Alkaline vs. Acid Foods

I was reminded of the importance of a balanced diet, and not just in terms of different food groups and colorful foods (the Japanese have a 5 color principle: white, black, red, green and yellow), but also a pH balanced diet.  The pH balance of food directly impacts the pH balance of our blood.  Healthy blood means healthy organs and disease/cancer free.  Too acidic or too alkaline (too alkaline is pretty unlikely for the average American) can cause disease, the body is not able to detoxify and absorb the nutrients it needs.

The scary part?  Most American diets are WAY TOO acidic.  First of all foods like white flour, sugar, processed foods, caffeine, drugs, most energy drinks, soft drinks, artificial sweeteners like NutraSweet, Sweet N Lo, sucralose, are all very acidic!  Put on top of that emotional stress and lack of sleep, and that sounds like a recipe for disaster (and disease?)!  The poor organs are on overcharge everyday, and cannot detoxify all the bad. 

Blood pH is regulated to stay within the narrow range of 7.35 to 7.45, making it slightly alkaline.^[8][9] Blood that has a pH below 7.35 is too acidic, whereas blood pH above 7.45 is too alkaline.  (Source: Wikipedia)

So it is important to eat alkaline foods as much as possible, particularly since it is so easy to eat an acidic diet in the US.  But of course, we can't be too alkaline in our diet, the balance is most important.

Examples of Alkaline Food:

Extremely Alkaline: Lemons, watermelon.  

Other Alkaline foods: figs, kelp, limes, papaya, parsley, seaweeds, watercress, asparagus, avocados, bananas (ripe), garlic, herbs (leafy green), lettuce (leafy green), pumpkin (sweet). 

Examples of Acidic Food:

Artificial sweeteners, beef, beer, breads, carbonated soft drinks, cereals (refined), milk chocolate, cigarettes and tobacco, coffee, drugs, flour (white, wheat), fruit juices with sugar, jams, liquor, pasta (white), pastries and cakes from white flour, pickles (commercial), tea (black), wine. 

Many acid vs. alkaline lists exist, and I don't have a perfect one.  Read with caution, but can be useful as a guidance.

One example list: A List of Acid/Alkaline Forming Foods

(note: there are a few contradictions in the above list)