The alkaline diet

The alkaline diet, also called acid-base diet, is based on the idea that certain foods could influence the acid-base balance of the body, and thus have positive repercussions on health. Thus, maintaining your blood pH at a low alkalinity level (7.35-7.45) would reduce fatigue , maintain a high level of energy, relieve some of the emunctory organs (kidneys, lungs), stay slim/lose weight and reduce the risk of disease (cancer, cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, etc.). Praised by many celebrities, the alkaline diet has gradually become very popular. In the collective unconscious, it is associated with the idea of ​​slimming and detoxification . 

THE PRINCIPLES OF THE DIET

Principles

The principle of the alkaline diet is therefore simple: favor so-called “alkalizing” foods and limit   those that are “acidifying”, the important thing being to maintain a balance. There is no fixed classification of these foods, some are still subject to debate (eg tomato), but rather major trends.   In any case, they can be summarized in broad outline:

• The alkaline diet is similar to the vegetarian diet , since it favors a large consumption of foods of plant origin.
• Just because a food tastes sour doesn’t mean it’s acidic to the body (like lemon , since followers of the alkaline diet recommend drinking lemon water when you wake up).
• Refined foods or foods from the food industry are systematically discouraged, due to their acidifying and therefore inflammatory potential.
• The alkaline diet presupposes cooking your meals.
• It does not prohibit any food, but rather recommends finding a balance – if you eat an acidifying food, it will be a question of “compensating” its consumption with alkaline foods, at the next meal.
• Proponents of the alkaline diet describe it more as a way of life.

alkalizing foods

• Fruits and homemade fruit juices without added sugar
• Dried fruits, except nuts and peanuts
• Vegetables
• Potatoes
• Chestnuts
• Mushrooms
• Soy and derived products (tempeh, tofu, etc.)
• Pulses, except lentils
• Seeds (pumpkin, flax, chia, etc.)

Neutral foods

• Food yeasts
• vegetable fats 
• Water

acidifying foods

• Meat, fish, eggs
• Dairy products , whatever they are (from cow’s, goat’s or sheep’s milk)
• Carbohydrates, any, except potatoes, chestnuts and root vegetables
• Lenses
• Nuts and peanuts
• Sodas, alcohol, coffee
• All industrial, refined, processed foods
• All sweet foods

ADVANTAGES

• Fairly free diet, leaving everyone the freedom to compose their diet according to their personal needs and balance.
• Encouragement to consume more foods of plant origin – fruits and vegetables, oilseeds, legumes.
• Possible weight loss .

DISADVANTAGES

Preliminary clarifications on the basis of the alkaline diet

First of all, it is a question of reestablishing a truth – which also undermines the founding postulate of the alkaline diet: pH homeostasis is a natural function of the body. The body naturally regulates the pH of blood plasma, which normally varies between 7.38 and 7.42. In case of dysfunction of homeostasis, it is called acidosis or alkalosis. However, the body, by soliciting different organs (kidneys, lungs, liver ), constantly maintains the acid-base balance. In the event of chronic acidity, the body will train all the biochemical means at its disposal to neutralize this acidity – first by drawing the alkaline elements from the diet, then by “storing the acidity in the connective tissues, until so that it can be eliminated by the emunctory organs (nocturnal process).  Furthermore, metabolic acidosis is a relatively rare phenomenon.   It can be of endogenous origin and linked to a metabolic dysfunction, associated with a pathology (cancer, diabetes , renal insufficiency) or exogenous and due to intoxication.

To say that the body needs “help” to maintain plasma pH homeostasis is nonsense. A healthy and healthy human organism masters its acid-base balance “on its own”. Thus, the founding postulate of the alkaline diet is completely erroneous. 

Note also that the alkaline diet recommends controlling its acidity level by urinating 3 times a day (on rising and before each meal) on pH strips. Nevertheless, the acid-base balance of the body is not controlled by the urinary pH but by the blood pH, via blood biology (blood plasma control, base deficit, lactate dosage).

Other disadvantages

• Diet not based on any scientific study.
• Incitement to abandon medical treatment – ​​cases of cancer patients.
• Digestion disorders (sudden and massive fiber intake ).
• Possible eating disorders.
• Possible deficiencies in proteins , lipids, carbohydrates , vitamins and calcium, if only alkaline foods are consumed. 
• Possible consequences on social life.
• Very risky diet for pregnant women, children and adolescents, kidney failure, heart disease…

ORIGINS

Little is known about the creation   of the alkaline diet. This is also the main reason why opinions still differ, at present, on the exact list of alkalizing and acidifying foods. Moreover, it is possible to find traces of the concept of acid-base balance of food in Franz Xaver May, an Austrian doctor specializing in the intestine and William Howard Hay, an American doctor. 

The alkaline diet is also based on the research of Catherine Kousmine – one of the pillars of her diet being the fight against abnormal acidification of the body. According to Kousmine , the chronic lack of certain micronutrients can cause acidification of the body, weakening it and causing chronic fatigue, weakened immune system and pain. Taking powdered alkaline citrates could, according to her, correct tissue acidification.

Today, it is possible to learn about the alkaline diet by referring to the many books published on this subject. Most also offer recipes, which makes the application of the diet easier and pragmatic.