Any point in watching alkalinity?

[Sarumyan]

So, randy couture's diet. I personally don't see the point of it, but are there any benefits or side effects of following it?

Main focus is to maintain ratio of alkalinity to acidity in your body.
The alkaline diet is mostly vegetarian. In addition to fresh vegetables and some fresh fruits, alkaline-promoting foods include soy products and some nuts, grains, and legumes.

Web sites promoting the alkaline diet discourage eating acid-promoting foods, which include meat, fish, poultry, dairy products, processed foods, white sugar, white flour, and caffeine.

The alkaline diet is basically healthy, says Marjorie Nolan, RD, an American Dietetic Association spokeswoman.

"It's a diet of fresh fruits and vegetables, plenty of water, avoiding processed foods, coffee, and alcohol, which are all recommendations for a generally healthy diet anyway," Nolan says. "But our body regulates our pH between 7.35 and 7.45 no matter how we eat."

 

[Sarumyan]

http://rense.com/1.mpicons/acidalka.htm
Here are the lists of food allowed or not

Lol, i am starting to suspect my coach is following it.

 

[wvpv]

http://rense.com/1.mpicons/acidalka.htm
Here are the lists of food allowed or not

Lol, i am starting to suspect my coach is following it.

Didn't read the whole list but became perplexed when they described lemons as alkaline.

 

[Chris Beeby]

Bump. I drink lemon in my water every morning, and have a couple of alkaline water thermos' that were gifted to me, wondering if they're worth using.

 

[Seriously-Dead]

There is absolutely no science corroborating the claims made by the alkalinity specialists. It's snake oil. Pay no attention to it.

 

[TMMAray]

As ^ said, it's total garbage. Note that I generally agree that they're recommending healthy foods, but just not for the reasons that they're giving.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acid-base_physiology

 

[techninja]

It's one of those things you'll have to try to see if it actually works for you.

I think in actuality, the bi product of attempting to fulfill an alkaline diet, results in you eating more healthy, with conscious thought going into what foods you eat (even down to snacks), which is more than likely where the positive effects stem from.

 

[hardheart]

There is absolutely no science corroborating the claims made by the alkalinity specialists. It's snake oil. Pay no attention to it.

As ^ said, it's total garbage. Note that I generally agree that they're recommending healthy foods, but just not for the reasons that they're giving.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acid-base_physiology

Making such broad and general statements makes you very easy to disprove. SD, I'm disappointed. Aren't you the one that made the giant ass post and asked us all to stop doing shit like this?

 

[TMMAray]

Well, there is no science whatsoever that supports the idea of improving health by alkalizing the body, and a number of the claims made by those advocating it are outright falsehoods.

The fact is, your body maintains a PH between 7.38 and 7.42, and outside of drinking lye or other extreme measures, you're not going to move it ouside of that window. When you do, anything outside that range (either above or below) becomes an extreme health problem very quickly, not the general poor health problems that the alkalizing crowd suggests.

Point being, "alkalizing" your body, if it were something that you could actually do, would be just as destructive as acidifying it.

Just an example of the type of crap that these people throw out as if it were science, I got involved in a ridiculous facebook debate because someone started on about how milk acidifies your body, which leeches calcium from your bones, and if you drink a lot of milk, within a year, you will have osteoperosis an numerous bone fractures, guaranteed. So, you'll have to excuse those of us who are quick to say what complete and utter b.s. it is.

...but as I said, I don't really have a problem with most of the dietary recommendations that they're making, but it's like saying "eat chicken and vegetables because it keeps witches away." The advice isn't necessarily wrong, but the reasoning behind it is.

 

[Cayenne]

Your body doesn't maintain its' pH effortlessly. If your diet is too acidic your body is going to have to use acid neutralizing compounds to counteract it. If it runs out of compounds, which will surely happen if your diet is consistently too acidic, it's going to have to take calcium away from your bones and teeth to do it. It would not be surprising that it would cause your bones to fracture more easily. And if your body is continuously struggling to maintain it's proper pH, you open to the doors to all sorts of health problems ranging from heart disease to diabetes. You don't need to follow a diet solely based on alkaline foods. But most people have acid diets, so they need to make a conscious effort to bring it back in balance.

 

[TMMAray]

...this is the part where you display scientific support for those statements. Saying that your body will "wear out" its pH regulation system is like saying that living in a cold climate will "wear out" your body's temperature regulation system. That's simply not how anatomy works.

Again, it is just as bad for your body's pH to be too high, so this idea of eating a bunch of alkalizing food would theoretically put just as much strain on your system.

Another sign that these people are completely full of shit: They list "sea salt" as a highly alkalizing food, but "table salt - NaCl" (their words, not mine) as a highly acidic food. I'm curious what they think sea salt is composed of.

 

[tkdyo]

Your body doesn't maintain its' pH effortlessly. If your diet is too acidic your body is going to have to use acid neutralizing compounds to counteract it. If it runs out of compounds, which will surely happen if your diet is consistently too acidic, it's going to have to take calcium away from your bones and teeth to do it. It would not be surprising that it would cause your bones to fracture more easily. And if your body is continuously struggling to maintain it's proper pH, you open to the doors to all sorts of health problems ranging from heart disease to diabetes. You don't need to follow a diet solely based on alkaline foods. But most people have acid diets, so they need to make a conscious effort to bring it back in balance.

Im not sure this is entirely true. I remember learning in physiology that blood ph is regulated by a compound that simply bonds more H ions or disengages H ions. And I dont remember them mentioning how often that compound can be recycled, but the point is it is recyclable.

Honestly, I would think if your diet is too acidic it would be much more likely that you'd get a stomach ulcer before your body's ph causes bone decay or something similar, and those definitely hurt enough that youd fix your diet just from that.

 

[KILL KILL]

Im not sure this is entirely true. I remember learning in physiology that blood ph is regulated by a compound that simply bonds more H ions or disengages H ions. And I dont remember them mentioning how often that compound can be recycled, but the point is it is recyclable.

Honestly, I would think if your diet is too acidic it would be much more likely that you'd get a stomach ulcer before your body's ph causes bone decay or something similar, and those definitely hurt enough that youd fix your diet just from that.

I would have to agree with this logic. I get indigestion from just eating a bit of tomato sauce. I couldn't imagine eating enough acidic foods that it would affect my bones.

 

[Cayenne]

Honestly, I would think if your diet is too acidic it would be much more likely that you'd get a stomach ulcer before your body's ph causes bone decay or something similar, and those definitely hurt enough that youd fix your diet just from that.

No, you're clearly confused. Stomach ulcers are caused by a bacterial infection and sometimes by certain drugs, it's unrelated to acidity. Almost all the people in the western world have an overly acidic diet, common symptoms are heartburn and acid reflux but a lot of people don't experience any symptoms.

The typical Western diet yields a net acid load estimated to be
50 mEq/d (148). As a result, healthy adults consuming the standard
US diet sustain a chronic, low-grade pathogenic metabolic
acidosis that worsens with age as kidney function declines (146,
149).
Article Web site: http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/81/2/341.full.pdf+html

In other words if you're 20 you're not going to notice anything because your kidneys are top-notch still. If you're 60+ you may have several health problems caused or aggravated by acidity but be unaware that they were caused by your diet.

Consequently, a net base-producing diet was the
norm throughout most of hominin evolution (147). The known
health benefits of a net base-yielding diet include preventing and
treating osteoporosis (150, 151), age-related muscle wasting
(152), calcium kidney stones (153, 154), hypertension (155,
156), and exercise-induced asthma (157) and slow the progression
of age- and disease-related chronic renal insufficiency
(158).
Article Web site: http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/81/2/341.full.pdf+html

In other words humans evolved eating an alkaline diet. And eating as such can prevent several diseases.

 

[hardheart]

I'm curious what they think sea salt is composed of.

You realize Table Salt, which is typically iodized, is not the same as uniodized sea salt? Right? Table Salt is not NaCl, usually it's I2NaCL. Sea Salt, is purified NaCl, typically.

 

[Sarumyan]

No, you're clearly confused. Stomach ulcers are caused by a bacterial infection and sometimes by certain drugs, it's unrelated to acidity. Almost all the people in the western world have an overly acidic diet, common symptoms are heartburn and acid reflux but a lot of people don't experience any symptoms.



In other words if you're 20 you're not going to notice anything because your kidneys are top-notch still. If you're 60+ you may have several health problems caused or aggravated by acidity but be unaware that they were caused by your diet.


In other words humans evolved eating an alkaline diet. And eating as such can prevent several diseases.

While I don't disagree, humans have evolved eating a lot of meat,fish and eggs as well, which are supposed to be acidic. In winter times they would have to rely quite a lot on meat.
What about cultures like Inuits and etc? They seem to be doing fine, and some natives are huge mofos.

 

[Sarumyan]

Also things like strawberries, lemons are highly acidic, yet are listed as alk. Foods.

 

[hardheart]

Also things like strawberries, lemons are highly acidic, yet are listed as alk. Foods.

Some foods alkalize during the digestive process. This is why lemon water and apple cider vinegar are part of the alkaline diet.

Read the whole diet rather than cherry picking things that might not make sense. Get all the info before passing judgement.

 

[Seriously-Dead]

Making such broad and general statements makes you very easy to disprove. SD, I'm disappointed. Aren't you the one that made the giant ass post and asked us all to stop doing shit like this?

Yeah, you're right.

But I feel like the tone/intent is necessary considering who's asking the question.

 

[Sarumyan]

Some foods alkalize during the digestive process. This is why lemon water and apple cider vinegar are part of the alkaline diet.

Read the whole diet rather than cherry picking things that might not make sense. Get all the info before passing judgement.

Mmmm, no. I like cherry picking more. Besides, there is nothing interesting that happens on these forums anyways since Sinister left. Might as well ask about popular diets.
Still, meat is considered acidic, and yet there are cultures that thrive on it.