How to alkalize your diet

The alkaline diet is gaining popularity due to its health benefits and simplicity. People eating an alkaline diet do so with the aim of improving the pH balance of their bodies. Eating an increased amount of alkaline foods helps counteract the negative health impacts of eating a highly acidic diet which is typical in the West today.

Things You Will Need

Following the alkaline diet, sometimes called an alkaline ash diet or an alkaline acid diet, is fairly straight forward. The aim is to increase the amount of alkaline foods in the diet. These are basically fruits and vegetables. At first thought, fruits like lemons appear to be acidic foods. This is true if we are talking about the pH of the food itself. However this is not what the is referred to when discussing the pH of food in relation to the alkaline diet.

As far as this diet is concerned, the pH value of a food comes from the ash left after the food is burned in the body. So while a lemon in its raw form is indeed acidic, after it has been eaten and digested, the so called "ash" is actually alkaline.

Advocates of the alkaline diet proclaim there are many benefits from eating alkaline and acid foods in a ratio of 80/20. From a general feeling of well being and improved outlook to protection from a variety of disease and illness. This may well come from the pH balancing effect these foods have upon the body or may simply be a result of the nutrients and minerals contained within fruits and vegetables.

So to follow the alkaline diet all you really need is some fruit and vegetables that you like to eat. Rather than worry too much about things you shouldn't eat, simply start to increase the quantities of fruit and vegetables you consume. I have found that focussing on eating more healthy foods is having the effect of displacing more un-healthy foods from my diet.



The alkaline acid diet is more for health than weight loss. If you are looking for a diet that gives you improved energy levels and makes you feel healthier then the alkaline acid diet is worth looking into further.

Tips & Warnings

For anyone becoming slightly more serious about pH balance and alkalizing, buying a fruit and vegetable juicer may be worth consideration. Juicers make it easy to consume high quantities of vegetable matter without having to eat all the fiber that is part of the fruit and veg. The juice is where the nutritional benefits come from.

Starting the day with an alkaline breakfast is easy, particularly if you have a juicer. Using my juicer I am in the habit of having about five servings of fruit and vegetables in my morning juice. This level of healthy nutrition sets me up well for the day ahead. Then throughout the day I ensure to eat fruit and then have another vegetable juice in the evening. The end result is that I am consuming high quantities of fruit and vegetables but it is quick and simple as I drink instead of eat the majority of it.