{"id":50535,"date":"2016-06-27T07:15:07","date_gmt":"2016-06-27T11:15:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/?p=50535"},"modified":"2021-11-18T10:01:51","modified_gmt":"2021-11-18T15:01:51","slug":"alkaline-diet-improve-health-benefits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/health\/alkaline-diet-improve-health-benefits\/","title":{"rendered":"Is the Alkaline Diet Legit?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"The
Photo: Pond5<\/a><\/i><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The diet celebrities like Kate Hudson and Kelly Ripa swear by doesn\u2019t rely on calorie counts, juice cleanses<\/a> or nutrient profiles. Instead, the alkaline diet encourages you to optimize your body\u2019s pH levels.<\/p>\n

According to the plan, you should favor alkaline-rich foods like fruit and veggies and steer clear of acid-inducing ones like meat, dairy and grains. By doing so, proponents of the diet claim that you help your body maintain a healthy pH balance, which promotes weight loss, prevents osteoporosis and improves your health.<\/p>\n

Sounds simple enough, right? But before you head to the store to buy your own set of pH test strips, you’ll want the full story.<\/p>\n

RELATED: <\/strong>The Nordic Diet: The New \u201cIt\u201d Diet (Plus 9 Recipes to Try)<\/a><\/p>\n

What You Need to Know About the Alkaline Diet<\/strong><\/h3>\n

If you remember back<\/a> to high school chemistry class, pH measures whether something is acid or basic (or alkaline). On a scale from one to 14, anything below seven is considered acidic and anything above seven is considered alkaline. That means water<\/a> typically registers as a seven, while lemon juice falls in the lower end of the spectrum (acidic) and baking soda at the higher end (alkaline).<\/p>\n

Our body functions within a very small pH range<\/a> \u2014 between 7.35 to 7.45 \u2014 which is slightly alkaline. And we have an internal checks and balances system to keep it that way. \u201cOur body has mechanisms by which it naturally controls our blood pH to ~7.4,\u201d says Vandana Sheth<\/a>, RD, CDE and spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. \u201cAny imbalances are immediately addressed by our kidneys and lungs.\u201d<\/p>\n

Why Go Basic?<\/h3>\n

\u201cThe alkaline diet claims to help your body maintain blood pH levels,\u201d says Joy Dubost<\/a>, PhD, and a registered dietician based in Washington, DC. The theory goes that if you eat acid-forming foods, you create a low pH environment, which stresses out your cells. Thanks to the increased acid load, your body has to work extra hard to bring your pH back to its optimal range. Over time, proponents believe that this can lead to inflammation<\/a>, chronic disease and lower immunity, not to mention increase your risk for cancer and osteoporosis.<\/p>\n

“The pros of this type of diet are that you\u2019re including more vegetables and fruits.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The diet calls for packing your plate full of alkaline-rich foods, including fruits and vegetables<\/a> while avoiding acid-producing ones such as eggs, dairy, grain, meat, fish, sugar, alcohol, caffeine and processed foods. By choosing a plate full of veggies over fish and chips, you help your body naturally maintain inner harmony. Less stress means a healthy and happy body, right? It\u2019s more complicated than that.<\/p>\n

RELATED: <\/strong>How Much Caffeine Are You Really Drinking?<\/a><\/p>\n

It\u2019s Not All About the Base
\n<\/strong><\/h3>\n

\u201c[The alkaline diet] presumes that what a person eats influences how the body responds and can dictate a change in pH,\u201d says Dubost. But that\u2019s not true.<\/p>\n

\u201cAny food that we eat cannot make a significant change in our blood pH,\u201d says Sheth. According to Dubost, you\u2019d have to eat a lot of acid-producing foods<\/a> to have any affect on the body. \u201cYou\u2019d also have to eat these foods on a regular basis, not just one meal, to say it\u2019s changing your blood pH,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

And that pH test strip which you use to test the pH of your pee? It might not be all it\u2019s cracked up to be. \u201cAny urine test pH will show the effect of food we ate, but it will not be a reflection of the pH of our blood or cells,\u201d says Sheth.<\/p>\n

Is It Worth Eating Only Alkalinizing Foods?<\/h3>\n

Yes and no.<\/p>\n

Eating more alkaline-producing foods doesn\u2019t hurt. \u201cThe pros of this type of diet are that you\u2019re including more vegetables and fruits and it recommends avoiding carbonated beverages, minimizing the intake of refined grains and sugars,\u201d says Sheth. \u201cSome of the benefits, such as weight loss experienced by those following this type of diet, may be due to the avoidance of many high-calorie food choices<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

But if you stick with only alkalinizing foods, you may be unnecessarily avoiding key nutrients like calcium, potassium and vitamin D<\/a>. \u201cWhen you start eliminating the best sources of these nutrients, like dairy, you could set yourself up for having real deficiencies and lack of nutrients down the road.\u201d says Dubost. And reducing your protein intake may not help your weight loss goals in the long run. \u201cProtein helps with weight maintenance, weight loss and the prevention of muscle loss,\u201d says Dubost.<\/p>\n

RELATED: <\/strong>My Diet Is Better Than Yours: The Superfood Swap Diet<\/a><\/p>\n

Plus, the research on the health effects of the alkaline diet is spotty and mixed. There\u2019s some research that shows that a high acid diet may be associated with an increased risk for type 2 diabetes<\/a> and for kidney stones<\/a> while other researchers have found that an alkaline diet doesn\u2019t prevent calcium loss<\/a> in bones or that a low urine pH does not predict osteoporosis risk<\/a>.<\/p>\n

According to Dubost, the research on alkaline diets reducing the risk of chronic disease doesn\u2019t give a definitive reason alkaline-rich foods may have an impact. \u201cIt could be due to other factors [aside from the alkaline diet] like lowering calorie intake, eating foods higher in nutrients and antioxidants,\u201d she says. \u201cThe bottom line is there\u2019s really no research or evidence that I\u2019m aware of to support the recommendation of such a diet.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe key is to enjoy a wide variety of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins and heart healthy fats for nutritional balance and health,\u201d says Sheth.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The alkaline diet calls for more fruits and veggies to help maintain a healthy pH level in your blood and prevent inflammation. But does science agree?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":41,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[23,7],"tags":[41,51,52,71,341,380,306,285],"class_list":["post-50535","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-diet-nutrition","category-health","tag-diets","tag-food-choices","tag-fruit","tag-nutrition","tag-tax1living-well","tag-tax2diet-advice","tag-vegetables","tag-weight-loss"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50535","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/41"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50535"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50535\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50535"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50535"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50535"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}