Top 6 Alkaline Foods

Diet has an overall effect on your health and the food you consume affects almost everything – your brain, your muscles, kidneys, liver, bones, and your mood.  Eating a healthy and balanced diet is one of the most important things to prevent many diseases, lower your cholesterol and sugar levels, and protect your heart health. To reduce the risk of cancer, you should also consume a healthy diet, exercise regularly, and maintain a healthy body weight.

The western diet is high in acid foods and very low in alkaline foods. These types of foods such as:

• Pizzas
• French fries
• Sausages
• Carbonated beverages
• Pastries
• Fast food,

have a PH  level of 4,6 or lower and are acid. This food when digested leaves residues in the urine called acid ash. Acid ash can be produced from phosphorus, chloride, and sulfur, whereas your body can become more alkaline if you take sodium, potassium, calcium, and magnesium. Some studies have proven that the Western diet exacerbates atherosclerosis and diabetes and increases blood sugar levels. (1)

Acid-Alkaline Balance

The process called acid-alkaline balance is the process in your body that can be evaluated by measuring the PH (potential of hydrogen) in the acid and the base in your blood. If the PH level is higher than the alkaline (base) in your body is higher and vice versa. But when the solution is neutral, it has a neutral pH of 7. Even slight variations of these levels can seriously impact your health.

To be healthy, ideal PH levels should be neutral or a little bit alkaline (from 7.365 to 7.45).

When your blood is too acidic, the body reacts and fights through many physiological mechanisms and releases calcium from bones that, in years leads to developing a health condition called osteoporosis.

The acid ash theory proponents state that acid foods make you prone to illness, whereas an alkaline diet protects your health. Having an optimal PH is crucial for our health.

In addition to this, it can lead to many other chronic diseases as many body parts can borrow alkaline reserves from the blood to function normally and disrupt the whole acid-alkaline equilibrium in the body.

Alkaline food, like vegetables, are just the opposite of the acid ones and are unfortunately is not eaten in large quantities in the Western diet, and the content consumed is not sufficient to neutralize the surplus acids.

If you want to evaluate the PH levels in your body and see whether they need to be corrected you can use PH strips.

In the morning, you should dip a piece of litmus paper in your saliva or urine as soon as you wake up, before eating or drinking anything.

Alkaline Food List

The food that is considered alkaline or low-acid foods can be beneficial for you, we offer you a list of the alkaline food that you could consume more often:

• Soy or tofu
• Most fruit and vegetables (avoid prunes, blueberries, cranberries and corn, olive and lentils)
• Most of the nuts 

Green Leafy Vegetables  are rich in vitamin A, B, E, folic acid, and minerals iron, calcium, and phosphorus to boost your immunity and these veggies include:

• Spinach
• Lettuce
• Kale
• Celery
• Cabbage
• Collard

Citrus fruits, on a big surprise, are one of the best sources of alkaline foods as they are rich in vitamin C and detoxify the system and improve heartburn and acidity, so try eating more:

• Oranges
• Sweet lime
• Lemon

Root vegetables are amazing when it comes to alkaline foods as they are a great source of fiber, and this increases the good bacteria in the gut and can help in degrading gluten. (2). In addition, it prevents heart disease and rectal cancer. (3)

They can lose their quality if overcooked.

• Sweet potato
• Beets
• Radish
• Turnips
• Carrots

Cruciferous vegetables are rich in vitamin A, K, C, folate, and photochemical plant compounds that can help you to prevent diseases such as cancer or to lower inflammation.

• Cauliflower
• Broccoli
• Cabbage
• Brussels sprouts

Nuts – are rich in healthy fats and protein and antioxidants can regulate the blood sugar level, regulates weight, and improve your heart health.

• Almonds
• Walnuts
• Cashew

How to Alkalize Your Body Fast and Effectively

If your body is too acidic, you are likely to experience a lot of fatigue, although you get enough sleep during the night. You may also have headaches, chronic pain, joint pain, or a stiff neck.

We offer you some tips on how to make your body more alkaline:

1. You can buy PH strips regularly to check the acidity level in your body and this will help you maintain it on a normal level and to check whether you process the needed nutrients
2. Eat more color – greened vegetables and green foods in general. When you reach for a snack, make it green and forget  about the fried chips
3. Lower your alcohol intake – when you drink alcohol, it may change your kidney's ability to maintain substances such as phosphate in your blood and lead to PH altering
4. Put baking soda in your morning glass of water and you will alkalize your body in a moment.
5. Drink more alkaline water that has a higher PH than the normal water
6. Eat more often raw unsalted almonds throughout the day as they are naturally rich in calcium and magnesium help a lot in maintaining the acidity balance in your body
7. Avoid drinking a lot of coffee as caffeine is a great acidic contributor and can damage the PH level in your body. Replace it with tea or a glass of water.
8. Start your day with e lemon water as it is a great energy booster and gives incredible mental clarity. It will boost your metabolism and optimize enzyme function. In addition, lemon is one of the most acidic foods.
9. Start exercising as it will improve your overall health and it will reduce the accumulation of acidity in your body.
10. Reduce the acidic food intake and beverages such as milk, caffeinated drinks, alcohol, and drinks with artificial sweeteners.
11. Take more vitamins (vitamin A and vitamin C) to make your body more alkaline and boost your immunity.
12. Reduce sugar intake such as candies, cakes, and sodas as sugar in any form is very acidic.

Top 6 Alkaline Foods That Fight Cancer

As you might ask yourself which food is the most alkaline and you have been indulging in processed food, junk food, and red meat lately, it is time to include some alkaline food in your diet, known to be the top 5 alkaline ones.

1. Organic greens ( kale, spinach, watercress, and swiss chard)

• They can protect you against some types of cancer and
• Lower the inflammation in your body
• Boost your immunity
• Lower your cholesterol and sugar levels

2. Lemons

One of the most alkalizing food that is beneficial in many ways (4)

• It detoxifies your body
• Protect you from cancer
• It has many antibacterial properties and protects you from many diseases
• Improves the digestion
• It may help you with weight loss

3. Cucumbers

They are packed with the same vitamins and minerals as green vegetables and they are 95 % water, so they will keep you hydrated all day long.  Try to add several slices to your green foods. This healthy vegetable will help you with:

• Reducing the inflammation
• Improves the digestion
• Prevents some types of cancer
• Keep your heart healthy

4. Broccoli

This cruciferous vegetable is rich in vitamin C, K, and  A; folate; fiber; manganese; potassium; magnesium; iron, and protein –Touted for its amazing health benefits, broccoli is a must on your diet. It’s just excellent food.

More evidence that broccoli contains ingredients that can help you to fight prostate cancer has been published in a new study. (5)  

• It can fight allergies
• Lower blood sugar levels
• Help digestion
• Reverse aging process

5. Avocados

• It has anti-cancer properties ( it is rich in carotenoids that may prevent cancer progression (6) 
• Improves the digestion as it is high in fiber (7) 
• Prevents cardiovascular disease and lowers the risk of stroke and hypertension as it rich in fiber
• Improves the vision as it is rich in lutein and zeaxanthin (8)

6. Nuts

If you go for the nuts and want to increase the alkaline amount in your body, include chestnuts, cashews, and almonds, as they are very alkaline and are a great source of good fats.

Alkaline diet

The alkaline acid diet is based on the idea that it is beneficial for losing weight and prevents some health problems like cancer and arthritis.

It has many restrictions and the main idea is to become vegetarian and avoid food such as meat, wheat, refined sugars, and processed foods as they are acidic, which can cause many health problems.

It is also - gluten-free and you need to exclude all the gluten products, not just the wheat.

Many people believe that cancer cells develop and grow in an acidic environment, but this is not scientifically backed up. (9)  

Its proponents also claim that can help your body to maintain the blood PH level, but this is also not scientifically backed up. 

Still, one review of its potential benefits showed that it could be beneficial for:

• Improving the K/Na ratio may benefit bone health, reduce muscle wasting, and prevents other chronic diseases such as high blood pressure and strokes.
• It may be beneficial for cancer patients as they need a more alkaline environment and a higher PH blood level
• Magnesium increase can lead to better function of many enzyme systems
• Unfortunately, it doesn’t help to fight osteoporosis (10) 

But, eating healthy foods such as vegetables, fruits, and nuts,  is very important for preventing many diseases and preventing diabetes and high blood pressure.

Although the review mentioned above stated that it can be beneficial for cancer patients, this diet cannot cure cancer and if you have cancer, please consult your health provider before starting some type of specific diet.

Perfect Alkaline Breakfast Foods And Drinks

Many classic breakfasts are acidic, but we offer you some simple breakfast food alkaline ideas.

1. You can try herbal teas as they will protect you against to fight infections and diseases
2. Green smoothies to keep you healthy ( put avocado, spinach, cucumber, lime, ginger, 2 tomatoes, some herbs, and 2 ounces of water to blend it and serve it for a perfect alkaline breakfast in the morning)
3. Chia seed puddings (prepared in almond milk)
4. Slices fruits ( watermelon, grapefruit to keep you hydrated and to consume the vitamins needed for the day)
5. Quinoa Porridge  (use almond milk to prepare it and season it with cinnamon and ginger
6. Tomato avocado toast with spelt bread, sprinkled with fresh paprika and lemon juice

Conclusion 

Having an optimal PH is crucial for our health. The acid ash theory proponents state that acid foods make you prone to illness, whereas an alkaline diet protects your health. 

Food that is considered alkaline or low-acid foods can be beneficial for you to fight and prevent some diseases, including cancer. As the Western diet is very acidic, you should consume more vegetables, fruit, and nuts to alkalinize your blood levels and keep your body healthy.