Alkaline Diet Weight Loss Tip #1

Combine food education with alkaline diet theory. This can become a powerful tool that makes it easy to give up foods that we no longer want to eat.

For example, if you just think of dairy products as just acid foods and that you shouldn’t eat cheese or drink milk because you want to alkalize your body, do you really think you can you’ll stop having them?

Instead, if you take the time to find out more about where milk comes from and who it is meant for as well as finding out what it contains and how it affects your body, you may never want to drink it again.

In this video, Harley lays it all out – dairy contains all sorts of hormones, puss, fats and cholesterol. So before we even think about our alkaline diet, it’s pretty clear that dairy contains all sorts of things that we don’t want. About now you may be thinking that milk contains calcium. Isn’t that good for us? Now if we add our alkaline diet knowledge to the equation, we know that even though milk does indeed contain calcium, the amounts of animal proteins that it contains produces a condition known as metabolic acidosis in our bodies. This leads to a net loss of calcium from our bones.

So we know that dairy is pretty disgusting and that it puts an acid load on our body. But what about weight loss? You might be thinking that low fat milk is okay. But it’s not. A neat trick used by the dairy industry on milk packaging is to advertise the percentage of fat by volume. Considering milk contains so much water, the volume of fat turns out to be very low. This is why we see 2% milk in the store.

If we look at it by calories though, 35% of the total calories of “2% milk” come from fats! Quite confusing, isn’t it? And this is just how the dairy industry wants to keep us.

One cup of milk (244 grams) contains 122 calories, 43 of these calories are from fats. The majoirty of this weight is of course water (but water doesn’t have any calories). For every cup of milk you drink, you’re taking on board 5 grams of fats (inc. 3 grams of saturated fat) as well as 20 mg of cholesterol.

Just one cup of milk, every day of the year would equal: 5 grams fat * 365 days = 1825 grams of pure fat. Considering you may be pouring milk on your cereal, having milk in your tea or coffee, drinking milk on its own, as well as eating all kinds of foods that contain milk (e.g. cheese as well as all kinds of cooked foods that we might not think of as “dairy”), there’s a fair chance you’re consuming a lot more than just one cup a day.

If you want to lose weight and alkalize, dairy has got to go.

To discover more reasons to avoid milk, check out http://www.notmilk.com/

Alkaline Diet Weight Loss Tip #2

Comsume a whole foods, plant based diet. It’s that simple. By avoiding completely, animal based products we give our bodies a chance to start to heal themselves. Understand though that just avoiding animal products doesn’t mean your diet is necessarily going to be healthy. Eating heavily processed foods, e.g. white bread and sugar laden drinks and snacks could technically be a vegan diet, but it’s definitely not healthy. That’s why it’s the combination of a whole foods and plant based diet that’s important.

There’s a whole bunch of doctors and researchers who have published all kinds of amazing information about the power of this kind of diet. But it still isn’t common knowledge. That’s because the facts are having to do battle with the power and might of business and industry that stand to lose a great deal of money should these facts become more widely known.

Some great resources include:

Dr John McDougall- http://www.drmcdougall.com/

Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine – http://www.pcrm.org/

Caldwell B. Esselstyn, Jr., M.D. – http://www.heartattackproof.com/

T. Colin Campbell – http://www.tcolincampbell.org/

All these doctors and researchers appear in the movie Forks Over Knives which is a must see documentary movie.

Alkaline Diet Weight Loss Tip #3

Awaken your taste buds and discover all kinds of “new” foods. If you’re worrying about what sort of foods you’ll be able to eat on an alkaline diet, there are so many delicious things that you may never have tried before. The beauty of it all is that a whole foods, plant based diet is naturally alkaline in nature. On top of this, it will naturally help you to lose weight.

Whole foods, foods which we eat as close to their natural state as possible (e.g. wholewheat bread rather than processed white bread, freshly squeezed orange juice rather than juice from a carton, and so on) give our bodies all kinds of nutrients that the processed versions have been stripped of. So the feelings of hunger and having to eat will fade away since our body is getting the fuel it needs from a smaller amount of food.

This has nothing to do with restricting calories or watching what you eat. When you eat the right foods, you can have as much as you want. Your body will tell you when it’s full. This is something you’re bound to notice.

Read more about alkaline foods here. I’m going to talk more about specific alkaline diet recipes that I eat, another time. I hope these three tips will inspire you to alkalize. It feels goood!

Alkaline Diet Definition

When I talk about the “alkaline diet”, I am using an objective assessment of the acid/alkaline effect foods have upon our bodies. The calculation that I refer to involves calculating the PRAL (Potential Renal Acid Load) of foods that I eat. To be honest, I don’t often sit down and calculate the PRAL values of every food I consume. However, I have found it useful to clarify, when I have been in doubt, the acid/alkaline effect of various foods.

Positive PRAL values mean that a food has an acidifying effect on the body. The bigger the number, the stronger the effect. Negative numbers indicate that foods have an alkalizing effect, again, the more negative the number, the stronger the effect. You may have guessed that a PRAL score of zero means a food is neither acidifying or alkalizing.

You can read more about the PRAL calculation in the paper Dietary potential renal acid load and renal net acid excretion in healthy, free-living children and adolescents ^[1]

Many of the acid/alkaline food charts available on the internet use a subjective classification of foods into acid/alkaline categories based on their sugar content. While there are many areas of agreement between this categorization and the PRAL method, according to the PRAL calculation, the sugar content of foods has no direct bearing on their acid/alkaline status.

The complete lack of nutrition and high sugar content of sparkling soft drinks, for example, is more than enough reason not to drink them. They provide huge amounts of “empty calories” and can play a role in both obesity and diabetes.

There is a distinct likelihood that the increased consumption of [high fructose corn syrup] in beverages may be linked to the increase in obesity. ^[2]

[O]ur findings suggest that frequent consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages may be associated with larger weight gain and increased risk of type 2 diabetes ^[3]

We should be careful to avoid trying to fit everything into an acid/alkaline paradigm. Of course, acid/alkaline classifications of foods are important. But they are not the only factor. Overall health requires a more holistic approach.

Why is Alkalizing Important?

The reason why alkalizing is now so important is simply because the Standard American Diet (SAD) now has such an acidifying effect upon our bodies. Animal products and processed foods make up such a large proportion of the SAD while fruits and vegetables are consumed in such low quantities. This is why we are having to alkalize. If plant foods already made up a significant percentage of our diet then there would be very little need to “alkalize” further.

Alkaline Diet Caution

There is much more to health than purely thinking in terms of acid/alkaline balance. There are plenty of “acid foods” that I continue to eat (e.g. brown rice, wholewheat bread, lentils). Since starting my investigation into the alkaline diet, I have discovered that certain acid foods have an adverse effect upon my health. For instance, all animal products (meat, fish, dairy, eggs) are acidic foods. I probably wouldn’t have looked into their health effects so deeply if it hadn’t been for their “acid” label. However, there are many more reasons, other than simply acidity, why I now choose to avoid these foods. Dietary cholesterol only comes from animal products. We don’t need any cholesterol in our diet. The body is capable of producing all the cholesterol we need.

Fats and oils have very little acid/alkaline effect. But does this make them good just because they’re not acidifying? As I mentioned above, I still consume plenty of acid forming foods. Although I’m sure you can see that these are plant based, whole foods. This is what makes them beneficial for my overall health.

Acid and Alkaline Foods

As you may already know, alkalizing foods are fruits and vegetables, while acid foods are literally everything else. This is simplifying the data presented by Remer and Manz in their paper Potential renal acid load of foods and its influence on urine pH ^[4] a little bit. However, I find that with simplicity comes clarity.

Of particular interest is the fact that all animal products (meat, fish and dairy) are consistently acidifying. Grains (e.g. rice, rye, oats) are acidic. As are pulses, or legumes (e.g. lentils). Also, sugars and fats provide an almost neutral acid/alkaline effect.

So if alkalizing is your only priority, you’d be better off eating butter and drinking sodas rather than feasting on brown rice and lentil soup. I hope you can see that there is more to health than simply becoming alkaline.

What’s Wrong with the Standard American Diet?

We know that because of the high quantities of meats and dairy products along with all the processed foods – as well as the low levels of fresh fruits and vegetables that are consumed in the West that the Standard American Diet (or Standard Western Diet) produces an acid load on those people who eat this way.

Increasing the amounts of fruits and vegetables and reducing the quantities of animal products and junk foods will certainly alkalize your body. However, the important point is to eat lots of fruits and vegetables. Just drinking some baking soda mixed with water would produce an alkalizing effect but is no where near as beneficial for us as eating more plant based foods. This is where the health benefit of the Alkaline Diet is really coming from. Alkalizing our bodies is a by product of consuming a whole foods, plant based diet. This is where I now focus my attention.

Reducing your meat consumption does contribute to alkalizing your body. But more than this, less meat means less fat and less cholesterol in your diet. This leads to weight loss and improved cardiovascular performance. Which can in turn reduce our risk factors for diseases including diabetes and heart disease.

Obesity is considered as the most important risk factor for type 2 diabetes. ^[5]

the higher the serum total cholesterol level, the greater the risk of an atherosclerotic event [e.g. – a heart attack or stroke]. ^[6]

References:

[1]
Dietary potential renal acid load and renal net acid excretion in healthy, free-living children and adolescents
Thomas Remer, Triantafillia Dimitriou and Friedrich Manz
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 77, No. 5, 1255-1260, May 2003
http://www.ajcn.org/content/77/5/1255.full

[2]
Consumption of high-fructose corn syrup in beverages may play a role in the epidemic of obesity
George A Bray, Samara Joy Nielsen and Barry M Popkin
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 79, No. 4, 537-543, April 2004
http://www.ajcn.org/content/79/4/537.full

[3]
Sugar-Sweetened Beverages, Weight Gain, and Incidence of Type 2 Diabetes in Young and Middle-Aged Women
Matthias B. Schulze, DrPH; JoAnn E. Manson, MD; David S. Ludwig, MD; Graham A. Colditz, MD; Meir J. Stampfer, MD; Walter C. Willett, MD; Frank B. Hu, MD
Journal of American Medical Association, 2004;292(8):927-934.
http://jama.ama-assn.org/content/292/8/927.full

[4]
Potential renal acid load of foods and its influence on urine pH
Thomas Remer, PhD; and Friedrich Manz, MD
J Am Diet Assoc. 1995 Jul;95(7):791-7.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7797810

[5]
From obesity to diabetes: why, when and who?
Scheen AJ.
Acta Clinica Belgica. 2000 Jan-Feb;55(1):9-15.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10783502

[6]
Atherosclerotic risk factors, are there ten or is there only one?
ROBERTS W. C.
American Journal of Cardiology. 1989 Sep 1;64(8):552-4.

My definition of what constitutes an acid or alkaline food comes down to its PRAL value. This stands for Potential Renal Acid Load. It is a scientific calculation that was devised by Thomas Remer, Triantafillia Dimitriou and Friedrich Manz in their paper Dietary potential renal acid load and renal net acid excretion in healthy, free-living children and adolescents. This has nothing to do with burning which was a method used in an earlier Acid Ash test. The PRAL calculation determines the acid load that a foodstuff has on our body. It is an equation that is determined by the quantities of protein, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium and calcium present. A positive number means the food is acid forming while a negative number means the food is alkaline forming in our body.

Doesn’t Sugar Make a Food Acidic?

In a word, no! The PRAL calculation is an objective calculation.  I have found no objective information online regarding a calculation showing the acidity/alkalinity of foods based on their sugar content. There is plenty of fluff talk about it though. It only takes a moment to realize that this idea is crazy. Believing that sugar is the enemy means that practically all fruits become acid foods and their intake should be limited or avoided. This is nonsense! Fruits are our friends. The more we consume, the better we’re going to feel.

Alkaline Diet Foods according to Real Scientists

It’s interesting that the two most prominent scientists in this field, Thomas Remer and Friedrich Manz don’t really talk about the alkaline diet. Instead, they talk in terms of PRAL and NAE (Net Acid Excretion). These guys are scientists, they aren’t trying to sell us any supplements to help us alkalize our bodies. This, combined with my own common sense, is the reason that I am basing my dietary decisions on what the scientists are telling me not what a “doctor” (who just happens to have a company that sells pH balancing products) would have me believe.

In their paper, Potential renal acid load of foods and its influence on urine pH by Thomas Remer, Fredrich Manz,  available on the National Center for Biotechnology Information website, the authors list the PRAL values for a number of different foods. According to Remer and Manz, bananas have a PRAL value of -5.5 which makes them alkalizing foods.

Why not calculate the PRAL value for yourself? All you have to do is input the values for protein, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium and calcium into the formula above. You can get the figures from the USDA Nutrient Database.

The relevant figures for bananas are:

• Protein = 1.09g
• Phosphorus = 22mg
• Potassium = 358mg
• Magnesium = 27mg
• Calcium = 5mg

You can do the calculation manually or use an online PRAL calculator. The result is: -6.9369

This varies a little bit from the Remer and Manz result. In fact, it indicates that bananas are even more alkalizing. Of course, we don’t know exactly where they took their food nutrient data from. It would appear that they didn’t use the USDA figures.

Use Your Common Sense

If sugar was the enemy, a freshly squeezed glass of orange juice would be just as bad for us as a can of soda. Can you really believe this? If you can, then you might want to leave this site now and go off to buy some pH drops. There’s lots of people who’ll be more than happy to take your money.

When I discovered the alkaline diet, the idea was intriguing and the science seemed to make sense. It doesn’t have to be complicated. Ask yourself if you really need to buy charts, powders and alkalizing drops. Perhaps that way of doing things makes sense to you. I’m not going to argue. But for me, simply eating lots more fruits and vegetables has made a marked improvement on the way I feel on a day to day basis. The more I read about health and longevity, the more convinced I become that eating a whole foods, plant based diet is the way to better health now and lasting health into the future. There’s no way I’m going to limit my banana consumption because some chart suggests that they are acidic. How about you?

The current cost for a 1 pound (454 grams) tub of Doc Broc’s Power Plants™ is $94.00 excluding shipping. How does this compare to fresh produce? The ingredient list includes:

Avocado, Cucumber, Tomato, Lemon, Lime, Broccoli Sprouts, Spinach, Celery, Parsley, Cabbage, Collard Greens, Okra, Kale, Soy Sprouts, Lemon Grass, Wheat Grass, Barley Grass, Shave Grass, Oat Grass, and Couch Grass.

However, the pH Miracle website doesn’t provide the ratio of these ingredients. And to make the math easier, I’m going to pick just one green ingredient, spinach. The calculations below will show that if you can buy fresh (ideally organic) spinach for less than $7.80 / pound, then it is better value to make your own green drinks. Or course, if you cannot find spinach for less than this price, it may make financial sense for you to use the Doc Broc’s Power Plants™ alkaline supplement.

Values are taken from the USDA Nutrient Database.

What is the dry weight of fresh spinach?

In 100 grams of spinach, there is 91.40 grams of water.

Therefore, 8.6 grams of dry weight per 100 grams of spinach.

How many grams of spinach give us 1 pound of dry weight?

454 grams = 1 pound

454/8.6 = 52.7

52.7*100 =5270 grams

5270 grams of raw spinach = 454 grams of dry weight (the rest of the weight is water!)

How many pounds of fresh spinach do we need for the same dry weight as Doc Broc’s Power Plants™?

5270/454 = 11.60 (let’s round up to 12 for simplicity)

We need 12 pounds of raw spinach to get the same dry weight as is in 1 tub of Doc Broc’s Power Plants™

Maximum cost per pound of fresh spinach

$94/12 = $7.80

If you can find spinach for less than $7.80 per pound, it is cheaper to buy the raw spinach. I get my spinach for less than $5 per pound so for me it makes financial sense to make my own green drinks.

Alkaline Diet Supplements

On a personal level, I much prefer to eat fresh foods than those that have been processed. Would you rather eat mashed potatoes that you peeled, boiled and mashed yourself, or some dehydrated potatoes that you mixed with water? I don’t drink milk anymore. But when I did, I would never have considered drinking powdered milk! So for me, just because I eat an alkaline diet doesn’t mean I have to be taking alkaline supplements. The more foods that I eat as close to their natural state, the better I feel.

References:

https://www.phmiracleliving.com/p-378-doc-brocs-power-plants.aspx

A report written almost 100 years ago published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry titled Studies of Urinary Tract Acidity states:

Practically every one now understands that most of the various organic acids present in the fruits are completely oxidized within the body. The contained acids, therefore, do not exhibit any ultimate acid effect but, on the contrary, fruits cause the production of less acid urines because of the alkaline ash which they yield. Prunes, plums, and cranberries are an exception to this general truth [...]

Alkaline Forming Foods aren’t Everthing

The thing is being alkalizing isn’t the only thing to consider. If we lump all acid foods together, we’re saying that cranberry juice is just as bad for us as a can of soda. This is clearly not the case. That’s what I don’t like about acid/aklaline food charts. Consuming high alkaline foods is one thing – avoiding certain fruits because they are acidifying, is another.

What I’m suggesting is that we shouldn’t avoid fruits, even if they exert an acid load on our bodies. For sure, eating a diet of just prunes, plums, and cranberries is not advisable. I just don’t think we should go out of our way to avoid these fruits.

As another example of taking the alkaline diet to extremes, consider hazelnuts. According to the USDA Nutrient Data Laboratory, they are just over 60% fat. However, their PRAL score of -2.8 makes them an alkalizing food. Sure, eating a few hazelnuts here and there is going to be good for us but their high fat content means that even though they are alkalizing, we don’t want to eat too many. The ideal is to be getting the majority of our calories from carbohydrates.

Another, perhaps more extreme example would be to compare ice cream with rye bread. Which do you think is more acidifying to our bodies? If you guessed ice cream, you would be wrong! This is just another reason why we have to think about more than just the acid/alkaline divide. The PRAL score of ice cream is ever so slightly acidifying while the rye bread puts a greater acid load on our bodies.

Following the alkaline diet dogmatically is not going to be good for your health. It’s sure good to know which foods are alkalizing and which are acidifying. But we also have to take into consideration which ones have more fat, which ones are more processed, which ones have more additives, and so on.

Perhaps the safest option is to simply eat as many of our calories from fresh fruits and vegetable sources as we can. This ensures we’re eating a high alkaline diet as well as a high carb diet and let’s face it, fruits and vegetables have the best nutrient profiles of anything we could eat.

Objectifying Alkaline Foods

Whenever you see a list of acid and alkaline foods, take a time out and try to find what definition is being used. Is it just someone’s imagination, feeling or gut instinct? Or is there an objective assessment of acidity and alkalinity? This is of vital importance. When talking about this divide, I use the scientifically accepted definition of PRAL (Potential Renal Acid Load) devised by Remer and Manz in their seminal paper Potential renal acid load of foods and its influence on urine pH. These are two of the leading researchers in this area who have been published in peer reviewed journals.

Conclusion

It would be wrong to view all alkaline foods as good and all acid foods as bad. The safest option is to eat a diet high in whole food plant based nutrition. In other words, avoid processed foods and eat as many fruits and vegetables as possible – this is an alkaline diet!

Eat Konnyaku for Health

Balance, in all areas of life is an important concept in Japan and this applies equally to diet. So at every meal time fruits and vegetables play a part. For a detailed discussion of the main foodstuffs eaten all over Japan, I will point to you towards my Japanese diet article. At the moment though we are going to take a look at a fairly common food in Japan that is less well known internationally, konnyaku in Japanese (called konjac or devil’s tongue in English).

The Wikipedia entry tells us where this food comes from:

[Konjac] is a perennial plant, growing from a large corm up to 25 cm in diameter. The single leaf is up to 1.3 m across, bipinnate, and divided into numerous leaflets.

[It] is grown in India, China, Japan and Korea for its large starchy corms, used to create a flour and jelly of the same name. It is also used as a vegan substitute for gelatin.

In Japanese cuisine, konjac (known as konnyaku) appears in dishes such as oden. It is typically mottled grey and firmer in consistency than most gelatins. It has very little taste; the common variety tastes vaguely like salt. It is valued more for its texture than flavor.

However to find out about the nutritional content of this Japanese food takes a bit more investigation. It is widely regarded as a health food in Japan and is known for being very low in calories and a good source of minerals. For a full table of its nutritional properties, this website (in Japanese) provides a full breakdown of the nutritional content of konnyaku.

The following figures are taken from the 2nd column which represent konnyaku made from flour. Important points to consider are that it has a very low protein content 0.1g per 100g. Its phosphorus content is also pretty low at 5mg. Both protein and phosphorus contribute to the acidifying effects of foods we eat. The alkalizing minerals are calcium (43mg), potassium (33mg) and magnesium (2mg).

Konnyaku is a mildly alkalizing food. However this isn’t the only reason to eat it. It is great for cleaning out our digestive tract. The same 100g block of konnyaku contains 2.2 grams of dietary fiber. It also has 97.3 grams of water and no fat. So basically it is just water, dietary fiber and minerals.

In addition to being a great food for those of us who try to follow an alkaline diet, because it has so few calories, it is both alkalizing and great for weight loss.

Alkaline Breakfast Foods

These are not really any different from any other type of alkalizing foods, just ones that you’d fancy eating in the morning. My typical alkaline breakfast includes a fresh home made juice. I use a centrifugal juicer which also comes with a special citrus juicing part so I can make delicious fresh orange or fresh grapefruit drinks easily. On top of this, carrot juice as well as all sorts of fruit and vegetable drinks are easily made using the centrifugal juicing components. The only thing that this sort of juicer is not great for is green alkaline drinks. A masticating juicer like those produced by Omega are best for this.

Consumption of a high ratio of fresh fruit and vegetable produce compared to fish, meat, bread, etc. which are all acid foods gives our body a great alkaline kick at the start of the day. The thing to remember though is that the aim is not about avoiding acidifying foods. The fact of the matter is that fish, meat and grains all have some great nutritional properties. So we should not try to deny ourselves anything while we are on the alkaline diet, our goal should simply be to consume more fresh fruit and vegetable produce. So starting the day with a fresh homemade juice is perfect.

In effect, you could then just eat whatever you normally have for breakfast. The inclusion of a freshly made fruit and vegetable drink pretty much guarantees that your breakfast is now healthier than before. As I wrote about previously in my Japanese diet article, the fatty acids found in fish are beneficial for brain function. So the aim is certainly not to stop eating foods that have a net acidifying effect on our body. There is much more to a healthy diet than just the acid/alkaline divide. This is just the same as there is more to think about than just the fat content of the foods we eat.

It does depend upon definitions as to what people consider an alkaline breakfast. For me, it certainly doesn’t mean only consuming alkalizing foods. This could potentially become a bit too extreme. In my opinion, it is much more about balance. Both acid and alkaline foods can provide us with good quality nutrition. So as an example, here is what I often have myself at breakfast time and certainly consider it to be an alkalizing breakfast menu.

• Freshly squeezed grapefruit (small) *2 = ~350ml
• Cereal, e.g. Corn Flakes with regular milk or soy milk
• Scrambled eggs with a sliced tomato
• Toast topped with sliced banana (optional)

As you can see, this is certainly not too extreme. In fact there are plenty of acid foods in my breakfast but everything is pretty healthy. At breakfast time I normally get at least 3 servings of fruit and vegetables. This is a pretty decent start to the day. By making a larger juice, it is easy to consume over 5 servings of fresh fruit and vegetable produce before starting work. When you do this consistently over days, weeks and months, you really start to feel younger and more vibrant, like you could take on the world!

Alkaline Breakfast Recipes

There are tons of things that you can have in the morning that provide alkaline goodness. You should definitely try and have a fruit and/or vegetable drink. Single juices like freshly squeezed orange juice or plain carrot juice are great. As are mixed juices. You can add some celery, cucumber and spinach to your carrot juice for a greater range of mineral benefits.

Smoothies are another option too. If you make yourself an orange juice, you could try adding this, together with a banana to a blender for a thicker drink. There is a really powerful Vitamix blender that can actually blend up whole apples, carrots and so on, into a drinkable mixture.

Some days, you might want to try a fruit only breakfast. If you are not used to this, you might not like it so much. But again, there are loads of options. Eating a couple of grapefruits is surprisingly filling. A fruit salad with all kinds of things like apples, oranges, bananas, kiwis and berries tastes great. If you want to eat more than just fruit, you can add your fruit salad to muesli and top with milk or yogurt. I quite like making a fruit salad and adding some plain yogurt and a little bit of jam.

So as you can see, there are tons of great alkaline breakfast ideas that are not only healthy but are refreshing and taste great. What I love the most about this so called diet is that it does not feel like dieting at all. For me, this is massive. I love eating foods I know are good for me but that also taste really good.

One final point to consider, it is often said that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. This is something that I wholeheartedly agree with. That’s why I think that an alkaline breakfast is the most important alkaline meal of the day. Starting the day with a pH balancing meal that hydrates me and gives me energy gives me the best opportunity to be productive.

I eat a healthy, well balanced diet. By its very nature, this makes it an alkaline diet. When I first started getting more interested in diets, the so called alkaline diet appealed to me mainly because it suggested eating foods that we all know are good for us. On top of this, it did not seem that I would have to deprive myself of anything either. That said, if you drink carbonated soft drinks every day or eat McDonald’s every day, then to start alkalizing, you would have to make some major changes to your lifestyle.

Image from soymilkquick.com

The gist of the alkaline diet is that since the agricultural revolution, through to the modern era with our reliance on supermarket shopping, we have been consuming more processed as well as more nutrient barren foods. Combined with an increase in meat consumption, this has made our diets today more acidic than at any point in history. We are not talking about the actual acidity of the foods we eat but rather the effect foods have upon the acid/base (alkaline) balance of our bodies. The seminal study on this was written by Remer and Manz and titled Potential renal acid load of foods and its influence on urine pH (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7797810). They demonstrated the effects that various food groups had on the pH of urine. Their PRAL (Potential Renal Acid Load) formula can be used to accurately determine the acidifying or alkalizing properties of the foods we consume.

A difficulty that you may come across if you continue to research this way of eating is that you will often find conflicting information about which foods are acid forming and which ones are base (alkaline) forming. Some charts are based on the PRAL calculation while others seem more like guess work. For instance, the PRAL calculation demonstrates that coffee has mildly alkalizing properties. While some other charts tell us it is highly acidic. Whether or not we should regularly consume coffee as part of a healthy, well balanced diet, can certainly be debated. In most cases, the less we have, the better. However, claiming that we should not drink coffee because of its acidity is simply wrong. Beware false prophets!

What I find even more worrying is that some charts tell us that certain fruits and vegetables should be avoided. This is nonsense. The alkaline diet is certainly not about eating only alkaline foods. It is primarily about balance and health. In some ways, the scientific writings on the subject are similar to the Bible. The findings can be twisted to suit different world views, some more extreme than others. I suggest taking a rational approach. The alkaline diet can help us move from a place of tiredness, lethargy, malaise, depression and lack of energy to a more vibrant and positive lifestyle. All it really requires is eating a bit more alkaline foodstuffs and a bit less of the most detrimental acid foods.

As you can see from the meal plan below, the alkaline diet is nothing fancy or particularly complicated. There is one thing you should be aware of, making juices is an important part of the alkaline diet. This makes it really simple to consume higher quantities of fruit and vegetable nutrition than always having to eat them.

Breakfast

• Carrot juice – 2 large carrots (homemade juice)
• Scrambled eggs on toast – 2 eggs, try to use whole wheat bread if possible
• Sliced tomato – 1 medium sized tomato

Lunch

• Ham
• Roast potatoes
• Green peas

Snack

• Pancakes with mashed banana (1 whole banana) and peanut butter topping
• Coffee – I drink one cup of coffee about 5 days a week

Dinner

• Brown rice
• Tinned fish – salmon
• Spinach – boiled spinach

Evening snack

• Yogurt

I drink a reasonable amount of tap water throughout the day.  As soon as I get up, I drink a cup of water to start hydrating my body right away. You can probably tell that I’m not a hard core dieter, but as I discussed above, that’s not what the alkaline diet is about. For me, it is about, eating a decent amount of fruit and vegetables throughout the day. I only had 6 servings yesterday. Some days I make another juice in the afternoon, or have a larger juice in the morning. In the summer especially, a juice with 5 servings of fruit and veg is a great way to start the day. As you can see from this alkaline diet plan, it is simply a balanced diet with an emphasis on making sure that we get a decent amount of nutrition from fresh produce every day. Why not give it a try and see how you feel?

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Further Reading

Influence of Diet on Acid-Base Balance by Thomas Remer Research Institute of Child Nutrition, Dormund, Germany - http://www.vivalis.si/literatura/6a00.pdf

ACID-ALKALINE BALANCE: ROLE IN CHRONIC DISEASE AND DETOXIFICATION by Deanna M. Minich, PhD, FACN, CNS; Jeffrey S. Bland, PhD, FACN – http://www.metadocs.com/pdf/publications/0707_minich.pdf

Japan is an island country and fishing plays a big part in the country’s economy. The towns and cities are full of sushi restaurants that make use of gimmicks like the sushi train and touch panel ordering from your table. Fish is a great source of quality protein. It is low in saturated fat yet contains high levels of Omega-3 fatty acids. In studies of the effects of fish oils on brain power, the research indicates that these essential fatty acids have a role to play in improved brain function. The Japanese certainly eat fish more regularly than Americans. From my time spent in Japan, I typically ate fish at least once every two or three days. Many Japanese eat it more regularly than this. Housewives usually alternate the ingredients for their main evening meal between fish and meat. Grilled fish for breakfast is also very common.

Even though Japan is home to sumo wrestling, the incidence of obesity is very low. Compared to the United States where the incidence of obesity is nearing 30% for many states, it is clear that the Japanese diet is much better than the typical American diet as far as weight control is concerned. Part of this is certainly cultural. Society at large still deems a woman’s place to be in the home. I am not interested in talking about the rights and wrongs of this attitude. In Japan, it is simply a way of life. Feeding their families is one of the many important tasks that housewives fulfill every day. Great price is taken in preparing oishii (delicious) and healthy foods, for the men (who work hard) and the children (who study hard). This is the Japanese way.

Vegetables play a huge role in Japanese cooking. It is interesting that in general, everyone eats lots of vegetables yet vegetarianism is not very popular at all. The diet could be considered an alkaline diet by Western standards. However, the Japanese have very little need to alkalize because their diet is much more balanced than the acid diets of the West. Cabbage, Chinese cabbage, broccoli and spinach are all eaten regularly. Since Japanese foods often come out in small dishes, it never seems like you have to eat your vegetables. They are simply a welcome part of the meal. The cabbage is often in soups and nabe (hot pots). Miso and peanut sauces are often used to add flavor to broccoli and spinach.

A huge part of Japanese meals involves eating rice. If you know any Japanese people, you should ask them if they think it is strange not to eat rice every day. This might seem like a really strange concept to get your head around but for Japanese people, it is normal. After returning home from Japan, it took me a while to get used to not eating rice daily. I got rice cravings and in a strange way it almost felt like having withdrawal symptoms. Top quality Zojirushi rice cookers are now also solid in the United States. So people here can make rice just as easily as in Japan. The only hard part is tracking down the best quality rice to cook. Nutritionally, rice is a great source of carbohydrates but is very low in fat. It accompanies all sorts of dishes well. If you think that plain rice is a bit boring then you can almost as easily prepare all kinds of mixed rice dishes with a rice cooker. There are plenty of Japanese cookbooks that can give you ideas.

Soy bean products are another interesting part of the Japanese diet. These are good sources of low fat protein. While the images of tofu and natto are distinctly Japanese, Japan is a net importer of these beans, primarily from the United States. While they are made from the same raw materials, tofu is very bland while natto has a stronger taste. The smell is enough to put many people off. It is different from things like Vegemite and Marmite. However if you like those flavors, then you will probably enjoy natto. I’m not sure if you will ever get used to the stickiness though.

Overall the Japanese diet is balanced. The National Library of Medicine tells us:

A balanced diet means getting the right types and amounts of foods and drinks to supply nutrition and energy for maintaining body cells, tissues, and organs, and for supporting normal growth and development.

Japanese people eat much less fast food than Americans. Although, over recent years, the amount of Western foods (aka fast foods) available in Japan has increased. So has their levels of obesity. Do you think this is just coincidence?

Carbonates soft drinks also play a smaller role in people’s daily routines. This cuts out vast numbers of empty calories from the typical Japanese diet. Instead, green tea is a popular drink that is enjoyed by the young and old alike. There are many claimed benefits of drinking green tea. In a study published in the Journal of Nutrition, the findings:

suggest that green tea [...] consumption enhances exercise-induced changes in abdominal fat

Overall, the Japanese diet is not hugely different from Western diets. However, at many points, they seem to consume things that are slightly healthier than in the West, e.g. higher quantities of fresh vegetables, less fast foods, green tea instead of soda. So when all these components are combined, the health benefits are pronounced. The beauty is that Japanese food tastes great. Also, in the U.S. today, there are plenty of Japanese restaurants and bento (lunch box) stores. You should consider trying out some of these foods. You never know, you might like it!

Despite what you may have read, you don’t need complicated food charts, alkaline water drops, green powders, potions,  a cauldron or a broomstick. All it takes is a commitment to yourself to improve your diet and making sure you always have a stock pile of ripe fruit on hand, not for snacking but for meals!

Alkaline Diet and pH

The alkaline diet is based on proven scientific facts which makes it much more interesting than many of the fad diets that come in and out of vogue. The effect foods have on the pH of our bodies once we have eaten them is what determines if a food is either acidic forming or base (alkaline) forming. We have to realize that the acid or alkaline effect of what we eat is not directly dependant upon the pH of the food itself. So if we compare orange juice and milk, we can tell without even looking at any data that the orange juice is more acidic. Indeed, orange juice has a pH of around 3 while milk has a pH of about 6. These are both acidic. The pH scale goes from 0 to 14. The middle value of 7 is neutral and is the pH of water. Below 7 is acidic and above 7 is alkaline. You can see in the chart below that acid and alkaline solutions become weaker as they get closer to the middle of the scale.

The reason that oranges produce an alkaline effect within our bodies is explained, not by the actual pH of the oranges, which is low because of the citric acid they contain, but due to the minerals contained within oranges. In particular it is to do with the quantities of potassium, magnesium and calcium. High concentrations of these minerals are found in alkaline foods. You may be wondering then about the milk. Doesn’t this have lots of calcium? As we know, it does. However, foods become acidic when they have high proportions of protein and phosphorus. This is why meat, fish and dairy are acidic foods.

What Foods are Alkaline?

Now that we know what effects certain nutrients and minerals have upon the acid/alkaline balance of our foods. This means we can start to think about classifying foods into acid and alkaline (base) forming groups. On the acid side of the spectrum we have meats, fish, breads and drinks like milk. Then on the alkaline side are fruits and vegetables. There are loads of amazing alkaline juice recipes that we can enjoy. The alkaline diet does not say much about fat though. A lean piece of meat and a fatty cut both have an acidifying effect upon our body. That’s why thinking solely about the acid/alkaline divide is missing the bigger picture.

Potential Renal Acid Load

The relevance of potassium, magnesium and calcium, protein and phosphorus to the acidity or alkalinity of our foods is not something I’ve just made up because it sounds good/plausible/confusing. Two of the foremost genuine scientific authorities, whose research influences the Alkaline Diet, Thomas Remer PhD and Fredrich Manz MD ^[1] developed their PRAL formula which serves as a reliable indicator of whether foods are alkaline or acidic. Negative values = alkaline. Positive values = acidic. The further away from zero, the stronger the effects.

Some sample values (taken from their report):

• beef 7.8
• rye bread 4.1
• ice cream 0.6
• white sugar -0.1
• bananas -5.5
• spinach -14.0

Western Diets Today

It is easy to get the impression that the alkaline diet is proposing that we only eat alkaline foods. However, this is not the case at all. The point that we have to remember though, is that in general our diets contain too much acid forming foods. This is why the focus is on the alkaline foods. Think about how much fruit and vegetables you eat throughout the day. If you are not even consuming five servings then it is plain to see that your diet is simply too acidic to ensure optimum health. Acid and alkaline foods can be both healthy or unhealthy. For example, a greasy hamburger from a fast food joint is going to be acidic (low in potassium, magnesium and calcium) and un-healthy (high in fats and sugars). While whole grain rye bread, an acidic food has plenty of complex carbohydrates and is a great source of energy. Conversely, ready made fruit juices may well be alkaline forming but they are often heavily loaded with sugar, preservatives and artificial sweeteners. The acid/alkaline divide is simply one factor that is important to consider. If you take a look at a typical Japanese diet, you will find that this has more alkaline foods than what those of us in the West usually eat.

Acid Foods Cause Bone Loss

The rise in carbonated drink consumption over the last few decades is worrying for a number of reasons. One of them is the proven link between consumption of these drinks and bone loss.

A study in the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research^[2] reports that:

higher intakes of carbonated soft drinks [...] were significantly associated with lower bone mineral density [...] in girls.

There is no beneficial nutrition to speak of in these drinks. Also, by having a soda, we are choosing not to have a fresh fruit juice or glass of water. Both of these options would be a healthier alternative. Carbonated drinks have a pH of around 3. Phosphoric acid, used for flavoring in these drinks, results in a higher ratio of acid:alkaline minerals being consumed. So knowing that sodas don’t have any positive health benefits and knowing that they are acid forming drinks means that simply having a freshly squeezed fruit juice, or a glass of water, is a healthier alternative. There are lots of little things that we can do that reduce the overall acidifying nature of our diets. Cumulatively and over time, these can add up to a healthier lifestyle. You should spend some time looking through juicer reviews to find out more about the various types of appliances on offer. You do not have to spend a fortune although the different machines on sale have their own specific strengths and weaknesses.

Benefits of the Alkaline Diet

A paper in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition^[3] states:

in sports medicine, alkalization has been shown to increase the capacity for high-intensity exercise

As we have seen above, too many acid foods in our diet have a negative impact on our health. Also, if you decide to start eating more fruits and vegetables, you will soon find out for yourself the sorts of positive effects that they have. Issues such as lethargy, drowsiness, poor concentration, lack of motivation and malaise all begin to disappear when we consume more healthy alkaline foods. What you will also find is that once you start feeling healthier, you will then be encouraged to act even healthier. Diet is not the only important aspect. Thinking about our lifestyle in a more holistic fashion will certainly reap rewards. When you feel more energetic, how about taking more exercise? If you avoid taking a nap during the day, perhaps you will have a better night’s sleep too. The increased feeling of well being that results from following an alkaline diet may also encourage you to cut down the amount of coffee and alcohol you consume and quit smoking. As an aside, coffee is in fact a mildly alkalizing beverage. But does this mean we should drink more? I’ll let you decide for yourself.

This video is a great example of why we have to constantly question what we’re being told (and what we should spend our money on) with regards to the alkaline diet, or any diet for that matter. The video comes from Harley who runs a popular raw vegan forum.

Read More: Alkaline diet and sugar.

Can I Lose Weight with the Alkaline Diet?

A study in the American Journal of Public Health^[4]:

found clear associations of soft drink intake with increased energy intake and body weight. Soft drink intake also was associated with lower intakes of milk, calcium, and other nutrients and with an increased risk of several medical problems (e.g., diabetes).

Strictly speaking, the alkaline diet is not directed at those of you wanting to lose weight. But this is perhaps more a fault of the diet industry. To be frank, eating more fruits and vegetables will have benefits for the vast majority of us. What is appealing about this way of eating is that it is not really about restrictions and denial. It is really just about eating more. More of the right foods, that is. So even though the primary focus of alkalising is more on health than weight loss. Once you start to feel the benefits of an alkaline diet plan, it is then going to be much easier to push on and continue improving your diet and also working on your fitness levels. Moving towards better health is a process, there is no quick fix. For me, the alkaline diet fits well with my own philosophy of taking small steps, every day, every week, and over time moving to a place of greater vitality and well being.

Alkaline Diet Scam?

As far as I am concerned, the alkaline diet is the real deal. It makes sense on a conceptual level. The basic premise is that we should eat more fruit and vegetables in our diet. Who is going to argue with that? Just remember that it does not propose that we only eat these kinds of foods. Nor does it suggest that we should become a vegetarian, a vegan or adopt a raw food diet. In many ways, common sense naturally leads us towards this way of eating anyway. There are so many advantages to feeling good. Eating an alkaline diet gives us this chance!

What you should watch out for though are people who tell you that you have to drink alkaline water drops, green powders and so on. Really? I’d respectfully suggest that we’re much better off finding high quality organic produce. Eating fresh fruits and vegetables, as nature intended, is surely better than processed vegetables turned into a powder. It’s your choice.

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More Alkaline Diet Articles

1. Alkaline Diet Plan

2. Alkaline Diet Breakfast Ideas

3. Japanese Alkaline Foods

4. Alkaline Foods

5. Are Alkaline Diet Supplements Good Value?

6. Alkaline Diet Sugar Controversy

7. Alkaline Diet Health Book

8. Alkaline Diet Weight Loss Tips

References

1. Potential renal acid load of foods and its influence on urine pH by Thomas Remer, Fredrich Manz

2. Carbonated Soft Drink Consumption and Bone Mineral Density in Adolescence: The Northern Ireland Young Hearts Project by C McGartland, PJ Robson, L Murray, G Cran, MJ Savage, D Watkins, M Rooney, C Boreham

3. Dietary potential renal acid load and renal net acid excretion in healthy, free-living children and adolescents by Thomas Remer, Triantafillia Dimitriou, and Friedrich Manz

4. Effects of Soft Drink Consumption on Nutrition and Health: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis by Lenny R. Vartanian, PhD, Marlene B. Schwartz, PhD and Kelly D. Brownell, PhD