Wednesday 6 April 2016

Alkaline diet-Who should take such a diet?

There have been a number of theories behind alkaline diet. The main one revolves around the fact that our body has an alkaline pH and hence the food should also be according to the body pH. If you tend to have a diet that is rich in acidic foods like sugar, animal proteins or caffeine then it can result in an imbalance in the body that can result in diseases like obesity, heart problems, cancer allergies, premature ageing and fatigue. The pH of our body fluids has an influence on all the cells of the body. Almost all the holistic doctors recommend alkaline foods as an answer to medical conditions like acid influx and acidosis.

Who should take such a diet?

This diet is meant for people who do not keep well when they take a low carbohydrate or a high fat diet. Even people who lead a life full of stress can take this type of a diet. People who suffer from acidity are the main for which these diets are meant. The alkaline diet consists of almost 75-80% of alkaline foods and about 20-25% of acidic food.

Alkaline diet

Foods containing alkaline content include:

Vegetables like wheat grass, alfalfa spouts, barley grass, broccoli sprouts, cucumber, other types of sprouts, kale, sea vegetables and parsley have a high content of alkaline.

Vegetables like avocado, beets, arugula, bell peppers, cabbage, broccoli, celery, endive, garlic, collard, ginger, lettuce, green beans, tomato, mustard greens, onion, okra, spinach have moderate alkaline content.

Other vegetables like artichoke, Brussels sprouts, asparagus, carrot, kohlrabi, cauliflower, leeks, rhubarb, peas, rutabaga, watercress, turnip, zucchini have slight content of alkaline.

Some of the slight alkaline foods include grapefruit, coconut, lemon, etc. Among beans and legumes you can have soybeans, lima beans, white beans that have moderate alkaline content and tofu and lentils have slight content of alkaline.

Among nuts, seeds and oils those having high alkaline content include pumpkin seeds. Those with slight alkaline content include coconut oil, almond, cod liver oil, borage oil, evening primrose oil, flaxseed oil, fish oil, olive oil, etc.

Among grains you can have quinoa, buckwheat, or spelt. Instead of cow milk, which is acidic, you can have goat milk, which is slightly alkaline.

When on alkaline diet you should eat lots of fruits and vegetables. You should have limejuice and try and have alkalinizing green diet like broccoli, mustard greens and kale. You should prefer having fish over beef and lamb and try and use olive oil as your cooking medium.

You should always keep soaked nuts and cut vegetables ready in your refrigerator so that you can have them whenever you want. This would help you maintaining your alkaline diet rather than going in for junk food that would again increase the acidic diet. You should always keep salad ready in your fridge so that you can have it whenever you are hungry.

Exclusions when on alkaline diet

When on an alkaline diet you should avoid foods like meat (apart from fish), sugar, caffeine, dairy products, processed foods, white rice and pasta, tobacco, condiments, saturated fats etc. You should also avoid soft drinks and soda and other kinds of acidic drinks.

You should avoid having foods that contain preservatives and coloring agents. The body cannot digest these chemicals hence they cause damage to your body. Most of the people to reduce their calorie intake switch over to artificial sweeteners. They are again synthetic and can result in long-term damage to your body.

Why to have alkaline diet

Having alkaline diet can, not only help you in maintaining your body balance but also in losing weight. People usually go in for a low carb and high protein diet to lose weight but they do not realize that they are actually inviting bad health. On the other hand when you have an alkaline diet you can not only stay away from the calories but also bring about some healthy fitness into your body and avoid getting into a number of medical conditions that can be serious. When you have high protein diets you would end up having a diet that is rich in acidic content hence leading to fatigue and way to most of the illnesses.

Alkaline diets are a good way in which cancer can be prevented. They raise the pH of the body and result in alkaline tissues in holding as much as 20 time of oxygen as compared to the acidic tissues. Cancer cells cannot survive in oxygen and hence this would prevent cancer from forming. Besides this there are a number of other diseases that can be prevented with the help of the alkaline diet.

Every body type is different and hence requires different dietary essentials. Before you start on an alkaline diet you should consult a nutritionist about the exact diet that you should follow. The easiest way that you can follow an alkaline diet is that you should eat lots of fruits and vegetables. You should move towards food containing less of fat and acids and have more of such foods with alkaline content. Following an alkaline diet is easy you are just required to get used to it and it can do wonders to your body and health. Alkaline diet is the best way in which you can treat yourself to different types of foods and also remain healthy at the same time. So start making your life healthy from today, consult a nutritionist and start your alkaline diet program.

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