Anyone here ever try a pH diet?

[HollyElise]

Anyone here ever try a pH diet?

I'm interested in it more for the disease prevention benefits.... i hear that an alkaline diet makes it virtually impossible to get cancer and other diseases... but it's gaining in popularity now for weight loss. I thought i'd try it and see what i think, if i can live with it, etc. I just ordered a book called The pH Miracle. Has anyone else tried pH eating?

[skookie]

I have never heard of it. I suppose that means no soda for starters?

Alkaline foods tend to have a bitter taste. That could make sticking with it tough! But a lot of acidic foods are unhealthy, so it sounds beneficial.

It's been a long time since I've had any biology classes...but I thought the human body regulated its pH through complex buffer systems...that the slight variences in what you ate didn't translate to a change in your body's overall pH.

What kind of foods do you eat on a pH diet?

[HollyElise]

It is unfortunately more complex than that.

"All food digested in our bodies metabolizes, or burns, down to an ash residue. This ash residure can be neutral, acidic, or alkaline, dpending mostly on the mineral content of the original food..... In general, animal foods--meat, eggs, dairy--processed and refined foods, yeast products, fermented foods, grains, artificial sweeteners, fruit, and sugars are acidifying, as are alcohol, coffee, chocolate, black tea, and sodas. Vegetables, on the other hand, are alkalizing..... A few nonsweet citrus fruits are also basic in the body, as are sprouted seeds, nuts, and grains. Grains are acidifying, though a few (millet, buckwheat, and spelt) are only very mildly so. Raw foods are more alkalizing, while cooked food is more acidifying. To maintain a balanced pH in your blood and tissues, your diet should consist of at least 70 to 80 percent basic foods-- that is, no more than 20 to 30 percent should be acidifying foods (and at least half of that 70 to 80 percent should be raw)." - from The pH Miracle

Anyway, i don't know how much i can conform to it, but i know i want to be eating more veggies anyway, and i've been curious about this so i thought i would read about it and then see if i think it makes sense. That's why i thought i'd ask if anyone else has tried it.

Here is a link to a number of Amazon.com books about it. As you can see, more than one author has put their stock into it. You can probably find out more by reading the book reviews.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/se...028987-3601569

[skookie]

Thanks for the detail!

It does sound complicated. And beneficial, with all those raw veggies. I'm kind of a fruit addict...my diet used to be awful, but I've gotten a lot better. But now it's mostly fruit and grains and I'm still tired a lot...I'll have to take a look at the book next time I'm at borders.

[HollyElise]

If you are tired you might want to look into two possibilities... you might have a wheat allergy, or you might have Candida. I've not had those problems, but i have had friends who did and were able to feel much better by changing their diet.

[Babz]

Even as a vegetarian I wouldn't attempt that diet !!

[HollyElise]

Yes, i don't know what i think of it yet.

Out of all the ways of eating i've seen, nutritionally i have the most respect for PRevention Magazine's modified food pyramid, which is heavy on the fruits and vegetables, much more vegetarian (actually can be worked that way), beans, a little fish, nuts, supplements. Anyway, the neat thing about them is they are not just theory.... they always have the research to back up their claims.