Eating Alkaline for Health

Written by Dr. Barbro Brost, The Brost Clinic

Eating an alkaline diet is one of the choices we need to make daily if we want to have and maintain optimal health. Alkaline is the opposite of acid and the PH (the measurement of alkalinity/acidity) is affected by the choice of foods we eat. The more acid our bodies are, the higher risk for degenerative diseases and even cancer. Our blood PH has to always remain constant for us to survive. When we eat acidic foods the body has to buffer the acid to get to a normal blood PH. The easiest way for the body is to pull calcium from our bone. Hence the high incidence of bone loss (osteopenia and osteoporosis) in this country, where acid forming foods are common in the diet.

So, you ask, what are acid and what is alkaline foods? There are books written on this or you can google to get detailed information, but to simplify and make it easy to remember when you go to the grocery store: grains, baked goods, candy and red meat are acidic. Fruits and vegetables are alkaline. Rice is PH neutral.

Eat lots of vegetables and fruit. Stay low on red meat, grains, baked goods and sugary foods. This will keep your body at a healthy PH and decrease the risk for many diseases, slow down the aging process and give you more energy. This kind of diet will also help you keep a healthy body mass index, which is another key to optimal health and wellbeing.