acid and alkaline diets

Question
I hear when eating foods in right combination is a healthier way of eating and helps to maintain weight.

Could you recommend some books and websites that would educate me in details the acid foods and the alkaline foods, and that are generous in sharing  recipes.

Thanks in advance.

Answer
Dear Sallie,


If you do like me and use Google and type in acid alkaline food diet you get an endless supply of sources to choose from. Amazon also suggests many books, but I have read none of them so cannot advise you there. For the rest, it's just a matter of sifting through the useful pages. I have three examples for you here to make your life easier:
-  A simple introduction and a basic list: http://www.liferesearchuniversal.com/acid.html to give you something to base the rest of your research on.
- THE site apparently, also providing recipes if you sign up (for free, I think): http://acidalkalinediet.com/
- This site has a comprehensive list: http://heartspring.net/list_of_alkaline_foods.html
- but the one that has done most of the research for you is http://diet.lovetoknow.com/wiki/Alkaline_Foods Here also the controversies of the different lists is marked.

Now for my own commentary. All the lists actually convene more or less, when it comes to rough guidelines (sufficient for the beginner, anyway). There seems to be some confusion between acid/alkaline in foods and in blood. The only acid found in blood is uric acid which is the by product of digestive processes regardless of what you eat. However, if you have kidney problems you cannot rid yourself of this acid properly and this can lead to high acidity. To add to the confusion, when acids are formed by over-strained muscles: ironicaly acidic foods (sugars)can prevent this. So we need to still look towards how foods affect digestive processes rather than the blood directly.

Interestingly, the lists of alkaline-acid foods corresponds fairly well with foods that would promote proper digestion and encourage the right metabolic processes (influence energy systems positively). However there are some marked discrepancies which could cause problems.

It is therefore, far from wise to follow an overly alkaline diet. For some types of people it could even lead to new diseases or worsened conditions, if some of the "good"foods were taken simply because they have been categorised as alkaline. On the whole, already there is always the hazzard of becoming TOO alkaline, as can occur in overly zealous macrobiotics. Then a person becomes too "yin" and passive, may suffer from cold and colds, and aggravate some pathological conditions they were hoping to combat.

A diet must always be personalised to your OWN processing and transforming capacities. This takes a fair amount of self-knowledge and quite some years of experimentation. To make matters worse: you change over time and so does your system.

Above all mind, that in the sources I have read there seems to be an odd aspect where it is acknowledged that minerals reduce acidity (they activate processes which deal with acids), without realising that many acidic foods are brimming with certain minerals. Also, some alkaline foods may contain far too much phosphorus or potassium to use without proper rebalancing with acidic products (I am thinking of the citrus and dairy groups for example - which, however must not be combined in one meal, to further complicate things for you).

So far what I have read, the biochemical explanations start too late, with the blood, and skip the digestive process. The balance 60%-40% (alkaline-acid) may be working for so many people because any healthy diet will curb protein, fat and single sugars intake. But there are some things left unconsidered or are oversimplified by this diet.

It is true that healthy eating results in fewer aches, pains, sniffles and especially fatigue bugging you on the whole, but ONLY because you are not taxing the rest of your organs (so your energy is left free to fight off infection by bacteria/viruses and allergies even, with energy to spare for creative work. The mind is more peaceful, with less unprocessed or misplaced energy disturbing it.Poor diet causes poor digestion, which causes clouding of the mind eventually. You must not imagine the "acid ash" they speak of, as remnants of the food you ate permeating the blood. Nothing foreign, not humanised can permeate the intestinal walls. This transformation from alien food to human protein is, indeed, facilitated by a 60-40% acid-alkaline diet.

Remember that you cannot "immunise" yourself. Know that you can build up resilience by making conscious healthy choices. The reasons for this are very intricate, both psychologically and bio-chemically. And then there is an esoteric aspect we could add.

You cannot make the bloodstream a private drive way. Total control of your blood is not yours. It belongs to your body, and you rent your body. You can decorate it and refurbish it but the blueprints are from pre-birth. The blood is but the messenger. So looking at its acidity can tell you something, but nothing about the cause. You have to back track to the malfunctioning system or organ. Seldom, does it reflect the external world: unless you have been exposed to radiation, toxins or were bitten by a venomous animal.

My fear is that if you start using the food lists you could go astray and miss out on very important nutrients. Do not become fanatic, whatever you do and stick to alkaline foods exclusively! The key word is balance. You cannot avoid grains out of fear of turning acid. Grains are so vital to your overall health, they are the foundation to your immune system for more reasons than I can go into right now. The point is to make sure they are wholemeal and devoid of unnecessary additives - no need for sugar in bread, and only a pinch of salt, nothing more. Use fresh butter because margarine or lard or (most) mayonnaise is no good for you regardless of their being acidic.Too much butter is not good either, however alkaline! (saturated fat). But a little butter dailly is very nutritious - and about a million times better than peanutbutter. This just to indicate you must relativate the lists all the time, and combine the information with other nutritional guidelines.

For example, it is advisable to include in your diet, at least 3 times a week, some dairy or eggs, or fish, lean meat or poultry, or you will become B12 deficient. Vegans will disagree and some people indeed do NOT need to do this. But in general you do. One of the reasons this alkaline-acid diet is catching on, though, is because it is a)comprehensive and clear and b) results are measurable in that you really will feel fitter than before. This is because the lists contain loads of healthy foods, and most people who start on this felt "acidic" whether their blood indicated it or not.

Since this diet therefore can quickly make common sense and offers a wide selection of foods, it can delight you once you retrain your tastebuds and detox a little. It also restricts you which explains the possible weight loss.

Once you have given yourself a "blank canvas" (no longer craving artificial flavours) and a "pallet" of finest natural/organic ingredients, the lists will become superflous (give it a year, though). You also won't worry about acid-over doses anymore either. When your body craves something sugary, you will know it needs a piece of dark chocolate slightly sweetened by sugar, or a buttery biscuit and you will be right. Just don't go raiding the sugarlump bowl. And avoid "sneaky sugar"for the rest of your life. Eat it only as an overt and therefore genuinely healthy choice.

The thing I like about an AWARENESS of acid v alkaline is that it gets more people thinking about their food in a holistic manner (thinking about food rather than weight loss/gain, i.e. body image or the threat of terminal illnesses). They learn to concentrate on veg and fruit and raw ingredients: they move away from the ills of processed food and the baneful snack culture.

However, regarding the distinction between acid/alkaline, be mindful that it goes somewhat awry within some categories based on subjective standards (hence some discrepancies). I think it should indicate that an acid-alkaline foodlist is not to be equated to a comprehensive diet in itself. The best guideline to take away from the fad arising from the principles, is that protein and fats and sugars are in general acidic and veg alkaline. Fruit and grains, nuts, seeds are more acidic but that points to the fats and sugars in them: nutrients that are INDISPENSABLE to a healthy diet. Natural is the greatest guideline when in doubt.

If you want to study the SUBTLE aspects which most of these diets are actually refering to, you must study the Five Elements of the Taoist diet, which in my experience can offer the best alkaline-acid diet around. Aileen Yeoh's Longevity is a good practical (cook) book with recipes, lists and basics on Taoist healing. A superb book for mother and child is only available in German and Polish, Czech and Dutch (I think) (it has a great wall chart list in colour for in your kitchen).

To over-alkalinise your diet does not sound wise to me. It is wise not to overdo it on the protein front. But eating only bananas can never count for a 5 a day fruit/veg healthy diet choice. Bananas or dates, two of only a few alkaline fruits on some lists, are specifically not the kind of fruit you want to take too often unless you live on a banana plant or in an oasis (then you were probably born prepared for that). They are incredibly sweet (high calories) and blood sugar levels are an entirely separate issue.

Also, the nuts which qualify as acidic ought to be favoured over the supposed alkaline ones, when we look at overall mineral content and other properties, while peanuts should not be called nuts in the first place and best avoided under any circumstance for very other reasons. Cashew, pinenuts (seeds really) coconut, Brazil nuts should not be chosen regularly. Walnuts, almonds, hazlenuts (fruits really - yep, food is tricky) can be eaten daily (about 7 as a max) and seeds too, are full of goodness that ought not need to pass an acid-alkaline grading to be included in your diet. Just be moderate in all things,of course.

Cheese and yoghurt should not be in the same category, with yoghurt (semi-fat/skimmed especially)being one of the most beneficial foods and cheese being full of the wrong fat (high in calories) and often causing a sluggish gut if eaten regularly.

The idea of combining acid and alkaline is a very sound one: creating a neutral meal, means eating a balanced meal. If you eat a cheeseburger with fries you are obviously NOT. If you eat a hamburger (no bun) with peas and boiled potatoes, you are ok. If you eat a cheese sandwich (try oat or barley bread) you are also ok (cottage cheese making it an excellent choice). If you eat fries and a salad you are fine, again. If you just drink a coffee, at 11 am, you'll survive most happily (other health issues provided, naturally). But if you have a coffee and a cracker for lunch, you are not doing so well. The issue being a lack of balance and nutritional value for your main meal. But if you have a wholemeal bread salad sandwich with soft, unripe cheese, with commercial lemonade (soda) then you are doing a lot less well, too. The soda will spoil it all for you.

Use the acid-alkaline diet, by all means as a guideline towards healthier eating - mind it does not guarantee you stick within a certain amount of calories by any means - but I cannot recommend you take it too far as a stringent life-style practice that forces you to avoid all products in the slightly or very acidic column.

Good luck, with the rest of your research, and enjoy your foods.
Evelyn

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