If you consume a Standard American Diet, it is safe to assume that your body is highly acidic. Naturally balance your pH with some of the best alkaline plant-based foods that mother nature has to offer!
Our body is designed to be alkaline – our blood has a pH of 7.365, which is slightly alkaline and it will do whatever it can to regulate our pH levels. The Standard American Diet, consumed by a large portion of the population, is the main culprit causing our body to be in a constant state of acidity. Consuming highly acidic foods like processed foods, soda, junk foods, meat, eggs, and dairy, strips our bones from crucial minerals in order to buffer the acidity and do its best to keep our body in an alkaline state. This leads to things like osteoporosis and other degenerative diseases.
In fact, major illnesses that plague the majority of the planet are caused by a high-acid diet, leading to things like heart disease, stroke, cancer, skin disorders, auto-immune conditions, allergies – the list goes on. You might feel fine now but your body will eventually grow out of it’s optimal pH balance and you will become victim of some disease or illness. It is also important to note that most of these vegetables and fruits are best eaten raw, because cooking raising acidic levels.
Here is a list of 8 alkaline foods you should be consuming every day, or every second day!
Kale
All leafy greens are alkaline forming. Kale is especially high in alkaline-forming minerals like calcium and magnesium, and is one of the most mineral dense greens out there! Kale is a power food, and has a major chlorophyll component which attributes to it’s amazing alkaline properties. Thanks to kale’s glucosinolate compounds, it has the ability to fight off cancer too!
Lemons
You might be confused by seeing lemon on the high-alkaline list. Lemons are actually incredibly high in alkaline minerals like potassium, magnesium and sodium which have alkalizing effects on the body. The citric acid in lemons, in its natural state, is highly acidic. However, when consumed, this citric acid gets metabolized and has a wonderful alkaline effect on the body.
Broccoli
Broccoli is packed with a variety of vitamins and minerals which have alkalizing effects on the body. They contain vitamin’s C, K and A, as well as minerals like manganese, potassium, iron and protein (not to mention folate and tonnes of fiber!). They also contain sulforaphane which is a great cancer-fighting compound!
Celery
Celery is one of the most alkaline foods you can eat! It quickly neutralizes acids and is high in potassium and sodium which makes it a great diuretic (helps rid the body of excess fluid). Celery is also a very high-water content food, so it helps hydrate and nourish the cells in your body.
Avocado
Avocados are very high in potassium, magnesium, iron, calcium and copper (as well as a variety of vitamins like A, B, C, and E), making it a great alkaline forming food! They are rich in health-promoting essential fatty acids which actually help promote weight loss. They are not only healthy-fat rich, but they are water-rich too! This helps flush out acidic waste, and promotes a more alkaline environment in the body.
Red Pepper
Most peppers, including cayenne peppers, have a pH above 8 which helps transform acidic foods, raising the body’s overall alkaline level. Cut up some red pepper in your salad, or eat it like an apple! Consuming raw foods maintains an alkaline state in the body, whereas cooked foods are more acidifying.
Cucumber
Cucumbers are wonderful for the skin and are highly alkaline. They are composed of up to 95% water and packed with vitamin’s C and K as well as minerals like potassium, manganese, magnesium and molybdenum. Most of the minerals are in the skin of the cucumber, so be sure to include the skin when you are consuming since the minerals are what keep the body in an alkaline state.
Spinach
Spinach is one of the top alkaline foods you should include in your diet. It is considered a dark leafy green, packed with nutrients like vitamins A, K, C, B1, B2, B3, B6 and E. It is also loaded with minerals that provide the body with amazing alkaline effects such as manganese, magnesium, iron, potassium, calcium and folate. Spinach is very chlorophyll rich too, which acts as an alkalizer and brings your body back to the optimal 7.4 range.
Red pepper and cucumber are high in lectins and therefore should not be eaten. Spinach is high in oxalate. Please see Phytic acid and lectins on the internet. Foods containing them such as legumes should be completely avoided. Lectins and phytates are antinutrients which destroy vitamins and minerals in the body.
Hey Martha, I need to approve comments before they come in, because there are A LOT of spammers out there. So unless you want clean comments, then you need to wait – and no, you cannot lawsuit me, as I have a disclaimer on my site. These foods you mention have SO MUCH more going for them than the select few nutrients you've decided to pick out and deem dangerous. You aren't going to become nutrient deficient from eating a cucumber (but you might from eating processed foods, and a diet high in foods that prevent nutrient absorption from happening in the first place) — don't worry 😉
Thanks … pretty good reply.
I live in NYC …everyone has opinions!
Raves, Faves and Knaves…
no wonder everyone wears earbuds.. (except moi)
i am 75 and pretty healthy. grew up with nearly no bread . some milk some cereals ..no sugars except in summer limeades.. frozen or fresh vegetables no butter or sauces no oils … meats were less adulterated then.
And i cooked ..from 6 yrs old because my mom was widowed and worked or studied so i took over the kitchen but she took me shopping on Saturdays.
Amazing! 🙂
You state that I have "already said that"? Well, then how come you have ignored it on your website. I need to file a lawsuit on you. You are wrongfully and deliberately misleading the public. Don't be surprised when you get the lawsuit.
Hi,
I recently heard celery had a very high alkalinity and was looking it up when I stumbled across this article. I read the paragraph on celery and could not read on.
I am a scientist with an associate’s degree, but I do know that potassium and sodium cause us to retain water. This has the opposite effect of a diuretic. They are extremely needed in the body – don’t get me wrong. We need potassium and sodium for cell hydration, neurotransmitters, etc.
I cannot trust the rest of the article when I know that the only paragraph I read contains false information. Please amend and I will read on.
Hey Wes,
I am not sure where you are getting your information, but potassium helps reduce sodium retention in the body. It reduces sodium levels, and helps increase urine production for faster release of sodium from the body (see the study here: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9428447).