Acid and Alkaline, Health and Disease
When it comes to optimal health you want to keep the body alkaline. No one food will make or break you. Making sure you're alkaline overall or offsetting your acidic load is what matters.
Whether a food is acidic or alkaline is determined by its mineral content and protein content. A neutral pH is 7. Anything below this would be considered acidic and anything higher than this would be considered alkaline. The more alkaline minerals a food has, such as calcium, potassium, sodium and magnesium the more alkaline it will be overall. There are also acid forming minerals which are phosphorus and sulfur. An alkaline food will have less of these and be balanced out with the more alkaline minerals. The protein content will even more so affect a food’s pH (acidity).
To determine a food’s acidity or alkalinity a method called the ASH method used to be used where you actually burn the food. Then in 1995 two German scientists, Drs. Thomas Remer and Friedrich Manz created an improved method called (PRAL), or Potential Renal Acid Load, which the USDA now recognizes for determining the acidic load of a food.
This formulation is much more accurate than the ASH method and can be used to calculate the estimated (NAE) Net Acid Excretion after the consumption of a particular food, beverage, or particular diet. This estimate considers the intestinal absorption of minerals like phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, and sulfur, as well as proteins and organic acids. The outcome is reflective in urinary acid excretion through urine pH.
-Brian Maguire, How Is It Determined If a Food Is Acidic Or Alkaline, 2017
As touched on earlier, if a food is high in acid forming minerals and high in protein it will be highly acid forming. Conversely, if a food is high in alkaline forming minerals and lower in protein it will be alkaline. Protein isn’t bad and the minerals phosphorus and sulfur aren’t bad either. In fact, they’re absolutely essential to life. What you want is a proper balance of these minerals and nutrients. If you have too much acid forming components in a food then the food overall is acidic and you may need to balance that food with other more alkaline foods to ensure your body doesn’t become overly acidic.
A high acid diet is what contributes to health problems and chronic disease. Uric acid in animal flesh, lactic acid in dairy products, phytic acid in unsprouted beans, legumes, nuts, seeds and grains. It is for this reason that beans, legumes, nuts, seeds and grains should be consumed sprouted or at the very least soaked overnight, rinsed and then cooked thoroughly. Consuming these foods unsprouted can lead to a high acid load, due to the phytic acid just as a high or unbalanced amount of uric acid and lactic acid in animal foods can lead to an excessively acidic body pH and contribute to a whole host of health complications such as fatigue, confusion, low blood sugar, obesity, sleep apnea, hair loss, diabetes, kidney disease and cancer. You can purchase already sprouted (germinated) products at your health food or grocery store. As mentioned before, if you can’t find them already sprouted you can simply buy them unsprouted and soak your beans, legumes, nuts, seeds or whole grains overnight (for at least 12 hours), rinse them and cook them. Pressure cooking also greatly reduces the phytic acid in these foods. I recommend soaking overnight, rinsing and then pressure cooking to be extremely safe but you don’t have to. If prepared properly and consumed in balance with other alkaline foods, beans, legumes, nuts, seeds and whole grains are some of the healthiest foods you can eat. Just eat them in the right way and in the right balance. In my experience, there’s not really a middle ground when it comes to the healthful quality of these foods. Purchasing them canned can also be an option as the canning process does expose the food to high pressures similar to pressure cooking helping to reduce the phytic acid load. However, canned foods tend to be high in histamines which can cause reactions or sinus issues for some who are sensitive so be mindful. Consume in moderation and listen to your body.
We’re also exposed to acidic chemicals such as carbolic acid which is used in the making of plastics, nylon, detergents, the preservation of vaccines, oral analgesics and in medicines like aspirin. It is very important, now more than ever to reduce our acidic load and start focusing on eating more fresh fruits, vegetables and properly prepared foods to shift the body out of disease and into a state of health.
How a High Acid Diet Affects the Body
The Brain
A high acid diet affects the brain potentially leading to dementia and Alzheimer’s. Excess saturated fat as contained primarily in animal foods contributes to the formation of beta amyloid plaques which are obstructions in the brain.
The Bones
It affects the bones leading to osteoporosis since the body will leach the alkaline minerals from the bones to neutralize the acid in the bloodstream. This process takes place every time you eat a highly acidic meal.
The Lungs
It affects the lungs and causes increased mucus production in order to buffer the acid and help move irritants out of the body. When there’s a build-up of mucus, the bronchi in the lungs can’t expand and contract as well as they would in a body with lower levels of mucus. Coughing, breathing difficulty, chest pain or discomfort, and sinus problems all indicate a build-up of excess mucus in the lungs.
The Heart
It affects the heart due to arterial inflammation and plaques, restricting blood flow and thus preventing vital nutrients and oxygen from reaching the cells in our body. If these acid plaques break off and clog the bloodstream it can lead to heart attacks, strokes and a higher risk for cardiovascular disease.
The Skin
Your skin will reflect what’s going on inside your body if your other detoxifying organs, such as your liver, kidneys, lungs, lymph nodes and intestines are backed up or overly bogged down due to excess acidity. If blood pH level is even slightly more acidic than it should be (blood pH should be between 7.35 to 7.45) because of a highly acidic diet (processed food, too much animal foods [especially grilled or charred meats] refined sugar, refined/simple carbohydrates or bad, rancid and oxidized oils [especially vegetable, high omega 6 or high heated oils) and remains this way for months at a time, it will lead to eczema, dermatitis, rashes, acne and breakouts.
The Intestines
Acidic and processed foods can wreak havoc in the digestive system. Food can’t be properly absorbed and this causes nutrient deficiencies, suppressed immunity and increased risk for disease. Compromised digestion also creates a good environment for harmful bacteria. Focusing on eating a higher amount of raw fruits and veggies (cook your veggies if you have any gut issues) can help balance the pH of your digestive system due to the living enzymes these foods contain. Eat as much raw foods as you can tolerate to get these raw living enzymes. Fruit, sprouted nuts & seeds, micro or baby greens and sprouts (such as broccoli sprouts, clover sprouts, alfalfa sprouts, radish sprouts, and other sprouts) are a great way to get these living enzymes if you have trouble with raw fully grown vegetables. They’re actually more nutritious than the adult versions of these foods anyways.
Other Organs Such as Liver, Pancreas & Kidneys
Consuming a diet high in acidic foods leads to overly acidic digestive juices such as pancreatic secretions and bile. Pancreatic juice has a pH between 7.8-8.0 while bile from the liver has a pH between 7.5-8.8. If pH is chronically outside of these ranges the higher acidity level of these juices damage and destroy the tissues of the pancreas, liver and kidneys that have to excrete the highly acidic waste fluid. The long term inflammation can lead to suboptimal functioning, stones, ulcers and even cancer.
List of Alkaline Foods
The production, harvesting and processing methods for a food can affect its pH but the foods listed here are generally accurate within their categories. This list is not necessarily in alphabetical order and is in no way exhaustive. It does, however, give you a good number of foods (courtesy of foodfaq.org) you can find at your local health food store, grocery store or supermarket to help you put together a highly nutritious alkaline forming meal anytime.
Fruits
Highest Alkaline
Blackberries
Strawberries
Raspberries
Cantaloupe
Honeydew melon
Mandarins
Limes
Kiwis
Mangos
Papayas
Pawpaw (textured described as melon meets banana)
Persimons (almost like a sweet orange tomato)
Pineapple
Watermelon
Tangerines
Quince (similar to apples or pears)
Medium Alkaline
Sultanas (white grape)
Pears
Peaches
Passion Fruit
Oranges
Green olives
Lychee (litchi or lichi aka “alligator strawberry”)
Lemons
Currants
Cherries
Boysenberries
Blueberries
Apples
Apricots
Avocados
Bananas
Vegetables
Highest Alkaline
Asparagus
Batatas (Dominican tuber or root vegetable)
Celery (technically an herb)
Collard greens
Daikon Radish
Endive
Fennel
Jalapeno
Kabocha squash
Chicory
Mustard greens
Onions
Parsnips
Radishes
Sweet Potatoes
Taro Root (potato like)
Medium Alkaline
Okra
Potatoes, white
Chayote
Zucchini
Summer squash
Winter squash
Turnip greens
Turnips
Water chestnuts
Watercress
Yucca (Cassava)
Artichokes
Beets
Bell peppers (all colors)
Bok choy
Cabbage (red, green and Napa)
Eggplant
Garlic
Leeks
Arugula
Lettuce (Iceberg, Romaine, Red leaf)
Seaweeds
All seaweeds are alkaline forming. Here I’ll list the highest alkaline forming to the lowest.
Highest Alkaline
Dulse
Kelp
Kombu
Hijiki
Nori
Wake
Chlorella (can be anywhere from a 7-10 on the pH scale so depending on the production method can be considered medium to high alkalinity)
Medium Alkaline
Agar (also called Agar Agar - good for vegan gelatin)
Low Alkaline
Spirulina
Irish Mosh
Beans & Legumes
Based on the criteria, there aren’t any extremely high alkaline beans and legumes. There are a couple of medium alkaline ones and low alkaline ones. All others seem to be more on the low acid forming end with a few on the medium acid forming end. Here I’ll just list the ones that are medium and low alkaline.
Medium Alkaline
Lentils
Green beans
Low Alkaline
Edamme (green soybean)
Snow peas
Nuts & Seeds
The same is true for nuts and seeds as is for beans and legumes when it comes to alkalinity. I’ll list the low to medium alkaline forming with the exception of one high alkaline forming nut.
High Alkaline
Chestnut
Medium Alkaline
Cashews
Cumin seed
Low Alkaline
Almonds
Celery seed
Chia seed
Coriander seed
Flax seed
Hemp seed
Macadamia nuts
Meat
When it comes to meat, there are no alkaline meats. All meat is acidic. There is one meat in particular which is extremely acid, which you’ll see below (but can be less acidic in different forms). Besides that, I’ll list the medium acid forming meats. According to the information found, there are no low acid forming meats. For the sake of length I won’t list fish or seafood but know that most fish and seafood is medium on the acid forming spectrum. There is also no alkaline forming fish or seafood.
The same applies for all animal products as for meat and seafood. All animal products are acidic. This includes eggs and dairy. They won’t be in a list here, just know that dairy and eggs are also acidic. However, the quality of any animal product and degree of acidity can be affected by how it was raised, what it was fed, its preparation and processing methods. When it comes to animal foods my advice is to always opt for the highest quality possible if you’re able (grass-fed/grass-finished meats and dairy, wild caught fish, organically fed and pasture raised heritage/heirloom breed eggs). If you cannot obtain the highest quality animal products simply stick to your fruits, veggies, sprouted whole grains, sprouted beans & legumes and sprouted nuts & seeds. You can’t go wrong with that.
High Acid
Pork
Medium Acid
Goat
Lamb
Venison
Chicken
Duck (extremely hight in saturated fat content, be mindful)
Turkey
See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil,…
-Deuteronomy 30:15 NKJV
Stay alkaline my friends.
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