Alkaline Diet
Alkaline diet is opposite to the high protein, high fat, and low carbohydrate diets that are currently in vogue. Most people have never heard of an alkaline acid balance, but many holistic doctors and nutritionists consider a properly balanced diet to be important to optimal health.
Why do some say that an alkaline diet is good? The pH level of a human body is slightly alkaline – the normal range is 7.36 to 7.44. Our diet should thus reflect this and also be slightly alkaline. An imbalanced diet high in acidic foods such as animal protein, sugar, caffeine and processed foods tends to disrupt this balance. It can deplete the body of alkaline minerals such as sodium, potassium, magnesium and calcium, making people prone to chronic and degenerative disease.
Alkaline diet is important for optimal natural bone health. Just as acid rain in the environment damages our external ecosystem – similarly, internal acidity damages our internal ecosystem. Without knowing it, most of us consume diets that are high in acid-forming foods. This results in chronic, low-grade acidosis. Precious alkali salts of bone building minerals must be taken from bone and used for buffering these internal acids. An alkaline diet high constituting fruits, vegetables, nuts, spices, herbs, seasoning, seeds and pulses such as lentils will be able to correct this situation.
The importance of acid-alkaline balance is more widely recognized in Europe than in the US. In October 2000, there was an International Scientific Symposium on Acid-Base Metabolism held in Germany. Key researchers from around the world presented papers on topics ranging from the role of bone in providing alkaline-mineral reserves to a history of nutrition and acid-base physiology to the impact of stress and exercise on alkaline-acid- balance. These papers represent state-of-the-art knowledge on metabolic acidosis and its physiological repercussions.
Who is this diet for?
Alkaline diet is for people who feel unwell on a high fat, low carbohydrate diet. It is also for people who lead stressful lives and who consume large amounts of acidifying foods such as protein, sugar, processed food, cereals, starches and caffeine.
Alkaline diet is opposite to the high protein, high fat, and low carbohydrate diets that are currently in vogue. Most people have never heard of an alkaline acid balance, but many holistic doctors and nutritionists consider a properly balanced diet to be important to optimal health.
Why do some say that an alkaline diet is good? The pH level of a human body is slightly alkaline – the normal range is 7.36 to 7.44. Our diet should thus reflect this and also be slightly alkaline. An imbalanced diet high in acidic foods such as animal protein, sugar, caffeine and processed foods tends to disrupt this balance. It can deplete the body of alkaline minerals such as sodium, potassium, magnesium and calcium, making people prone to chronic and degenerative disease.
Alkaline diet is important for optimal natural bone health. Just as acid rain in the environment damages our external ecosystem – similarly, internal acidity damages our internal ecosystem. Without knowing it, most of us consume diets that are high in acid-forming foods. This results in chronic, low-grade acidosis. Precious alkali salts of bone building minerals must be taken from bone and used for buffering these internal acids. An alkaline diet high constituting fruits, vegetables, nuts, spices, herbs, seasoning, seeds and pulses such as lentils will be able to correct this situation.
The importance of acid-alkaline balance is more widely recognized in Europe than in the US. In October 2000, there was an International Scientific Symposium on Acid-Base Metabolism held in Germany. Key researchers from around the world presented papers on topics ranging from the role of bone in providing alkaline-mineral reserves to a history of nutrition and acid-base physiology to the impact of stress and exercise on alkaline-acid- balance. These papers represent state-of-the-art knowledge on metabolic acidosis and its physiological repercussions.
Who is this diet for?
Alkaline diet is for people who feel unwell on a high fat, low carbohydrate diet. It is also for people who lead stressful lives and who consume large amounts of acidifying foods such as protein, sugar, processed food, cereals, starches and caffeine.
