How alkaline diet works

The alkaline diet is a nutritional plan composed to maintain normal pH levels in the body. Human body is normally slightly alkaline, and it has pH levels that vary between 7.35 and 7.45. Human body functions normally at this safe range. However, changes to the optimum pH levels are quite frequent and they can be caused by various factors but mostly due to the improper diet or stress. If the body becomes more acidic, the person becomes severely vulnerable to the numerous infections, bacteria and viruses. pH misbalance is also associated with persistent health problems, and one of the main goals of the alkaline diet is to maintain the balance of slight alkalinity of blood and bodily tissues, by choosing the proper food.

Basis of alkaline diet

The alkaline diet usually involves eating of fresh citrus and other low-sugar fruits, vegetables, tubers, nuts, roots and legumes and avoiding grains, dairy, meat, sugar, alcohol, caffeine and mushrooms. The richest vegetable sources of alkaline ash are cucumber, wheat grass, barley grass, broccoli and alfalfa sprouts, parsley, kale and sea vegetables.

Benefits of alkaline diet

Acid-producing diet may be one of the major factors of chronic diseases, according to some alternative practitioners. Symptoms that may indicate higher level of acidity in the body include: tiredness and fatigue, increased mucus production, nasal congestion, very frequent colds and flu, anxiety, nervousness, irritability, ovarian cysts, polycystic ovaries, benign breast cysts, and persistent headaches. All metabolic processes, including immunity, depend on a carefully balanced pH. Alternative medicine practitioners suggest this diet plan might neutralize acid residues and thus prevent cancer, fatigue, obesity and allergies.

The increased consumption of fruit and vegetables is generally considered to be healthy. However, conventional medicine has strong evidence that supports the significance of alkaline diets: this diet plan may help prevent the formation of calcium kidney stones, osteoporosis and age related muscle retardation. Nevertheless, what is important to understand is that there are no comprehensive clinical trials on the effectiveness of the alkaline diet.

Helpful tips

Here are a couple of good tips to fallow together with the alkaline diet. First of all, it is important to take sufficient amounts of water each day. At least eight glasses are recommended for a healthy adult person. Water will help to remove toxins from the body and support metabolic exchange.

Coffee, tea, carbonated and sugary beverages should be avoided as they contain high acidic levels. One should try to avoid industrially processed food with great amounts of preservatives, food colorants and additives, as well as the artificial sweeteners.