WHY HOLLYWOOD CELEBRITIES LOVE THE ALKALINE DIET

Learn the pros and cons before you jump on this bandwagon.

18th August, 2019

The Alkaline diet has become all the rage, thanks to Hollywood A-listers like Jennifer Aniston and Gwyneth Paltrow as well as Britain’s fashion icon Victoria Beckham. Before you take the leap, learn more about the theory behind this diet as well as the pros and cons to make an informed decision (of course, as always, ensure you are under the supervision of a nutritionist if you do plan to try out this diet)

The Hypothesis:

Our body has an acidic environment (the stomach produces acidic juices to digest food) as well as an alkaline environment (our blood is alkaline by nature). The measure used to determine whether your body is acidic or alkaline in nature is called pH. A pH of 7 is neutral, 7 and below is acidic and 7 and above is alkaline. Our body needs to stay neutral to be healthy.

The Alkaline Diet Theory:

As per the theory of this diet, there are certain foods  (i.e meat, poultry, fish, dairy, eggs, grains and alcohol) that cause acid ash when digested and certain foods that produce (ie. fruits, nuts , vegetables, legumes) alkaline ash—natural fats, starches and sugar fall in the latter category as well.

The Grey Area:

Cancer molecules thrive in an acidic environment and hence, the body needs to be maintained in an alkaline environment. As per many studies, though, there are some foods that produce both acid and alkaline ash, but do not affect the blood pH. Our body has an innate mechanism to maintain a neutral pH, which the above hypothesis does not take into consideration.

Here’s Our Take on the Alkaline Diet…

Advantages

• You get good nutrients from fruits and vegetables you consume.
• It’s easy to follow.
• It’s easy on the stomach.
• It leads to weight loss due to the absence of processed food, dairy and

Disadvantages

• Due to lack of first class protein in the diet, it can lead to muscle loss and vitamin deficiencies.
• First class proteins are building blocks for our body and are required on a daily basis; without this food group we are more prone to get chronic diseases.
• There is a lack of reliable research on the benefits of the alkaline diet.

Suman Says…

Limit the intake of foods that are acidic in nature, but do not eliminate them completely. One needs to strike a balance of alkaline and acidic foods in their diet to keep your health in check.