Your body's pH level represents how acidic or basic it is. Some alternative medicine proponents believe that having an alkaline, or basic, pH level keeps you healthier. Adopting a diet high in alkalizing foods supposedly raises your pH and benefits your health. Talk to your doctor before changing your diet based on your pH levels to make sure your changes are safe.
Optimal pH Level
Although certain parts of your body, such as your stomach, have a very acidic pH, your overall body pH is slightly alkaline. Your body uses several physiological mechanisms to tightly regulate its pH, keeping it between 7.35 and 7.45. Starting a diet to correct an alkaline imbalance means that you eat foods that raise your body's pH to this optimal range.
Claims
Alkaline diet proponents claim that having an acidic body causes a variety of health problems. Symptoms of an acidic body include chronic fatigue, excessive mucus production, infections, irritability, anxiety, dry skin, cysts, headaches, gastrointestinal problems and muscle pain. Starting an alkaline diet plan supposedly improves your energy levels, boosts your mood and decreases your risk of chronic illness.
Diet Foods
To alkalize your body, try to make 75 percent of the foods you eat alkaline-forming foods. Alkalizing foods include vegetables and fruits such as asparagus, broccoli, cabbage, cucumbers, lettuce, peas, avocados, watermelon, tomatoes, rhubarb, lemons and limes. Acceptable sources of protein include almonds, pumpkin seeds, lentils, sprouts and sunflower seeds.
Minimize your consumption of acid-forming foods. Animal products, many fruits, dairy products, oil, cashews, peanuts, pistachios, artificial sweeteners, carbonated beverages, bread, pasta and condiments cause your body to become more acidic.
Expert Insight
According to dietitian and nutrition consultant Dina Aronson, eating alkaline foods may improve bone retention and slow muscle deterioration in older adults. Because an alkaline diet emphasizes fresh fruits and vegetables, it may boost your energy levels and help you lose weight. However, dieters should be careful to receive enough protein from nuts, seeds and small portions of animal products to prevent protein deficiency.
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