3 Alkaline Diet Tips for Healthy pH Balance

By Cliff Smith 

An alkaline diet is essential for a healthy body.  The pH balance of your blood is naturally alkaline, registering around 7.4 on the pH scale. Blood that has a pH below 7.35 is considered to be critically acidic.  Your body will do whatever is necessary to maintain that delicate balance, even if that means extracting calcium from your bones in order to neutralize the acid.

How Does an Alkaline Diet Help Strengthen Bones?

Bones are the most accessible source of something alkaline that the body can utilize to increase alkalinity in the blood.  When the body leeches calcium from bones in order to neutralize excess acid in the diet, it leads to arthritis, osteoporosis and bone loss.

This is why a diet high in animal protein is implicated in bone loss and why an alkaline diet can enhance bone and joint health.  Meats are acidic, so the body has to pull calcium from bones in order to neutralize the acid.  Other acid foods and drinks include soft drinks, sugar, artificial sweeteners, alcohol, coffee and overcooked food of all kinds.

There are some healthy foods that register somewhat acidic, but not to the same degree as meats or sodas.  It is important to know that a normal alkaline diet should consist of at least 20% acid foods because an overly alkaline balance is not healthy, either.

So, our philosophy is "stick to an alkaline diet to help the body manage a healthy pH balance in the bloodstream". This usually means consuming far more alkaline foods and drinks than acid.

Of course, a list of acid foods and alkaline foods is a good place to start an alkaline diet.  There are hundreds of charts and lists online that separate acid and alkaline foods.  Keep in mind, these values are not based on the pH balance of the food itself, but are based on the type of ash left behind after the food is burned by the body for fuel. 

Most people don't seem to have any problem finding plenty of acid foods, but alkaline foods are a different story.  Fruits and vegetables qualify as alkaline, along with a few select nuts and grains, but where else can you get foods and drinks for a healthy alkaline diet?

Here are 3 Alkaline Diet Tips to Boost Alkalinity in The Body: 

1.  Choose alkaline drinks instead of acidic beverages like alcohol, soft drinks, coffee, or energy drinks.

 These drinks enhance an alkaline diet with naturally alkaline ingredients.

2.  Eat way more alkaline foods than acid foods.  An 80/20 ratio is best but 60/40 is not bad.

  These whole foods provide super-concentrated alkaline nutrition.

3.    Take whole food calcium supplements, not isolated, synthetic calcium like that used in most over the counter multi-vitamin and mineral supplements.  

For more information visit these links:

Alkaline Foods and Drinks for pH Balance

Alkaline Foods and Acid Foods - What You Really Need to Know

A List of Alkaline Foods and Acid Foods for pH Balance

How Alkaline Foods and pH Balance Affect Your Health

Alkaline Drinks Make Energy Drinks Seem Like Candy

Alkaline Foods and Health Drinks Not Sold in Stores
Shopping Secrets of the Rich and Famous...and Healthy