A low acidic food diet, sometimes known alternatively as the acid alkaline diet, or just the alkaline diet, is a superb nutritionally based vehicle to help you shed those unwanted pounds, boost your energy, and assist in remedying a variety of common health issues.

But why a low acidic food diet, I hear you say; what is the purpose behind it? Well, in the first place, the natural state of the human body is an alkaline state. Our blood, for example, is slightly alkaline, and has a normal pH of between 7.35 and 7.45. Our other body fluids vary in their pH, but in overall terms, the human body is slightly alkaline.

In terms of the foods that we consume, they all create acid or alkaline compounds once our body systems have digested them. It is only the fact that our bodies have natural inbuilt mechanisms for maintaining some sort of balance between alkaline and acid levels that prevents us from becoming severely ill and ultimately dying. These inbuilt body systems help us to neutralize excess acids by utilizing our bodies’ elemental reserves of magnesium, potassium, and calcium.

If your diet contains too much acidic food, your body will begin to accumulate excess levels of acid. This brings your body’s natural defenses to bear, but at the same time causing a depletion of those vital alkalizing elements. The prolonged intake of excess acid will eventually result in illness: (a) because those natural alkalizing elements are being depleted, and (b) because the actual acid itself causes any number of health problems, including tiredness or fatigue, inflammation, and the lowering of the body’s natural immune system which opens the door for a host of illnesses and infections to befall us.

By choosing to go on an alkaline diet, you will be lowering the amount of acid that you would otherwise introduce into your body. You will feel more energetic; your calcium levels and therefore your bone integrity will be improved; and you will be partaking in a naturally healthy and well-balanced diet that will promote weight loss.

So what do we mean when we talk about low-acidic food? Well, before we go too far in that direction, let’s first state that you do need to maintain a healthy balance between your body alkaline and acid content. Too much alkalinity can be as unhealthy as too much acid. The key is in attaining the correct balance levels.

The foods that generate the most acidity in our diets are meat and poultry, fish and seafood, most dairy products, eggs, most varieties of legumes and grains, iodized salt, sugar and sweeteners, (including artificial sweeteners), beverages that contain added sugar, and alcohol.

On the other hand, alkalizing foods include most fruits and vegetables, many nuts and seeds, some whole grains, lentils, and some beverages. Our ancient ancestors ate an alkaline diet. This is because the foods that they ate were entirely fresh, whole, and were entirely unprocessed.

An alkaline diet is not a diet in the traditional “weight loss” sense of the word, but it is a diet in the sense of cataloging what you should eat. However, when you stop to analyze the foods that are alkaline producing, it is amazing how closely they mirror traditional low calorie diets foods, such as fresh fruit and vegetables. One thing is a fact: An alkaline diet will not only result in a healthier body, it will also help you to achieve lasting weight loss.

An alkaline diet is one in which the aim is to keep the acid and alkaline levels in your body system correctly proportioned. The fact of the matter is that while an excess of acidity can be harmful, and in the long term can even lead to death, it is okay to eat some acidic foods. The trick is to maintain a balance, but leaning toward the alkaline side.

The food that we eat plays a major part in this crucial balance. Food acidity can create an excess of acids in our body systems, and if left unaddressed over a long period of time, this can lead to illness. The natural condition of the human body is a slight alkaline state. Our early ancestors would unknowingly have eaten an alkaline diet. This is down to the fact that fresh fruit, vegetables, and unprocessed foods create alkalinity when digested. Their bodies would have been in an alkaline harmony with the very oceans from which all life originated.

Although it may at first sound a little odd, not every acidic food generates acid in your body system through the digestion process; that is not the way that food acidity works. Acid foods, for the purposes of an alkaline diet, are those that are high in acidifying minerals, especially phosphorous and sulfur. Foods can be strongly acidic or strongly alkaline, but there are also those that are mildly biased one way or the other, and these are deemed to be neutral.

Some foods masquerade as being strongly acid before being eaten, but once ingested and digested, they become strongly alkaline. The lemon is one such fruit. Outside of the body it is classed as being strongly acidic, but during digestion, the body is capable of breaking down or metabolizing the lemon’s juice, and the “ash” that remains once digestion is completed, is alkaline and therefore beneficial.

Alkaline foods (these are the ones that you should eat to follow an alkaline diet) are those that are found to be rich in alkaline minerals such as calcium, magnesium, and potassium. The problem with having too much acid in your body system is that it actually depletes your body’s reserves of alkaline minerals. This is because these minerals are used in your body’s natural defense for neutralizing excess acid. In other words, constantly eating acidic foods will lower your body’s levels of alkaline minerals, and this can be severely detrimental to your well being. It is well known for example, that a deficiency in calcium levels (one of your body’s essential alkaline minerals), can lead to bone loss and osteoporosis.

The trick in maintaining a healthy alkaline/acidic balance, is to follow an alkaline diet, eating plenty of the right foods. The beauty of it is that most alkaline foods are also healthy foods, full of vitamins and minerals, and are they also tend to be lower in fats and simple carbohydrates. It is no coincidence that fresh fruits and vegetables form part of both a well-balanced calorie controlled diet, and a good alkaline diet; they fulfill the main criteria for belonging to both.

Foods that generate most acid, and that should therefore be minimized on an alkaline diet to keep food acidity in check, are meat and poultry, fish and seafood, many dairy, and eggs. Sugar, sweeteners, and alcohol are also strongly acidic and should therefore be consumed in strict moderation.

A good, well-balanced alkaline diet is not only good for promoting your overall well-being, it is also an excellent diet for weight loss. In other words, it’s the best of all worlds.

Having too high a level of acid in your body is not good for your overall well-being. Excessive levels of acidity in your body will lower your energy levels, can lead to inflammation of certain organs, and will reduce the effectiveness of your body’s immunity system.

Your body has its own natural ability to adjust the respective levels of alkalis and acids. It does this by drawing on its supplies of calcium, magnesium, and potassium. The problem however, if you continue to consume too many foods that naturally create acid in your digestive system, is that your reserves of these important alkaline stabilizing chemicals will be depleted, and this in itself can be injurious to you well-being. For example, it is a well known fact that calcium facilitates the growth and maintenance of good bone structure. Depleted levels of calcium can produce the brittle bone disease, osteoporosis.

The human body’s natural state is one of being slightly alkaline, like the oceans from which all life originally sprang. Our earliest ancestors would have had alkaline-biased body systems because their diet consisted of mostly alkaline or anti-acid foods, which include fresh, whole, and unprocessed foods. Not only is a slightly alkaline body system necessary for optimum health, (excess acid can lead to a reduction in the effectiveness of your body’s immune system); it also creates an environment whereby your body can maximize the production of energy. The mitochondria, (which are responsible for producing your body’s energy), do not function efficiently when your body system is too acidic.

By going on an alkaline diet, you are not only going to enhance your overall well-being, raise your energy levels, and improve your immune systems efficiency, but you are also going to lose any excess weight that you may be carrying. This is down to the fact that most of the anti-acid foods are the same as those that are normally prescribed in a calorie-controlled diet for weight loss.

For example, most fresh fruit and vegetables have the capability to produce alkaline when they are being digested in the body’s digestive system. While some fruit and vegetables have more calories than others, (and some contain more fats and carbohydrates), in general the fats are essential fats, (complimentary to good health), and the carbohydrates are those that last longer, make you feel more filled up, and produce longer lasting energy. But as with all diets, it is important to remember the necessity of balancing ingredients, vitamins and minerals, as well as acids and alkalines. Indeed it is fine to ingest some acidic food, as long as this is kept within proportion and balance with the alkaline creating foods you consume.

An effective alkaline diet promotes the consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables, along with some whole grain foods, and certain selected legumes, seeds and nuts. Foods that are known to generate acids, (including meat and poultry, fish and seafood and some dairy products), can be consumed on a limited basis. When combined in the right proportions, this will give you your well balanced combination of acid and alkaline, but with a limit on acidity while maintaining your body in a slightly alkaline state.

Weight loss is a natural consequence of following an alkaline diet, and when combined with regular exercise, it will prove to be an invaluable tool towards achieving maximum controlled, long-lasting weight loss without the hunger that other diets can create.

You carefully test your garden soil to see whether it is more acidic or alkaline before planting expensive garden plants, so why would you not do the same for your body before feeding it? Just as some plants will not survive in soil that is too acidic or alkaline, the human body tends to be healthiest when it is slightly alkaline inside.

With a garden, you can adjust acidity and alkalinity by amending the soil with substances known to change its alkalinity. Similarly, the human body can be adjusted by avoiding high-acidity foods. While some foods are naturally acidic in their natural, whole form outside your body, what matters most is how it acts once it is inside your body.

The alkaline diet is focused on avoiding foods that are highly acidifying while being processed through the body. This is the big difference between “acidic” foods and those that are “acidifying” internally.

The following five types of acidic food are all acidifying once they get inside your body and should be avoided on the alkaline diet. Notice how many of them have also been associated with heart disease, diabetes, and other health problems!

Fried Foods

The refined white flour used to bread fried foods is acidifying inside the body and then you dip it in the unhealthiest saturated fats to fry it. Add in that some of the most commonly fried foods are extremely bad for your body to begin with and you see why fried foods are an all around deal breaker for any diet.

Baked Goods

They may taste wonderful, but most baked goods are loaded with sugar, hydrogenated oil, and artificial ingredients. Plus, they are made with refined white flour unless you explicitly purchase something made with whole grain. They contain no fiber or nutritional value for your body but can do tons of harm.

Baked goods made with artificial sweeteners are not any better than those made with sugar.

Soft Drinks

These fizzy drinks are loaded with sugar and corn syrup. Add in the phosphoric acid, and you have an acidifying bomb inside your body. Diet or “zero” options are not any better as they are made with acidifying artificial sweeteners.

Iodized Table Salt

Regular table salt is an acidifying component inside the body and should be avoided. If you have to have salt of some sort, you can replace this with sea salt since it is alkalizing. You can also use many herbs and spices instead of salt.

In general, try to stay away from the salt as much as possible to maximize your overall health.

Artificial Sweeteners

Beyond being acidifying inside your body, artificial sweeteners are unnatural substances that your body is not equipped to process efficiently. Many have argued they are not even food and have no place inside the human body!

Notice that all of these high-acidity food sources would also be advised against on literally any other type of diet. They all have their unhealthy components that make them bad choices for your overall health.

If you are wondering how you will avoid all of these foods while still eating meals that are satisfying, think of non-acidifying options that can be used as substitutes for some of your favorites on this list. Give it some time and you will find yourself so energetic and happy that you hardly miss anything on this list!

This is a very common question from people who are considering or just starting the alkaline diet. Since many fruits are rather acidic in their natural form outside the body, there is a general assumption that they would all be off limits to a diet concerned with controlling acid inside the body.

In fact, this is the opposite of the truth! This is one of the little-understood aspects of the alkaline diet, so listen up…

Acidic vs. Acidifying

It is important to understand the big difference between foods that are acidic in nature while sitting on your plate and those that are acidifying once they enter your body. The alkaline diet is set up to avoid foods that are acidifying internally, so how acidic it might be in its natural, uneaten form is not as important.

Some acidic fruits are actually alkaline inside the body! Surprisingly, citrus fruits and pineapple are some of the most acidic fruits outside the body, but they are alkaline once you put them into your body. Not only are they acceptable on the alkaline diet, but they are actually encouraged.

Acidic Fruits

So, what about acidic fruits that are in fact acidifying internally? Again, you might assume all acidic fruits are off the table for this plan, but that is another misunderstanding.

An all-alkaline diet would never be healthy, even if it were possible to live with. Therefore, eating some acidic fruits is completely acceptable on the plan. This is not an overly restrictive diet which forbids all foods that increase acid inside the body.

The alkaline diet does allow for 20 to 35 percent of your daily diet to be made up of acidic foods. It is actually a great idea to make some of those non-alkaline foods acidic fruits and vegetables since they offer so many beneficial vitamins and nutrients that your body needs for overall health.

Fresh fruit also offers a lot of fiber which will help with digestion and help you feel fuller for longer periods of time between meals. Try to include many internally alkaline fruits in your daily diet, but keep the acidic fruits that you love on hand as well. Just control the portions of the acidic fruits.

Acidic fruits are always going to be a healthier option than fried foods, sugary treats, and other types of acidic food that are virtually devoid of nutrients.

The Alkaline Diet and Your Health

It turns out the alkaline diet is not as restrictive as many people assume before fully looking into how it works. It is true that many fruits are highly acidic in nature when you look at them as they are in their whole form outside the body. But, now you know that the acidic nature is not as important as whether it increases the amount of acid inside the body.

Fresh fruits actually make great alkaline diet snacks. They are fast, delicious, and will often satisfy a craving for something sweet. You can mix up your own fresh fruit salad and keep it in the fridge or slice up fresh fruit into small baggies and keep them on hand for on-the-go snacks for the entire family.

Bottom line, fresh fruits and vegetable are encouraged on the alkaline diet! Many fruits are actually alkaline and healthy internally, while even the acidic fruits have their place inside the system.

Many people want to choose non-acidic foods because they suffer from heart burn, acid reflux, or similar conditions which can be worsened by eating acidic foods. Other people seek out non-acidic foods because they are trying to follow an alkaline diet.

Unfortunately, the issue of acidity in relation to food is much more complicated than most people realize. In order to understand which foods are non-acidic, we need to distinguish between foods which are acidic outside the body, and foods which make the body more acidic once they have been eaten, digested, and absorbed.

To make this distinction easier to remember, I like to refer to the first group—foods that are acidic outside the body—as acidic, and the second group—foods that are acidic inside the body—as acidifying.

For example, milk certainly doesn’t seem acidic. But inside the human body, it has an acidifying effect. To give you another example, all vinegars are acidic, and most vinegars also have an acidifying effect on the body. But one exception is apple cider vinegar, which is actually an alkalizing food. This effect is due to its high alkaline mineral content.

Foods that have an alkalizing effect after they are eaten include most fruits and vegetables (including kale, sweet potatoes, yams, raspberries, watermelon, tangerine, pineapple, persimmon, nectarine), many nuts and seeds, and a few grains. On the other hand, with the exception of lentils, nearly all legumes are acidifying. So are meats and dairy products.

The Bottom Line on Non-Acidic Foods

The issue of acid and alkaline foods can be confusing. So it may be worthwhile to ask what conclusions we should take away. Should you avoid acidic foods, acidifying foods, both, or neither?

Heartburn, acid reflux (GERD), and other conditions that are associated with the overproduction of stomach acid can indeed be made worse by the consumption of acidic foods, such as tomatoes. If you suffer from one of these conditions, there is no harm in temporarily cutting out acidic food and seeing if your symptoms improve.

Other foods that should be avoided by acid reflux sufferers include spicy foods, citrus juices, coffee, soft drinks and other carbonated beverages, and fatty foods.

On the other hand, if you are concerned about the effect of too many acidifying foods on your overall health, then the important thing isn’t whether the foods you eat are acidic or alkaline on your plate. instead, what matters is whether those foods are acidifying or alkalizing after you’ve eaten them. To determine this, you can’t go by intuition. Your best bet is to find an accurate list or chart of acidifying and alkalizing foods, and refer to this list as you do your cooking and shopping.

What is an acidic food? The answer is more complicated than one would initially think. Some people want to avoid acidic foods because they are following the alkaline diet. Others avoid these foods because they suffer from heartburn or acid reflux (GERD).

But whatever their motivation, people often become hopelessly confused because they fail to distinguish between foods that are acidic, and foods that are acidifying or acid-forming.

An Acidic Food Is Acidic Before It Has Been Eaten

When we say that a food is acidic, we mean that the food has a low pH outside the human body, before it has been eaten and digested. If you took the juice from a lemon or a pear, for example, and applied it to a strip of pH test paper, the paper would change color to indicate a PH of less than 7.0.

The following foods are on the acid side of the pH spectrum:

• Apples
• Bananas
• Blueberries
• Cherries
• Grapefruit
• Grapes
• Lemon juice
• Lime juice
• Nectarines
• Peaches
• Pears
• Pimentos
• Pineapple
• Plums
• Raspberries
• Tomatoes
• Vinegar
• Escarole
• Melons

As I mentioned earlier, people who suffer from heartburn or GERD often avoid acidic foods because they believe that these foods will make their symptoms worse.

Both heartburn and GERD can indeed be caused by the overproduction of stomach acid, in which case eating an acidic food can make these problems worse. But what most people don’t know is that the underproduction of stomach acid can also lead to heartburn and other digestive symptoms.

This is why some people actually find it helpful to drink a small quantity of apple cider vinegar mixed with water before each meal. The following dietary changes can also make a difference:

• Avoiding foods to which you are allergic
• Avoiding fried and fatty foods
• Emphasizing warm cooked meals instead of cold raw ones

An Acidifying Food Causes the Body to Become More Acidic After It Has Been Eaten

This fairly simple picture is complicated by the fact that some acidic foods do not have the same effect after they have been digested and assimilated.

To make sense of this confusing situation, alkaline diet experts use the terms acidifying and acid-forming to describe foods that cause the body to become more acidic.

For example, most types of vinegar are both acidic and acidifying. But there is one surprising exception: Apple cider vinegar is actually an alkalizing food because it it relatively rich in potassium and other minerals.

Lemon, lime, and other citrus fruits are also acidic outside the body, yet they have an alkalizing effect once they are consumed. Again, this is because they have a relatively high ratio of alkalizing minerals—especially potassium—to the acidifying minerals phosphorus and sulfur.

On the other hand, you wouldn’t think of bread, cream, or sugar as an acidic food. Yet all three have an acidifying effect on the body.

The following foods may or may not be acidic, but they are strongly acidifying:

• Aspartame
• Barley
• Beef
• Beer
• Brazil nuts
• Carob
• Carrots
• Chick peas (garbanzos)
• Chicken
• Coffee
• Corn (maize)
• Cranberries
• Hazelnuts (filberts)
• Ice cream
• Lard
• Lobster
• New cheese
• Palm kernel oil
• Peanuts
• Peas
• Pecans
• Pistachio nuts
• Pomegranate
• Pork
• Rye
• Saccharin
• Soy milk
• Soybeans
• Squid
• Sugar
• Table salt
• Walnuts
• White vinegar