For some people, food is just food – something to satiate them when they are hungry. Therefore, they do not care much about the type of foods they eat. However, over the last decade, more and more people are becoming conscious of what they eat – especially given the prevalence of unhealthy foods, and the damage they can cause to the body’s health. It is, therefore, not surprising that several diets have sprung up all over the internet, with each taking a different approach to ensure that you stay healthy. One of the diets that are currently buzzing in the healthy eating world is the alkaline diet, which is comprised of a group of alkaline foods.
Adopting a new diet that will make your body better and healthier is an exciting prospect at first. However, remember that you may be forced to cut out some of your favorite dishes when you embark on an alkaline diet. Whether you are thinking about going straight into an alkaline diet or you are just on the lookout for a couple of alkaline-rich foods to reduce the acidity in your body, you will definitely benefit from these foods.
What are alkaline foods? Alkaline foods and fruits are a group of foods that produce that reduce acidity in the body. The alkaline diet is based on the concept that an ash residue is produced in the body when food substances are metabolized, which can either be acidic or alkaline. Foods that produce alkaline residue are referred to as alkaline foods, while those that produce acidic residue are referred to as acid foods. Some foods might be alkaline (or acidic) in nature – their raw form – but once they are metabolized, they produce the opposite effect in the body. A good example of such foods includes lemons and lime, which contain citric acid, but produce an alkalizing effect once they are metabolized in the body. Therefore, the classification of foods into alkaline and acid categories is not based on their raw form, but what happens when they are metabolized by the body.
Acid vs. alkaline foods – why should you care?
Choosing foods based on whether they are alkaline or acidic can seem complex and unnecessary especially if you hated chemistry classes. However, it is an important task that can go a long way towards improving your health. Proponents of alkaline diet recommend eating alkaline foods because of the fact that they help to reduce acidity in the body, leading to a more optimal P.H Value in your body (around P.H 7 like blood (7.4) and other bodily fluids). This helps to offer a range of health benefits, for example, preventing health problems and conditions, promoting weight loss, and several other health benefits.
Top 10 alkaline foods that you should include in your diet
We have already seen the benefits that alkaline foods can offer your body. But what are these alkaline foods? Below is a list of some of the top foods and fruits that promote alkalinity in the body:
1. Leafy green vegetables
Leafy green vegetables are one of the most alkaline foods you can find. Their high alkalizing effect promotes a balanced P.H environment, which in turn leads to efficient biochemical processes. But this is not the only benefit of leafy greens. They contain essential nutrients – vitamins A, C, and K, iron, calcium, and fiber. These nutrients help the body to carry out various processes efficiently, thus promoting optimal health. Leafy greens vegetables are also low in calories, which helps to promote weight loss. Examples of these foods include spinach, kale, celery, lettuce, parsley, mustard greens, Swiss chard, and others.
2. Citrus fruits
Citrus fruits such as lemons, lime, oranges, and others can be mistaken for acid foods due to their high nitric acid content. However, once they are broken down in the body, they lead to a net alkaline load, which helps to balance the P.H environment. On top of that, they are high in vitamin C, which helps to detoxify the body – and thus can offer a load of benefits such as preventing or easing heartburn and acid reflux.
3. Seasonal fruits
Citrus fruits are not the only fruits that produce an alkalinizing effect. A range of other fruits such as watermelons, bananas, kiwi fruit, grapefruit, apricots, pineapple, apples, and others are great alkaline food sources. On top of that, they pack a range of nutrients such as vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, which are essential in promoting the optimal functioning of various functions in the body. Most fruits, however, have a high-calorie content due to the sugars they contain (though natural). Therefore, if you are watching your weight, it is a good idea to limit the amounts of the fruits you consume.
4. Nuts
A variety of nuts produce an alkaline effect in the body when metabolized. On top of that, they are a good source of healthy fats, which makes them ideal snacks to munch on when you are feeling hungry in between the meals. However, nuts have a high-calorie content, so it is a good idea to limit your consumption, especially if you are trying to lose weight. Alkaline forming nuts include almonds, hazelnuts, chestnuts, cashew nuts, macadamia nuts, and macadamia nuts. Nuts that are acidic (which you should avoid if looking for an alkaline diet) include peanuts.
5. Root vegetables
Root vegetables such as sweet potatoes, beetroots, lotus roots, taro roots, turnips, and carrots are great alkaline foods. Aside from their alkalinizing effects, they also offer a range of nutrients that help to promote body health. For example, beetroots offer fiber, nitrates, and antioxidants, while carrots pack a good amount of vitamins A and K, and antioxidants. In terms of calories, the calorie count differs between different foods. For example, turnips are a low-calorie food, while sweet potatoes pack a high-calorie content.
6. Onions, garlic, and ginger
Onion, garlic, and ginger are popular spices that are used to enhance the flavor of foods (and in some cases drinks, for example, ginger tea). However, aside from their flavor-enhancing benefits, they are also a great source of alkalinizing effect in the body.
7. Cucumbers
While most people think of cucumbers as just a vegetable that can be taken as a side dish, they come with an impressive range of benefits to the body. These foods can be eaten to improve your daily multivitamin intake since they are rich in Vitamin B, C, and K1. They are also rich in potassium, copper, and manganese. Cucumbers also contain essential alkaline electrolytes that help to keep you hydrated and feeling great throughout the day.
8. Cherries
Cherries are a popular food source due to their high antioxidants content, which has been shown to be beneficial in preventing and fighting health problems such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, arthritis, and others. Cherries also come with the additional benefit of producing an alkalinizing effect when metabolized in the body.
9. Soy beans
Soy beans are high in protein and are one of the most common protein that is used in vegetarian diets. They have an Asian background, but have been adopted across the globe and at present they are some of the most widely cultivated and used legumes. If you include soy beans in your diet, you stand to benefit from its high protein content, fibre, and minerals.
10. Eggplants
Eggplants are a great alkaline food source. You can consume eggplants by baking them, adding them to salads, using them as pizza toppings, or as ingredients in your cooked meals (stew). Aside from their alkalinizing effect, eggplants are a great source of chlorogenic acid, a nutrient that helps to promote metabolism and digestion.
What are the benefits of Alkaline Foods?
An alkaline diet can offer you several health benefits. Below is a look at some of them:
1. Balancing the body P.H
All living organisms – plants, fishes, animals, bacteria and viruses, and human beings – have an optimal P.H level that sustains their life. The human body operates optimally at a slightly alkaline P.H status (about 7.35 to 7.45). This P.H level is tightly controlled by several bodily functions such as sweating and urinating, where the excess acid is expelled from the body. However, regular consumption of acid foods can take a toll on these bodily processes, causing a less than optimal P.H environment in the body. The acidic P.H environment can affect the proper working of the body’s cells, which can lead to serious health conditions. To prevent this, the acidity must be reduced, and the best way to do so is by consuming alkaline foods.
These foods will balance out the body’s P.H environment, thus ensuring that all bodily processes are being carried out efficiently. This, in turn, offers a host of health benefits such as less vulnerability to diseases, abundant physical energy, increased cognitive function, more restful sleep, more youthful skin, and many others.
2. Improving bone strength
Osteoporosis is a serious health condition in which the body loses to much bone tissue than it can replace them (through regeneration). This causes the bones in your body to become too weak to an extent that they break easily from falls, bumps, and other forms of stress on the body. Scientific experts believe that osteoporosis occurs due to a combination of causes. An acidic environment in the body is one of the theories that has been offered as a possible cause for the condition.
According to this theory, when the body P.H environment becomes unbalanced, it resorts to a number of measures to restore balance. One of these measures includes the absorption of calcium compounds found in the bone tissues. Excessive absorption of the tissue can lead to too much bone loss, causing osteoporosis. Consuming alkaline foods is thus a great way of preventing bone loss. The foods promote a net alkaline load in the body, thus negating the need for calcium absorption. This, in turn, helps to ensure that your bones are strong and healthy.
3. Promoting lean muscles
As already noted earlier, an optimal body P.H environment is required to ensure that various biochemical processes are occurring at an efficient rate. One of these processes that can be affected by the P.H environment of the body is metabolism. When the body's PH is balanced, the normal mitochondrial function will occur, leading to optimum body metabolism. This will, in turn, promote the development of lean muscles, and other benefits of optimal metabolism such as weight loss, an abundance of energy, and so on.
However, if the P.H environment becomes acidic, the metabolism process will be heavily affected, with the body being forced to work hard to expel the acidic ash in the body. When this happens for a prolonged period, the inefficient metabolism will result in the breakdown of lean muscles. Eating alkaline foods is thus a great way of ensuring that your body maintains lean muscles. On top of that, alkaline foods (mostly fruits and vegetables) promote weight loss due to their low-calorie content.
4. Prevents inflammation
An alkaline diet is a great way of preventing inflammation in your body. To start with, by promoting an optimal P.H environment, they ensure that your body is not producing acids and other toxins that can cause inflammation among other health issues. Secondly, most alkaline foods (leafy green vegetables, fruits, and nuts) contain anti-inflammatory properties which fight off inflammation while promoting the healing of your body’s tissues.
5. Preventing digestive problems
Digestion problems, from gas problems, irritable bowel syndrome, bloating, diarrhea, acid reflux constipation, and others can be caused by inflammation and acidity. Acidity, combined with inflammation can cause an imbalance of the P.H environment in the gut, leading to the destruction of the digestive tract.
This, combined with the out-of-balance P.H causes leads to inefficient digestion, absorption of nutrients, and removal of waste products. As a result, acid and toxins build up in the gut, leading to a range of problems including headaches, fatigue, constipation, irritable bowel, and others.
The increased acidity also causes your body to absorb various alkaline bases such as calcium, magnesium, and others so as to restore P.H balance. The absorption of magnesium can lead to further digestion problems, as it is instrumental in promoting proper movement of food in the digestive tract. Hence, problems such as constipation and diarrhea are likely to occur. Consuming alkaline foods is a great way of preventing these digestive problems.
6. Preventing the occurrence of various diseases and health conditions
Poor body health makes your body increasingly vulnerable to chronic diseases and health conditions such as obesity, diabetes, arthritis, asthma, cancer, stroke, heart attack, and others. Acidity is one of the top causes of poor body health. The P.H imbalance that acidity affects most of the biochemical processes in the body, leading to poor health.
The buildup of acids and toxins (as a result of acidity), and depletion of the body’s alkaline reserves (calcium, magnesium, etc.) can also lead to a range of chronic disease. Eating a diet rich in alkaline foods is thus a great way of promoting optimal health, and preventing chronic diseases. Just like with citric acid, chlorogenic acid is not acidifying to the body. Alkaline foods are a healthy diet option that promotes optimal body health while preventing the occurrence of a wide range of diseases and health conditions. On top of their health benefits, alkaline foods offer a range of other benefits, for example, weight loss, youthful skin, increased body energy, and others that help to improve the quality of your life. To enjoy the benefits of these alkalinizing foods, you can follow an exclusive alkalinizing diet (without other acid foods) or add them in good quantities to your regular meals.
