The Alkaline Diet...

The alkaline diet  - one of the more topical diets circulating at the moment. Before I delve into my thoughts on the diet, lets start with what it entails. 
 
The alkaline diet is based on the notion that replacing acid forming foods with alkaline foods can improve your health and reduce your risk of chronic diseases. 
 
What is an acid forming food? A food with a lower pH – examples include wholegrains, dairy, sugar, meat products. Conversely, alkaline foods generally have a higher pH – examples including nuts, legumes, vegetables and low sugar fruits. Studies have shown diseases, such as cancer to thrive in an acidic environment, therefore eat more alkaline foods, shift the body’s pH to become more alkaline, and you will have greater health outcomes, right? 
 
Unfortunately this isn’t the case. We cannot significantly change the body’s pH through diet. Our kidneys and lungs stabalise our pH levels very tightly, so if both of these organs are functioning optimally, the body’s pH will remain between 7.35-7.45. If the body’s pH was to fall outside of this range, your cells would stop working and you would become very unwell. Our urinary pH on the other hand, can change pretty dramatically, and this is based on the food we eat. Excreting acids in urine is one of the main ways the body regulates its blood pH. Eat a large steak, and your urine will be more acidic for several hours, as your body removes the metabolic waste from your system. 
 
BLOOD PH DOES NOT REFLECT URINE PH, THUS MEASURING URINE PH IS NOT AN INDICATOR OF HEALTH!
 
If you have gotten this far, you now know that we cannot shift our body’s pH to be more alkaline through diet, however is it harmful to follow such a diet? 
 
In my opinion, any diet that unnecessary eliminates certain foods is harmful, as you will be missing out on nutrients required for optimal health. In the case of the alkaline diet, you will be cutting out acid forming foods – some of which are beneficial to health. 
 
My recommendation? Include both acid and alkaline foods, and rather judge a food based on its general nutrition properties. As always, choose whole foods (wholegrains, lean protein, fruits, vegetables and dairy) and limit processed foods!