Why Alkaline Foods?

The human body constantly strives to remain in homeostasis, and one of the major regulators of this process is the body's pH range, a measure of bodily acidity and alkalinity measured on a scale of 1 to 14. A rating of 7 on the pH scale indicates that the body is in neutral balance, and occurs when the proper amount of water, electrolytes and both macro- and micronutrients has been consumed. Maintaining balance has become more and more difficult as the U.S. diet has begun to take over the food industry, producing highly processed, fatty foods that leave the body in a state of chronic metabolic acidosis. Creating a more well-rounded diet including alkaline-rich foods is necessary to avoid illness and disease.

Chronic Metabolic Acidosis

The body has to maintain a stable pH balance, regardless of what types of food you are consuming. Therefore, if the base-forming alkaline foods and nutrients required to neutralize the acid-forming foods that are in your system already are absent, the body will tap into its other stores to reach homeostasis, and this can cause some serious problems. Calcium is a strong base, and the body will ignite an osteoclastic, or bone degrading, process to extract calcium from the bones. This can cause serious bone deterioration, which can lead to both osteoarthritis and osteoporosis.

Negative Nitrogen Balance

Negative nitrogen balance is when the body has high amounts of nitrogen in the urine. Nitrogen is neutralized by hydrogen ions to form ammonium, and this binding process needs glutamine. Hydrogen ions are acidic, so the glutamine, much like calcium, reduces acidosis in the body. Glutamine can be derived from alkaline-rich foods, but if there is not enough glutamine present, the body will turn to skeletal muscle tissue, which has the largest glutamine stores, to neutralize the acidosis. Muscle tissue is broken down, amino acids are excreted through your urine and a loss of net muscle protein is experienced.

Highly Acidic Foods

Consuming too many highly acidic grains and high acid animal proteins is a big part of the problem. Dr. John Berardi lists what is referred to as a potential renal acid load table, or PRAL, in his research at his clinic Precision Nutrition. PRAL is an examination of a food's components to determine if it is acid-forming or base-forming. These values can then aid you in properly balancing your nutritional regimen. Highly acidic foods, according to the PRAL table, include hot dogs, lunch meat, liver sausage, salami, low-fat cheddar cheese, processed cheese and white rice. All of these trend toward the unhealthy, processed U.S. diet.

Alkaline-Rich Foods

Using that same PRAL scale, foods that can help you avoid chronic metabolic acidosis include strawberries, raisins, peanuts, oranges, spinach, broccoli, carrots and cauliflower. Berardi suggests always trying to include a few servings of your favorite base-producing foods at each meal, which also follows his recommendation of 7 to 10 servings of fruits and vegetables each day. You can also add a bit of sodium, preferably in the form of sea salt, to your meals to help balance out the acidity, but check with your doctor first before adding more salt to your diet, especially if you have any conditions such as high blood pressure. Also check with your doctor about supplementing with glutamine. If you do have chronic metabolic acidosis, glutamine might help your body neutralize acids.