Alkaline diet to lose weight

Are you ready to turn your body into a fat-burning machine? Here’s a startling fact: the foods you eat might secretly sabotage your weight loss efforts. Enter the alkaline diet, a game-changer in the world of nutrition. This isn’t just another fad diet; it’s a science-backed approach to eating that could revolutionize your health.

Imagine a diet that not only sheds pounds but also boosts your energy and vitality. The alkaline diet is rich in fruits, vegetables, and seeds, promoting an alkaline environment in your body. This isn’t about munching on lettuce all day; it’s about indulging in various nutrient-rich, delicious foods that naturally cleanse your body and support weight loss.

But wait, there’s a twist! While fruits are generally healthy, in the alkaline world, less is more. Opt for mildly alkaline choices like grapefruit, and don’t forget the power of lemons and limes in your water. They’re almost sugar-free and highly alkaline.

Get ready to dive into a world where you can eat well, feel great, and lose weight effortlessly. The alkaline diet isn’t just a diet; it’s a lifestyle change with incredible benefits. Let’s explore how you can transform your body and mind with this simple yet powerful approach.

Understanding the Alkaline Diet

The name Alkaline Diet describes a set of related diets. Food’s ability to affect body fluids’ acidity and pH forms the basis of the diets. People consider certain products, such as vegetables, as alkaline. Meats and flours are considered acids. Consume alkaline products and avoid acids. This helps healthy body processes and prevents diseases.

pH, or hydrogen potential, indicates the acidity or alkalinity in fluids. This includes blood and urine. The relationship between the amount of bicarbonate and carbon dioxide yields the value. The scale presents the acid value. It ranges from 0 (highest possible acid value) to 14 (most alkalinity). The ideal blood pH value for humans is 7.4. At this level, metabolism and all biochemical reactions are optimized.

When a pH imbalance occurs, the body does not perform fundamental functions. An ion exchange system comes into operation to compensate for this imbalance. The body will take calcium, magnesium, and potassium minerals to pay for the imbalance. To seek balance, the alkaline diet proposes a diet based on fruits and vegetables. It avoids consuming red meat, pork, poultry, dairy products, fats, and sugars.

The Alkaline Diet

The alkaline diet consists of the balanced consumption of alkaline and acidic foods. This maintains a pH in the blood of 7.4. Its complementary premise is that modern diets cause our bodies to produce too much acid. This excess acid is harmful and turns into fat, leading to weight gain. The same high acidity is linked to disorders such as osteoporosis and arthritis. It is also linked to heart and kidney problems. It is also linked to headaches and digestive problems. It’s also linked to demineralization of nails and hair, fatigue, and lack of energy.

As mentioned above, the diet recommends reducing the consumption of acid-producing foods. Instead, it recommends eating alkaline foods to reduce acidity levels in the body. The idea is that an alkaline diet helps keep the body’s acidity at healthy levels. Most followers of the alkaline diet do this. They base their diet on 80% alkaline products and only 20% acidic foods.

Many people follow this diet. Celebrities like Jennifer Aniston, Demi Moore, Miranda Kerr, Victoria Beckham, and Gwyneth Paltrow are among them. Various media reports that Channing Tatum, Chris Hemsworth, Josh Duhamel, and Mark Ruffalo have also used the alkaline diet to plan their meals.

What to eat on the Alkaline Diet?

The alkaline diet emphasizes consuming fresh fruits and vegetables. It aims to promote a balanced pH level in the body. Nutritionists and other professionals who defend this diet suggest the 80/20 rule. In this rule, 80% of the food will be alkaline, and the remaining 20% will be acidic. Remember, alkalizing foods, when combined with digestive enzymes, generate alkaline by-products. Foods that produce acid in the blood after digestion as acid foods. As we can see, it is not about eliminating acidic foods from the diet. It is about reducing their consumption.

The classification of foods is more complex. It’s based on their ability to generate alkaline or acid residues. Food ranges from super alkalizing to super acidifying through various intermediate scales. Furthermore, a food’s minerals, not its flavor, determine its acidity.

Calcium, magnesium, sodium, iron, and potassium are alkaline minerals. Foods with high concentrations of these minerals as alkaline-forming foods. Foods high in sulfur, phosphorus, iodine, and chlorine are acid-forming.

To simplify things, we have the following classification. Alkaline foods include most fruits, vegetables, greens, seeds, nuts, spices, herbs, and condiments. Acidic foods include red meat, fish, poultry, eggs, cereals, legumes, and dairy. Let’s go into more detail about which foods are alkaline and which are acidic.

Alkaline Foods

This Alkaline Foods list includes 9 following categories:

Alkaline herbs and sprouts

Wheat, barley, kamut, oat grass; Kamut sprouts, soybeans, quinoa, radish, spelled, alfalfa, amaranth, broccoli and fenugreek.

Alkaline Oils

Oils First, press oils from avocado, olive, and flax.

Alkaline Breads

Sprouted whole wheat bread, pancakes, gluten-free and yeast-free bread and pitas.

Alkaline Vegetables

Alkaline Vegetables include Asparagus, broccoli, chili, paprika, green bell peppers, red bell peppers, yellow bell peppers, zucchini, dandelion, green beans, white beans, kidney beans, spinach, leeks, artichokes, kale, wakame seaweed, kelp seaweed, cabbage, chives, Endives, Swiss chard, cabbage, sweet potato, coriander, basil, parsley, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, carrots, beets, aubergine, garlic, onion, celery, cucumber, lamb’s lettuce, arugula, watercress, lettuce, peas, broad beans, new potato, pumpkin, sweet potato, radish, snow peas.

Alkaline cereals and legumes

Alkaline cereals and legumes contain amaranth, buckwheat, brown rice, kamut, millet, quinoa, spelled, lentils, beans, chickpeas, Chinese beans, small white beans, pinto beans, red beans, white beans, and soybeans.

Alkaline Fruits

Alkaline Fruits are apple, grapefruit, soursop, guava, melon, watermelon, apricot, pear, pineapple, avocado or avocado, banana or plantain, mango, blackberries, raspberries, cherries, coconut, raisins, dates, berries, figs, lemon, lime, grapes, nectarine, peach, orange, tangerine, peach, strawberries or strawberries, tropical fruits, rhubarb, tomato, grapefruit, fresh coconut and papaya.

Alkaline Nuts and Seeds

Nuts and seeds include almonds, coconut, flax, hazelnuts, pine nuts, macadamia, pumpkin, sesame, and sunflower seeds.

Alkalizing spices and condiments

Spices and condiments contain chili, cinnamon, curry, ginger, herbs, miso, mustard, unrefined sea salt, and tamari.

Other Alkalinizes

Other Alkalinizes Comprise Alkaline water, tofu, seitan, herbal teas, green tea, Stevia, apple cider vinegar, bee pollen, juices and green juices, lecithin granules, and probiotic cultures.

Acid Foods

This list includes 8 food categories that range from acidic to acidifying.:

Meats

Meats Carry bacon, beef, canned meat, eggs, lamb, organ meats, venison, pork, rabbit, sausage, turkey, white fish, blue fish, shellfish, clams, lobster, mussels, oysters, scallops, prawns and prawns.

Acidifying Fruits

Acidifying Fruits entail apples, apricots, currants, dates, grapes, mango, peach, pears, plum, raisins, raspberry, strawberries, tropical fruits, blackberries, cantaloupe, watermelon, blueberry peas, sweet melon, oranges, pineapple, plums.

Acidifying nuts

Cashews, peanuts, pistachios, coquitos, chestnuts.

Acidifying dairy products

Butter, margarine, cow’s cheese, goat’s cheese, sheep’s cheese, cow’s milk, goat’s milk, sheep’s milk, buttermilk, yogurt, cottage cheese, ice cream, cream, and soy cheese.

Acidifying oils

Cooked oil, oils exposed to heat, light oils.

Acidifying drinks

Acidifying drinks encompass alcohol, coffee, black tea, carbonated beverages, sodas, pasteurized juices, cocoa, energy drinks, sports drinks, cola-based drinks, tap water, decaffeinated drinks, and flavored water.

Acidifying sweeteners

Acidifying sweeteners involve Aspartame, Carob, corn syrup, fructose, refined sugar, saccharin, sucrose, and maple syrup.

Other acidifiers

Other acidifiers include white bread, pasta, and noodles. French fries, pizza, mushrooms, chocolate, cookies, and candies also cause acidity. Also, mayonnaise, ketchup, mustard, soy sauce, pickles, vinegar, Tabasco sauce, tamari, wasabi, and tobacco.

This is a general classification. Each food is categorized based on its acidifying or alkalizing components. The list does not pretend to be exhaustive, and there are still many other products to be included. It is indicative.

Benefits of a balanced pH

Balanced pH is the key to an alkaline diet and to good health. If we maintain a balanced pH, we will enjoy good energy, calm nerves, relaxed muscles, and optimal digestion. A balanced pH also strengthens our immune system, helping us avoid colds. We will generally have a lot of physical and mental vitality, inner peace, and mental clarity.

Consequences of a very acidic diet

High levels of acidic food in the body may increase the risk of developing cancer, liver issues, and heart disease. Eating too many acidic foods makes us feel low in energy. Without strength, our mental processes are slower. We suffer from headaches, fatigue, muscle tension, and depression.

Low calcium levels generally cause muscle and back pain. Shoulder and neck muscle strains, arthritis, and osteoporosis can also occur. The body loses minerals to balance excess acidity. This affects the nervous system. We can become irritable.

Consequences of excess alkalinity

When the body becomes too alkaline, it can cause hypoventilation. This reduces breathing rate. This can lead to increased lung carbon dioxide. Dr. Cousens says excess alkalinity over-excites the nervous system. This manifests with muscle startles in the face and forearms. Besides, there is a marked increase in muscle spasms, cramps, and difficulty concentrating. There is also extreme nervousness.

Basic tips for an alkalizing diet

The diet advises increasing vegetable and fruit intake. It recommends drinking plenty of water. It also suggests reducing sugar, alcohol, meat, and processed food consumption. Proponents of the alkaline diet seek to balance pH through food. After a few weeks, they achieve it. One can notice it because the presentation presents the described benefits. Before starting this or any diet, consult with your doctor. They can help you determine your specific nutritional needs. They can also recommend the best nutrition and weight loss program for you.

To do an Alkaline Diet, keep the 6 following things in mind:

• Reduce your protein intake in general, especially meat and fish of all kinds.

• Cut down on pasteurized dairy.

• Reduce your fat intake.

• Use whole brown sugar or honey to sweeten. Forget refined sugar and sweeteners, and you can use Stevia.

• The food list includes raw vegetables, sprouts, fresh herbs, seeds, and nuts.

• Eat more fresh, ripe fruits and vegetables.

To compose your meals in the alkaline diet:

• Eat breakfast with fruit and vegetable juices.

• For lunch, take vegetables with other vegetables, seeds, legumes, or cereals. It includes proteins of vegetable origin. It contains very little or no animal proteins. Vegetable proteins are acidifying.

• Make very light dinners, for example, oatmeal or barley with fruit.

• During the day, drink plenty of water to stay well hydrated. Adding lemon juice increases its alkalinity. Lemon juice is metabolized and is one of the most powerful blood pH alkalizers.

Advantages and Disadvantages of the Alkaline Diet

Advantages of the Alkaline Diet

The alkaline diet helps protect healthy cells and balance essential minerals. Studies show that diets rich in alkaline foods, like fresh vegetables, fruits, and unprocessed plant-based protein sources, lead to more alkaline urine pH.

Healthier: Restrict certain products like refined sugar. Also, reduce meat consumption. Avoid alcohol and processed foods. Eat more vegetables, greens, legumes, cereals, and fruits. This improves most people’s diets. That will make you opt for a more balanced and varied diet while reducing calorie consumption.

You don’t go hungry: Because there is no limit to the amount of food to be eaten, you do not have that permanent feeling of hunger as with other diets.

There is no rebound effect. This is because it is an eating style. Followers of this diet will always maintain the same eating pattern. Thus, the yo-yo or rebound effect of restrictive diets does not occur.

You lose weight: It is based on the intelligent consumption of fresh food with a predominance of vegetables, greens, and fruits.

Disadvantages of the Alkaline Diet

The only major disadvantage of this diet is that it can cause a lack of essential protein and other vital nutrients.

It perpetuates false myths. The approach considers foods acidic or alkaline. It doesn’t account for each product’s nutritional properties. It also doesn’t consider their real effect on the body from various nutrients. The Brigham and Women’s Hospital website advises against this diet. It excludes healthy fats and oils, which provide essential fatty acids. These acids form healthy cells and strengthen the immune system.

According to WebMD, there’s no solid scientific basis to support the purported health benefits of the alkaline diet. The design aimed to prevent kidney stones and urinary tract infections. It works by adjusting the acidity levels in the urine. But we need more scientific evidence. The body regulates the pH of the blood and other fluids of the diet.

Weight loss is not due to the acid/alkaline principles of the diet. The loss of kilos and the weight loss observed in the followers of the diet are due to better eating habits. They eat more fresh products, vegetables, and fruits. They reduce the intake of sugar and processed products. These general healthy tips for weight loss do not relate to the acid/alkaline properties of foods.

Video about the Alkaline Diet

Dr. Alberto Martí Bosch will give a conference on dealing with cancer. He bases his approach on the effects of acidity on the body. He utilizes alkalinity to improve his health.

Before starting the Alkaline Diet

We suggest you choose a balanced plan. It should not include supplements, fasts, or other diet tricks. You might do the Alkaline Diet to lose weight, improve your health, or for any of its explained benefits. It is also essential that you consult with your doctor before starting any weight loss regimen.