The Alkaline Diet

blunomore

blunomore

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What do you think of this:

Our pH is the measure of exactly how acidic or alkaline we are. A pH of 0 is completely acidic, and a pH of 14 completely alkaline. A pH of 7 is neutral.

You don't just have one pH level. For example, the stomach has a pH ranging from 1.35-3.5. It must be acidic to aid in digestion. However, blood must always be slightly alkaline, with a pH of 7.35 to 7.45.

The theory of the alkaline diet is that eating certain foods can help maintain the body's ideal pH balance to improve overall health. But the body maintains its pH balance regardless of diet.

For instance, your diet may affect the pH level of your urine. But what you eat does not determine your blood's pH level.

What's in the Alkaline Diet

The alkaline diet is mostly vegetarian. In addition to fresh vegetables and some fresh fruits, alkaline-promoting foods include soy products and some nuts, grains, and legumes.

Web sites promoting the alkaline diet discourage eating acid-promoting foods, which include meat, fish, poultry, dairy products, processed foods, white sugar, white flour, and caffeine.
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http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/alkaline-diets-what-to-know
 
Well supposedly too little acidity actually leads to bacterial overgrowth, heartburn and GERD so people who take this diet too far could be in for a surprise
 
blunomore said:
Gastroesophageal reflux disease ?
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The decreased acid level itself can cause symptoms similar to gastroesophageal reflux disease, and impairs protein digestion by inhibiting the activation of the enzyme pepsin, whose activation is dependent upon a low gastric pH. Furthermore, low acid levels in the stomach are linked with bacterial overgrowth (as the stomach does not kill microbes normally present in food), which can manifest as diarrhea or decreased absorption of nutrients or vitamins. Risk of particular infections, such as Vibrio vulnificus (commonly from seafood) is increased. Even without bacterial overgrowth, low stomach acid can lead to nutritional deficiencies through malabsorption of basic electrolytes (magnesium, zinc, etc.) and vitamins (including vitamin C, vitamin K, and the B complex of vitamins). Such deficiencies may be involved in the development of a wide range of pathologies, from fairly benign neuromuscular issues to life-threatening diseases. A person with achlorhydria can suffer from stomach pains caused by the digestion of food that is not properly broken down by gastric acid.
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Achlorhydria

Similar symptoms then
 
It's not so much a diet as a whole new lifestyle and you need to be very committed to live the alkaline lifestyle. Some of my family have been on it for years and manufacture one of the Green drinks powder in the US (quality control and ingredients are far better in the US) and I have seen amazing changes in really really sick people and in sportsmen- but a lot of ignorant people don't see it further than quackery. As it is, our bodies are way way too acidic and our natural buffers are so depleted they can't neutralize all the acids in our body. Yes there are quacks out there selling rubbish and you need to be aware of some of these companies flogging the crap.
PM me for more specific info and reading materials. There are a few products that are vitally necessary that have to do with Water and are not available in SA but I've just started the alkaline lifestyle myself so I am "in Transition" and not in any hurry as I will get there eventually- and I'm having a lot of fun growing my own wheatgrass and microgreens and juicing . It's all good stuff.
 
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Hosehead said:
PM me for more specific info and reading materials. There are a few products that are vitally necessary that have to do with Water and are not available in SA but I've just started the alkaline lifestyle myself so I am "in Transition" and not in any hurry as I will get there eventually- and I'm having a lot of fun growing my own wheatgrass and microgreens and juicing . It's all good stuff.
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See that is exactly what I do not want to do.

I do not want to consume funny products and powders.

I just want to follow one of the alkaline meal plans with fresh produce; looks like it consists mainly of fresh fruit and veg.

I really dislike pills and powders and supplements.

No offense to your family, by the way.
 
blunomore said:
See that is exactly what I do not want to do.

I do not want to consume funny products and powders.

I just want to follow one of the alkaline meal plans with fresh produce; looks like it consists mainly of fresh fruit and veg.

I really dislike pills and powders and supplements.

No offense to your family, by the way.
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There is no way you will be able to consume (eat)the amount of greens without them being in powder form to have any measurable ph readings leaning towards the alkaline. It's a long process with no quick fix. There really are no pills potions etc required. Just some form of concentrated greens available in health food shops and quite expensive. Quality drinking water needs to be made alkaline- a lot of people overseas have machines that do this for them. There are also special ceramic filters but here baking soda is just as good.
Try cutting out wheat (gluten) and sugar from your diet and start hydrating. and fruit? not on alkaline lifestyles- there really is non apart from Lemons which when added to water become alkaline in your body.
 
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then why not cut some protein portions and add extra veg and see how that helps?
 
So I started the meal plan today and thought I would keep you in the loop with updates. Obviously it will not be 100% alkaline, but as far as is possible. Apparently there also also certain foods that people are unsure about in terms of whether it is acidic or alkaline.

Day 1:
Breakfast: Scrambled eggs with tomatoes, peppers, onions
Snack: 1 apple, and a handful of walnuts
 
Your pH is tightly regulated. Altering your diet is not going to alter those fundamental biochemical pathways. You can't just swallow some bicarb to get your blood pH right again. This runs contrary to everything we know about our physiology. Your entire physiology is working tirelessly to maintain that pH.

You would have to really fsck your body over to get your blood out of that range.

There are some proposed benefits to eating less acidic foods though none of it has been firmly established. The crap these alternative medicines people go on about when they tell you this diet can help with cancer and the like is dangerous nonsense though.
 
porchrat said:
Your pH is tightly regulated. Altering your diet is not going to alter those fundamental biochemical pathways. You can't just swallow some bicarb to get your blood pH right again. This runs contrary to everything we know about our physiology. Your entire physiology is working tirelessly to maintain that pH.

You would have to really fsck your body over to get your blood out of that range.

There are some proposed benefits to eating less acidic foods though none of it has been firmly established. The crap these alternative medicines people go on about when they tell you this diet can help with cancer and the like is dangerous nonsense though.
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By the time people are looking for an alkaline cure their bodies are already badly damaged by over acidity. Their natural buffers all used up. They are usually in the Diabetic and various cancer stages.
I studied Dr. Robert O. Young's writings (Even today he is one of the Alkaline diet pioneers- long before he sold out to a moneymaking scheme called Innerlight who then allegedly changed his formulations (he initially didn't have any formulations but his own) and there were all sorts of financial backstabbings which ended up in a legal case which dragged through the US courts for ever.)
This is really irrelevant but mentioned because that is what gave the movement "quack " status - Special interest groups took over to make money off him and Dr. Young couldn't get on with his research. people would be wise to read the scientific literature available before making blanket statements that it's nonsense etc.
It's a complete lifestyle change and the process of restoring the bodies natural acid/alkaline balance is a long and difficult one especially if one is already in illness. The goal is not complete alkalinity but balance- which allows the body to repair the damage and in the beginning most people's bodies are far too acidic and it starts in childhood and progresses through adulthood and finally disease. Radical changes are made in the beginning to diet and hydration and constant Ph urine monitoring is done.
It's not for everyone. It's not a fad. It's a commitment to living well and it's easier to do when you have nothing to lose but when you just want to eat healthy -that's great too.
 
Day 1:
Breakfast: Scrambled eggs with tomatoes, peppers, onions
Snack: 1 apple, and a handful of walnuts
Lunch: Banana and walnuts
Dinner: Brown rice with steamed brocolli/carrots/cauliflower and a salad

Day 2:
Breakfast: 2 bananas, some grapes
Snack: 1 apple, and a handful of walnuts
Lunch: Leftovers from day 1's dinner
Dinner: Aloo gobi, bhindi masala, salad
 
blunomore said:
So porchrat says it is nonsense and you say it has its benefits.
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I didn't say it was total nonsense. There are some proposed benefits to it that could work with what we know about physiology today. They mainly have to do with prevention of osteoporosis as the body might dissolve bone in an attempt to buffer the acidity levels in the blood. There is no evidence in support of this but not really any that shoots it down in flames either.

It is just that that isn't where the zany alternative medicine people stop. They make claims about how this diet is designed to maintain your blood pH and will cure cancer and diabetes and all sorts of insane crap. That stuff is nonsense. There is no evidence to support any of it and it flies in the face of what we have discovered about human physiology to date.

Your body maintains its pH level on its own. That is a pretty well established fact at this point and it would require some serious evidence to convince me otherwise. You can't just swallow some bicarb and have it alter your blood pH in any drastic manner. There is a simple way of testing this insane idea of food drastically altering blood pH: if our bodies were so stupid that they weren't able to properly manage their own pH levels independent of diet then people across the planet with different diets would express different blood pH levels. They don't. We all have the same narrow range of acceptable pH values and this range is very very tightly regulated despite the very diverse diets we all consume.

Our bodies are amazing things with incredibly complicated and intricate regulatory mechanisms. This view that eating some food can cause your blood pH to go totally whackadoo belongs in the Middle Ages.
 
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Hosehead said:
By the time people are looking for an alkaline cure their bodies are already badly damaged by over acidity.
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I take it you have proof of this damage by over acidity resulting from diet?... sets of scientific publications?

Please provide them.



Their natural buffers all used up.
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Your body can make more and get more from the food you eat. Weird how that works huh?

Also some have an infinite supply. Like, did you know that part of the way your body manages your pH is to respire?... yes the simple act of expelling CO2 helps to manage your blood pH... are you saying your ability to breathe is going to be "all used up" as well?

They are usually in the Diabetic and various cancer stages.
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Please provide scientifically valid evidence of people being cured of their cancer or diabetes thanks to alkaline food. Also please provide evidence of the causal link (or perhaps even just correlations) between alterations in blood pH that cause it to fall outside of the narrow ranges with these disease states.


This is really irrelevant but mentioned because that is what gave the movement "quack " status
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No what gives it quack status is the lack of scientific evidence in support of any of the claims and how it doesn't at all fit with what we know about modern physiology.


It's a complete lifestyle change and the process of restoring the bodies natural acid/alkaline balance is a long and difficult one especially if one is already in illness.
Click to expand...
Again please provide evidence of the pH changes in those disease states.


The goal is not complete alkalinity but balance- which allows the body to repair the damage and in the beginning most people's bodies are far too acidic and it starts in childhood and progresses through adulthood and finally disease. Radical changes are made in the beginning to diet and hydration and constant Ph urine monitoring is done.
It's not for everyone. It's not a fad. It's a commitment to living well and it's easier to do when you have nothing to lose but when you just want to eat healthy -that's great too.
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Lots of pseudo-science here. How exactly do you define this balance of pH? what levels where? There is no total body acidity or alkalinity, different areas of your body have differen pH levels, this is part of how your body functions.

Do you have scientific studies demonstrating changes of pH outside of the narrow range associated with human blood pH and a reversal of that state through the use of the diet?... if so by all means provide them and I will reevaluate my opinion. If not stop pretending this stuff is established fact.
 
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