pH Balance Diet - Does It Work?

A very good outcome from following the pH Balance Diet will be that your health should improve. Why? Because the diet emphasizes eating a lot of fresh fruit and vegetables. The idea is that you can change your blood and other body fluids to an alkaline state and start to feel the relief that comes from reversing their acidity. Acidity is claimed to be the root cause of nearly all disease. The downside? It could be very difficult to stick to. You may eventually start feeling deprived and unmotivated due to having to give up many foods you may enjoy daily - wheat products, milk products, eggs and fish, not to mention sugar, caffeine and alcohol. Each of the foods in the diet has been measured for either their alkaline or acid FORMING properties. For example, a lemon is acidic ,but, on being digested, it takes on alkaline FORMING attributes and will leave an alkaline residue in your body. Meat, on the other hand, is ALKALINE, yet leaves an ACIDIC residue when digested. Therefore meat is categorized as an Acidic FORMING food. You might be wondering what 'pH' stands for, it is 'parts hydrogen’ a measurement of the acidity or alkalinity of a substance on a scale of 1 to 10. 1 being the most acidic and 10 being the most alkaline. A reading of 7 is 'neutral', neither acidic nor alkaline. A pH of 7,4 (slightly alkaline) is considered just right for our bodies. Testing the pH of your urine first thing in the morning is encouraged to track your progress towards a more alkaline condition. This is done with pH indicator paper which is dipped into a sample of first urine of the morning. The pH indicator paper will tell you whether the urine is acidic or alkaline. However many scientists and doctors question the validity of this test. Those who have formulated the pH Balance Diet say that most of us are suffering from ‘acidosis’ because of the way we eat. There is too much emphasis on acid forming foods like meat and dairy and not nearly enough of alkaline forming foods like fruit and vegetables. It’s claimed that symptoms of acidosis range from aches and pains, sleeping problems and stress to serious conditions like arthritis, osteoporosis and even cancer. rnCOULD YOU HAVE ACIDOSIS? If you have from 3 or more of the following symptoms, you could have acidosis and might be a good candidate for the pH Balance Diet.rnAches and pains especially in the bones and jointsrnPoor digestion, irritable bowelrnKidney stonesrnFeeling ‘run down’rnWeight gainrnUrinary tract problemsrnHeartbu Muscle weaknessrnSkin problemsrnReceding gums What Critics of the pH Balance Diet Say Critics of the pH Balance Diet say that, yes, the diet works but not for the claimed reasons. A healthy intake of fresh fruit and vegetables works in that you would probably lose weight and feel more energized. But all this amounts to is the old and good advice from your mother to eat more vegetables! They point out that the concept of altering the pH of your blood or any other body fluid is simply a fallacy. In fact, if your blood was even slightly acidic you would be dead! Fortunately this is something you needn't worry about as your body efficiently keeps the pH constant. This will never change by eating certain foods. They also say that the long-term benefits of this diet are purely theoretical. There is no direct research that links acid or alkaline residue from your diet with health outcomes. So there’s no harm in following the diet and if a study is ever done on the effects of dietary pH on health, it would probably find that people who eat alkaline foods are, in fact, healthier. The reason is that a high fresh fruit and vegetables diet is also high in fiber, vitamins and minerals. In fact, almost anyone would benefit from eating this way as long as it's balanced and nutritious. It's just a complicated way of saying "cut out junk and eat more vegetables"