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acidic vs. alkaline food theory

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Posted 10/13/2009 7:54 PM (GMT 0)
Does anyone have any experience with the acid vs. alkaline food theory? I just did a bit of research today on it. I've been trying to eat within the Maker's Diet and SCD's food choices, and I've also been trying to stay low carb since I've read that is supposed to help Crohn's. Since I'm trying to stay low carb, I eat more meat than I used to. I read in the acid/alkaline theory that if your body becomes acidic it cannot function properly. This website listed that Crohn's disease is one of the advanced symptoms of over acidity:

http://www.nutrobalance.com/alkaline-acid.html

I'm not sure if I should consider this legit or quackery. It worries me a bit though, because meat is highly acidic. Any thoughts?
Posted 10/13/2009 8:27 PM (GMT 0)
Quackery. Just take some mineral supplements and it will all be fine. I was a vegetarian until I was diagnosed (over 20 years), so meat does not cause Crohn's.
Posted 10/13/2009 10:15 PM (GMT 0)
it really is just a theory, but there could be some merit to it. the body works better in a slightly alkaline state. most bacteria and disease dont thrive in alkaline environments and do well in acidic environments. but your body is so well at regulating itself that this should not be an issue. however, the typical western diet is so full of acid forming foods (so much grains and processed foods and sugars) and virtually devoid of alkaline foods (ie vegetables) that the shift of input is strongly towards creating an acidic environment. this means your body has to work harder.

so what to do? imho, dont worry yourself to death over this. it is like, imho, the eat right for your blood type diet. it is a gimmick that is loosely based in anecdotal evidence. the reason people feel better on these diets is cos they get you eating properly - less processed and acid forming foods and more vegetables and fruits, which are nutrient dense. that is the real key to any diet, it is just over looked. even tony robbins promotes the acid/alkaline diet. anything that gets you eating properly, regardless of how, is good so stick with it. the thing is though is that it is not dogma and the only way to eat or else. learn from all diets and take what works for you. your blood should be slightly alkaline and your urine slightly acidic, but you can make it alkaline by switching the ratio of acid/alkaline foods you eat. i was able to do this. is it bad for you to have alkaline urine? i dont know. imho, loosely follow the diet as it will get you eating right but you do not need to stick to it rigorously for the rest of your life. for CD i think you'd be better off following makers diet or scd, which will get you eating more alkaline foods based on the nature of the diets getting you to eat nutrient dense foods.
Posted 10/14/2013 10:33 AM (GMT 0)

Alkaline Imbalance.

The notion of acid and alkaline is one of the most misunderstood concepts in nutrition. It is commonly referred to as terrain medicine, a reference to treating the whole individual. It has been established that PH in the blood, saliva, urine, and other areas is a critical factor for building health.

How can you determine an acid or alkaline condition?
Blood work, saliva tests, hair analysis, muscle resistance and urine are just some of the tests being recommended by current nutrition experts. Most of these tests can show relative amounts of acid or alkaline, which is very interesting to compare.

But what people do not know is that there are so many varieties of acid and alkaline appearing in the system that to get any conclusive results about acid and alkaline status. It is still best to read the intracellular fluid—a test rarely performed.

Most current diagnostic tests show the acid wastes are present in the body fluids such as blood, lymph, urine, mucus and saliva. The problem with such tests is that they do not show how much acid waste is within the cellular fluids since these fluids are running through tissues and removing acid wastes.

It might be possible to measure the relative acid or alkalinity of body fluids. But it is rare and more complicated to evaluate the acid or alkaline quality of body tissues such as skin, organs, glands, muscles, ligaments, arteries, and vessels. The majority of standard tests focus mainly on saliva, urine, or blood.

What does all this information mean?
The tissue quality of skin, organs, glands, muscles, ligaments, arteries, and vessels is the determining factor of your health. When acid wastes are not eliminated, they are reabsorbed through the colon, gets filtered through the liver, and end up being re-released into the general circulation. Simply means that you are re-circulating waste, when it is supposed to be cleansed and rejuvenated already.

Even measuring a person's blood for acid and alkaline variations is not an easy task. When acid is introduced into the blood, alkaline minerals from other parts of the body are immediately mobilized to maintain a crucial pH balance of 7.35 to 7.45. The blood cannot tolerate elevated acidity. It must alkalize.

To do this, it goes on an alkaline borrowing spree immediately, with no intention of paying back the bone, tissue, and digestive juice mineral donors. This means that to do a blood test for an accurate acid and alkaline reading, testing would require your doctor to take blood samples at numerous intervals throughout the day and only after eating one particular food to obtain a good reading.

Very exhausting, costly, and still not that reliable.
A number of nutrition writers suggest testing acid and alkaline levels with litmus paper (saliva) or urinalysis sticks (urine). Determining acid and alkaline though pH testing is assumptive, simplistic, and misleading.

Saliva or urine is not reflective of your overall acidity. Such arbitrary and unpredictable testing does not read the cellular fluid or tissue quality of skin, organs, glands, muscles, ligaments, arteries, and vessels. It can only give in a partial evaluation.

The proof of your body's acid and alkaline condition can best be determined by your own experience, not by peer-reviewed studies, medical establishment support, or static dietary guidelines.

Without getting too technical, the most practical advice would be to experiment for several weeks with a food plan that stays close to the middle of the acid and alkaline scale. Check out some diet that is high on both. You will notice dramatic and positive changes that can only be attributed to your experiment. This will be your best doctor.

There are supplements and products that will help you become less acidic and more alkaline. Some say that certain health problems can only occur if the body is too acidic. Also look at some charts of common foods and see if what you eat and drink may be closer to a 2 ph than a 7.2

Blog: http://kinesiology-training.blogspot.com.au/

Post Edited (tuneup) : 10/14/2013 4:36:31 AM (GMT-6)

Posted 10/17/2013 4:26 AM (GMT 0)
hey there

well i have tried it all sister but i must say one thing: tongue
you need to go by your own body because everyone's is different.
i have had 4 surgeries for crohn's disease so i have a lot of scar tissue in my small intestine.
i recommend removing all gluten from your diet. there is a correlation between celiac & crohn's disease. trust me you will feel better & look better. i am a vegetarian. last week i actually wanted to see how my body would respond to meat & i flared. i was sick the entire weekend. i almost had an obstruction. i would stick to lots of veggies and fruits. lots of natural juices & smoothies. buy a juicer & a great blender. some vegetarians do eat eggs and dairy. if you want you can keep those. i keep the dairy because every now & then i get a ben & jerry's craving..which is okay every once in a while. i truly do believe when i am on a more alkaline diet-i feel better. i don't like having meat in my system because i literally feel there is an animal rotting inside of me smhair gross!

yeah so no gluten, no meat & try not to cheat smilewinkgrin

if you have an instagram, please follow me: begxforxmercy
my instagram is based on the foods i eat to manage my crohn's, vegetarianism & individualism
Posted 10/17/2013 5:27 AM (GMT 0)
Apparently acidic foods can cause bad breath issues as it "attacks" good bacteria in the system I believe, so there's got to be something to acid vs alkaline.
Posted 10/17/2013 6:09 AM (GMT 0)
2 Sure-fire ways to make alkaline diet benefit you:


1. With Crohn's disease, you are often your own worst enemy.

I know it’s dead easy to say;  but one must reduce the consumption of sugar and products made from sugar, including soda pop, pies, ice cream, jello, jams & jellies, artificial juices, puddings, doughnuts, corn syrups, chewing gum, sweetened drinks, “sugar free” foods, cookies, breakfast cereals, liqueurs, mixed drinks.

I use the word reduce because it is in practice impossible to eliminate this poison called “sugar” from your diet.


High Alkaline foods ( 9 to 8 pH.) are: Spinach, broccoli, green tea, lettuce, celery, apples, raw almonds (soaked in water to remove skins), carrots and tomatoes.


Acid foods (4 to 3 pH.) are: sugar coffee, breads, beef, shellfish, pastries, past cheese and soda.


Yep Sound easy! But it is so tough. Clients who book into my wife's clinic for treatment will attest to this.

 
But both sugar and coffee (with or without milk or cream) in particular will drive your system into acid in a flash and then it takes ages for your body functions to get this excess acid in your system so as to restore your system back to alkaline again.


And dairy even in the form of yogurt (in fact all dairy) can very often adversely affect people who have this Crohn's disease affliction.


I was talking to a mate of mine a few days ago and he used to cook his own beans and strained them using a sieve so he ended up with like a bean soup. He lived on this for weeks at a time but gradually things improved.
 
2. Avoid processed foods and condiments including ketchup, salad dressings, pickles, luncheon meats, canned fruits, breads, relish, cheese dips, peanut butter, prepared seafood, frozen vegetables, crackers, canned soups, hot dogs, sausages, sweetened yogurt.

Posted 10/17/2013 2:04 PM (GMT 0)
also girl a fabulous book you can read & please give it a chance-don't judge the title-'The Crazy Sexy Diet' by Kris Carr. It's all about an alkaline vegan diet yet it's NOT a boring text book like 'The China Study' (even though The China Study is one of the best books written out there for people with chronic illnesses. never underestimate it. brilliant) Carr is very comical in the way she writes the book. she suffered from cancer, cleaned up her diet through an alkaline diet & put herself in remission. you will love it. it will give you all sorts of information of staying gluten free, meat free & dairy free yet you will get all your vitamins and minerals. she also states a lot of information about autoimmune diseases & how our body attacks itself & why food could be the route to our disease. give it a chance. it's colorfully girly & fun-yet to the point.

the woman is an inspiration. you will love it & her.
I got into juicing through this book.

-Mercy
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