How do alkalizing diets work?
There are various organs and parts in the human body that are composed of cells and tissues. A tissue or cell is composed of 16 chemical elements. A healthy body depends on the balance or equilibrium of these chemical elements to maintain health or heal disease.
The acid-alkaline balance is vital to maintaining balanced body chemistry. Depending on the mineral composition of the food, all foods, after digestion and absorption, leave either acidic or alkaline ash in the body. Approximately 20 percent of the body is acidic, and 80 percent is alkaline. Basically, this is the acid-alkaline balance.
The blood reacts alkaline in normal health, which is essential to our physical and mental well-being. Vital combustions occur in the body, and the products of those combustions are mostly acidic in nature. This explains the predominance of alkalis in the blood. About nine-tenths of the body’s fuel comes from carbohydrates and fats. Normally, carbon dioxide, gas, and water are produced from this huge mass of material. Half of the remaining tenth of the fuel is also converted into the same gas and water.
There are various points of discharge for this huge amount of acid, mainly the lungs. Acid is transported to discharge points by the blood. Acid is transported from tissues to discharge points through the blood because of alkalinity.
Acidosis
As the alkalinity of the blood decreases, the capacity to transport carbon dioxide also decreases. As a result, acids accumulate in the tissues. The condition is known as acidosis or hypoalkalinity. An individual suffering from this disease may experience hunger, indigestion, burning sensations in the pharynx, nausea, vomiting, headaches, various nervous disorders, and drowsiness.
A state of acidosis is the breeding ground for most diseases. These conditions contribute to nephritis and Bright’s disease, rheumatism, premature aging, arteriosclerosis, high blood pressure, skin disorders, and various degenerative diseases.
This substance causes serious interference with the body’s glands and organs. Also, it depletes the body’s vitality, which increases the risk of infectious diseases. Too many acid-forming foods are consumed in the diet, which causes acidosis or hypo-alkalinity of the blood. By converting food into energy, the body goes through the process of metabolism.
The system produces various acids, and food also introduces acids. Whenever the lungs, the kidneys, and the bowels do not properly eliminate acids that are formed in the system, the alkalinity of the blood is reduced, resulting in acidosis.
Diarrhoea, dysentery, cholera, and other causes of acidosis include depletion of alkali reserves, accumulation of carbon dioxide during asphyxia and anoxia during circulatory and pulmonary diseases, as well as acetone bodies during starvation, vomiting, or diabetes. Dietary alkaline and acidic foods must be maintained in a proper ratio to prevent acidosis.
There are some foods that leave alkaline ash, helping to maintain the alkalinity of the food, whereas there are others that leave extremely acidic ash, lowering the alkali reserve of the blood and tissues. Meats do the same, but eggs do it less strongly.
Foods such as cereals and bread can also form acids, although much less than meat. With the exception of plums and prunes, all fruits, greens, and root vegetables are highly alkaline foods and help to alkalinize blood and other body fluids.
We should consume four-fifths of foods that are alkaline-forming, such as juicy fruits, tubers, legumes, ripe fruits, and leafy vegetables. We should also consume one-fifth of acid-forming foods, such as meat, fish, bread, and cereal. Keeping the body in perfect health by eating sensibly will ensure the necessary alkalinity of the food.
When someone has acidosis, the higher the ratio of alkaline-forming foods in their diet, the quicker they will recover. It is alkaline that neutralizes acids. Alkaline ash foods, therefore, are crucial for people suffering from various ailments in order to counteract the effects of acid-forming foods and maintain a safe level of alkalinity.
Citrus fruits and fruit juices are the most convenient and agreeable ways to alkalize the blood. However, citrus fruits have a high alkalizing value because they contain a large number of alkaline salts, mainly potash. Potassium is one of the most powerful alkalis found in orange juice. It is contained in each pint of orange juice. For every pint of lemon juice, there are nine grains of alkali, and for every pint of grape juice, there are seven grains.
The Role of Diet in Disease
In the course of the disease, breakfast might consist of fresh fruit, lunch might consist of raw vegetables with acidic fruits, and dinner might consist of raw and cooked vegetables or starchy vegetables such as beet, carrot, cauliflower, eggplant, and squashes.
This diet may be supplemented with sweet fruits after seven days. Based on their reaction with urine, foods are classified as acid-producing or alkaline-producing. Among the nutrients in foods, calcium, magnesium, sodium, and potassium contribute to the alkaline effect, whereas sulfur, phosphorous, and chlorine contribute to the acidic effect.
An acid-forming food is one that contains predominant acid-forming constituents, while an alkaline-forming food contains predominant alkaline constituents. During oxidation in the body, foodstuffs leave behind residues that affect the alkalinity of the blood. Foods taste and their acidic reactions in the blood are not implied by their taste.
Acid salts can be found in fruits and vegetables as a result of the combination of organic acids, soda, and potash. Alkaline soda, or potash, is left behind as a result of the burning or utilization of acids in the body. The alkalinity of the blood is increased rather than reduced by natural fruit acids.
