Alkaline diet…
… not as scientific as it might seem.
Have you heard about an alkaline diet and alkaline food? You might have been thinking about loosing a few pounds and turned online for some advice. The chances are that you have come across alkaline diet. It’s been around for a while but when Victoria Beckham said she was a fan, it became a thing.
Alkaline diet with its food charts and urine samples after eating various meals might sounds sophisticated. But what do these things it actually mean? Is it good for us? Does following an alkaline diet mean we eat healthier? Does it reduce chances of cancer as some alkaline diet supporters claim? Let’s zoom in on food chemistry. It’s time to debunk some myths around acidic and alkaline food!
Why would we measure pH?
pH is a measurement of acidity and alkalinity. It can range on a scale from 0 to 14. In order for a chemical to be considered acidic, pH needs to be in a range between 0.0 and 6.9. Neutral pH is 7.0 and alkaline pH is from 7.1 to 14.0.
It is well established, that in order to sustain human cells healthy, our blood requires a very precise pH level around 7.4. This blood alkalinity is very steady and the deviations from this number are only very slight.
Nevertheless, various parts of our body have various levels of pH, vastly different to that of blood. The most prominent acidic organ is our stomach. In our stomach pH levels range from around 1.35 to around 3.5. This is due to a presence of hydrochloric acid. This acidic environment helps digestion and protects against certain microorganisms. The pH in skin is still fairly acidic reaching pH 4–6.5. On the other hand, the liquid that surrounds our brain is alkaline, with the pH being tightly regulated around 7.3. (1)
The urine pH works differently. It changes throughout the day based on what we have consumed. The urine pH changes is one of our body’s coping mechanism, to ensure that our blood pH level stays constant. Other ways how our body keeps the correct pH levels is through our kidneys and lungs.
Now that we understand that except for urine body pH stays at very tightly controlled levels, we can see that the premise of an alkaline diet that food impacts our body’s pH level and so alkaline food prevents us from certain diseases does not work. From this perspective alkaline diet is flawed. There are though certain benefits of looking at acidity and alkalinity in foods we eat. Let’s have a closer look!
Acidic food and calcium
If we consume acidic food, calcium present in our body in the form of phosphates and carbonates is released in order to regulate pH. This means that some calcium gets washed out of the body in urine. Nevertheless, the loss of calcium through urine does not necessarily mean osteoporosis. Why? Our body has means to compensate this calcium loss using kidneys and lungs. Additionally, in order to minimize the calcium loss, our body uses supplies of vitamin D to improve its absorption in intestines. There is currently no scientific evidence that alkaline diet prevents osteoporosis.
Acidic food and kidney function
One thing that acidic diet potentially does is increase the chance of developing kidney stones. How does it work? A low carb and high-protein diet with its increased acid load will not show hardly any changes in blood, but has a significant impact on our urine. It decreases levels of magnesium and citrate in the urine and increases presence of calcium and phosphate. Urine becomes more acidic. Frequently urine gets saturated with uric acid crystals. As these accumulate they create kidney stones.
Some examples of acidic foods:
- Meats such as beef, pork, turkey, chicken, pheasant or seafood and some plant based protein such as soybean
- Cheese, butter and dairy
- Vegetables such as spinach, green peas, zucchini, corn, black eyed peas
- Various beans such as red, white, navy, kidney and pinto beans
- Fruits such as cranberry, blueberry, prunes, pomegranate, plum, figs, dates
- Some nuts and seeds such as Brazil nuts, hazelnuts, peanuts, pecans, pine nuts, walnuts, pistachio seeds
- White bread, white and wholegrain pasta, oat bran, rice, wheat, rye
- Alcohol, coffee, black tea
- Artificial sweeteners, sugar, ice cream, jam, jelly, soft drinks, cocoa
Alkaline food
Some examples of alkaline food are:
- Vegetables such as asparagus, carrots, cabbage, pies, spinach, kale, leek, cucumbers, avocados, broccoli, bell pepper, celery, beetroot, onion, cauliflower, radish, cress, sprouts or parsnip
- Nuts and seeds such as almonds, chestnuts, pine nuts, cashews, pumpkin, quinoa and sesame seed
- Fruits such as pineapple, apple, cherries, bananas, apricots, pears, raspberry, blackberry, lemon, peach, papaya, lime, nectarine, cantaloupe and water melon, persimmon, tangerine, grapefruit, mango or passion fruit
- Sweet potatoes, lentils, green beans, olives, mushrooms, tempeh
- Mineral water and herbal teas
Does alkaline diet have any health benefits?
Supporters of alkaline diet generally believe that we should consume approximately 60-80% of alkaline-forming foods in order to maintain the required pH balance in our body.
Even though we understand that currently there is no scientific evidence that alkaline diet prevents osteoporosis or any other disease as sometimes claimed, nor does alkaline diet impact body’s pH other than the pH of urine, nevertheless there are certain benefits in looking at increasing consumption of alkaline foods.
- Increased focus on alkaline foods promotes eating nutrient dense foods such as fresh fruit and vegetable which is easy to prepare and discourages from eating processed foods and so reduces our chances of developing diabetes.
- Less urine acidity means lower chances of developing kidney stones.
- Increased level of magnesium which is more abundant in alkaline foods supports function of various enzymes in our body. (1)
Alkaline diet drawbacks
Following alkaline diet would mean limiting some healthy foods. Such examples are eggs, nuts (walnuts, Brazil nuts, cashews, pecans), legumes (lentils), grains (wheat, oats, rye) and some fruits (blueberries, cranberries), vegetables and coffee or chocolate due to their acidity.
Alkaline diet is too restrictive which might have a health impact, especially for people with chronic health conditions. Without correct supplementation there might be gaps in consumed nutrients. As an example it limits amount of protein not only by limiting animal protein but also limiting some plant protein for instance. It might be challenging to consume enough protein following this diet.
Did you realize?
The acidic/alkaline readings of the food that we consume also to some extent depend on the pH levels of the soil that the food has grown on.
Acidic and alkaline food. Main takeaways
Even though alkaline diet is a flawed concept, does not give us the benefits it claims and also restricts us from eating certain foods that are healthy, one of its benefits is that it promotes consumption of fruits and vegetables, which is something many of us struggle with. Instead of following restrictive diets (and alkaline diet is one of them) and worrying about whether the foods you are eating are alkaline or acidic, the best is to eat all fruits and vegetables in as much variety as possible.
Let’s get in touch!
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The Alkaline Diet: Is There Evidence That an Alkaline pH Diet Benefits Health?, Gerry K. Schwalfenberg, J Environ Public Health. 2012; 2012: 727630, Published online 2011 Oct 12. doi: 10.1155/2012/727630, PMCID: PMC3195546, PMID: 22013455, downloaded 18/07/2024 from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3195546/
