Balance is key. And when it comes to our body’s pH levels, it’s the key to life!
pH is a measure of how acidic or alkaline something is, and our blood pH needs to maintain a slightly alkaline level to keep us healthy. We help our bodies to maintain this pH balance by eating more alkaline-forming foods and fewer acid-forming foods.
- Alkaline-forming foods include most fruits, vegetables, herbs, nuts, seeds, and herbal teas.
- Acid-forming foods include most grains, beans, meats, dairy products, fish, fast foods, and processed foods.
Why Is This Important?
When we eat acid-forming foods, our body works to bring our blood pH back into balance by releasing alkaline-rich minerals into our bloodstream (e.g. calcium, phosphorus and magnesium).
If we are not eating enough alkaline-forming foods, then our body has to pull these minerals from our bones, teeth and organs. This can compromise our immune system, cause fatigue and make us vulnerable to viruses and disease.
How To…
Eat a diet of 60-80% alkaline-forming foods and 20-40% acid-forming foods.
For the acid-forming foods, skip the fast-food burgers and processed foods and choose healthier options like beans, grains and other fresh foods. Pesticides tend to be acid-forming, so also choose organic fruits and vegetables whenever possible.
Easy food chart
Good To Know
- An alkaline diet may be especially beneficial in boosting the effectiveness of certain types of chemotherapy treatments. (Source)
- A highly acidic diet creates a favorable environment for yeast and fungus. When switching to a more alkaline diet, you may notice that you have more energy and that chronic yeast infections begin to disappear.
How the body reacts to certain foods is what determines what foods are alkaline-forming and what foods are acid-forming. For example lemons are acidic in nature, but have an alkalizing effect on the body once they are digested. Similarly, milk is alkaline outside the body, but acidic upon digestion.
Scientists can tell how foods will react inside the body by incinerating the food and analyzing the mineral content of its ash. If the mineral content is highly alkaline, then the food will likely have an alkalizing effect on the body, and vice versa.
The type of soil used to grow fruits and vegetables can influence their mineral content, and test results can vary. As a result, different charts can report slightly different pH levels of the same foods.
How to use these charts
Use these alkaline-acid food charts as a general guide, and don’t worry if one chart is slightly different from another. The small differences in degree ultimately won’t make a huge difference. What will make the biggest difference is replacing processed foods with fresh foods, and adding more fruits and vegetables to your diet.
Alkaline food chart by degree
| Highly alkaline | Moderately alkaline | Low alkaline | Very low alkaline |
|---|---|---|---|
| baking soda | apples | almonds | alfalfa sprouts |
| chlorella | apricots | apple cider vinegar | avocado oil |
| dulse | arugula | apples (sour) | banana |
| lemons | asparagus | artichokes (jerusalem) | beet |
| lentils | banchi tea | avocado | blueberry |
| limes | beans (fresh green) | bell pepper | brussel sprouts |
| lotus root | broccoli | blackberry | celery |
| mineral water | cantaloupe | brown rice vinegar | chive |
| nectarine | carob | cabbage | cilantro |
| onion | carrots | cauliflower | coconut oil |
| persimmon | cashews | cherry | cucumber |
| pineapple | cayenne | cod liver oil | currant |
| pumpkin seed | chestnuts | collard green | duck eggs |
| raspberry | citrus | egg yolks | fermented veggies |
| sea salt | dandelion | eggplant | flax oil |
| sea vegetables | dandelion tea | ginseng | ghee |
| seaweed | dewberry | green tea | ginger tea |
| spirulina | edible flowers | herbs | grain coffee |
| sweet potato | endive | honey (raw) | grapes |
| tangerine | garlic | leeks | hemp seed oil |
| taro root | ginger (fresh) | mushrooms | japonica rice |
| umeboshi plums | ginseng tea | nutritional yeast | lettuces |
| vegetable juices | grapefruit | papaya | oats |
| watermelon | herbal tea | peach | okra |
| herbs (leafy green) | pear | olive oil | |
| honeydew | pickles (homemade) | orange | |
| kale | potato | quinoa | |
| kambucha | primrose oil | raisin | |
| kelp | pumpkin | sprouted seeds | |
| kiwifruit | quail eggs | squashes | |
| kohlrabi | radishes | strawberry | |
| loganberry | rice syrup | sunflower seeds | |
| mango | rutabaga | tahini | |
| molasses | sake | tempeh | |
| mustard green | sesame seed | turnip greens | |
| olive | sprouts | umeboshi vinegar | |
| parsley | watercress | wild rice | |
| parsnip | |||
| passion fruit | |||
| peas | |||
| pepper | |||
| raspberries | |||
| soy sauce | |||
| spices | |||
| sweet corn (fresh) | |||
| turnip |
Acidic food chart by degree
| Very low acidic | Low acidic | Moderately acidic | Highly acidic |
|---|---|---|---|
| amaranth | adzuki beans | barley groats | artificial sweeteners |
| black-eyed peas | aged cheese | basmati rice | barley |
| brown rice | alcohol | bear | beef |
| butter | almond oil | casein | beer |
| canola oil | balsamic vinegar | chestnut oil | brazil nuts |
| chutney | black tea | chicken | breads |
| coconut | boar | coffee | brown sugar |
| cream | buckwheat | corn | cocoa |
| curry | chard | cottage cheese | cottonseed oil |
| dates | cow milk | cranberry | flour (white) |
| dry fruit | elk | egg whites | fried foods |
| fava beans | farina | fructose | fruit juices with sugar |
| figs | game meat | garbanzo beans | hazelnuts |
| fish | goat milk | green peas | hops |
| gelatin | goose | honey (pasteurized) | ice cream |
| goat cheese | kamut | ketchup | jam / jelly |
| grape seed oil | kidney beans | lard | liquor |
| guava | lamb | maize | lobster |
| honey | lima beans | mussels | malt |
| kasha | milk | mustard | pasta (white) |
| koma coffee | mollusks | nutmeg | pheasant |
| maple syrup | mutton | oat bran | pickles (commercial) |
| millet | navy beans | olives (pickled) | processed cheese |
| organs | pinto beans | other legumes | seafood |
| pine nuts | plum | palm kernel oil | soft drinks |
| pumpkin seed oil | red beans | pasta (whole grain) | soybean |
| rhubarb | safflower oil | pastry | sugar |
| sheep cheese | seitan | peanuts | table salt |
| spinach | semolina | pecans | walnuts |
| string beans | sesame oil | pistachio seeds | white bread |
| sunflower oil | shell fish | pomegranate | white vinegar |
| triticale | soy cheese | popcorn | whole wheat foods |
| venison (deer) | spelt | pork | wine |
| vinegar | tapioca | prunes | yeast |
| wax beans | teff | rye | yogurt (sweetened) |
| wild duck | tofu | snow peas | |
| zucchini | tomatoes | soy milk | |
| turkey | squid | ||
| vanilla | veal | ||
| wheat | |||
| white beans | |||
| white rice |
Article by greenopedia.com