07/05/2022
This article summaries the myth about alkaline foods quite well. Please don't spend your money on alkaline water machine or similar products
ALKALINE DIET
David Wolfe, Food Babe Vani, Health Coach Ross, Dr Mercola, Robert Young, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jennifer Aniston, Kirsten Dunst and Victoria Beckham are all talking about one thing: ALKALINE DIET! They believe that acid is the cause of cancers, gout, diabetes, heart diseases and obesity. They also assume that our body accumulates excessive amount of acid and causes various health problems. Alkaline water/diet is believed to have the following properties: antioxidant, anti-cancer, anti-tumor, disease preventing, fat burning, bone strengthening, anti-microbial, and detoxifying effects. It is also said to promote heart, immune, and overall health! Therefore, extremely ALKALINE FOODS such as celery, broccoli, peppers, lemon water, avocados, spinach, and cucumber are actively promoted to increase the pH of their body.
However, what does science say?
Facts:
These super alkaline foods are actually acidic, NOT alkaline. In addition, alkaline diet does not promote health, detoxification, or prevention of any diseases.
Gastroenterologist Dr John Petrini (past president of the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy) reported that: "There is no basis for any health claims at all for alkaline food/water. After it is digested, food and water goes into the stomach and—no matter what pH it was when it entered—ends up leaving the stomach at a pH of about 6.8. And no matter what you eat, your body has effective mechanisms to keep your blood in a narrow range between 7.35 and 7.45"
Prof Joseph A. Schwarcz (McGill's Office for Science & Society) stated that: "Alkalizing the body is a nonsensical concept. The human body carefully maintains the pH of blood at about 7.35, which is slightly alkaline, or basic. This is also the pH of the cells in all our organs that depend on the blood supply for their nourishment. Should the pH drop below 7 or exceed 7.7 we are looking at a potentially catastrophic situation. What all this means is that the pH of the blood cannot be altered by changing the diet. A change in diet can certainly alter the acidity of the urine but that is unrelated to the pH of the blood. Breads, cereals, eggs, fish, meat, poultry can acidify the urine while most fruits and vegetables tend to make it more alkaline. The idea of monitoring the pH of the urine to achieve optimal health by “balancing” the body’s acidity is senseless."
Senior Attending Pharmacist Dr Catherine Ulbricht (co-founder of National Standard Research Collaboration and editor of Harvard Health Publications) stated that: "Human evidence is lacking, safety profile is lacking and it's very expensive".
Dermatologist Dr Tina Alster stated that: "Chemists say it's logical that acidic or very alkaline water could be useful for cleaning, but there's no evidence that the pH of water has any specific effect on skin or pores".
Prof Roberto Car (professor of chemistry and physics at Princeton University): "claim that alkaline water contains micro-clusters of molecules more readily absorb-able by the body is "nonsense"".
A report by CONSUMERS UNION OF UNITED STATES - The idea that you need to neutralize acid in your body by regulating your pH level — and that you should drink alkaline water/food to do so — is “not based on credible science,” says Joy Dubost, a registered dietitian and spokeswoman for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. “The body can maintain the proper pH independent of diet,” she adds. And drinking alkaline water will do no more than wet your whistle, since water’s pH has no effect on the blood or the body’s cells, Dubost says.
A/Prof Tanis Fenton, a registered dietitian, epidemiologist and adjunct assistant professor at the University of Calgary in Alberta reported that: After the team reviewed 238 studies for evidence linking an alkaline diet to bone health. Its findings, published in 2011 in the Nutrition Journal, concluded that there was no evidence that an alkaline diet improves bone health. Another systematic review also found no benefits in the prevention or treatment of diseases.
There are also books about alkaline-rich diets. It emphasizes eating green vegetables and drinking alkaline water, and recommends taking supplements such as pH “drops,” according to a review by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. The group concluded that the diet “is not a healthy way to lose weight.”
Wheeler dismisses the idea that alkaline water could fight disease or restore the body's pH balance. "The body goes to great lengths to maintain its pH, and there isn't much you can eat or drink that will change that," he says.
