What is the Alkaline Diet3Why Eat Alkaline & What is the Alkaline Diet?The <strong>alkaline</strong> diet is focused upon givingyour body all of the tools it needs to thrive:the nutrients and nourishment it needs togive you the health, energy and vitality ofyour dreams.And nature has shown us that these <strong>food</strong>s,the most nourishing <strong>food</strong>s, are <strong>alkaline</strong>.Vegetables, leaves, nuts, seeds, healthyoils & fats, oily fish…<strong>food</strong>s like spinach,avocado, cucumber, kale, almonds, salmon,watercress, carrots, celery, lemons,limes, coconut, beets, pumpkin, beansand so on - these are all <strong>alkaline</strong> forming<strong>food</strong>s.They all contain high levels of vitamins,minerals, omega oils, phytonutrients, antioxidantsand fibre.And nature has shown us that the <strong>food</strong>sthat rob the body of energy, cause stressto the digestive system, clog us, destroyour energy and age us are the acid-forming<strong>food</strong>s…<strong>food</strong>s like sugar, trans fats, refined<strong>food</strong>s, fast <strong>food</strong>s, junk <strong>food</strong>s, chips,soda, pizza, wheat…you can probablyguess where I’m going here.It makes perfect sense, and is workingwith nature perfectly. The <strong>food</strong>s that youprobably already know are good for youare all <strong>alkaline</strong>-forming. Why? Becausethey’re mineral-rich, vitamin-rich, antioxidant-rich,have a high water content (generally),and are natural. These are the biggestdeterminant of an <strong>alkaline</strong> <strong>food</strong> (moreon this in a moment).The reality is, the <strong>alkaline</strong> diet is a very, very simple andstraightforward approach to health, but is backed byextensive science (see page16 for just a handful of thesestudies).The Scientific Explanation of the Alkaline DietOur body is designed to be <strong>alkaline</strong>.The pH of most of our important cellularand other fluids such as our blood is designedto be at a pH of 7.365, which isslightly <strong>alkaline</strong>.In just the same way that our body willdo whatever it takes to regulate our temperatureto stay within a very tight range,it does the same for the pH of our fluids.And while our body does create acidsnaturally through our bodily functions, wehave a small <strong>alkaline</strong> buffering system thatnaturally keeps us <strong>alkaline</strong>.what is the <strong>alkaline</strong> diet?
Your body HAS to keep the pH of yourblood, cells and other fluids at just slightly<strong>alkaline</strong> (pH 7.365) and it will do ANY-THING it has to in order to maintain thispH balance.To do this, your body calls upon its storeof <strong>alkaline</strong> buffers, which it draws uponto neutralize the acids we ingest or createthrough bodily processes. This storeof buffers is very easily depleted becausemost of us eat and drink such strong acids.To put this in context, the pH scale islogarithmic – so pH 6 is 10x more acidicthan pH 7, meaning pH 5 is 100x timesmore acidic than pH 7 and pH 4 is 1000xmore acidic. Cola has a pH of between2 and 3. So you can see how a diet filledwith meats, dairy, fizzy drinks, alcohol etcwould quickly deplete these buffers.And when we deplete these buffers andstill ingest more acids…what happens?The body is forced into drawing upon the<strong>alkaline</strong> minerals it has to buffer whichcauses havoc in the body – for instance, ifthe body is constantly drawing calcium toneutralise the acids we consume then thesymptoms of osteoporosis emerge (hencethe numerous research articles linking colaconsumption with osteoporosis)However, as we have evolved and ourdiets and lifestyles have changed over thelast century or so we have dramatically increasedthe amount of acidity in our lives.Diet, stress, emotions and no exercisecontribute, in their own ways to the increasedacidity in our body.Focusing on the <strong>alkaline</strong> diet for the timebeing, it will be no surprise to you to learnthat the most acidic <strong>food</strong>s are: sugar,trans-fats, yeasts, dairy, simple carbs,alcohol, refined <strong>food</strong>s etc. These acidsmanifest in our diets as colas & fizzydrinks, pizza, chips, cakes, biscuits, microwavemeals, crisps, breads, caffeine,cheese, fatty meats, ice cream, smoking,beers, wines, condiments, milky drinks,cream etc.All the <strong>food</strong>s you already know are notgood for you.As we’ve already mentioned, I’m sure youcan guess that the <strong>food</strong>s that are <strong>alkaline</strong>to the body are therefore…wait for it…fresh vegetables, salads, leafy greens,omega oils, nuts, seeds, pulses, wholegrains.These are fresh <strong>food</strong>s, raw <strong>food</strong>s, whole<strong>food</strong>s, <strong>food</strong>s with a high-water contentand nutritional value.It makes this diet pretty easy to understandand pretty easy to follow. I thinkmost people, if given a list of <strong>food</strong>s couldput them into the acid or <strong>alkaline</strong> group 8times out of 10.This just makes sense, right?Eating the <strong>food</strong>s you KNOW are goodfor you and staying away from the <strong>food</strong>syou KNOW are bad for you…it all makessense!Throw in some exercise, lots of hydration,avoiding stress and getting good sleep,and I think you’d have a lifestyle that eventhe most skeptical of your friends, familymembers or physician can get on boardwith.And that brings us on to….the great <strong>alkaline</strong>diet myths…4what is the <strong>alkaline</strong> diet?
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