om living
The alkaline diet
Nutrition Zone:
T
he alkaline diet is all about maintaining
proper acid-alkaline balance in your body,
specifically in your blood, by eating more
alkaline foods and reducing acidic foods.
This increases the oxygen in your body,
which is one of the keys to great health.
The Nobel Prize winning work of Dr Otto Warburg in
1931 showed that cells weaken, mutate, or die in the
absence of oxygen.
Several years later, two-time Nobel Prize winner Dr
Linus Pauling was the first to show that cancer cells are
unable grow in an oxygen-rich, alkaline environment.
Quite simply, the alkaline diet (also known as the pH
balance diet) is a healthy eating lifestyle based on eating
foods that are metabolised to leave an alkaline ‘ash’ of
minerals such as calcium, iron, zinc, magnesium and
copper in your body.
Foods are classified as alkaline, acidic or neutral
according to the pH of the solution created with their
ash in water.
Acidity and alkalinity are measured
using the pH (potential of Hydrogen)
scale. The pH scale spans from 0 to 14
with 0 being the most acidic, 14 the
most alkaline and 7 as neutral.
Our blood needs to be at pH
7.35 for good health – if
it goes higher or lower
than this, we run into
serious problems.
Your body has a ‘buffer’
system that it uses to keep your bloodALKALINE FOODS
When it comes to alkaline foods, there
is some very good news for fans of
deliciousness in general: garlic can play a
role in an alkaline diet. If you prefer even
more intense flavours, cayenne peppers
are particularly alkaline-forming, as well
as having wonderful antibacterial and
antioxidant properties.
It might seem counterintuitive to include
acidic foods like lemons, but lemons are
about as alkalising as it gets. Of course,
these fruits are also packed with vitamin
C and have a whole host of other health
benefits. Citrus fruit juices are a great way to
hydrate while on this diet and in general.Know your pH levels and grow your vitality with fresh,
vibrant alkalising foods. By Laura Wilsonwithin a tight range of this pH, a deviation from which
can be fatal. Lesser important functions in the body
will be compromised in order to restore correct blood
pH, since it is critically important to keeping us alive.
For example, alkaline minerals such as calcium will be
leeched from the bones to alkalise the blood. Over the
long term, this can cause osteoporosis. Okay, that’s the
science bit over. What can I eat on the alkaline diet?
In general, this means eating lots of alkaline-
forming foods such as green and leafy vegetables,
fruits, nuts and seeds, a small amount of healthy oils
(such as cold-pressed flaxseed or olive), taking dietary
supplements, such as wheatgrass juice and drinking