The pH Balance Miracle Diet

The pH Balance Miracle diet --- or the pH Miracle diet --- is based on the idea that to be healthy, you need to consume primarily alkaline foods. The diet is divided into four steps that its authors say will help you transition from unhealthy eating habits to an alkaline diet that will stimulate weight loss, increased energy and better health. Health professionals contend that while the pH Miracle diet contains some good concepts, it is riddled with advice that scientific evidence does not support.

Background

All human health problems begin with acidic blood and body tissues, assert microbiologist Robert O. Young, Ph.D. and his wife Shelley Redford Young, in their 2002 book "The pH Miracle: Balance Your Diet, Reclaim Your Health." If your diet is 70 to 80 percent alkaline-only foods, the Youngs contend you can resist germs and effectively treat every ailment from allergies to intestinal parasites to yeast infections. While the main pH Miracle diet website claims the Youngs have proven the alkaline diet's success with their own studies, the site does not provide the details or give information about studies on alkaline foods that medical institutions have conducted.

Guidelines

There are four steps in the pH Miracle diet: transition, cleanse, strictly alkaline and maintenance. During the initial transition phase, you are required to spend 12 weeks gradually phasing out what the Youngs term acidic foods and focusing meals on alkaline foods. In step two, you will spend a week fasting, consuming only the juice of green vegetables and nutritional supplements, some of which are natural laxatives. In step three, you must eat exclusively alkaline foods with an emphasis on raw, green leafy vegetables along with probiotic supplements. The final stage, maintenance, allows 20 percent of your diet to consist of soy protein, fish, whole grains and starchy vegetables while the remainder stays focused on alkaline foods.

Alkaline and Acidic Foods

After digestion, acidic foods produce acidic byproducts that accumulate in the body, making it more difficult for cells to function optimally, according to the Youngs. By contrast, alkaline foods preserve the alkaline pH of blood and tissues. On the pH Miracle diet, acidic foods include all types of meat, fish and seafood; all dairy products; nearly all fruits; fats like saturated fat and margarine; corn, vegetable and sunflower oil; all processed foods; all items containing caffeine or alcohol; and nuts like peanuts, pistachios and cashews. Alkaline foods include all vegetables; citrus fruits; avocados; all types of bean and legume sprouts; oils like olive, flax, hemp and avocado; lentils; grains like spelt and groats; and beverages like alkalized water, green tea, fresh vegetable juice and almond milk.

Expert Insight

MayoClinic.com advises that there is little scientific evidence to support the cleansing step two of the pH Miracle diet, saying that diets containing detoxification phases similar to this may cause dehydration, nausea, extreme fatigue and dizziness. In addition, researchers have not determined if regularly drinking the alkalized water emphasized in the diet yields any real health benefits. While the addition of probiotic supplements to your diet in step three may help improve your overall health, the pH Miracle diet as a whole does not conform to the standards that medical institutions hold for healthy, sustainable weight loss --- a diet that incorporates moderate amounts of all types of low-fat, low-calorie foods and encourages regular physical activity.

References

• Every Diet: pH Miracle Diet
• Diet Spotlight: pH Miracle Review
• pH Miracle Living: The Alkalarian Approach to Optimal Health
• "MayoClinic"; Is Alkaline Water Better For You Than Plain Water?; Katherine Zeratsky, R.D., L.D.
• "MayoClinic"; Do Detox Diets Offer Any Health Benefits?; Katherine Zeratsky, R.D., L.D.
• "MayoClinic"; Is It Important to Include Probiotics in a Healthy Diet?; Katherine Zeratsky, R.D., L.D.