Alkaline Diet

My doctor recommended that I switch to an alkaline diet to attempt to control my endometriosis. I also heard in Paul's latest podcast that Helen Atthowe used an alkaline diet as part of her cancer cure.

Does anyone here have anything to share about the diet? Is the acid-alkali aspect real, or does it just work by removing the junk from our diets? Are there any reliable resources to guide someone through the diet? How does it tie in with the ideas of the Weston A Price Foundation? Are the two diets compatible? Any information gratefully received.

I haven't studied this in depth. I have run into online resources that vilify meat, lumping it all into the acidifying category. I think those authors would be wise to consider Michael Pollan's "you are what your eat eats". Pastured animals eating their native diet will provide meat that is not acidifying like confinement animals eating food-industry byproducts.

I am eager to learn more so would like to hear what others think too.

I have been on an alkaline diet for a short while. I started with the radical approach of baking soda and water. This is not the best way to do it as I learned when I bought "The Acid Alkaline food guide". Half the book describes the diet and the other half is an A to Z listing of basic foods. One interesting note that I remember is that conventionally grown carrots are acid while organic carrots are alkaline. Also it is worthy to note that lemons are acid but when digested they have an alkaline effect. I also noticed less muscle pain after working, rapid recovery and lack of body odor when pH was neutral or slightly alkaline.

Jerry

From what I've read, the foods you eat only affect the pH of your urine, not your blood. Everything that goes into your stomach turns acidic - the stomach is quite the acid machine. If I understand the digestion process correctly, as the food travels into the small intestine, the pancreas works its enzyme magic and the food becomes less acidic - somewhere around a 6.6.(http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1433896/

I personally don't find a great deal of value in the alkaline diet.

That may well be true, but from what I've seen of the actual diet (ie ignoring the acid-alkaline theory bit) it does look like it could 'work' as a way of cutting out the crap from the diet and removing things that might stress our bodies out. There seem to be a lot of contradictory charts on what is 'acid' and what is 'alkaline', but the gist of it seems to be that you start off by cutting out all the things that might also be hard on the body, like caffeine, gmos, alcohol, processed meats and sugar, and instead concentrate on green vegetables and non-sugary fruits.



This is a chart I found at alkalinebody.com, which is the easiest one to follow in my opinion, though somewhat over-simplified. I've been advised to eat as much as possible *only* from the 'alkaline' side of the chart, supplemented by a few nuts and sprouted grains, for as long as necessary to 'rebalance my system', then to experiment gradually introducing small portions of the least damaging versions of foods in the 'mild acid' group (home grown eggs and meat), but to avoid all 'strong acid' foods permanently. That actually looks to me not only like a very healthy sort of diet, but also one which would fit in well with what could be produced on the homestead. 'Paleo' diets seem to have gradually deteriorated into an excuse to eat loads of meat with a couple of lettuce leaves on the side, if reading reddit is anything to go by, but this alkaline diet does seem to have the effect of making someone eat very healthily. Even if the science *does* sound wobbly!

What I'd really like to know is, how well does this fit in with WAPF? Has anyone followed the alkaline diet with success at healing themselves? Is there *any* real science to the alkaline theory, or is it just a way of providing a set of healthy eating rules to follow?

As a vegetarian I fairly naturally followed an alkaline diet. I had a doctor once who guessed I was vegetarian just by how alkaline my urine was! I don't think that was super healthy as we're now trying to recover our poor gut health and digestion troubles and I think our whole family has low stomach acid.

I've also read that the alkaline diet can increase your candida growth. Makes sense to me as we're battling candida as the cause of our digestive woes.

I can only answer one of your questions: How well does it fit in with WAPF?

WAPF would say that you absolutely need grassfed, naturally raised meats, raw dairy, and fish. Obviously, they suggest staying away from all of the foods listed in the far left corner of your chart. They would also strongly suggest adding in foods that are not listed on this chart, such as lacto-fermented fruits, veggies, and drinks.

http://www.westonaprice.org/basics/dietary-guidelines

So yeah - the alkaline diet fits in fairly well, but WAPF stresses healthy meats and dairy, regardless of "acidity," as being very important to a nutrient-dense traditional diet.

I just went to a chiropractor for an unrelated issue to this, but we started talking about the alkaline diet and he said the same thing as one of the other posters; that foods affect the ph of your urine and not your blood. And that the body adjusts the ph back into an appropriate range. He didn't give much weight to an alkaline diet, however he did recommended that I go study about how enzymes work in the body. Haven't done it yet, but it's on my list of things to do.

My advice is to keep studying. We are fearfully and wonderfully made......and very complicated. There is a lot we don't know and a lot to learn. Good luck. Post back as your learn more about it.

The idea is to eat foods that keep us in a balanced or slightly alkaline state. Your body tends to naturally stay disease-free if it has a slight alkaline bent.

The important thing in foods is not what it does to your urine, but what it does to your body. Many fruits are acidic, but they leave your body in a more alkaline state after eating them. That's the issue.

Things that are heavily acidic-leaving tend to be starch, fat, meat, oil and most processed foods. Foods that tend to leave the body in an alkaline state are vegetables and fruits.

Edgar Cayce, the sleeping psychic, talked extensively about eating foods that leave your body in an alkaline state. He said a lot of other fascinating things.

John S
PDX OR

I have been on an alkaline diet for three years. Not only did I reverse my osteoporosis but the diet also improved my overall health. I post recipes on my website at cookalkaline.com

I too have seen amazing results following an alkaline diet. I don't think there is any concrete scientific evidence to support it - only individuals who have tried it and had results. Even the food charts that say what is an alkaline food and what is not do not jive with each other.

I don't put much store in scientific 'fact' or 'evidence' as it seems to change from decade to decade -- what doctors and scientist preach as fact today they often disprove tomorrow. My guide is how I feel; my energy level, my wieght, my skin condition and wether or not I have any pains or illnesses.

I'll try just about anything as long as it only involves good wholesome sustainabley produced foods and herbs.

I find my body is happiest when I stick to many of the foods listed on the alkaline side of the charts and some occasional broth, poultry or fish.

Sari - thanks for sharing that link, it looks like a great resource!

Jeanine - that's pretty well my view, too. I feel much the same way about this that I do about biodynamics, ie maybe the 'science' they use to explain why it works is a bit wobbly, but it works. My book finally arrived and I'm trying to brush up on exactly what I'm supposed to be doing, and I soon discovered that every source I've looked at has a slightly different opinion on what counts as alkaline, so that's going to be a bit tricky. It could be months before I have a chance to talk to my doctor again but he said that the diet was based on the works of Sang Whang and gave me a really strict version of the diet to follow for a couple of weeks which involved no tea, no coffee, no alcohol, no dairy, no additives, no meat, no fish, no eggs, no fruit, no potatoes, no tomatoes, and a whole load of cabbage, lettuce and sprouted grains. Also, specifically for my endometriosis, he said to take Soyagen, loads of soya milk, miso, a calcium/magnesium supplement, a good vitamin/mineral supplement with chromium (this was for my iffy blood sugars), and a selection of herbs including mallow, slippery elm (these are for my poor gut as the endo has invaded the gut wall in a load of places and has finally broken through and I'm bleeding into the gut, causing heavy blood loss and massive inflammation), cramp bark and dong quai. I actually felt that a couple of weeks wasn't long enough of a test as that's about exactly the length of time it takes me to start feeling human again after a bad session anyway, so we decided to stick to it for two months so I'd have chance to make a valid comparison. After that I gradually ease off the diet to discover the balance that works for me.

I'm still waiting for my copy of Nourishing Traditions, but when that's here too and I've had a chance to compare them I'll update the thread. Maybe by then I'll have some idea of if the diet is 'working' or not.

Most people will feel better switching to an alkaline heavy diet. Most people eat way to many acid forming foods which leads to an imbalance in the body and causes tremenous stress on the bodies purification systems. The best thing to do is have a healthy balance of both acidic and alkaline foods (30-70), but not just because of the ph levels. The more alkaline forming foods tend to be lower in calories and higher in nutrition giving your immune system and other functions more of what they need to stay in working order. I would recommend to take a balanced approach so as not to develop the problems that come from eating an overly alkaline diet.

I absolutely noticed a difference with an alkaline diet, before i was having a diet based on carbs and very little vegetables, and on top of that i stopped eating salt, so not only i had an acidic diet but i removed salt which is alkaline.

I believed this caused me problems that led to major surgery last year, i had noticed that i bled easier, had bruises and hematomas in arms or legs and didn't know what from .

After the surgery i switched to a macrobiotic/vegan diet, and began adding salt again, marine salt, not refined salt, then all those bruising and coagulation problems were gone completely,
Someone explained to me that when the ph is more alkaline the blood "thickens" as opposed to the more liquified state when it is acidic, not sure if this is technically accurate but it makes sense to me if i consider the coagulation problem i had, i assume that a thicker blood leads to faster coagulation?

In any case i can attest to the benefit of an alkaline diet.

I can personally say that reducing acid-forming foods and increasing alkaline-forming foods has helped me experience better overall health and wellness. I was 30lbs heavier and suffered from all sorts of allergies before I began eating more of a plant-based diet therefore more alkaline foods! I could not believe it because I've worked in the health food and fitness industry since I was 17 and tried everything I could to lose weight as well as get rid of my allergies (to everything it seemed like) and it just never happened until I introduced more greens and plant-based proteins and whole foods into my diet while reducing meat and dairy consumption. I also greatly reduced all lifestyle related acids such as lactic acid from too much anaerobic activities and instead I began doing yoga and walking... so was doing more aerobic activity. The yoga also helped reduce hydrochloric acid which was in excess due to too much stress. I first learned about the alkaline-acid balance and how an 80% alkali and 20% acid balance is ideal, to maintaining or gaining optimal health and/or healing, in a book with a very dramatic name, "Alkaline or Die"...but it was when I had the pleasure of meeting a Biochemist and Doctor from Germany, Dr. Peter Jentschura, that I learned the most about this fascinating topic! Dr. Jentschura was such a vibrant and charismatic individual and him and his wife truly 'walk the talk' so to say, when it comes to eating a primarily alkaline diet and living as alkaline as possible! They are over 70 years old and seemed to me to be at the most in their mid fifty's!!! They inspired me greatly after I attended an educational event put on in Toronto in 2011 and I began to study the doctor's book to learn more from someone I had met personally and felt I could trust. The book, Health By Purification, is his 18th edition and was written with his partner, a Naturopathic Doctor form Germany, Dr. Josef Lohkampar...this is when I decided to really delve into this alkaline lifestyle and so I really began to take those steps to eating more alkaline-forming foods and doing those aerobic exercise instead of anaerobic as previously mentioned. I was so happy when after three months of following the doctor's approach I had lost most of the extra 30lbs I was holding on to for so long as well as cleared up my allergies all together!!! The doctor describes the diseases we are faced with today in his book and believes that they are caused by the blood dipping down to its lowest possible pH of 7.25, which is still alkaline (or else a person would not survive, which explains the title of the first book I ever read about this topic as noted above), because it is above 7 which we all know is neutral (neither acidic or alkaline), but is far too low for the blood to remain at for too long a period and this is when all the health problems begin. Our blood's ideal pH is 7.35-7.45...I know it doesn't seem too far off from the 7.25 which is considered 'the danger zone' but it is!!! The reason for this is that each pH value represents a ten times change!!! So from 7 to 8, 8 is ten times more alkaline than 7 and from 7 to 9...9 is one hundred times more alkaline than 7 and from 7 to 10, 10 is one thousand times more alkaline!!! So this shows us that even a small difference in pH values makes a really big difference in the end. I encourage you all to read more about this topic in the doctor's book and/or visit a friend of mine's website who distributes alkaline-forming food and body care products (body care is important because what goes on the body...goes into the body! Check it out!)...http://youinfocusproducts.com/

Jerry Sledge wrote:I have been on an alkaline diet for a short while. I started with the radical approach of baking soda and water. This is not the best way to do it as I learned when I bought "The Acid Alkaline food guide".

Never use baking soda.
Stomach needs to be acidic, or else you can have reflux,
as it will not see anymore the necessity to "close the door"!

Acidic fruits, and not only lemons, will help the stomach to be acidic enough (and raw cider vinegar is great too - it is also a fermented food)
And then, their REACTION in the body helps it to be alkaline.

Taste and effect in the stomach has nothing to do with the effect into the body.

Renee Kelcey wrote:As a vegetarian I fairly naturally followed an alkaline diet. I had a doctor once who guessed I was vegetarian just by how alkaline my urine was! I don't think that was super healthy as we're now trying to recover our poor gut health and digestion troubles and I think our whole family has low stomach acid.
I've also read that the alkaline diet can increase your candida growth. Makes sense to me as we're battling candida as the cause of our digestive woes.

Yes indeed, a vegetarian diet is not good for everyone, but good for some people, it seems so!
For stomach acid : raw fermented cider vinegar in water before meals.

A balance is necessary. Acidic and alkaline are having contrary effects, one against fungi, and one against bacteria!

Acidity is good against bacterias
(we know we can keep better a food that has tomato sauce!)
But I think that too acid increases fungi problems....

Alkaline is good against fungi, and thus candida, I think! But too alkaline leads to bacterial problems...

Leonard Allen wrote:I absolutely noticed a difference with an alkaline diet, before i was having a diet based on carbs and very little vegetables, and on top of that i stopped eating salt, so not only i had an acidic diet but i removed salt which is alkaline.

In any case i can attest to the benefit of an alkaline diet.

I think necessary to make a difference between a diet meant for some time, until the balance is reached,
and a diet for life.
eg: fasting is good but you do not fast all the time...

Salt is really necessary yes.

Whatever diet increasing vegetables and decreasing carbs will have results.
That is my diet, and I do not know yet how much alkaline it is!!

Jeanette Annecchini wrote:Our blood's ideal pH is 7.35-7.45...I know it doesn't seem too far off from the 7.25 which is considered 'the danger zone' but it is!!! The reason for this is that each pH value represents a ten times change!!! So from 7 to 8, 8 is ten times more alkaline than 7

This is major information.

That is why some said that only our urine pH is modified by food.
Our body does its best to balance the blood pH!

Thus the result for osteoporosis,
(Sari says "Not only did I reverse my osteoporosis...")
because when your body needs to alkaline itself, well, bones are a good source of calcium to reach the balance!

Xisca Nicolas wrote:

Jeanette Annecchini wrote:Our blood's ideal pH is 7.35-7.45...I know it doesn't seem too far off from the 7.25 which is considered 'the danger zone' but it is!!! The reason for this is that each pH value represents a ten times change!!! So from 7 to 8, 8 is ten times more alkaline than 7

This is major information.

That is why some said that only our urine pH is modified by food.
Our body does its best to balance the blood pH!

Thus the result for osteoporosis,
(Sari says "Not only did I reverse my osteoporosis...")
because when your body needs to alkaline itself, well, bones are a good source of calcium to reach the balance!

Yes, I think this is supposed to be the issue--our bodies maintain the blood at the proper pH, but do so at the expense of bone calcium. An alkaline diet is recommended by its proponents to prevent that.

I have been looking at charts, and they do not say the same for all foods...
I have chosen the ones that are more precise about using some fruits (and even making a difference between green and ripe banana), and who agree with fermented foods. Some say "vinegar", without any difference for raw cider vinegar. None either tell about a difference for fermented dairies...

But mostly, any good diet will tell the same as they do:
- eat more greens, the greener the better (chards, spinach, parsley, kale, broccoli...)
- eat much less sugar, or none...
- avoid tea, coffee, cocoa, artificial sweetener, alcohol...

With just this and avoiding junkfood, you're much better!

Then chose well your grains, quinoa and buckwheat seem great.
Then chose your 20% acidic forming food, mainly choose either cereals or animal products.

Charts can be interesting for increasing the more alkalizing foods.

I agree to what your doctor recommended about you switching to alkaline diet. It is really effective especially when you have some kind of disease... Alkaline foods help to prevent occurrence of certain illness / disease. Try to follow the diet recommendations.