Alkaline Diet: Are there benefits?

What is the alkaline diet? Does it have benefits? This diet consists of consuming specific foods to make your body more alkaline, which some believe causes greater protection against illnesses and can assist with weight loss. The alkaline diet separates foods and beverages into two categories based on their pH level to classify the item as either acidic or basic (alkaline). Examples of acidic foods include: carbonated water, coffee, and pasta. Examples of alkaline foods include: apples, strawberries, spinach, and cabbage.

The alkaline diet has been around for years because many feel it can help with disease prevention. Individuals partake in the fad diet because they believe the body works at the highest level during alkaline state, less illness occurs when the body is in an alkaline environment, and it provides more energy and can prevent cancer.

The alkaline diet is not 100% accurate since each region of the body has different pH levels and is designed to either remain acid or basic. All foods are acidic after leaving the stomach. Then they enter the intestines where the pancreas neutralizes the stomach contents. Therefore, consuming a broad variety of nutrient rich foods is more important rather than eating only alkaline or acid foods and beverages.

Research has proven that the alkaline diet does have benefits. The diet tends to cause individuals to unconsciously follow a vegetarian lifestyle by eating more fruits, vegetables, legumes, soybeans and tofu, which are nutrient-dense foods that keep one full and satisfied. This eating style can significantly decrease chronic risk factors, such as diabetes and hypertension.

Experts have debunked the alkaline diet theory several times. The Hindawi Publishing Corporation Journal of Environmental and Public Health stated that the alkaline diet can reduce the morbidity and mortality caused by the chronic diseases that are plaguing our aging population. According to the HuffPost UK edition: While cancer tissue does grow in an acidic environment, it is the cancer that creates the environment, not the environment that creates the cancer. So, eating alkaline will not help! In conclusion, the alkaline diet may not serve the purpose of the body working better in an alkaline state, but it does have benefits, mainly encouraging high consumption of fruits and vegetables, and ultimately reducing chronic risk factors.