How an Alkaline Food Diet Works

An alkaline food diet involves eliminating foods that contribute to your body producing excessive acid. The popular “guilty” foods include meat, refined sugar, some wheat products and most processed foods.

Theoretically, when you make your body more alkaline, it’ll make you healthy and protect you from disease. Supporters also believe this diet helps people lose weight.

Some of the health claims are backed up by a modicum of evidence. A diet avoiding high-acid foods, like meat, most cheeses and bread, promotes better health. If you replace these foods with fruit and vegetables, medical professionals often believe you can protect against kidney stones, maintain strong bones and muscles, and increase the health of your heart and improve brain functions and even lower your risk of colon cancer and/or diabetes.

Avoiding refined sugar, processed foods and large amounts of alcohol will promote weight loss, whether or not you are alkaline-focused.

pH Factors

The measurement for alkalinity or acidity is pH. Something is pH neutral if it registers a 7 on the pH scale. Registering a pH of over 7 indicates an alkaline environment. Recording a pH less than 7 indicates an acidic condition.

Total acidity is a pH of 0, while totally alkaline items score a 14, although few conditions ever register these numbers. Since your blood is usually a bit on the alkaline side, with a pH range of 7.35 to 7.45, alkaline foods are thought to be beneficial.

What Foods Should You Eat

An alkaline diet helps your body keep the pH level of your blood consistent. The preferred foods in the alkaline diet are fruits and vegetables along with large amounts of ionized water.

Here’s what you should eat:

Fruit
Vegetables
Soybeans
Tofu
Nuts
Seeds

These food groups encourage your body to create alkalinity. They are healthy, whether or not they deliver the disease protection diet supporters claim.

Here’s what you shouldn’t eat or drink:

Dairy products
Most meats
Grains or wheat, avoiding gluten
Processed foods, including canned snacks
Packaged snacks loaded with preservatives
So-called “convenience” food products
Alcohol and caffeine.

Note that the alkaline food diet does not include an exercise regimen. However, at least moderate exercise is recommended to create or maintain healthy bodies.

Also, there are no scheduled in-person or telephone meetings. This diet depends on your commitment to reducing acidity in your body.

Dieters totally should avoid gluten, but even this requirement poses some challenges. Although avoiding grains and wheat, dieters must read food labels closely. They will find gluten present in other foods causing problems for people allergic to gluten in any form.

Adopting the Alkaline Food Diet

You can find websites that offer courses, books, and supplements, such as alkaline ionized water and other alkaline drinks. These accessories are invaluable to your success on this diet.

When you’re unsure of which foods to eat to follow this diet properly, you will find multiple alkaline food “charts” online to help you choose the products you like. Most are available at your local supermarket, although they are sometimes pricey.  Adopting the alkaline food diet just might be the best thing you’ve ever done for your health.

Source: http://www.webmd.com/diet/alkaline-diets?page=1

To your health!