Benefits of an alkaline diet for inflammation, weight loss issues and more

Change the course of your patients’ health with an alkaline diet for inflammation issues and weight loss

“Alkaline certified” is one of the fastest-growing labels in the natural products industry and its seal has become firmly rooted in the minds of health-conscious consumers. I’ve personally learned that you can completely change the course of negative health effects and utilize an alkaline diet for inflammation and weight loss by eating a diet full of alkaline food and beverages.

Alkaline products are in serious demand, and consumers have the right to know if their food is alkaline or acid-based.

What is alkaline?

Alkaline means that something has a pH higher than 7. The human body is naturally slightly alkaline, with a blood pH of around 7.4. The stomach is acidic, which allows it to digest food.

The pH of saliva and urine changes depending on diet, metabolism and other aspects. The stomach is very acidic, with a pH of 3.5 or below, therefore it can break down food. Your urine changes depending on what you eat, which is how the body keeps the level in your blood steady.

The alkaline diet

The alkaline diet is where an individual consumes food and drink that is categorized as alkaline. This means that on the pH scale the item has a pH between 7-14. The aim is to reduce the amount of acidic food and drink consumed.

The diet is derived from the notion that the different foods we eat affect the overall pH balance of our bodies. Food is considered alkaline or acid based on the laboratory combustion of the food. The alkaline diet for inflammation reduction and weight loss is comprised of fresh vegetables and fruits with the aim of maintaining a pH level in the body.

Benefits of an alkaline diet for inflammation correction via food and products

Alkaline foods and products may improve overall health, with some of the benefits including:

• Promote weight loss
• Uncompromised mucous membrane
• Improve kidney health
• Eliminate toxins
• Rejuvenate damaged cell tissue
• Increase energy levels
• Blood nourisher
• Stimulate the brain and central nervous system
• Immune support
• Promoting healthy muscles
• Alkaline diet for inflammation reduction
• Support bones

Research on the alkaline diet

Alkaline foods have the potential to change the body’s pH levels. After food has been digested, certain foods can leave an acidic environment in the body. High-acidic foods include high-protein foods, such as dairy, meats, fish, legumes and many grains.

An article in PubMed states that alkaline food sources or supplements are cations — sodium (Na+), potassium (K+), calcium (Ca2+) and magnesium (Mg2+) — that decrease calciuria and exert a protective effect on bone. On the other hand, acid foods or supplemental sources are anions — phosphate (PO4–), sulfate (SO4–), chloride (Cl–) and organic acids — that cause metabolic acidemia and increase calciuria when consumed in excess, which is harmful to bone health.

A 2016 study concluded that excessive dietary protein from foods with a high potential renal-acid load adversely affects bone, unless buffered by the consumption of alkali-rich foods or supplements. In vitro studies have shown that metabolic acidosis induces a calcium efflux from bone. In animal and human studies, an acid environment has been associated with a negative calcium balance and increased bone resorption.

Further, any extracellular acidification enhances osteoclastic activity, which raises the absorption and removal of osseous tissue. In vitro tests of the alkaline-phosphatase activity of osteoblasts, which had peaked strongly near pH 7.4, was reduced 8-fold at pH 6.9.

A three-year study which looked at a diet rich in potassium, such as fruits and vegetables, as well as reduced acid load, resulted in preservation of muscle mass in older men and women. Otherwise, conditions such as chronic renal failure caused by chronic metabolic acidosis resulted in accelerated breakdown in skeletal muscle. Correcting acidosis may preserve muscle mass in conditions where muscle wasting is common, such as diabetic ketosis, trauma, sepsis, chronic obstructive lung disease and renal failure.

Reducing acid and kidney protection

According to an article in the Iranian journal Alkaline, diets rich in fruits and vegetables have a low net acid load, hence they not only exhibit favorable metabolic effects in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD), but also seem to be safe.

Various studies have disclosed that reducing dietary acid load via high consumption of fruits and vegetables in CKD patients can result in lower levels of kidney injury markers and urinary albumin excretion without developing hyperkalemia. According to the existing evidence, decreasing the acid residue through an alkaline diet may be an effective adjuvant kidney protective therapy.

BRANDON BURRELL is the founder of Alkaline Fresh, Alkaline Certified and Global Crew Services. After years of enjoying an alkaline diet, he realized that most consumers have limited options to purchase quick, healthy alkaline meals. He wanted to create a product that would benefit Americans and help fight adult and childhood obesity. To learn more go to alkcertified.com.

References

Mousa HA. Health Effects of Alkaline Diet and Water, Reduction of Digestive-tract Bacterial Load, and Earthing. Altern Ther Health Med. 2016 Apr;22 Suppl 1:24-33. PMID: 27089527.

Yari, Zahra & Mirmiran, Parvin. (2018). Alkaline Diet: a Novel Nutritional Strategy in Chronic Kidney Disease?. Iranian journal of kidney diseases. 12. 204-208.

Gerry K. Schwalfenberg, “The Alkaline Diet: Is There Evidence That an Alkaline pH Diet Benefits Health?”, Journal of Environmental and Public Health, vol. 2012, Article ID 727630, 7 pages, 2012. https://doi.org/10.1155/2012/727630