The Alkaline Diet

So with winter well and truly behind us (finally!) and summer 2014 looming, everyone wants to get healthy and fit. Recently I have been asked my opinion on a Alkaline diet and I have come across it quite a bit, so decided to research a little bit on it and explain it to you guys.

Some of you may have heard about this diet, others may not. It first became public knowledge in 2013 when Victoria Beckham tweeted about an Alkaline Diet cookbook, and since then has received many celebrity fans. And obviously if all the celebs are doing it then it is going to be the next big craze. I have noticed there are a tonne of recipe books for alkaline meals and diets but there is less public information out there for those who want to find out some more about it.

So why is it supposedly so good? To understand it fully we need to go back to basics. Here’s a quick chemistry lesson to explain:

A pH level of something measures how alkaline or acidic it is on a range of 0-14, with 0 being completely acidic and 14 being completely alkaline, 7 is neutral. These pH levels vary throughout the body – your stomach is highly acidic (<3.5) to help with the breakdown of your food whereas your blood is slightly alkaline (7.35 - 7.45). Your kidneys are responsible for maintaining pH balance therefore pH of urine varies depending on what you have eaten.

Those in favour of the Alkaline Diet claim that eating naturally alkaline foods help your body maintain its pH balance, but nothing you eat will substantially alter the pH of your body long-term, your body is able to do this perfectly well on its own (way to go, kidneys!).

They also believe that shifting your pH balance to even slightly acidic often over a long-term basis can have detrimental effects on health and also cause prolonged acidity. This however has yet to be proven scientifically so we cannot say one way or another whether this is true. On a positive note, whether or not you want to follow the diet for the alkaline benefits- the foods which are prescribed are all naturally healthy.

Alkaline foods – fruit, vegetables, soybeans, some nuts and seeds

Acidic foods – Carbonated drinks, white bread, alcohol, sugar, processed meats, processed foods, dairy

So even if you had no knowledge of the Alkaline Diet and just wanted to eat healthy then you would naturally avoid fizzy drinks, sugar and refined carbs as we all know these aren't good for our bodies.

However it would be very difficult to achieve our recommended daily intake of protein and some other minerals.

One massive claim from the Alkaline diet is its role in preventing cancer. There is a big relationship between diet and cancer as I'm sure you already know. However there is limited information and research to confirm or deny whether a long-term, a diet high in acidic food is a direct cause of cancer.

To conclude, from what I have read in both lay articles and research papers, there is no evidence as of yet to say that alkaline diets outright prevent cancer and other diseases (this is a very BIG claim to make), however neither have I read anything to suggest the alkaline diet might have negative effects. So by all means give it a go, but please don’t think that it will make your body invincible against all conditions and diseases!

If there has been anything in this post which you disagree with or have any questions on (or if you’ve tried this diet yourself!), please leave a comment or drop us an email, always great to hear from you guys!

Lydia x