• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
live love fruit logo

Live Love Fruit

Eat Vibrantly. Live Vibrantly

About Start Here Work With Me

  • Home
  • Start Here
  • About
  • Health
  • Remedies
  • Recipes
  • A-Z Conditions
  • Fitness
  • Environment
  • Self Improvement
  • My LLF
  • Shop
Category: > Health > How Acidic Foods Cause Chronic Disease And Why You Should Start Eating Alkaline

How Acidic Foods Cause Chronic Disease And Why You Should Start Eating Alkaline

Mar 11, 2014 Carly Fraser Save For Later Print

Last Updated: Dec 19, 2020

14.6K shares
  • Facebook14.2K
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
how acidic foods cause chronic disease

A variety of health problems can occur when the body is in an acidic state. When body fluids become too acidic, we enter a state of acidosis in which illness and disease can manifest. If you consume a Standard American Diet (SAD), lacking in vitamins and minerals which are found abundantly in raw fruits and vegetables, then your diet is likely too acidic for good health.

Most grains, dairy products, meats, seeds, legumes and nuts are acidic (with seeds, nuts and legumes being considerably less acidic than the animal-based products). Fruits and vegetables on the other hand are alkaline, given they are consumed raw. Cooking vegetables or fruit changes the way the body recognizes nutrients and so can have an acidic effect on the body.

How Acidic Foods Cause Chronic Disease

Here is how acidic foods affect the body, and why you should start eating alkaline!

Brain

Animal foods, which are highly acidic, contain saturated fat which has been strongly linked to Alzheimer’s risk, according to Dr. Neal Barnard, a clinical researcher and professor at the George Washington University School of Medicine. Consuming saturated fats contribute to the formation of beta amyloid plaques which create plaques in the brain, associated with neurological conditions like dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.

Bones

When people consume a steady diet of high acid forming foods, calcium is leached out of the bones to maintain the body’s pH. This can lead to a host of problems, osteoporosis included. If the acidity level in the blood is too high, the body, as a natural defence, will start withdrawing from mineral reserves in our bones (aka. calcium), in order to buffer excess acidity. Over time (and as is the case with most individuals consuming a Standard American Diet), this will weaken the bones and increases the risk of developing osteoporosis.

Lungs

Acidic foods are very mucus forming and can cause a variety of problems for the lungs. Mucus is created as a result of the body naturally defending itself against acids and other irritants and helps move them through and out of the body. If you continuously consume foods high in acid, the overproduction of mucus can occur causing a variety of problems. When we have a build-up of mucus in the body, the delicate bronchi in the lungs cannot expand and contract as fluidly as they would in a body with low mucoid levels. Coughing, breathing trouble, chest pain, chest discomfort, fatigue, and sinus problems all indicate a build-up of mucus in the lungs.

Heart

Nutrients in acidic foods are not as properly absorbed in the digestive system as are alkaline-forming foods like raw fruit and vegetables. As a result, some of this food is absorbed into your bloodstream as acidic waste, while the rest of the undigested food putrefies in the intestine, causing further acid release into the bloodstream. This can wreak havoc on the cardiovascular system by causing arterial inflammation and plaques, restricting blood flow and thus preventing vital nutrients and oxygen from reaching the cells in our body. The result, especially if these acid plaques break off and clog the bloodstream, can cause heart attacks, strokes, increased risk for cardiovascular disease and a host of other heart-related problems (pretty much any you can think of).

Liver, Pancreas & Kidneys

Highly alkaline glands like the pancreas and liver are most susceptible to acidic damage. Pancreatic juice has a pH between 7.8-8.0 and bile from the liver has a pH between 7.5-8.8. When we consistently consume a diet high in acidic foods, the acidity of the whole body becomes higher, resulting in pancreatic juices and bile that are higher in acid than normal. The higher acidity level of these juices and bile irritate and even destroy surrounding tissue of the pancreas and liver, causing inflammation, stones, ulcers and cancer.

If the liver isn’t functioning well, then the kidneys won’t either. Waste processed by the liver goes through your blood to your kidneys and out in your urine. Uric acid stones form when the urine is persistently acidic, which is a direct result of consuming foods that are too acidic. By consuming a diet that is more alkaline, you can help improve the functioning of your liver, which will directly improve how well your kidneys function.

Intestines

As visited in the heart section, acidic or heavily processed foods cause an allergic response in the digestive system, and food cannot be properly absorbed. This causes nutrient deficiencies which can lead to a suppressed immune system and increased risk for disease and illness. Improper digestion also creates the perfect environment for un-healthy bacteria to thrive, and can result in over-growth of Candida in the body. Restoring the acid-alkaline (pH) balance in the digestive system is crucial, especially if you do not consume enough raw fruit and vegetables, because this will help increase digestive enzymes to help improve digestion. With standard cooked food diets, the enzymes are normally destroyed, however raw foods are in their most natural state, and provide us with all of the digestive enzymes our body requires.

Stomach

Suffer from acid reflux? You may be consuming a diet that is highly acidic. Fried and processed junk foods, meat, dairy, eggs and refined sugar can affect the pH of our stomach and leave us feeling less than optimal. The human stomach is filled with a naturally-acidic liquid which activates digestive enzymes and helps them break down consumed foods. When we throw off the natural pH in the stomach by consuming animal products or processed foods, excess acid accumulates and can cause heartburn, bloating, excess gas, indigestion, nausea and uncomfortable fullness. You may also experience bad breath, hair loss, belching or nasal congestion as a result of high stomach acid.

Skin

If the organs in your body are compromised as a result of an acidic diet (especially those that help detox like the liver, kidneys and intestines), then your skin will directly reflect the damage inside. If our blood pH level is even slightly more acidic than it should be (as a result of consuming a Standard American Diet), and remains this way for more than a month or two, then it will lead to skin eruptions, eczema, all dermatitis types, rashes, acne and random breakouts. When our bodies remain in this acidic zone, it becomes a breeding ground for bacteria, yeast and fungi (aka. Candida), and can be the main trigger for any skin issue you might be experiencing.

14.6K shares
  • Facebook14.2K
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn

Filed Under: Diet & Lifestyle, Health Tagged With: Acidic, Alkaline, inflammation

Carly Fraser

About the Author

Carly Fraser has her BSc (Hons.) Degree in Neuroscience, and is the owner and founder at Live Love Fruit. She currently lives in Winnipeg, Manitoba, with a determined life mission to help inspire and motivate individuals to critically think about what they put in their bodies and to find balance through nutrition and lifestyle. She has helped hundreds of thousands of individuals to re-connect with their bodies and learn self-love through proper eating habits and natural living. She loves to do yoga, dance, and immerse herself in nature.

View Profile

Reader Interactions

Related Posts

  • 100+ Alkaline Foods That Fight Cancer, Inflammation, Diabetes and Heart Disease
  • Help Correct A Highly Acidic, Diseased Body with this pH-Shifting Alkaline Juice
  • 8 of The Best Alkaline Plant-Based Foods To Balance Your Body's pH
  • Drink This Lemon Pineapple Smoothie To Shift Body PH More Alkaline and Fight Disease
  • foods that cause gout flare ups
    10 Foods That Cause Gout Flare Ups
  • 12 Foods That Cause Excessive Mucus In The Body (and 14 Foods That Eliminate It!)
  • foods that cause chronic inflammation
    The Top Foods That Cause Chronic Inflammation in the Body

Comments

  1. Ron Murrell says

    May 6, 2019 at 6:55 am

    Great work

    Reply
« Older Comments

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Free Ebook

Success! Please check your inbox to download your FREE eBook.

Reduce Chronic Inflammation Naturally!

The Ultimate Guide to Fight Inflammation and Restore Your Health!

21 Ways to Reduce Chronic Inflammation

Recent Posts

visual illustration of toxins stored in fat cells in body

How to Eliminate Toxins From Fat Cells That Are Making You Fatigued and Swollen

foot with demonstrated achilles pain

This One Stretch Relieves Plantar Fasciitis, Shin Splints, Achilles Pain, and Heel Pain

Neutrogena and Aveeno sunscreens recalled by Johnson & Johnson

Latest Sunscreen Recall Raises Concern Over Chemicals

lemongrass plant in garden

How to Plant Lemongrass to Repel Mosquitoes

Popular Posts

Man spraying pesticides on tea plants with other side of image showing dry loose tea bags

Pesticides in Tea: Is Your Favorite Tea Contaminated with Harmful Chemicals?

glyphosate in wine

Monsanto’s Harmful Chemical Glyphosate Found In 100% Of California Wines Tested

whole dandelion plant with flowers and roots on cutting board on a table

Dandelions Are Not Weeds! Top 10 Health Benefits of Dandelion

johnson & johnson baby products in pharmacy

Johnson & Johnson Finally Admits: Our Baby Products Contain Cancer-Causing Ingredients

10 Plants That Attract Dragonflies for Mosquito Control

companion planting chart

Use This Companion Planting Chart to Help Your Garden Thrive

France Bans Neonicotinoid Pesticides

France Bans All Five Neonicotinoid Pesticides Linked to Bee Deaths

Glyphosate in Food: Complete List of Products and Brands Filled with Dangerous Weed-Killer

whales dying from plastic pollution

Whales Dying From Plastic Pollution Are a Grave Reminder to Give Up Our Addiction to Plastics

illustrated piriformis muscle showing trigger points and radiating pain

How To Get A Deep Piriformis Stretch To Get Rid of Sciatica, Hip & Lower Back Pain

RECOMMENDED

Thank you! Please check your inbox to confirm your subscription!

Want to reduce inflammation and restore your health?

Join Live Love Fruit and we'll show you how!

Footer

Stay Connected!

Follows
  • 313.7k Followers
  • 1.9k Followers
  • 97k Followers
  • 560 Followers
  • 11.5k Followers
  • Home
  • About
  • Start Here
  • Write For LLF
  • Contact

Any medical information published on this website is not intended as a substitute for informed medical advice and you should not take any action before consulting with a healthcare professional.
Content on Live Love Fruit may not be reproduced in any form.
Ads provided by AdThrive. Displayed ads do not constitute endorsement or recommendation by Live Love Fruit.

Copyright © 2012 - 2022 Live Love FruitPrivacy Policy | Terms of Service | Full Disclaimer | Affiliate Disclosure

14.6K shares
  • 14.2K