to steam the fruits and vegetables lightly.
- Consume green drinks. The drinks made from green vegetables and powdered herbs are loaded with alkaline foods and chlorophyll.
Food and anti-alkaline habits
The foods that contribute most to acidity include:
- Foods with high sodium content.
- Sausages and meats.
- The processed cereals.
- The eggs.
- Drinks that contain caffeine and alcohol.
- Oats and whole wheat products.
- Milk and all dairy products are rich in calcium.
- Peanuts and nuts.
- Pasta, rice, bread, and processed grain products.
- Excess to antibiotics.
- Use of artificial sweeteners.
- Chronic stress
- Low levels of fiber in the diet.
- Lack of exercise.
- Excess hormones in food, health products, beauty, and plastics.
- Exposure to chemicals and radiation from household cleaners, construction materials, computers, cell phones, and microwaves.
- Coloring of food and preservatives.
- About exercise.
- Pesticides and herbicides.
- Contamination.
- Do not chew and have bad eating habits.
- Processed and refined foods.
Final considerations of the alkaline diet
- An alkaline diet includes whole foods that positively affect blood and urine pH levels.
- The benefits of an alkaline diet can consist of better heart health, stronger bones, decreased pain, and the reversal of nutrient deficiencies.
- Foods that stand out as part of an alkaline diet include whole fruits and vegetables, raw foods, green juices, beans, and nuts.
- Foods acidic and limited in an alkaline diet include foods with high sodium content, processed grains, animal protein, added sugars, and conventional milk.
Alkaline diet menu
Every day before breakfast, drink lemon water.
Alkaline Breakfast
Menu 1
Green Juice: Blend two cabbage leaves, a cup of watercress, a leaf of fennel, orange juice, half grated carrot, a handful of mint, and a spoonful of ginger. Add ice and sweetener.
Menu 2
Green juice, liquefy two apples, a cucumber, a small piece of ginger, a cup of apple juice, and two stalks of celery.
A banana puree with a spoonful of oats.
Half morning
Option 1
Green tea
A cup of fruit salad: Pear, apple, kiwi, mango, banana, tangerine, pineapple, and a spoonful of raisins or prunes.
Option 2
Green tea, four almonds or walnuts without salt, two wheels of melon, and one tablespoon of fiber (pumpkin and sunflower in equal proportions).
Alkaline Lunch
Option 1
Green salad: Chard, lettuce, raw cabbage, spring onion, onion, mushrooms, and celery. Chickpea soup or shredded chicken soup.
Option 2
Arugula salad, watercress, lettuce, radish, Brussels sprouts, sautéed spinach, ½ salmon fillet with rosemary, mashed carrots, or potatoes.
In mid-afternoon
Option 1
Two fists of toasted pumpkin or sunflower seeds. Chickpea soup, yellow paprika, celery and tomatoes, and a tangerine.
Option 2
A cup of soy milkshake with strawberries and flaxseed, five walnuts, almonds, or chestnuts.
Alkaline price
Option 1
Vegetable soup with seaweed, rice, or pumpkin soup with seaweed.
Option 2
Beans such as lentils, beans, or peas, among others.
Option 3
Baked pear and a cup of chamomile tea.
