Have you been seeing adverts and articles for things such as alkaline water and the alkaline diet? Because I sure have. Years ago, on my Facebook page, I initially discussed my desire to create a post discussing alkaline water. I decided it would be more interesting and informative to do a post, not just about alkaline water, but about the alkaline diet in general. This article is a full roundup of what the alkaline diet is, what proponents of the diet believe it will help them achieve and a full discussion on whether these benefits are founded in scientific evidence or not.

What is the Alkaline DIet?

The alkaline diet seems to wane and wax in popularity. It has received a boost in recent years due to celebrities such as Gwyneth Paltrow touting their benefits. Followers of the alkaline diet point to the modern Western diet, rich in foods high in fat and sugar, and that fact that it is “acid forming,” and that acidity in the body has been the cause of the growing numbers of serious illnesses.

Let’s Myth-Bust the Alkaline Diet

Advocates of the alkaline diet state that the modern Western diet has, essentially, made our bodies unbalanced and more acidic. This is despite the fact that it is extremely difficult for our blood pH to change, since even a minor change in our blood pH can kill us. If the pH of your blood falls below 7.00. severe acidosis, this can result in a coma and even death. If your blood pH rises above 7.45, you can get alkalosis. Severe alkalosis can lead to death by causing all of your muscles to essentially erupt into convulsions. Your blood pH should be between 7.35-7.45.

Certain parts of the body are also naturally acidic; our stomachs are naturally acidic in order to break down the foods we eat. Although advocates of the alkaline diet want to restore our body pH back to an equilibrium, our stomach pH is very resistant to change. Changing our stomach pH can actually interfere with protein digestion. The pH of our urine is also rather meaningless as it changes depending upon what foods we eat. Basically, changing the foods you eat will not significantly change the pH of any part of your body except for your urine.

However, that is not all. Those who drink alkaline water and promote an alkaline diet also argue that cancer thrives in a highly acidic environment and that cancer cells cannot live in an alkaline environment. This is true but no other cells can live in a highly alkaline environment either.  We still have much to learn about fighting cancer and new research is coming out everyday. Some research states that cancer cells are actually vulnerable to acidity. Regardless of the research, an alkaline diet is not a miracle cure.

Is it worth trying the Alkaline diet?

Now, I don’t doubt the benefits of being aware of the foods you are eating and including more alkaline foods (such as fruits, vegetables and legumes) in your diet. However, these benefits aren’t occurring because the foods are alkaline. In my opinion, the alkaline diet seems to benefit people because of the fact that they are probably eating a lot more vegetables and fruits, and making an effort to cut out fast food and high sugar and high fat foods. 

I think we as a society have become obsessed with trying to find answers to the many complicated problems we now face. Obesity, cancer, diabetes, one thing remains the same: the desire for a quick fix. My personal opinion is that we need to all focus more on including more fresh vegetables, fruits, good quality fats and proteins into our diet whilst simultaneously cutting out or limiting things such as junk foods, candy, alcohol and excessive amounts of caffeine (or excessive amounts of ANYTHING, really). 

I hope this gives you all something to think about! The purpose of this article is not to bash anything, but merely to make you think about what you have been told, and to question whether it is valid or not and whether it works for YOU. It is so easy to take things at face value and to go with the crowd, and personally I want to be as educated as I can to make my own decisions and not simply follow the status quo. Be aware of what you read, never blindly believe “experts” in health and fitness, and always read as many peer-reviewed journal articles as possible. It’s not enough to do a quick Google search, my friends.

Honestly yours,
Alice

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References

Rotin et al. (1987). Cytotoxicity of compounds that interfere with the regulation of intracellular pH: a potential new class of anticancer drugs. Cancer Res, 47, pp. 1497-1504.
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