How Alkaline Foods and pH Balance Affect Your Health

By Cliff Smith

Today’s processed foods are certainly convenient, but did you know that a diet lacking in alkaline foods can negatively affect your body’s pH balance and put you at risk for a variety of health problems?  The concept of alkaline foods versus acid foods wasn’t much discussed until recently, but doctors and scientists are finding it to be an important conversation that needs to happen.  Keeping the body’s pH level balanced can be an important component in combating all kinds of illnesses.

Alkaline Foods, pH Balance and the Body

You may remember from high school science that substances can be either acid or alkaline. Remember dipping those pH testing strips into bleach and vinegar to see if they turned blue or pink?  Well, everything that we eat falls somewhere on the pH scale, and by ingesting it, we are affecting the overall pH balance of our bodies.  If we eat many things that are acidic (or low on the pH scale), our body also tends to become more acidic.  On the other hand, if we eat alkaline foods (those that measure high on the pH scale), our bodies become more alkaline.

* The human body was actually intended to run in a slightly alkaline state. (Of course, the body is very complex, and some parts of the digestive tract, for instance, are intentionally acidic.) 

Unfortunately, most of the foods we eat in modern Western culture are acidic.  Think about the coffee we have for breakfast, the meat we eat for dinner, and the sodas we swill down all day long.  Each of these affects the body’s pH balance and makes it more acidic.  We need to eat alkaline foods to help restore the proper pH balance.

Acidic Bodies are Unhealthy Bodies

There are a number of reasons that we should avoid creating an acidic environment within the body.  One of the most crucial is that unwanted organisms such as bacteria and yeast grow much more easily when the pH balance has been tipped toward the acidic.  Our cells need to be alkaline in order to function properly, as well.  When we do not eat enough alkaline foods, the cells struggle to survive, and many of them die.

Because an alkaline state is so important to the healthy function of the body, it will do everything it can to restore a good pH balance, including robbing itself.  Calcium is used to restore alkalinity, and if needed, the body will steal this element from bones and teeth.  This is one of the reasons that soda and other acidic substances cause tooth decay and bone loss.

Getting the Alkaline Foods Your Body Needs

Eating alkaline foods is an important step to restoring the pH balance of your body.  In addition to getting the nutrients we need from these healthy foods, we are also able to support cell function and oxygenation while making a less hospitable environment for dangerous organisms that can compromise our overall health.

Good Alkaline Foods:

•    Dried Apricots
•    Dried Lima Beans
•    Figs
•    Prunes
•    Raisins
•    Soybeans
•    Spinach
•    Sprouts
•    Swiss Chard
•    Tubers

Other Alkaline Foods:

•    Almonds (raw)
•    Beets
•    Cantaloupe
•    Cabbage
•    Carrots
•    Chives
•    Coconuts (and coconut milk)
•    Cucumbers
•    Dates
•    Dried Avocado
•    Dried Peas
•    Guava
•    Kale
•    Leeks
•    Lettuce
•    Lima Beans
•    Mangos
•    Oranges
•    Peaches
•    Potatoes
•    Rhubarb
•    Watercress

There are many more alkaline foods that can help to restore the body’s healthy pH balance.  By adding these to your diet, while cutting out excess acid foods and beverages, you can improve your overall health, not to mention energy levels.

Author - As one of the owners of this online health food store, Cliff Smith helps consumers see how their acid and alkaline food choices impact the body’s pH balance.

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