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What I've read thus far about this diet--reducing acidic foods in order to reduce the amount of work the body has to do to regulate its levels (by leeching calcium from the bones, etc.) makes sense. But what I don't get is that a lot of the foods one is supposed to avoid in this diet are also very high in antioxidants. Like blueberries, walnuts, prunes, and coffee! Now, what would be better--eat these foods and reap their anti-inflammatory benefits, while also making the body a bit more acidic, or avoid them and have a more alkaline body but miss out on those antioxidants...?
What I've read thus far about this diet--reducing acidic foods in order to reduce the amount of work the body has to do to regulate its levels (by leeching calcium from the bones, etc.) makes sense. But what I don't get is that a lot of the foods one is supposed to avoid in this diet are also very high in antioxidants. Like blueberries, walnuts, prunes, and coffee! Now, what would be better--eat these foods and reap their anti-inflammatory benefits, while also making the body a bit more acidic, or avoid them and have a more alkaline body but miss out on those antioxidants...?
It's all very confusing, those diets.
Those diets are confusing because they are nonsense.
You can't alter the acidity/alkalinity of the body by what you put in your mouth. The homeostasis achieved by the body is kept in a very narrow pH range by a complex feedback mechanism. Diet has NOTHING to do with it.
Of course diet has everything to do with it...are you saying that person who eats junk food all day, drinks energy drinks/diet soda compared to someone to eats fresh fruits and vegetables is going to have the same ph level? Nonsense.
I agree with you! diet has everything to do with it. The ph level of the body can be balanced only by changing your eating habits. Now a days, our diet contains less amount of vegetables and mostly based on the things which can form acid like fats, oil, butter, sugar, cigarattes, alcohol, coffee and tea which reduces the alkaline minerals (calcium, magnesium, potassium) which makes you more likely to have chronic diseases and makes u prone to degenerative. To avoid the dis-balance of your pH all you have to do is to change your eating habits.
Just eat a variety of whole, fresh foods. Stay away from overly processed foods. Drink lots of water. Watch caloric intake and exercise. Really folks, no need to over think it.
Of course diet has everything to do with it...are you saying that person who eats junk food all day, drinks energy drinks/diet soda compared to someone to eats fresh fruits and vegetables is going to have the same ph level?
Yes.
Quote:
Nonsense.
No, not nonsense.
The pH --- acidity or alkalinity of the blood --- is maintained in a narrow range. Your kidneys and lungs do it.
The pH --- acidity or alkalinity of the blood --- is maintained in a narrow range. Your kidneys and lungs do it.
Correct - however, that applies to the blood. The pH of the tissue, etc, does fluctuate. (IE, you can test your urine easily and see it fluctuate throughout the day.)
Last edited by Zelva; 02-18-2013 at 12:10 PM..
Reason: typo
The pH --- acidity or alkalinity of the blood --- is maintained in a narrow range. Your kidneys and lungs do it.
If the kidney and lungs are damaged because of a poor diet...then the ph level will be affected. Of course...here we go on CD splitting hairs, threads...whatever ugh
Correct - however, that applies to the blood. The pH of the tissue, etc, does fluctuate. (IE, you can test your urine easily and see it fluctuate throughout the day.)
The urine pH fluctuates because the kidney is one of the major sites of acid-base regulation.
As far as the mineral content of food is concerned, it will vary with the soil in which it is grown. That will affect the pH of the food.
At some point, trying to micromanage the diet becomes futile. The vast majority of healthy people will do well by eating a varied diet, restricting overall energy intake to maintain a healthy weight, and exercising most days of the week.
The point of a alkaline diet is not that you're going to change the ph level of your body, instead that consist exposure to acidic foods starts to tax the body precisely because the body does maintain your ph in a pretty narrow range. So, for example, consist consumption of acidic foods may start to leech the body (the bones) of its calcium.
Quote:
Originally Posted by suzy_q2010
The vast majority of healthy people will do well by eating a varied diet, restricting overall energy intake to maintain a healthy weight, and exercising most days of the week.
They will? What exactly is a "varied diet"? It would seem that the average American eats a "varied diet", yet the average American is overweight and diseased.....
"Restricting overall energy intake" sounds like micromanagement to me.....
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