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Many health experts believe that most people are eating too much acidic foods in their diet. They are encouraging them to shift towards eating more alkaline foods, which will help counteract the acidity that we receive from many of the foods we consume on a daily basis. Alkaline diets focus on the consumption of fresh fruits, vegetables, legumes and nuts.

Alkaline diets are becoming increasingly popular among both health experts and consumers. However, experts can’t agree on the benefits of following an alkaline diet or whether they should be encouraging their patients to try them.

What Does an Alkaline Diet Look Like?

There are a number of foods that will help lower the acidity levels (pH) in your blood. The most alkaline foods include:

• Watermelon
• Mushrooms
• Broccoli
• Lettuce
• Onions
• Pineapple
• Cherries
• Almonds
• Chestnuts
• Cinnamon

There are hundreds of other foods that you can consider adding to your diet. You can find a listing of these foods from the United States Department of Agriculture.

Alkaline diets also discourage patients from eating meats, rices, oils and many dairy products. The diets aren’t strictly vegan or vegetarian. Experts encouraging patients to follow alkaline diets simply encourage them to limit the amount of food they consume from these other sources and eat a higher quantity of alkaline foods.

What Are the Potential Benefits About Following an Alkaline Diet?

Many experts believe that there are a number of benefits to eating an alkaline diet. Alkaline diets could provide the following benefits:

• Slow the rate at which muscles and bones deteriorate over time. This could potentially reduce the likelihood of bone disease and painful joint problems.
• Increase the production of sematotropin and other hormones which are needed to help the body heal from injuries and fight disease.
• Reduce the risk of cancer.
• Reduce the likelihood that you will develop kidney stones.

There are a number of potential benefits from eating a more alkaline diet. The medical community has not been able to conclusively link these health benefits to lower blood acidity levels. However, preliminary research has shown that the diet could be very beneficial to fighting off many illnesses. Many health care professionals have said that their patients’ health has improved considerably after making these changes to their diet.

Concerns with Following a More Alkaline Diet

Health experts haven’t raised any significant concerns with alkaline diets themselves. However, some argue that their colleagues who push for a more alkaline diet may be encouraging their patients to follow a stricter diet that doesn’t provide them with the nutrients they need. They may not receive enough protein and calcium in their diets.

These risks are not a drawback of the diet itself. However, people following an alkaline diet should make sure that they go through the efforts to get all the nutrients they need. Lowering your body’s pH can be beneficial, but it can’t come at the expense of all your other dietary needs.

Overall, there appear to be a number of benefits to people who follow an alkaline diet. More research will be needed to confirm this link. However, you may want to consider asking your physician or dietitian if the diet could work for you.

Kalen Smith is an health writer who talks about the benefits of making dietary changes. He also writes about educational opportunities such as becoming a clinical nurse leader or receiving an online masters degree in education.

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