When you’re born, you’re a model of perfect metabolic health. Your body is pH balanced… and might even stay a little on the alkaline side. However, your body is busy creating new cells to replace dying cells, and to do this, nutrients are used as fuel. What’s left is an acid waste product that builds up inside your body over the years. And unless you can get rid of this acid waste, your body’s pH balance begins to change from alkaline to acidic.
This pH, or “potential of hydrogen” is a scale that measures the acidity or alkalinity of a solution, and in this case it measures the pH balance of your cells and tissues. A pH of 7 is a perfectly neutral pH, from 0 to 7 indicates acidity and 7 to 14 indicates alkalinity.
When your pH levels are out of balance and you become acidic, your vital organs such as your lungs, liver and pancreas are exposed to premature aging… the lining of your arteries deteriorates… vital cartilage in your joints is damaged… your skin prematurely wrinkles… your muscle mass wears down… your immune system is weakened… and your calcium levels become depleted. And if your body becomes too acidic, the result can be deadly.
To maintain the proper chemical balance, you should consume 80 percent alkaline-forming foods and only 20 percent acid-forming foods. Some nutritious alkaline-forming foods include…
- Vegetables—Alfalfa, artichokes, asparagus, beans, bell peppers, cabbage, carrots, celery, chives, cauliflower, collards, cucumbers, eggplant, garlic, leafy greens, lettuce, mushrooms, okra, ripe olives, onions, pumpkins, spinach and squash.
- Fruits—Apples, avocados, berries, cantaloupe, cherries, grapes, peaches, pineapples, tomatoes, watermelon and citrus fruits such as grapefruit, lemons, limes and oranges.
- Grains and Legumes—Buckwheat, millet, spelt, lentils, lima beans, soybeans and white beans.
- Nuts and Seeds—Almonds, chestnuts, fennel seeds, flax seeds, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, soy nuts and sunflower seeds.
- Protein—Chicken breast, cottage cheese, eggs, fermented tofu and yogurt.
- Spices and Seasonings—Herbs, chili pepper, cinnamon, curry, ginger, mustard and sea salt.
- Beverages—Pure, fresh water, banchi tea, dandelion tea, fresh fruit juice, ginseng tea, green tea, herbal tea and vegetable juices.
Avoid acid-forming foods such as beef, poultry, pork, shellfish, dressings, cereals, pasta, oils, dairy products and sugar-laden desserts that can negatively impact your health and overload your organs of elimination—such as your lungs, kidneys and skin.
Plus, by adding a quality alkaline-balancing supplement to your wholesome diet regimen, you’ll ensure that your body’s excess acid is converted or eliminated. And you may avoid illness, allergies, viruses and diseases that manifest themselves when your body is overworked trying to restore its sensitive pH level.
Michael Cutler, M.D. is a board-certified family physician with 18 years experience specializing in chronic degenerative diseases, fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue.
A graduate of Brigham Young University, Tulane Medical School and Natividad Medical Center Family Practice Residency in Salinas, Calif., he serves as a medical liaison to alternative and traditional practicing physicians. His practice focuses on an integrative solution to health problems.
Dr. Cutler is a sought-after speaker and lecturer on experiencing optimum health through natural medicines and the Founder and Editor of Easy Health Options™ newsletter—a leading health advisory service on natural healing therapies and nutrients and is Medical Advisor for True Health™—America's #1 source for doctor-formulated nutrients that heal.
For more information visit www.truehealth.com.
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Are you sure about soybeans???????
I have said it once and I will say it again unless you have a source for organic vegetables and fruits or grow your own be careful of anything “fresh” in your local supermarket produce departments. Most of the fruits and vegetables you list in your article are loaded with in some cases over 37 different pesticides! Anything “soy” you want to avoid imparticularly as much of our soy is imported from China where there are no regulations in place whatsoever!
It’s so disheartening in America when you want to eat healthy and you know what is healthy to eat but you can’t unless you want to spend the extra money for organic (if you can find it) or grow your own if you have the time. Pathetic how our government subsidized agriculture system has come to this!
The list shows chicken breast as an alkaline-forming food but also has poultry as an acid forming food? Is it the difference of light/dark meat poultry alkaline/acid forming?
“chicken breast”…???
dr.cutler probably means free run chicken, free of antibiotics+steroids+hormones… ?
then why doesn’t he mention that ?
and what about “almonds”…????
not everybody know that 100% of all almonds are from california, and they are all not “fresh” at all, like the labels say.
ALL almonds are PASTEURIZED, and mostly using chemicals.
FDA allows the farmers to sell the almonds to stores as “fresh”. And the stores don’t ask questions.
third problem is the green,white,black teas. They all contain FLUORIDE, which is in the tea leaves. My guess, the fluoride has developed in the leaves because of the destructive poisonous farming with pesticides and other chemicals. The most important gland is affected – thyroid. There is a rise in thyroid related problems, mostly in people who drink these teas excessively, at least 5-6 cups. Add to this fluoridated water, and the amount of fluoride doubles at least.
so, i’d suggest to stop going nuts with these teas. If you really want to keep drinking these teas, then use only the WHITE ORGANIC tea. Because white tea very young leaves are used and they still don’t have as much fluoride as black and green teas, plus organic should have even less.
Sounds crazy, but that’s a bitter reality. I checked a few discussion groups, and the fluoride+tea problem is on the rise, and many people report of relief of different thyroid problems when stopped drinking these teas.
I personally stopped drinking these teas after doing that for at least 20 years, and switched to herbal teas only. I guess we all need to cleanse the fluoride from our bodies. Using borax is one of the ways. Probably there are other detox methods as well.
I like to thank Dr. Cutler for providing some excellent information on how to maintain our body pH balance, and why that is so important for us to live healthy. But it is a matter of pity that while getting correct information is tough, implementing those is much tougher, as Mr. Roger pointed it out nicely. It is not the case for America alone. I’m a Bangladeshi, a distant country from you, and almost unknown to many Americans. I’m residing in an overpopulated city (Dhaka) of nearly 18 million, and I find it difficult to get fresh fruits and vegetables, and almost everything you listed. Everything is distributed by market, and thus, mostly are chemical ladden, even if I don’t say that, at the first place, they were already pesticide ladden during their process of growing. Even in countryside, one hardly could find things that are fresh because of the production and preservation processes. This is one challenge. Another is finding out, or buying, good supplements because those are also controlled by authorities and markets. What is not easily accessible, or obtainable by local currency, is really tough to consume.
Lean beef, pork and poultry are good sources of protein. Why then are they acidic while chicken breast is alkaline? Aren’t chicken poultry? Just wondering!
Some nutritious alkaline-forming foods include…
Protein—Chicken breast, cottage cheese, eggs, fermented tofu and yogurt.
Avoid acid-forming foods such as beef, poultry, pork, shellfish, dressings, cereals, pasta, oils, dairy products
Chicken and eggs and cottage cheese and yogurt are good, no wait, poultry and dairy are bad. Contradict much? Be professional, take some time to REWRITE the article and specify with the correct information!
And if protein is good, I seriously doubt my delicious, grass fed hormone & antibiotic free locally raised beef is bad.
spot on chap, spot on…in general the article is good, but needs to be proof read very carefully and rectified.
I have also found a lot of information from site to site, to be at best, contradicting !
I truly believe that anything organic mentioned above is good, by this I mean free of pesticides, hormones, and anything added to quickly fatten beef, poultry etc, the problem one tends to encounter, is, most products claimed as organic in actuality they are not, it is a big deception, and the authorities are aware of this, as usual they sit there and do nothing, while, people are getting conned by these enterprises with ill gains, I may say that some are true organic and people who enjoy these products are very lucky and should enjoy while it lasts, here in the US we will not enjoy these organic products for too long, for we can not be healthy, it would have a devastating effect on Big-Pharma and that is a NO NO for them and our leaders, for they are one and the same, and the new politician is nothing but a clone of the previous one. JAM
I read your article about acidity and alkalinity and you gave examples of acid and alkaline forming foods.
Any suggestions about a quality akaline supplement.
Thanks.