Is Alkaline Eating the Best Approach?
It’s hard to figure out which diet is best in this era of ever-changing diet fads. While these fads come and go, one specific approach always wins- the plant-based diet. While there is a general lack of consensus among researchers and clinicians, I think that a plant-centered, alkaline diet is a healthy choice for my clients.
And because of the confusion and lack of research and understanding about acid/alkaline balance and how it relates to diet and environment, the clinical application of this popular diet is challenging from a physiologic point of view due to a lack conclusive testing for acid/alkaline status.
Available research does make the compelling case that dietary acidosis is real and has significant relevance, especially if we look at it from an evolutionary point of view.
What we eat, drink, and breathe has everything to do with how our bodies are composed and how they fulfill the necessary biochemical processes, like digestion, immune function, and acid-base regulation. The human body keeps a tightly controlled pH around 7.40 in the extracellular fluid. Lower than that is trending towards acidic, while higher numbers mean you’re moving in the direction of alkaline.
And you might be asking what is the effect of eating highly acidic foods? There’s a link there for me personally- eating acidic foods makes me feel like crap! Acidic foods include soft drinks, meat, and dairy-most animal protein which in general, is acid-forming, thus why I advocate for a plant-based diet.
The issue is not a matter of acute acid-base disruption, rather than the long term, chronic ingestion of acid-producing foods and pharmaceuticals cause harm that studies have not yet been able to demonstrate.
There are three ways this shows up when we look at acid-alkaline regulation and biochemical processes- bone mineralization, muscle mass, and kidney stone formation. For example, our bones hold a reservoir of base substance and this can be compromised when faced with chronic dietary acidosis. Bone acts as a buffer to some degree, offering up alkaline Calcium salts to balance the excess acid in the form of hydrogen ions.
As a naturopathic doctor, I approach a patient’s well-being from a healthy aging and preventative point of view. I want you to age well and feel well every day. A plant-centered, alkaline-rich diet over the long term will help the body retain adequate stores of bone and muscle, and keep the kidneys healthy. While I don’t prescribe the popular alkaline diet per se, I recommend that all my patients eat more vegetables and whole foods, and less processed foods. From a clinical standpoint, a high alkaline diet or alkaline supplementation may be harmful to my patients suffering from heart, lung, or kidney disease.
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