Alkaline foods... does it work?

[rtistyksyko]

I was just reading up on a few articles that said we should eat mostly akaline foods. Does anyone have any good info on what alkaline foods are and how it works? Also what has been your experience with eating alkaline foods? Does it really make a difference?

[chilove]

Hi there,

I think that one of the reasons why the raw food diet works so well is that it is full of alkaline foods (in addition to eliminating all the foods that we are not meant to consume like meat, dairy, grains, processed and cooked foods). I believe that pretty much all raw fruits and veggies are alkaline forming.

All the best,

Audrey
www.rawhealing.com

[Revvell]

Actually, from what I've read, some foods which are acidic in nature become alkaline in the body.

For more information, read Victoria Boutenko's research on greens.

Revvell

[alex]

Best author on Acid/Alkaline Balance is: Robert O. Young - The pH Miracle

This book gives a list of acid vs alkaline foods and their respective values.

I believe this is one of the key aspects of health - maintaining an alkaline body pH.

When sugar (regardless of source) is burned as fuel in the body, it is converted to acid which must be neutralized. There are several acid buffering systems that the body uses. All is explained in the book.

A person who lives this lifestyle is termed an alkalarian. The lifestyle is not completely raw, so I just modify it, so that it is - easy to do.


alex

[desertroadrunner]

Here is an address to a list of foods that are alkaline an acid forming. I just found it yesterday . . . I believe a highly adicid body will cause you to become sick and have been researching it recently.

http://home.bluegrass.net/~jclark/alkaline_foods.htm

(Copy and paste into your address line then enter). :)

[Revvell]

Cool! Thanks!


Here is an address to a list of foods that are alkaline an acid forming. I just found it yesterday . . . I believe a highly adicid body will cause you to become sick and have been researching it recently.

http://home.bluegrass.net/~jclark/alkaline_foods.htm

(Copy and paste into your address line then enter). :)

[LightLover]

Loose your fat while alkalizing

I also did read a book from the author which Alex mentioned (title: the ph

miracle for weight los, by: Robert O. Young) ,By the way: He quotes that fat is protecting people against their acidity, the fat stores the acid, amd if it didn't the acid would "marinate"
your tissue like a steak! So he says: be thankfull to your fat.

If you will eat alkalizing foods you will no be longer acid and your body will
let go the fat.


A teriffic book :p ,

but one thing I can't understand: :confused: He says

that only grapefruit, lemon, lime and coconut are (mildly) alkalizing and the

other fruits are (slightly or moderate!) acid!, I think due to their sugarcontent?

I have never read this anywhere so I was wondering if someone can help with this. His website is not really inviting to ask and mail.

lightlover :rolleyes:

[dreamrawalwz]

on that site with the list of foods...blueberries are acidizing!!?? That seems odd to me.

[LightLover]

Strange isn't it? And he even has clinics so must be a specialist.
The list was from his book, not from a website, and a little bit short list)

Anyway: I did have a look on the net and found this, also with figures
that are strange to me

Your blueberry is scoring - 5.3 ! :eek:


www.archure.net/salus/ph.html :p

[rawpriestess]

I have always heard that it isn't the pH in the food itself, but what it turns to in the body, i.e. a citrus fruit is high acid, but if it is ripe it turns to alkalie in the body. so I'm stickin' to eatin' my fruits.

[LightLover]

That is correct, these are 2 different numbers.

But I assume there is no single reason to name data referring to the ph-effect of the food itself, instead of to the effect in the body, since
the food will finally be eaten.

Anyway: I will ask him and just send a mail

[Revvell]

That is what I understand also.

Interesting thing though ~ in the list of alkalizing foods/acid-forming foods, many things overlap ~ such as avocados. Almond milk is supposed to be acid-forming yet almonds are not. I'm assuming that means almond milk that's been commercially made. *shrugs* It's rather confusing yet, like you, I'll stay with my fruits and I've also added LOTS of green smoothies. Curious to see how different I feel.



I have always heard that it isn't the pH in the food itself, but what it turns to in the body, i.e. a citrus fruit is high acid, but if it is ripe it turns to alkalie in the body. so I'm stickin' to eatin' my fruits.

[Revvell]

That is what I understand also.

Interesting thing though ~ in the list of alkalizing foods/acid-forming foods, many things overlap ~ such as blueberries. Almond milk is supposed to be acid-forming yet almonds are not. I'm assuming that means almond milk that's been commercially made. *shrugs* It's rather confusing yet, like you, I'll stay with my fruits and I've also added LOTS of green smoothies. Curious to see how different I feel.



I have always heard that it isn't the pH in the food itself, but what it turns to in the body, i.e. a citrus fruit is high acid, but if it is ripe it turns to alkalie in the body. so I'm stickin' to eatin' my fruits.

[cornvalley]

The pH value of food is twofold. One is the nature of the food itself, such as citrus, which has an acid PH of around 3.5. To give a reference, water is 7 and blood is within the range of 7.35 - 7.45.
Then there is the ash compound for the digestion/metabolism of a food, such in the case of a citrus food, yields an alkaline ash. The alkaline/acid ash does not interfere with your bodies ability to construct it's own pH. However, it is decidedly benificial to keep a perponderance of alkaline ash forming foods as the base of one's diet. Metabolism is acid forming, so to speak. Life processes produce a variety of acid compounds within the body. Foods that have more complex protien chains yield more acid residues after digestion than less protienous foods.

[LightLover]

The following I have mailed right now to info@phmiracleliving.com:

Hi Best all,

Reacting to the book: the ph miracle of weight loss, I have 2 questions which are not been answered on your website

in this book is a table with the ph of food, and my question is about the fruittable.

The book says only grapefruit, lemon, lime and coconut are (slightly) alkalizing fruits

the others fruits are mildly or moderate acid.

1)- Can you tell me where the source is of this information, I have never read (and I read a lot !) before that apples, pears, bluberries etc.. are not alkalizing?


2) - I suppose that al these numbers are referring to the ph-effect in the body of all these foods and not to the ph-value of the food themselves? (Because we are talking about eating here
and not about looking to food on a plate)

Many Thanks & k reagrds. Marcel , The Netherlands

[desertroadrunner]

That is what I understand also.

Interesting thing though ~ in the list of alkalizing foods/acid-forming foods, many things overlap ~ such as avocados. Almond milk is supposed to be acid-forming yet almonds are not. I'm assuming that means almond milk that's been commercially made. *shrugs* It's rather confusing yet, like you, I'll stay with my fruits and I've also added LOTS of green smoothies. Curious to see how different I feel.


I think it has to do with the loss of fiber, but that's just a guess. I noticed too that avocado oil is acidizing, but avocados are not . . .

[Revvell]

Hmmm. Well, I don't think fiber in and of itself is alkalizing or acidizing ~ or is it? What to do? what to do? :D



I think it has to do with the loss of fiber, but that's just a guess. I noticed too that avocado oil is acidizing, but avocados are not . . .

[rawlapalooza]

I've found that everyone's list is slightly different as to what is acidic and what is alkaline metabolically. The best book I've read is the "Detox Miracle Sourcebook" by Dr. Robert Morse. He's a naturopath in Florida. His book is very comprehensive and goes into detail about acid versus alkaline. He also agrees that blueberries and cranberries are acidic metabolically. I am on his plan right now for detoxing.

The website to checkout the book is http://godsherbs.com/Test/html/books.cfm

[luckitri]

Well, reading about the avocado oil and almond milk I guess I will stick to eating the source - not the extract of or derivation from.....actually I never heard of avocado oil till just reading it now. I don't understand how the lemons do it. (being by nature acidic but having an alkaline effect on body) My source said that lemon is the only citrus to do this.

[rtistyksyko]

Wow! Thanks so much everyone for all the info. I look forward to reading it all. ^_^ Thanks again

[alex]

The pH of food is confusing because some lists refer to the actual pH of the fruit while others refer to the pH of the fruit after it is consumed.

When you burn wood in a fireplace you are left with an ash. When you burn food in the body you are also left with an 'ash'.

Dr Young came to Toronto last summer and I had the oportunity to go an hear him speak - excellent. He has been studying this for 25 years. He believes (along with many others) that the state of a persons health is dependant on the state of their blood. Dr Young has developed some microscopy techniques that allows the blood to be viewed. The difference in the appearance of the blood between a person consuming a SAD diet and one that is consuming an alkalarian diet is shocking!!!

Dr Young even offers a course in microscopy - one of these days I will take it.

Anyway, the point is that it is irrelevant what the pH of food is before it is consumed. All that matters is what the pH of the ash is after it has been metabolized.

Fruit, due to its high sugar content (which is metabolized to acid) leaves an acid ash which the body must neutralize. One of the ways, for example, is that the body uses Calcium ions which it extracts from the bones. Dr Young believes that this is the true cause of osteoporosis - after years of a body being too acidic and forcing the body to continually extract calcium from the bones.

Hope this helps, but strongly urge you to read one or all of his books!

The pH Miracle
The pH Miracle for Diabetes
The pH Miracle for Weight Loss



alex

[LightLover]

Great stuff Alex! :p

Quote:
"Dr Young even offers a course in microscopy - one of these days I will take it."

- Can you inform us after this course? I think many people will find this interesting

- Do you look at the sugardensity of the fruits which you consume, and are you trying to avoid to much fruits with high sugerdensity?

Lightlover

[LightLover]

Dr Young also recommends to make alkaline water in his book (by adding

baking soda = sodium bicarbonate to your water)

Anyone experience with this?

lightlover :p

[Pailani]

I'm coming to the conclusion that fruit, especially bananas, is behind my low energy - the more bananas I eat, the more sluggish and dazed I feel, but I feel fine after raw pasta (zucchini and tomatoes - non-sweet fruit). So I'm going to be trying Dr. Young's Ph diet, which is a lot of raw, but not so much fruit. It will mean more salads, less green smoothies. I had raw pasta for brunch this morning instead of a green smoothie, and I feel better than I have in a long time.

[luckitri]

I had the same problem. Went raw on veggies and made a fruit smoothie with blended melon. I was enjoying having energy for the first time in years but that fruit made me have to go lay down. After that I quit fruit for awhile but now I am cautiously doing some fruit again.

[alex]

Dr Young's microscopy course is quite expensive - several thousand dollars, and is more intended for people who want to do blood analysis for a living. Since in one of my careers I was a microbiologist, I am interested in it - but it proabably won't be any time in the near future (too many other priorities).

Dr Young is also big on drinking alkaline water either using his pH drops, or baking soda. I have not tried his drop but the baking soda tastes pretty bad. Also one has to drink the water by itself as it would have a neutralizing effect on the hydrochloric acid produced by the stomach for digestion.

His other recommendation is to drink water with lemon or lime juice - this is the one I use. Lemons and limes, even though they themselves are very acidic, have an alkalizing effect on the body (alkaline ash forming). Sometimes I add a package of stevia which also contains some chromium and inulin (this is not metabolised by the body but is used by the bacteria in our gut - so it encourages their growth).

Hope this helps


alex

[LightLover]

Yes, lemon and limes are also my favorites (and also grapefruit, which is in the same alkalizingcategory)

Quote: (from Alex)
Dr Young came to Toronto last summer and I had the oportunity to go an hear him speak - excellent.

-Alex, did you happen to ask Dr Young what his opinion is about eating raw?

On his website (www.phmiracleliving.com)

there is additional information when you click on "frequently asked questions"
and also on "articles". Especially the latter is informative: he thinks every kind of illness is due to acidity, this is the ground on which every illness grows

lightlover

[Lay-Lay]

Yes, I was taught originially to stay away from fruits because of the acid, but now I know better. From my research I have concluded that raw acidic foods change once they begin to breakdown in the body.

[alex]

LightLover: I did not ask Dr Young about raw, only because I had not reached that stage yet myself, unfortunately. But it will be my first question when I next encounter him, for sure!!

I think Dr Young's theory about there being only one disease - acidity in the body - in other words - the cause of every disease is that the body is acidic, has a lot of merit. It seems that cancer can not grow in an alkaline environment (and can not develop in healthy tissue). That bacteria, viruses and other organisms, although looked upon by conventional medicine as being the cause of diseases like colds, flu etc, are actually secondary causes and only show up after the disease has developed. Being a microbiologist this also makes sense as these organisms will only grow in environments which are condusive to their growth. It is likely that in a healthy body with a properly functioning immune system, these organisms could not grow, just like a healthy plant is not attacked to any extent by insect pests.

I don't know if it is the one absolute cause of all disease, but it is worth some heavy thought. What he says made so much sense to me that it became my number one priority - to alkalize my body - being raw is of secondary importance, although the two seem to fit quite well together except when it comes to the consumption of carbs - which Dr Young discourages, and the consumption of good fats, which Dr Young very much encourages. I believe he is correct in both, based on four years of reading, study and research on human health.

The body should run on fat rather than sugar!!

There are no essential carbs!! There are two essential fatty acids and eight (or nine) essential amino acids (the building blocks of proteins). As long as we have these, along with vitamins, minerals and trace elements, the body is able to build all the other hundreds of compounds itself.


alex

[Pailani]

It is likely that in a healthy body with a properly functioning immune system, these organisms could not grow, just like a healthy plant is not attacked to any extent by insect pests.

I don't know if it is the one absolute cause of all disease,

I think it makes a lot of sense, too - although you do sometimes see some kind of blight kill of a bunch of healthy plants, so, like you said, there might be more to the picture.