Often when working with a nutritionist, you will hear us refer to “alkalizing your diet”. What does this really mean?
Too much acidity has been linked to inflammation, heart disease, obesity, diabetes, autoimmune disease, chronic pain and other chronic conditions.
However, sometimes people understand this to mean that their blood pH level is “too acidic”, and that they need to “alkalize it”.
Let’s get something clear: your blood will never be too acidic (or else you will die!). Your body is an incredible machine, and it will do whatever it takes to remain in balance (homeostasis).
The issue is not that your blood pH will become too acidic – your blood will stay where it needs to be. What it means, however, is that your body has to work harder, and ends up using up minerals that it needs for other things (thyroid function, bone health, etc.) to find a pH balance. This constant leaching of minerals can then start to have serious impacts on your overall long-term health.
So how can we help our body out?
We can help the body remain more alkaline by lowering our stress levels and by adding more alkaline foods to our diet.
In addition to alleviating inflammation, an alkalizing diet also inhibits the growth of yeast and bad bacteria, allowing for better overall detoxification.
Foods To Include In An Alkaline Diet
Western diets are typically very acidic because they are overloaded in poor fats, over consumption of protein, not enough fiber, and too much sugar.
Interestingly, the pH of the food itself does not dictate how it reacts in our body. For example, one might think that fresh lemons and limes and raw organic apple cider vinegar are acidic, but they actually become alkaline when consumed.
Prime examples of acid forming foods are animal proteins, sugar, coffee, juice, and processed foods.
While alkaline foods include leafy greens, root vegetables, broccoli, cauliflower, garlic, lemons, cabbage, and more!