History of the Alkaline Diet
There is no information in history about the “parent” of the alkaline diet, but having traced the chain of scientific discoveries, the conclusions of scientists and nutritionists, we can say that the diet was the result of bringing together several facts.
- Around the 50s of the twentieth century, scientists found that the foods we eat can form acid or alkali when processed by the body. Having studied glycemic indices, that is, indicators, all products were divided into 3 large groups - “acidic”, “alkaline” and “neutral”.
Grocery list
| Alkaline products | Acidic foods | Neutral products |
| Fresh vegetables (broccoli, spinach, cabbage, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, celery, cucumbers, onions, asparagus, avocado, tomatoes, peppers, artichokes, radishes, potatoes), excluding legumes | Meat (pork, beef), chicken and turkey are less acidic foods | Butter, margarine, olive and sunflower oil |
| Fruits (lemons, apples, pineapple, oranges, peaches, grapefruits, bananas, watermelons) | Berries (blueberries, cranberries) | Fish and seafood |
| Berries (cherry, strawberry) | Most nuts | Eggs |
| Cereals (wild rice, pearl barley, snapped wheat) | Sweet and carbonated drinks | Brown rice |
| Seaweed | Refined sugar | Oatmeal |
| Greenery | Brown and white rice, wheat | Dairy products (sour cream, ice cream, milk and natural yoghurts) |
| Dried fruits | Flour and flour products | |
| Olive oil | Legumes | |
| Green and herbal teas | Cheeses, especially hard varieties |
- It has been observed that eating vegetables and other “alkaline” foods affects the growth of kidney stones, almost stopping it. In this regard, a special alkaline, or alkaline, diet was developed, which had the sole purpose of treating this disease.
- The body, like the skin, has a pH level, so any deviations provoke diseases.
Normally, the body's PH level is within 7.40, plus or minus 0.05. According to the theory, the body is alkaline in nature. Since most frequently consumed foods are classified as “acidic,” this causes the balance to shift toward acidity.
The famous American microbiologist and healthy nutrition specialist, Robert Young, is convinced that excess acid in the body is responsible for the accelerated proliferation of bacteria. This leads to the accumulation of toxins and waste in the body. Consequently, a person begins to get sick, he often feels unwell and quickly becomes tired.
Alkali, neutralizing acid, accelerates the removal of harmful substances and helps cleanse the mucous membranes and the entire body. The result is a good mood, lightness, healthy appearance and excellent health.
This conclusion allowed us to draw up general principles of the methodology:
- To heal or improve your condition, you simply need to “shift” the body’s PH level to the alkaline side.
- To do this, it is enough to undergo an alkaline diet, eliminating “acidic” foods as much as possible.
- The transition to a diet should be smooth.
- In the presence of any diseases, the diet should be gentle.
An imbalance in the body leads not only to illness, but also to gradual weight gain. This factor has become decisive for nutritionists to include the alkaline diet in their list. This technique will not only relieve the body of excess acid, but will also help you lose some weight.
Recipes
Spring salad
Products needed for the salad:
- Cucumbers – 400 grams;
- 300 grams of radish
- 100 grams of almonds;
- A bunch of greenery;
- 1 tsp. liquid honey;
- Lemon juice – 2 tbsp. l.;
- One clove of garlic;
- A little table salt.
Preparation:
- Almonds should be placed in cold water for 10 hours;
- The peeled clove should be finely chopped. Next, add garlic, almonds, a little honey, lemon juice and clean water into the blender. Whisk everything;
- We wash all the vegetables. Then we chop them and put them in a salad bowl, sprinkle everything with finely chopped herbs and season with the prepared dressing. Mix everything well.
Cabbage rolls from Chinese cabbage
Products for cabbage rolls:
- 7 leaves of Chinese cabbage;
- Sunflower seeds without peel – 200 grams;
- Avocado – 200 grams;
- 300 grams of sweet pepper;
- 50 grams of walnuts without shell;
- 50 grams of celery roots;
- A bunch of greenery;
- 15 grams of green onions;
- Garlic – a couple of cloves;
- 2 tablespoons olive oil;
- Lemon juice – 40 ml;
- A little table salt and spices.
How to cook:
- The peeled seeds must be placed in cold water and left overnight;
- Peel the garlic and chop finely. Next, chop a bunch of greens and celery. And put everything with garlic into a blender. You should also add 50 grams of walnuts, seeds, olive oil, lemon juice, a little table salt and spices to these ingredients. Beat everything until smooth;
- Then you should peel the avocado and bell pepper and cut everything into strips. Finely chop the green onions;
- Place the whipped mixture in a blender on the leaves of Chinese cabbage, put avocado and sweet pepper on top, sprinkle with green onions and wrap it in a roll.
Lingonberry and honey drink
Beverage products:
- One kilogram of lingonberries, frozen or fresh;
- Natural honey – 400 grams;
- A little ground cinnamon and cloves.
Lingonberries should be poured into a blender, add cinnamon, cloves, 400 grams of honey and 1 liter of water. Whisk everything until completely mixed.
Alkaline Diet Rules
- The consumption of foods from the “acid” group should not exceed 20% of the total food per day.
- It is preferable vegetables and fruits raw . This is because some of them change their nature from alkaline to acidic when fried, and you don't want that.
- For cooking, you cannot use dairy fats (for example, butter) in any form. Flaxseed, olive or virgin corn oil are allowed.
- The last meal should be completed by 19:00 pm .
- For drinks, leave water, natural juices or herbal teas. Important: after meals you can only have tea.
- Grains and fish (seafood) should not be on the menu more than 3 times a week.
- Intense physical activity is encouraged.
Following these rules will help achieve a positive result.
The standard course duration for restoring order in the body is 3 weeks . Each week is a kind of phase, through which you get a certain result.
1. The first phase is aimed at cleansing and restructuring the body’s PH level to the alkaline side. Characterized by rapid weight loss (up to 4 kg) and general weakness, which indicates the beginning of the cleansing process. The diet should be stopped only in case of alarming symptoms. If you tolerate such discomfort normally, there is no need to dwell on this.
2. The second phase equalizes the acid-base balance to normal levels. The weight comes off slowly, your health improves significantly, and the heaviness in your stomach no longer bothers you.
3. The role of the third phase in maintaining balance and consolidating the achieved result. The main signs are weight stabilization and excellent health. It is important here not to “attack” “acidic” foods and continue to follow an alkaline diet.
There is a variant of the alkaline diet, adapted for weight correction. Here the second phase lasts until the desired weight is reached, and the third – 11 – 12 days, and includes a glass of mineral water in the breakfast menu.
Important points about nutrition
Vegetables can be consumed in any form. They can be stewed or boiled, but it is better to eat them raw. They can be both independent dishes and additions - side dishes.
The alkaline diet provides for well-thought-out and moderate consumption of meat products, fish, and legumes (no more than three times a week). Eating seeds and nuts is allowed, only in moderation. Fruit juices, herbal and green teas and, of course, clean drinking water are welcome.
Having decided to switch to such a food system, you should immediately understand that you will have to give up many of your favorite and frequently consumed foods. On such a diet you will not be able to drink strong coffee, alcohol, carbonated and tonic drinks. It is also recommended to completely abandon non-vitaminized or, as they are also called, “dead” foods.
It is allowed to eat various oils. It can be peanut, sunflower, soybean or olive oil. They can be added to salads or cooked with them. Yes! You can fry foods! The main thing is that the oils do not contain any chemical impurities. Products must be natural and safe for health.
Diet menu
Below is a menu for a week of the alkaline diet. You can create such a menu yourself, based on the list of products and basic rules.
| Day | Eating | Dishes |
| Day 1 | Breakfast | A glass of natural yogurt or kefir with fruit, you can add half a spoon of honey for taste |
| Snack | Any whole fruit | |
| Dinner | Durum pasta with tomato and mushroom sauce | |
| Snack | Any whole fruit | |
| Dinner | 100 gr. chicken breast, vegetable salad (for example, lettuce, cucumbers and tomatoes with olive oil) | |
| Day 2 | Breakfast | 2 egg omelette |
| Snack | Handful of dried fruits | |
| Dinner | Cream of broccoli soup | |
| Snack | Smoothie from a glass of milk, banana and cherries (you can take frozen ones, always pitted) | |
| Dinner | Oven baked fish with fresh vegetable salad | |
| Day 3 | Breakfast | Hot sandwich |
| Snack | 1 apple or orange | |
| Dinner | Rice with stewed vegetable mix | |
| Snack | Vegetable soup | |
| Dinner | Stewed cabbage with potatoes | |
| Day 4 | Breakfast | 1 hard-boiled egg. Half a grapefruit |
| Snack | Handful of nuts | |
| Dinner | Salad of arugula, avocado, cherry tomatoes and goat cheese or feta cheese | |
| Snack | 1 fruit | |
| Dinner | Fruit salad with natural yoghurt dressing | |
| Day 5 | Breakfast | Vegetable salad with olive oil dressing and lemon juice |
| Snack | 1 orange | |
| Dinner | Vegetable stew with chicken breast pieces | |
| Snack | 1 apple or orange | |
| Dinner | Kholodnik with kefir | |
| Day 6 | Breakfast | 2 egg omelette |
| Snack | 1 banana or orange | |
| Dinner | Potato and carrot cutlets | |
| Snack | berries or fruits of your choice | |
| Dinner | Light salad with shrimp and grapefruit | |
| Day 7 | Breakfast | Cottage cheese with 1 banana |
| Snack | Smoothie made from 1 cucumber, herbs of your choice and a glass of kefir or yogurt | |
| Dinner | Mushroom cream soup | |
| Snack | 1 orange | |
| Dinner | Salad with lettuce, cherry tomatoes and canned tuna |
Product table
| Products name | Types of products included in this category |
| Vegetables | This category includes all varieties of cabbage - Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, cabbage, and so on. And also artichokes, tomatoes, garlic, eggplants, fresh green peas, asparagus, celery roots, cucumbers, beets, carrots, parsnips, all kinds of onions, lettuce, potatoes, zucchini, radishes, pumpkin, green peppers, corn cobs, turnips. |
| Fruits and berries | This category consists of apples, pears, bananas, cherries, blueberries, blackberries, peaches, cranberries, lingonberries, melons, citrus fruits, plums, grapes, avocados, persimmons, mangoes, strawberries, prunes, figs, pineapples, watermelon pulp, apricots. |
| Seeds and nuts | Almonds, hazelnuts, Brazil nuts, cashews, peanuts, walnuts, chestnuts, sunflower seeds in small portions, coconut nuts, pine nuts. |
| Legumes | Beans of all types - green in pods, white and red. Also lentils, peas, soybeans, sprouted beans. |
| Cereal products | Brown rice, pearl barley and buckwheat. |
| Types of oils | Flax oil, wheat germ oil, peanut oil, corn oil, soybean oil, sunflower oil, olive oil and walnut oil. |
| Meat | Lean beef, young veal, lamb, mutton. Pork meat is also allowed, but in small portions and not too fatty. It is best to eat white chicken and turkey meat, which contains very little fat. But goose and duck meat have a high level of harmful fatty substances and are saturated with cholesterol; this meat should be excluded from your menu. |
| Fish | You can eat any fish, except salted, smoked, and dried. You can eat fish of sea or river origin. |
| Natural sweets | Brown and yellow granulated sugar (vegetable), granulated date sugar, natural honey, maple syrup, raw molasses, sweet beet syrup. |
| Drinks and water | Unlimited quantities of purified or mineral water, fruit juices without granulated sugar, mineral water with a small amount of lemon juice, herbal tea, rosehip tinctures, and so on. |
| Bread | Diet bread, bran bread, rye bread. |
Advantages and disadvantages
Pros:
- After the start of the second phase, you will feel incredible lightness and a surge of strength.
- The condition of the skin, hair, and nails noticeably improves, “bags” and dark circles under the eyes disappear.
- Digestion is normalized, sleep and memory are improved, as well as the ability to concentrate.
- The diet is filling and does not require calorie control.
- The technique is quite inexpensive, and the products are available year-round.
Minuses:
- Since the alkaline diet is quite long and weight loss is not its main goal, it is suitable only for those who want to put their body in order and lose from 3 to 5 kg.
- During the first phase, there is a high probability of deterioration in health, causing some discomfort. For the same reason, mood swings, apathy, and drowsiness are likely.
- While losing weight, you will have to change your eating preferences, paying more attention to vegetable dishes and fruits.
- Due to the limited intake of dairy products and proteins, the level of calcium in the body decreases, so it is necessary to take mineral complexes to replenish the losses.
Symptoms of body oxidation
In addition to special tests, there is an easy way to determine pH imbalance - observe your condition. But as a rule, a person with a problem has already experienced all the “delights” of an imbalance. Perhaps he managed to go to the clinic to have certain problems treated.
The main symptoms of high acidity:
- disruption of the gastrointestinal tract. The digestive system is the first to respond to alkaline imbalance. Indigestion, stomach pain, problems with stool indicate a problem;
- fatigue, weakness, tiredness immediately after waking up, a state of weakness. This also includes bad mood, apathy, irritability;
- frequent colds, decreased general immunity;
- surges in blood pressure. More often it rises, but sudden, causeless declines are also possible;
- gray complexion. The skin becomes dull, sallow, rough, cosmetic care does not solve the problem.
Following an alkaline normalizing diet will help solve all these problems in a short time. The first results of the detox will appear within 5 days.
Contraindications
Despite the desire to improve your body, you need to remember the contraindications:
- heart diseases, including coronary disease;
- atrophic gastritis;
- low stomach acidity;
- renal failure - chronic or acute;
- a sharp deterioration in health at the beginning of the first phase should serve as a signal to stop the course.
In any case, do not neglect consulting a doctor.
Expert opinions
There is no clear opinion about the effectiveness of the diet, even among nutrition experts and doctors. American nutritionist Erin Palinsky claims that eating large amounts of “alkaline” food will disrupt the natural balance and “alkalize” the body.
Many experts believe that the body independently regulates the acid-base balance, and there is no urgent need to artificially equalize its PH level.
The cleansing effect can be explained by the presence of fiber in vegetables, which are the main type of food during the diet. Fiber does an excellent job of removing waste and toxins from the body. Weight loss occurs due to the reduction (or complete elimination) of bakery and confectionery products.
There are many scientifically proven facts about the adverse effects of excessive sugar consumption, so replacing sugar with natural analogues (stevia) also plays an important role in weight loss.
Video of the program “Live Healthy” about the acid-base balance in the body:
Proper diet
Nutritionists say that the safest and most consistent way to lose weight is an alkaline diet. How to create a diet to achieve results?
- We maintain a ratio of 20 to 80%. The majority should be alkaline foods.
- The best way to heal your body and improve your figure is to eat plenty of fruits. Apples, grapes, bananas, pears, and lemons are especially good.
- Be sure to include fresh vegetables from the garden in your diet.
- Be sure to drink enough fluids. Carrot and watermelon juices fight especially well against acidic environments.
- Don't forget the spices. They will not only make lean food tastier and more aromatic, but will also add benefits. Preference is given to turmeric, coriander, cumin, cinnamon, and cloves.
Course or lifestyle
According to reviews from those who took a course of “alkaline” nutrition, their health actually improves, but not everyone was able to get rid of the desired amount of extra pounds. Some talk about changing eating habits.
Some nutritionists consider the “alkaline” menu to be a diet, since the body needs to be cleansed periodically. Others believe that such a diet must be followed throughout life to maintain normal health.
Whatever you decide, including vegetables in your daily diet will only have a positive effect on your health, the main thing is to know moderation in everything and remember to eat well.
