Your acidic diet might be making you ill. All solutions, whether they are digestive bile or the milk you drink, are either acidic or alkaline. Consuming acidic foods and beverages, such as coffee and chocolate, can lead to gastroesophageal reflux disease, commonly abbreviated GERD, and heartburn, the National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse warns. GERD is also known as acid reflux, caused when acids rise up your esophagus. Some foods may not become acidic until after you digest them, posing hidden dangers to your pH balance.
Acidic and Acid-Forming Foods
Food that seems acidic may actually act as an alkaline after your body has digested it. Scientists classify foods as acid-forming or alkaline, depending on the effect they have on the body. Acid-forming foods add hydrogen to the body; alkaline foods remove hydrogen from the body. Food that tastes acidic, like citrus fruits, might actually have alkalizing effects because the minerals left behind after digesting these foods remove hydrogen from your body.
pH
Scientists measure the amount of a compound's acidity or alkalinity level by assigning it a pH number, or a potential of hydrogen. The pH scale ranges from 0 to 14, with 0 being the most acidic and 14 representing the most alkaline solutions. Water has a pH of 7, exactly balanced between acid and alkaline. Your body tries to maintain a pH level somewhere between 7.35 and 7.45, according to Elmhurst College, a value which is a little on the alkaline side. When you consume too much of an acid-forming substance, your body must come up with an alkaline to restore pH balance.
American Diet
Acid-forming foods include eggs, fish, grains, legumes and meat. The typical American eats a lot of acid-forming animal products, like meat, eggs and dairy, which may lead to high cholesterol levels in your blood. Americans do not consume enough alkaline foods, like alfalfa, cucumbers and carrots, to create a healthy pH balance. Americans are also fond of processed foods such as white flour, sugar and sweetened beverages.
Other Illnesses
You may get canker sores from eating or drinking acidic foods and beverages, such as tomatoes and orange juice. Consuming acidic foods can also bring about eczema, the Skin Care Guide website warns. Eating too much acid-forming food can cause high acid levels in your body tissues, a condition known as acidosis. Your body tries to regain a proper pH balance by stealing alkalizing minerals from your bones, which may result in bone disease, like osteopenia. Eating acidic foods does not cause cancer, the American Institute for Cancer Research advises.
References
- National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse; Heartburn, Gastroesophageal Reflux (GER), and Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD); May 2007
- Elmhurst College; Respiratory Acidosis; Charles E. Ophardt; 2003
- Skin Care Guide: 7 Foods That Cause Eczema
- American Institute for Cancer Research; Busting Cancer Myths: Acidic Foods and Cancer Risks; April 2008
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