Alkaline vs. Acidic

by jbefitblog May 20, 2014

An acidic body is a magnet for disease, illness, cancer & aging. The main fear regarding an acidic diet is bone loss from the body releasing minerals from your bones.

However, Alkalinity is also potentially a problem because it is antibacterial, so it could disrupt the balance of your body’s beneficial bacteria, which can buffer your stomach’s acidity and impair your ability to digest food.

Understanding the pH scale is from 0-14. pH is short for “potential of Hydrogen” so what we’re reading is the concentration of hydrogen ions of foods and beverages to cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and medical diagnostics.

7 is neutral, Anything less than 7 is an acid, Anything more than 7 is an alkali. As a point of reference, the pH of battery acid is 1. Water is 7, or should be.

To give you a simple guideline:

Fish, meat, cheese, eggs and grains are considered acidic.

Vegetables & Fruits are considered alkaline

To maintain a balanced pH in your blood and tissues, your diet should consist of at least 70 to 80 percent basic foods – that is, no more than 20 to 30 percent acidifying foods

The typical American diet is loaded w sugar and processed foods, which throws off your body’s ability to optimize your pH.

The idea is to achieve BALANCE and the best way to do that is to ADD vegetables & fruits to your diet. A diet rich in raw, organic, whole foods this will help optimize your body’s pH and achieve homeostasis.

Though clinical research in humans has yet to be proven on alkaline vs. acidic, the truth remains… a diet high in junk food will cause diseases and one in whole unprocessed foods can cure a list of ailments.