Acid/Alkaline Foods

ACID-FORMING

& ALKALINE-FORMING

FOODS

     An acidic pH in your body can occur from an acid-forming diet, emotional stress, toxic overload, immune reactions, and/or any process that deprives the cells of oxygen and other nutrients.  The body will try to neutralize and compensate for the acidic pH by using alkaline minerals.  If your diet does not contain enough minerals to compensate, then a build up of acids in the cells will occur.

This acidic environment, or acidosis, will: 

• decrease the body's ability to absorb minerals and other nutrients
• decrease the energy production in the cells
• decrease the body's ability to repair damaged cells
• decrease the body's ability to detoxify heavy metals
• allow tumor cells thrive
• force the body pull minerals from joints and bones (osteoporosis)
• make the body more susceptible to fatigue and illness.  (A blood pH of 6.9, which is only slightly acidic, can induce coma and death.)

     The reason acidosis is more common in our society is mostly due to the typical American diet.  The typical American's diet is far too high in acid-producing animal products like meat, eggs and dairy, and far too low in alkaline-producing foods like fresh vegetables.  Additionally, we eat acid-producing processed foods like white flour and sugar, and drink acid-producing beverages like coffee and soft drinks.  We use too many drugs, which are acid forming; and we use artificial chemical sweetners like NutraSweet, Spoonful, Sweet 'N Low, Equal, Splenda, or Aspartame, which are poisonous and extremely acid-forming.  One of the best things we can do to correct an overly acid body is to clean up the diet and lifestyle.

     Since the kidneys are near the end point of the digestion-elimination process, the fluids entering the kidneys should already have been neutralized by the alkaline reserve, (which is built up by eating alkaline foods). If it hasn’t, then physiological ammonia is produced by the kidneys to help neutralize excess acid (emergecy backup). The more protein in the kidney fluid, the more ammonia is produced in the urine - which means big trouble to your health!

     When the fluid in the kidneys contains too much protein from over-consumption of high protein foods, ammonia is produced as a by-product in eliminating the excess protein. If this is your condition, your urine will smell like ammonia, may be foamy in appearance, and you may experience a burning sensation when urinating (which cranberry juice may relieve).

Note: If your urine pH numbers are above 7.0, you should not do any significant exercise until you rebuild your alkaline reserve. Hard exercise produces acid and your body is already extremely acidic. Exercising right now will be an unnecessary risk.

     To maintain health, the diet should consist of 60% alkaline-forming foods and 40% acid-forming foods.  To restore health, the diet should consist of 80% alkaline-forming foods and 20% acid-forming foods.

Ranked Foods: Alkaline (pH)  to  Acidic (pH)