For most of us, the most important ingredient for our health is the food we eat. In this article you will learn:
- the basis on which to understand which foods help you the most
- which foods disturb you the most.
Complicated is made simple, and you will get a method to achieve a healthy body weight, blood flow, internal organ strength, and a good base for having strong nerves and peace of mind. Because for all such things, a healthy body is crucial.
Here we will be looking at this situation without considering stress, exercise, water drinking etc – all of which do directly affect the production of acids in the body. Rather, here we explain only from the standpoint of food.
Albert Szent-Györgi, a Hungarian biochemist, who won the Nobel Prize for his discovery of Vitamin C, said: “the body is alkaline by design, but acidic by function.”
This often-quoted one-liner refers to the fact that most of our body’s activities require a slightly alkaline environment for it to function well. Yet at the same time, our digestive processes produce enormous quantities of acid. We generate a lot of acid, yet our chemistry needs to be alkaline to survive.
Our body has a very sophisticated buffer system that maintains this stable internal state. The healthiest blood pH (acid-alkaline balance) is between 7.36 and 7.50. In this range the cells operate most efficiently to keep us healthy.
How do we maintain this balance? The body’s buffering system automatically takes care of that. But if this system becomes overtaxed, when we have too much acid in our body, then the body’s digestive organs and other internal organs become overtaxed, rapidly wear out and get exhausted. As these organs become inefficient, the results are, for example, arthritis, diabetes, high/low blood pressure, kidney stones, gall stones, and so many other undesirable health challenges.
If we eat much meat/fish/eggs, which are difficult to digest and require the production of more digestive acids, the body produces excessive acids. The result gives a lot of work to the buffer system to maintain the balance, and the internal organs wear out.
Anatomically, the digestive system of meat-eating mammals is different from non-meat-eating mammals. Meat-eaters have sharp claws, sharp front teeth, short intestines, their tongue perspires, they have acidic saliva and they produce strong stomach acids. For them, high acid is natural. Not for us.
However, this does not mean that a vegetarian is automatically healthier than a meat- eater. For example, a vegan living mainly on protein bars, which load the body with too much protein which is heavy for digestion – will end up exhausting the digestive organs quickly. If, on the other hand, an omnivore (eats everything) eats a high proportion of fruits and vegetables and just a small amount of meat and dairy – he might end up being healthier than that vegan. The best combination is to have a diet with a large proportion of alkaline forming foods, and with a lesser degree of acid-forming foods – minimizing or eliminating the most acid-forming foods.
Through centuries we evolved on a diet very high in minerals and nutrient density found in fruits, vegetables and seeds. But now our diet is very unbalanced, low in minerals and nutrients. If we make the switch back to natural living, then we can easily and without unnecessary wear-and-tear keep our body chemistry in balance, and we will have better health, be stronger, not get sick easily, and have more energy.
The Acid-Forming Foods
Acid-forming foods means that their metabolism requires the production of free hydrogen ions (H+) to create more acid needed for digestion. This acid disrupts your pH. The acids then must be neutralized to maintain a balanced pH. The foods that cause high acid-formation in the body include meat or animal protein, dairy, refined grains and white sugar, hydrogenated fats, fast food and processed food.
Here are some signs of having an “acid-forming diet”:
- weight gain
- non specific aches and pains in the bones and joints
- acid reflux or heartburn
- poor digestion, irritable bowel, intestinal cramping
- fatigue
- muscle weakness or muscle loss
- urinary tract problems
- receding gums
- kidney stones
- bone loss
- skin problems
The Alkaline-Forming Foods
Alkaline-forming foods are those that require less acid for their digestion – in other words, they are the foods easy to digest (though in most cases high in nutrients). All non-starchy vegetables and fruits have an alkaline-forming effect on your body fluids. That means, for example, that potatoes are slightly more acid-forming than most other vegetables and fruits.
Maintaining Homeostasis
The most alkaline food is simply that food which is the easier to digest. Alkaline-forming food is that which taxes the digestive system the least. Acid-forming foods on the other hand tax the digestive system the most.
The Most Alkaline-Forming Foods
(Good for everyone and should be eaten every day)
The most alkaline-forming or least acid-forming foods are also the most nutrient dense and antioxidant foods. These foods are also good for “graduated fasting.”
- Lemon water
- Herb tea, Apple cider vinegar
- Coconut water
- Water with little honey
- Fruit juice
- Vegetable juice
- Citric and juicy fruits
- Extremely-ripe banana
- Green leafy vegetables, sprouts, spices
- Other non-starchy vegetables
- Extra-virgin oil produced without heat friction
- Raw sweet corn and young peas
Semi-Alkaline-Forming or Slightly Acid-Forming Foods
(Good for healthy people and can be eaten once a day or so)
- Legume or Nut milk made from soy, coconut, almonds, etc
- Yogurt mixed in water (non-dairy type. Or dairy-type if you tolerate it well)
- Black-strap molasses and honey, mixed in warm water
- Starchy vegetables/fruits (potato, cassava, normal banana, etc)
- Tofu
- Nuts, a handful only (best if they are soaked overnight)
Semi-Acid-Forming Foods
(Good for healthy people in smaller quantity, 4-5 times per week)
- Buckwheat
- Whole grains – easiest: millet, quinoa
- Other whole grains (100% wholegrain bread, rice, noodles, corn, oats, barley, etc.)
- Legumes (mung beans, lentils, soy beans, peanuts, etc)
Acid-Forming Foods
- Mildly sautéed vegetables
- Raw sugar
- Refined grains (including white bread, white rice, white noodles), veggie-meat
- Refined sugar, tea, coffee, most non-fried vegetarian junk foods
Extremely Acid-Forming Foods
(Eliminate or eat as little as you can)
- Vegetarian deep-fried foods
- Fish
- Chicken & poultry
- Meat
- Eggs
Note: The placement of milk-products in the above lists vary extremely from person to person depending on their toleration of milk and on their health condition.
Summary
The body needs to maintain balanced acid-alkaline blood in order to maintain good health. The more difficulties we give to the body to do that, the more our internal organs rapidly become exhausted. We make it easy for our body by eating a diet of primarily alkaline-forming foods, mainly fruits and vegetables. These foods are also the most nutrient dense and contain the highest quantity of antioxidants. You can become acidic on any diet if you eat too much acid-forming foods such as refined carbs, sugar, deep fried foods, animal protein and fats.
The main bulk of your foods should be alkaline-forming vegetables and fruits. Whether to be a vegan, a vegetarian or an omnivore is, in the end, more a question of your own choice and your ethics. What is important is to start taking steps towards having a diet which has a high proportion of alkaline-forming foods each day.
