Previously the province of hard-core naturopaths and holistic health experts, dietary pH (aka the acidity levels of foods) has recently sprung into the mainstream nutrition conversation. One reason for its rise: a slew of A-li st celebs (think Victoria Beckham. Gwyneth Paltrovi/, and Kirsten Dunst) who credit their trim physiques and bright complexions to having banished acid-producing foods from their plates. Now "acid residue"—low-pH remnants left over after foods like meat, dairy products, and alcohol have been ingested—has joined the ranks of sugar, gluten, and trans fat as one of the diet world's most reviled bogeymen.
What are the scientific claims, exactly? Google "alkaline diet" and you'll find lots of chatter on the subject-not to mention websites hawking alkaline waters, special supplements, cold- pressed juices, and acid-busting cookbooks-but no single doctor or dietitian is at the center of this nutritional theory. Unlike plans created by individuals, like the Dukan Diet or the Zone, eating alkaline is something of a leaderless movement. Essentially, it's a constellation of beliefs about the destructive impact of acid-producing foods on health and well-being.
An alkaline overview
Here's the idea: pH is measu red on a scale ranging from 0 to 14, with 0 as the acid end. 14 as the alkali ne (or base) end. and 7 being neutral. Our bodies maintain a slightly basic blood pH, always in the 7.35 to 7.45 range. Alkaline diet proponents believe that eating foods that leave behind an acid residue wreaks havoc on the body's chemistry as it fights to maintain the proper blood pH. In that struggle, they claim, toxic acids prompt the creation of fat reserves for storage and leach out through the skin's pores, causing breakouts. Meanwhile,alkaline minerals like calcium and magnesium migrate from the muscles and bones to the blood in order to "buffer" pH levels, leaving us weak. The diet's most devout proponents theorize that everythingfrom cancer to mood disorders to diabetes is attributable to having an overabundance of acid sloshing around in our bodies, slowly poisoning us.
"There's really just one disease, and that's the over-acidification of our bodies," says D r. Robert O. Young. Ph. D., whose boo k The pH Miracle is a bestseller. "Everything else is just a symptom of this problem."
Dr. Nish Joshi. a London-based holistic wellness guru who counts Cate Blanchett and Juliette Binoche among his many famous patients, takes a slightly less hard-line view of acid's dangers, but he does believe that acid-producingfoods tax our systems, overwhelming the liver and kidneys. "Ifyouareconstantly creating an acid residue within the body, you have to reshuffle minerals to neutralize those acids," he explains. "If you're eating more alkaline foods, it allows the body to put its energy toward detoxing. We want to encourage the body to focus on improving health."
To that end, Joshi prescribes a diet that includes high-pH foods Like fruits, leafy greens, nuts, and seeds. along with plenty ofwaterto flush acid from the system. Within two to three weeks, he says, as acid residue clears from his patients' bodies, they experience everything from weight loss to Improved mental clarity to glossy hair and nails.
Diet fact or diet Action?
Before you leap on the alkaline bandwago n and swear off the likes of yogurt, eggs, and fish (all "high-acid" foods; see "alkaline vs. acid" below for a more complete list) in pursuit of wellness and weight loss, consider that these pH-related claims are still widely disputed by top doctors and nutritionists. These experts maintain that the diet's proponents grossly misunderstand the physical mechanism for buffering pH.
"The body is builtto manage pH regulation. That's what the kidneys and lungs do." says Katherine Zeratsky, R.D.N.,adietitianatthe Mayo Clinic. Zeratsky explains that it'snearlyimpossible toalteryour body's pH through diet, thanks to the kidneys' ability to buffer acid and the lungs' effectiveness in expelling carbon dioxide, which is mildly acidic.
"This is one of those diets that sounds scientific, so it's tempting to believe it." says Sharon R. Akabas, Ph.D., director of Columbia University Medical Center's Institute of Human Nutrition. "But for anyone with healthy lungs and kidneys, processing acid-producingfoods does not cause any kind of strain."
Although it's far from proven that acid is a diet-and-disease culprit, what nearly everyone can agree on is that alkaline-focused eating guidelines are basically healthy ones: Drinking plenty of water, limiting alcohol, and trading in fried and processed foods for fruits, vegetables, and nuts is almost guaranteed to help you look and feel healthier. If you do decide to dabble with a veggie-intensive diet plan, the key for women is to get enough protein and iron, says Zeratsky. For women avoiding all animal products, she recommends taking
a B12 supplement and eating plenty of beans, lentils, and soy products for protein. Iron-wise, pair leafy greens with red bell peppers or citrus fruits-they contain vitamin C, which aids iron absorption.
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