Eating Alkaline ... Cheaply

[Peds]

Does anyone know of some inexpensive alkaline foods?

For those who don't know (because it isn't often addressed by the American medical racket) your body has a pH level. A totally healthy body has a slightly alkaline pH. But most of the foods we eat (ie. Meat, bread, coffee, all junk foods) acidify your body. (Meat and bread not so much, but all foods that contain odd chemicals in the ingredients are extremely acidic) Anyway those acidic foods constantly lower a body's pH towards acidic levels. And an acidic body is fatter, retains water, mentally and physically slower, has lower energy, a weaker immune system, and is also related to things like migraines, high blood-pressure, and many medical problems (but the American hospitals treat the symptoms of these diseases instead of the source, the body's pH).

I could go on and on about how America is one of the most unhealthy countries in the world because the US medical system is designed to keep its population sick enough to be on medications to treat the side-effects of other medications but not sick enough to die. If you were dead, who would pay pharmaceutical companies for their overpriced disease-prolonging pills. Another time perhaps.

Anyway, the most basic way to a slimmer, stronger, healthier body is to eat alkaline foods instead of acidic ones. So anyone know of some tasty yet inexpensive alkaline foods/ recipes I could try?

[dreamyxo]

Yes I have heard of this as well.  Our diet is killing us.  I believe most of the health problems we have in the US is caused by poor diet (too much salt and sugar) and lack of exercise. 

Just found this list of alkaline foods.

http://www.energiseforlife.com/list_of_alkaline_foods.php

[tigerlilly01]

I too try to eat as healthy as possible and have heard great things about eating alkaline foods.  I need make more of an effort.  I wish you luck.!

[lvstephanie]

I didn't really want to get in on this discussion... I agree we as a society are not eating as healthy as we should, but I'm also concerned about people believing the Ludite hype that everything man-made is somehow tainted, usually because some of the "studies" don't have a good basis in science (afterall, they tend to view the scientific method as being man-made and therefore evil).

Yes I have heard of this as well.  Our diet is killing us.  I believe most of the health problems we have in the US is caused by poor diet (too much salt and sugar) and lack of exercise. 

Just found this list of alkaline foods.

http://www.energiseforlife.com/list_of_alkaline_foods.php

But I just wanted to look at this list of "alkalline" foods, see if basically they were saying to stay away from pop (which has a lot of acid in addition to sugars) and opt for buffering type of foods that would balance out the acids. At first the article sounded reasonable mentioning an acid / alkaline balance (and my eye caught the 80 / 20 balance mentioned), until I read "Your health depends on the balance of an alkaline environment, created by eating foods such as tomatoes...." Tomatoes?! You've got to be kidding me! Tomatoes are one of the fruits that is very high in Vitamin C (aka Ascorbic Acid). I then went down to the chart and saw some more surprises: Lemons, Grapefruit, Limes! WTF?! Any citrus fruits have a load of Ascorbic Acid as well as Citric Acid (hence "Citrus" fruits): "Citric acid exists in greater than trace amounts in a variety of fruits and vegetables, most notably citrus fruits. Lemons and limes have particularly high concentrations of the acid" from Wikipedia. If you were to test any of these fruits, you'd find them all to be acidic, not basic. Heck, many cleaning products use orange or lemons because of its acidic qualities.

After that I knew their science is "misleading" at best (and more likely just a bunch of ). They also mentioned salt as being acidic, except basic chemistry will tell you that it has a neutral pH (add equal amounts of Hydrochloric Acid and Sodium Hydroxide and you get a neutral solution of salt water: HCl + NaOH -> NaCl + H₂O). In fact, other salts may even have an alkaline pH: Sodium Bicarbonate (or baking soda, an ingredient used in baked goods, which is a no-no according to that chart) has a pH closer to 10!

And then their issue with sugar is also wrong. In order for something to be termed acidic or basic, the levels of hydrogen ions in water need to change. However, dissolving sugars in water does not dissociate any hydrogen ions from the sugar molecule, so the pH level remains neutral. And this is true for sucrose (table sugar) as well as lactose (the sugars in milk) and fructose (the sugars found in fruits). Some bacteria may convert sugars into acidic products (hence the fermentation process of fruits and grains as well as the sour taste in spoiled milk), but sugars in and of themselves are not acidic.

Now I do agree that we should be eating more fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean proteins and less processed foods (like white breads and pastas), salts, and sugars; but that does not have to do with their acidity. And Omega fatty acids are healthier than other fatty acids, so olives, flax, sunflower seeds, and fatty fish (like salmon) (and all of their associated oils) are better sources of fats than red meats; however fatty acids, no matter what form, are still acids. So in general, I'd agree with their food chart (although dairy products are also a good source of lean protein (esp. skim milks), and calcium, so I also wouldn't avoid mothers' natural food), but I'm just not buying that it has anything to due with pH levels.

[kenrachel1993]

has anyone thought about changing your water ? i have been introduced to the alkaline water , it taste good and helps many ppl , i know it sounds stupid but my friends that gave it me has alot of info on it  , i really like it . because FC says we cant other site names and stuff like that yall can email me at kenrachel1993@yahoo.com if you want to know more

[kenrachel1993]

has anyone thought about changing your water ? i have been introduced to the alkaline water , it taste good and helps many ppl , i know it sounds stupid but my friends that gave it me has alot of info on it  , i really like it . because FC says we cant other site names and stuff like that yall can email me at kenrachel1993@yahoo.com if you want to know more

because as you can see changing the foods is a bit much to handle ! ther is a water solution to this problem  ...

[atam28]

It's very sad that it costs me more money to feed my family healthy, unprocessed foods, fruits, and meat.

But it's so cheap to go get food with artificial additives, high levels of sugar and sodium.

Our country makes it very difficult to eat wholesome healthy food.
 

[Peds]

@lvstephanie: I have heard that some foods like citrus fruit may be acidic but it has an alkalizing effect in the body. This is something my friend who is a personal trainer living in England told me. He says that digestible man-made enhancements like high-fructose corn syrup are fine to eat, your body has the same chemical reaction to that as it does to real sugar. However, man-made chemicals that are not digestible and are added just for flavor (ie Splenda which contains chemicals found in rat poison) acidify your body and your body doesn't know what to do with the chemicals so you liver filters them out. But those chemicals stay in your liver and causes damage unless you flush them out some how (he spoke of some Algae capsules to do this).

Also the 80% alkaline / 20% acid diet is for people who are too acidic and are trying to reclaim their proper pH. If you have a healthy pH I think its 50/50 or 60/40.

@dreamyxo Thanks for the list, thats a good resource

@kenrachel1993 I have heard of alkaline water but don't know too much about it. Is it possible to alkalize your own water? Like use some special Britta filter or is the water only available in prepackaged bottles? (I ask because I use a Britta filter right now and it is much cheaper to use that than buy tons of bottled waters. Plus I'm one of those carries-a-refillable-bottle kinds of people  )

[AmyTrivitt]

It's very sad that it costs me more money to feed my family healthy, unprocessed foods, fruits, and meat.

But it's so cheap to go get food with artificial additives, high levels of sugar and sodium.

Our country makes it very difficult to eat wholesome healthy food.
 

It is sad. With all the additives in junk food, you would think it in itself would be higher in price.
It costs to live healthy.

[kenrachel1993]

@lvstephanie: I have heard that some foods like citrus fruit may be acidic but it has an alkalizing effect in the body. This is something my friend who is a personal trainer living in England told me. He says that digestible man-made enhancements like high-fructose corn syrup are fine to eat, your body has the same chemical reaction to that as it does to real sugar. However, man-made chemicals that are not digestible and are added just for flavor (ie Splenda which contains chemicals found in rat poison) acidify your body and your body doesn't know what to do with the chemicals so you liver filters them out. But those chemicals stay in your liver and causes damage unless you flush them out some how (he spoke of some Algae capsules to do this).

Also the 80% alkaline / 20% acid diet is for people who are too acidic and are trying to reclaim their proper pH. If you have a healthy pH I think its 50/50 or 60/40.

@dreamyxo Thanks for the list, thats a good resource

@kenrachel1993 I have heard of alkaline water but don't know too much about it. Is it possible to alkalize your own water? Like use some special Britta filter or is the water only available in prepackaged bottles? (I ask because I use a Britta filter right now and it is much cheaper to use that than buy tons of bottled waters. Plus I'm one of those carries-a-refillable-bottle kinds of people  )

ther is a machine that hooks up to your tap < look im not trying to sell anything i will let the water speak for itself  , email me and  i will give you my phone no. ther is just so much info and to much to expain by typing i can also give you the website , im just a happy arkansas wife who has been blessed to be drinking this water , oh and whatever you do DONT DRINK BOTTLED WATER OR SODA ANYMORE