Alkalizing food

Synthetic fillers are no replacement for nutrient-dense, fiber-rich, alkalizing foods such as vegetables, yet they are playing a larger and larger role in the typical North American diet. 

The foods in the following table share one common thread they re all acidic. While this hst is by no means complete, it shows some of the most common acidifying foods you may be eating. Refer to it as often as necessary to help you kick acid. The hst may look long, but don t worry I won t leave you feehng deprived. You ll soon learn about healthy acidic foods you can include in your diet (in moderation), and in the next chapter, we ll talk about the many alkalizing foods you can eat in plentiful amounts. 

Urinary alkalinization- Urates tend to crystallize out of an acid urine therefore, a liberal fluid intake is recommended, as well as sufficient sodium bicarbonate (3 to 7.5 g/day) or potassium citrate (7.5 g/day) to maintain an alkaline urine continue alkalization until the serum uric acid level returns to normal limits and tophaceous deposits disappear. Thereafter, urinary alkalization and the restriction of purine-producing foods may be relaxed. 

For the determination of vitamin E in seed oils by HPLC, the oils can simply be dissolved in hexane and analyzed directly. Solid-food samples demand a more rigorous method of solvent extraction. In a modified Rose-Gottlieb method to extract vitamin E from infant formulas (86), dipotassium oxalate solution (35% w/v) was substituted for ammonia to avoid alkalizing the medium, and methyl tert-butyl ether was substituted for diethyl ether because of its stability against the formation of peroxides. 

Potassium citrate is used in beverages, foods, and oral pharmaceutical formulations as a buffering and alkalizing agent. It is also used as a sequestering agent and as a therapeutic agent to alkalinize the urine and to relieve the painful irritation caused by cystitis. See Table I. 

While you re working toward alkalizing your body, you can still eat your favorite foods—steak, burgers, pasta, chocolate—on occasion. You ll simply be making a few small changes to your lifestyle and the way you eat. You ll find, as many others have found, that these changes are easy to make and, with minimal effort, fit into virtually any lifestyle. 

This chapter focuses on the first two steps, teaching you which acidic foods to avoid and which can be incorporated in moderation into a healthy diet. In chapter 5, you will leam which foods are alkalizing, and in chapters 6 and 7 you will leam about alkalizing supplements and lifestyle choices. 

Millet balances your pH. I saw this one at a health food store, and it made me laugh. While it would be great if any food had the extraordinary ability to either alkalize your body when you re acidic or acidify it if, on some rare occasion, you became too alkaline, I m sorry to tell you there s no such food. Millet, a tiny spherical grain, is shghtly acidifying once eaten. However, it is full of fiber, vitamins, and minerals, so it is a healthy addition to a predominantly alkaline diet and a wise acid choice. 

All fruit is alkaline. I wish this one was true, as I love most types of fruit. Unfortunately, most fruit is acidic. However, it is a healthy acidic food, and you can include it in your diet. A few types of fruit—lemons, limes, grapefruit (as long as it s not excessively sweet), tomatoes, and avocados—do have an alkalizing effect on your body. 

Add sprouts to salads, wraps, and other foods to significantly increase their nutritional value. Most sprouts contain highly usable protein that requires little energy to digest. Sprouting beans and seeds also increases their vitamin content exponentially and makes them more alkalizing. 

Or try adding 16 drops of 2 percent sodium chlorite (available from many health practitioners and health food stores) to each quart of distilled or ionized water. Alternatively, add a teaspoon or two of pure baking soda to each quart of pure, alkaline water.3 This mixture makes a great quick fix to restore balance, and most people find they adapt to the taste. And don t forget that adding fresh lemon juice to a glass of water is an excellent way to alkalize your body. 

Not all of these recipes are alkalizing to the body. For example, I ve included a few desserts, but they are healthier options than the extremely acidforming desserts most people eat. Remember that we re not trying to eat a completely alkaline diet rather, we re aiming to stay within the 70 30 ratio of alkaline to acidic foods. 

Ammonium chloride and other urine acidifiers, as well as probenecid and sulfinpyrazone, increase salsalate blood levels. Antacids in high doses and other urine alkalizers decrease salsalate blood levels. Corticosteroids enhance salsalate elimination. Food and antacids delay and decrease absorption of salsalate. 

---