Eating Alkaline
Eating an alkaline diet means that you focus on taking in foods that are either alkaline or alkalizing (meaning they turn alkaline once ingested) and avoiding acidic or acidifying foods. Proponents believe that sticking to alkaline foods promotes pH balance in the blood, which supposedly leads to improved health. Examples of foods you should avoid when eating an alkaline diet include sugar, pasta, caffeine, wheat and dairy. Examples of foods to eat more of include lettuce, squash, peppers, tomatoes, garlic, carrots, broccoli, parsley, cucumber, limes, lemons and watermelon.
Alkaline Diet & Cancer
Many people opt to stick to an alkaline diet because they believe it promotes a healthier environment. Eating an acidic diet can create an environment that is friendly to illness and tumors, even increasing the speed with which they grow. An alkaline diet supposedly acts as a cancer-preventative measure, though there are no significant studies to back up this claim.
Eating Alkaline Doesn't Impact pH Balance
Even though proponents of the alkaline diet say otherwise, there is no scientific evidence that eating a diet high in alkaline foods impacts your body's pH balance in any measurable way. In fact, the body maintains its pH balance on its own, so ingesting acidic foods does not really impact this in any way that lends to lasting effects or preventing cancer.
Not All Acidic Foods Are Bad
Committing to an alkaline diet may exclude foods that are actually helpful in treating cancer. Such foods include dairy that's been fortified with vitamin D and meats high in protein. Both of these food types contain essential nutrients for those fighting cancer and undergoing harsh treatments like chemotherapy. If you're currently being treated for cancer, an alkaline diet could deprive your body of nutrients it needs to fight the disease.
