What Is the Alkaline Diet?

The alkaline diet seems a bit too good to be true.

Proponents of this diet suggest that replacing acid-forming foods with alkaline foods can improve health.

They even claim that it can help fight serious diseases like cancer.

There are actually quite a few people who swear by this diet and claim miraculous results…

But is there any good evidence behind the alkaline diet? Let’s have a look.

What is the Alkaline Diet?

The alkaline diet is also known as the acid-alkaline diet or alkaline ash diet.

It is based around the idea that the foods you eat can alter the acidity or alkalinity (the pH value) of your body.

Let me explain how that works …

When you metabolize foods and extract the energy (calories) from them, you are actually burning the foods, except that it happens in a slow and controlled fashion.

When you burn foods, they actually leave an ash residue, just like when you burn wood in a furnace.

As it turns out, this ash can be acidic or alkaline (or neutral) … and proponents of this diet claim that this ash can directly affect the acidity of your body.

So if you eat foods with acidic ash, it makes your body acidic. If you eat foods with alkaline ash, it makes your body alkaline. Neutral ash has no effect. Simple.

Acid ash is thought to make you vulnerable to illness and disease, whereas alkaline ash is considered protective. By choosing more alkaline foods, you should be able to “alkalize” your diet and improve health.

Food components that leave an acidic ash include protein, phosphate and sulfur, while alkaline components include calcium, magnesium and potassium (1, 2).

Certain food groups are considered acidic, alkaline or neutral:

• Acidic: Meat, poultry, fish, dairy, eggs, grains and alcohol.
• Neutral: Natural fats, starches and sugars.
• Alkaline: Fruits, nuts, legumes and vegetables.

Bottom Line: According to proponents of the alkaline diet, the ash left from the burning of foods can directly affect the acidity or alkalinity of your body.

Regular pH Levels in the Body

When talking about the alkaline diet, it is important to understand the meaning of the pH value.