Most food you eat either has an alkalizing or acidifying effect on your blood. Normally, your blood is slightly alkaline and has a pH level of about 7.35. Proponents of diets meant to reduce acidity in the blood believe eating too many acid-producing foods throws this pH balance off and diminishes health in many ways, including promoting the loss of essential minerals like calcium and magnesium and promoting fat production. Some foods also contribute to gout symptoms, and people who suffer this disease are advised to avoid those foods that can lead to uric acid build-up in the body, note the experts at Drugs.com.
Acid-Alkaline Diet
The Acid-Alkaline Diet is meant to improve your health, including strengthening skin, nails and hair and improving function of body systems such as the respiratory, digestive and circulatory systems. Foods are divided into three groups in the Acid-Alkaline Diet. Alkalinizing foods include green vegetables, potatoes, colored veggies like carrots and beets---but not tomatoes, milk, bananas, almonds, brazil nuts, black olives that are preserved in oil, cold-pressed oils and avocado---according to the The Acid-Alkaline Diet for Optimum Health, by Christopher Vasey and Jon Graham. Weak acid foods that can contribute to alkalization of your body include unripe fruit, whey, acid fruits like berries, citrus fruits like grapefruit, sweet fruits like watermelon, acid veggies like tomatoes and rhubarb, sauerkraut, vinegar and honey. When you metabolize weak acid foods you easily oxidize them, which transforms them into alkaline elements, note Vasey and Graham. Acidifying foods listed by Vasey and Graham include meat and poultry, cheese, animal fat, white sugar, foods with a grain base like cereal, condiments like ketchup, coffee, tea, cocoa and wine. The diet also identifies acidifying and alkalizing lifestyle habits, with a sedentary lifestyle being acidifying and an active one alkalizing, for example.
Thrive Diet
Eating to reduce acidity is a key component of the Thrive diet, developed by vegan Ironman triathlete Brendan Brazier. This diet focuses on nutrient-dense foods that can boost athletic performance and health. It can also help you slim down, says Brazier, who believes acid-forming foods play a significant role in causing excessive weight. Low-grade metabolic acidosis due to consuming too many acid-producing foods and having a high-stress lifestyle contributes to bone mass loss, kidney stones, lean muscle mass loss and body fat increase, says Brazier. The Thrive Diet advocates foods that have an alkalizing effect when digested in your body, especially chlorophyll-containing foods. Top veggies include bell peppers, broccoli, carrots, celery, cucumbers, greens, onions, sea veggies and zucchini. Top fruits include lemon, lime, grapefruit, mango, melon and papaya. The sweetener stevia, gingerroot, green tea, fresh herbs and yerba mate also are highly alkaline forming, notes Brazier. In contrast, highly acid forming foods on Brazier's list include pasta, meats, sugar, coffee, margarine, and soy and whey protein isolates.
Low-Purine Diet
If you've got gout, you may need to follow a low-purine diet, advise the experts at Drugs.com. Purine is produced by your body and is also found in food. Purines are changed to uric acid when your body breaks them down. Your kidneys normally filter uric acid so they're excreted with your urine, but with gout you may have a buildup of uric acid in your blood. Eating a low-purine diet helps alleviate buildup. Low purine foods include nuts and peanut butter, up to four eggs per week, low-fat milk, fruits and juices, rice, pasta, macaroni, gelatin, tea and coffee, and vegetables with a few exceptions. Medium purine foods include spinach, cauliflower, asparagus, peas, oats, poultry, fish except herring and mackerel, beef, lentils, beans and whole grain bread and cereal. High purine foods include herring and mackerel, organ meats, sardines, game meats, yeast and gravy.
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