The concept of this diet started back in the 1800s when it was believed that once the food is metabolized the particles leave behind acidic or alkaline ash which can affect the overall pH of your body. This was known as the acid-ash hypothesis.
In other words, the concept revolves around the idea that based on the nature of foods we eat, we can regulate the pH levels of our body.
pH can be defined as the measure of acidity or alkalinity of something. It is measured on a scale of 0-14. Where 7 is neutral, less than 7 is acidic and any value above 7 is alkaline.
The goal of this diet is to eat foods that have an alkaline nature so as to maintain an alkaline pH in our bodies.
How does it work?
The diet is also known as the alkaline ash diet.
The proponents of the Alkaline diet compare the metabolic function of your body with the action of fire, both are meant to break down solid masses. They claim that the metabolic waste in your body can affect the pH levels of your body.
So, they determine the nature of different food categories by burning the food and monitoring the pH of the ashes that remain.
The goal is to consume foods that are more alkaline and less acidic. Therefore ashes with a pH of <7 are considered acidic with a tendency to make you prone to illness and thus are unhealthy for your body whereas those with a pH of >7 are alkaline and are healthy for consumption.
In other words, proponents of this diet claim that food with acidic ashes can increase the acidic levels of your body which can harm you in the long run and the foods with alkaline ashes work otherwise.
Foods that include components like protein, sulfur, and phosphate are acidic in nature whereas foods containing calcium, magnesium and potassium are alkaline. Here is a general categorization of acidic and basic/alkaline foods based on this acid-ash hypothesis experiment.
Acidic: meat, poultry, fish, dairy, eggs, grains, alcohol
Neutral: natural fats, starches, and sugars
Alkaline: fruits, nuts, legumes, and vegetables
The theory behind the Alkaline diet preventing cancer: is it true?
Many believe that cancer cells thrive in an acidic environment, therefore if your body is kept alkaline it can highly reduce the chances of cancer.
However, the fact most people ignore here is that by eating more alkaline food you can only experience a change in the ph of your saliva and urine. This is because urine and saliva are the waste products of your body. The overall pH levels of your body are not much affected by the ph of your urine or saliva.
You can never eat enough alkaline food to alter your blood pH levels. That is a whole different mechanism and the pH of your body depends highly on the pH of your blood levels.
Also, the experiment that suggests the growth of cancer cells in an acidic environment was performed in a dish, which cannot be compared with how these tumourous cells will respond to the acidic environment in a human body.
So this theory that an alkaline diet can prevent cancer has no scientific backing.
Is there any evidence supporting The Alkaline Diet?
As mentioned earlier, the diet claims that we can control the levels of acidity or alkalinity of our body by regulating the foods that we eat.
However, this claim is backed by no scientific evidence.
The pH of our body largely depends on the pH of our blood which is slightly alkaline in nature. And the regulation of our blood pH levels is independent.
Natural functions of your body such as renal function, respiratory process, excretion in general (saliva, urine, and faeces) and homeostasis are efficient enough to keep a balanced pH.
An alkaline diet to a maximum can only change the pH of your urine which has no significant effect on the overall working of your body.
Cons of the Alkaline Diet:
Although the diet promotes healthy eating and the practice of eating more organic fresh fruits and veggies and no junk food. However, limiting the food categories is one huge con of this diet.
If you are asked to completely ignore a food category, that is one red flag in a diet and can cause severe malnourishment,
especially with a diet like The alkaline diet, where you are required to consume no dairy and no protein, two major categories of food going down the drain.
Lack of Calcium:
There is no way you can cope with the calcium levels required by your bones if you are not consuming dairy.
Although there are some vegetables like spinach, highly rich in calcium still most of it goes wasted as your body won’t be able to absorb most of this calcium. The reason is high levels of oxalates and phytates in spinach which bind calcium.
Lack of calcium will weaken your bones and will put you at a much higher risk of osteoporosis.
Lack of Meat Protein:
This diet can lead to acute muscle loss and malnutrition because of its low protein content. Your body depends on the protein content of your meals.
Limiting the meat intake will reduce protein consumption, and this deficiency cannot be fulfilled by the small amounts of protein your veggies and fruits will provide.
Takeaways:
Worry less about maintaining your pH levels as your body is smart and independent enough to take care of it.
Focus more on eating healthy and doing physical activities to promote metabolism. This is the best you can do for your body.