BODY ACID/ALKALINE BALANCE

What is the acid/alkaline balance?

Did you know that each food you eat will result in either an acidic or alkaline end-product following digestion and absorption by the body?

This is pertinent to your well-being because it is thought that for healthy blood, and for the efficient delivery of balanced nutrients to your cells, the pH balance should ideally be neutral (or slightly alkaline).

When food is metabolised, acids are produced that have to be neutralised. This is achieved by alkaline mineral salts: calcium, sodium, potassium and magnesium.

These alkaline mineral salts are all found in raw fruit and vegetables. When harvested properly ripe and then eaten fresh or after drying, all fruits (other than dried prunes) are alkaline-forming. It is important to provide your body with the minerals that it requires to neutralise the resulting acid from acid-forming foods.

At the top of the list of acid-forming foods are meat, dairy and high-sugar items. Most animal products contain the following acid mineral salts: sulphur, phosphorus, chlorine and nitrogen.

Examples of acid-forming foods and drinks include:

- meat, fish, poultry and game
- cheese, milk and yoghurt
- grains and all grain products (including flours), although they become less so after soaking and sprouting
- peas, beans and legumes
- walnuts, cashews and pecans
- tea
- coffee
- alcohol.

Examples of alkaline-forming foods include:

- ripe fruit
- vegetables (e.g. leafy greens, asparagus, aubergines, avocados, runner beans, beetroot, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, spring onions, tomatoes, turnips, carrots and cucumber)
- almonds, Brazil nuts, chestnuts, hazelnuts and pine kernels
- seed used as a grain (e.g. millet, quinoa etc)

Achieving a healthy acid/alkaline balance

It is suggested that for optimum nutrition and a healthy acid/alkaline balance in the body, it is best to choose a diet that comprises 10-20% acid-forming foods and 80-90% alkaline-forming foods. Of course, for those on a living or raw food programme, this is not a calculation that needs to be made.