Food choices are not a one-size-fits-all and following an alkaline diet may help to improve your overall health and well-being. Finding the optimal eating plan will depend on lots of factors, such as gender, height, weight, food allergies, food sensitivities, and activity level.
Please Note: Speak to a doctor or other healthcare professional before starting a new diet or making drastic lifestyle changes.
Benefits of the Alkaline Diet
The Alkaline Diet can have plenty of benefits such as:
- Increased energy
- Better digestion
- Boosts immune system
- Can help in preventing chronic disease
- Affordable (No fancy tools or gadgets needed!)
- Less restrictive than other diets
What Is the Alkaline Diet?
To create better eating habits, let’s grab our textbooks and jump right back into science class. The Alkaline Diet is all about creating optimal and balanced pH levels in the body.
The pH scale ranges from 0 to 14, and it measures how acidic or alkaline a substance is. The pH levels in our body are approximately 7.35 to 7.45. Each item you consume has its own pH and will either be alkaline or acidic in your body.
You can’t tell a food’s pH level just by looking at it, as some of them don’t fit traditional standards. Citrus fruits, for example, are considered acidic outside of the body. However, after you consume it, it’s actually alkaline forming in your body.
As with anything in life, maintaining a nice balance is key. A good rule of thumb is to eat 60% alkaline-forming foods and 40% acidic foods. If you have any major health concerns, it’s recommended you eat 80% alkaline-forming foods and only 20% acidic.
Which Foods Are Acidic and Alkaline?
For an in-depth list of foods, check out this incredible PDF: Alkaline-Acid Food Chart Printable.indd (greenopedia.com) You can also print out this chart and put it on your fridge for an easy reference.
10 Tips for Getting Started with the Alkaline Diet
1. Cut It Out or Cut Back
Daily coffee and tea consumption can contribute to an acidic pH level. If you can’t cut it out completely, you can either cut back on it or reduce the amount of milk, sugar, and other additives you’re putting into it.
For more tips on cutting back on sugar in general, you can check out my other post here.
2. Add Citrus Slices to Water
Sliced lemons, limes, oranges, and even grapefruit can do wonders for flavouring plain water. If you’re feeling extra fancy, you can swap regular water for sparkling water.
3. Balance Your Meals with Alkaline Sides
If you’re planning to eat a highly acidic food, try to make sure your sides are mostly alkaline foods. For example, if you’re eating pizza, pair it with some roasted vegetables or a side salad.
4. Add Some Greens to Your Smoothie
Instead of solely having a fruit smoothie, add some avocado or leafy greens for a healthy kick. Need some ideas? Check out some of these awesome and tasty recipes.
5. Meal Prep
Plan your meals in advance so your future meals will just be “heat and go.” Most do this as a weekly activity, but you can always plan around your own schedule and see what works best for you.
On your day off of work or whenever you have spare time, plan out your meals and snacks. Prepare the ingredients as you would before cooking.
Now you have some flexibility. You can either store the prepped ingredients or cook the meal and then freeze it for later use. This is a great idea if you want to pre-slice some veggies as a grab-and-go snack.
6. Listen to Your Body
As previously mentioned, eating is not a one-size-fits-all. Just because something is considered healthy, doesn’t mean it is suitable for everyone. For example, if kale gives you major gas or a stomachache, avoid it.
7. Drink Green Tea or Herbal Tea in Between Meals
Not only will this provide added benefits, but it will also help with digestion. The added benefits will depend on what type of tea you’re drinking.
Keep in mind that if you’re adding honey, sugar, or other additives, you are making it more acidic. Try drinking them as is.
8. Use Avocado on Your Toast Instead of Butter
Have you seen the price of butter nowadays? Ridiculous. Swap out butter for this alkaline alternative. You can also add other toppings like tomato, cucumber, or fresh herbs.
9. Choose Darker Leafy Greens Over Lighter Ones
The darker the colour, the more nutritious it is. You’ll want to choose things like spinach and kale over iceberg lettuce.
10. Keep Up with the Clean 15 and Dirty Dozen
This list is updated annually and rates fruits and vegetables based on pesticide contamination. This list can easily be found online through a search engine.
The dirty dozen will have the highest levels of pesticides, whereas the clean 15 are the ones with the least.
When it comes to the dirty dozen, try to buy them organically when possible. Soaking your produce in baking soda and water solution before consumption will also help to reduce pesticide levels.
Best Wishes on Your Health Journey
The alkaline diet places a lot of emphasis on including lots of fresh fruits and vegetables in your daily diet. Even if you aren’t able to fully commit to the alkaline diet, hopefully it has allowed you to make healthier choices overall.
Any changes are a great step in the right direction, whether they are big or small. Make gradual changes, and celebrate what you can do. Remember, it’s still ok to indulge here and there; again, the alkaline diet allows for more freedom as opposed to other diets.
1 thought on “Health Spotlight: A Guide to the Alkaline Diet”