The Unhealthy Eating Habit You Didn’t Know You Had

Eating right is something we all know we should do. It’s hammered into our heads around the clock, from all angles. We get it. What’s less clear is what exactly constitutes “eating right”. There are as many variations on wise consumption plans as there are people to adhere to them. That’s why, in this overwhelming sea of diet fads, the smartest thing to do is to personally educate yourself about how your body works, what it needs, what it doesn’t need and what foods give it what. This can be a pretty daunting task, once you dive in; the human body is one needy creature. When we think about things to include and exclude from our diet, certain things seem obviously: lots of lean protein is good, vegetables and fruits are essential, breads and other carbohydrates are delicious but should be taken in sparingly and fats and sugars are just guilty pleasures to be sworn off every night before bed, with promises to do better tomorrow. We’ve got that stuff down.

But aside from calories, sugar and fat, the one aspect of food that tends to get overlooking is pH balance.  Maybe that idea in terms of food is something new to you. It was to me, until I got an unexplained ulcer a few years ago. Me? An ulcer? I was a healthy eater (or so I thought), an avid exerciser and a generally body-conscious person. I knew I had taken on a bit of stress prior to the appearance of that painful little corpuscle but still, I believed myself to be too healthy for something like that to happen. I don’t even eat processed / artificial / preservative-ridden foods! The dietary detective in me was intrigued. What I found was a whole mess of information about the pH of a person’s body and how important it is to your overall health. In the end, I was floored by what a huge affect this can have on every aspect of your well-being…and how overlooked it is by much of the diet advice and information I’d previously encountered.

Simply put, the pH in your body is like that of water. We’ve all been in grade school science class and used little litmus strips to see if water is more alkaline or acidic…it’s like that. Only in your body. And in your body, too much acidity can cause any number of health problems, from an increase in colds (derived from a decrease in immune strength) to skin problems to ulcers. Even psychological problems like depression can be affected by your internal pH. It’s serious stuff. Basically, an acidic pH can throw your whole health game out of whack. In addition to making you feel less than amazing, this imbalance can affect your hair, nails, and skin, making you look less than your best, too.

No fun, right? Fortunately, this is a pretty easy problem to solve. Below are lists of alkaline foods and acidic foods. The goal should be to consume alkaline foods in much greater quantities in proportion to acidic foods. It helps to keep a list with you, in the kitchen, at the grocery store…eventually, it becomes engrained in your brain and eating with pH in mind becomes second nature. This isn’t to say that all the other sides of eating right aren’t still important. But making sure that you execute all of your other dietary goals from a healthy, alkalinized body platform is the most sure-fire way to get the most from your efforts. Balancing your internal pH before other diet concerns is like priming a wall before painting it; it just makes good sense.

Alkalising Foods/Drinks              Relative pH              Acidifying Foods/Drinks              Relative pH

Cucumber                                      +31.5                        Pork                                                 -38.0

Alfalfa Sprouts                              +29.3                        Veal                                                 -35

Soy Sprouts                                     +29.5                       Beef                                                 -34.5

Avocado                                           +15.6                       Chicken                                     -18

Tomato                                            +13.6                        Eggs                                                 -18

Summer Radish                            +39.4                        Hard Cheese                                     -18.1

Kamut Grass                                  +27.6                        Quark                                                 -17.3

Carrot                                              +9.5                          Cream                                                 -3.9

Soy Beans (soaked)                      +12.8                        White Bread                                     -10

Soy Lecithin (pure)                       +38                          Wholemeal Bread                         -6.5

Cabbage                                          +14.1                        Rye Bread                                     -2.5

Celery                                              +13.3                        Pistachios                                     -16.6

Garlic                                               +13.2                      Peanuts                                      -12.8

Spinach                                           +13.1                      Cashews                                      -9.3

Watercress                                     +7.7                        Margarine                                   -7.5

Leeks                                               +7.2                        Corn Oil                                      -6.5

Courgette                                       +5.7                        Butter                                           -3.9

Fresh Soy Beans                           +12                          Artificial Sweeteners               -26.5

Tofu                                                +3.2                        Chocolate                                   -24.6

Lemons                                         +9.9                         White Sugar                               -17.6

Limes                                            +8.2                          Fructose                                     -9.5

Cucumber                                    +31.5                         Honey                                        -7.6

Wheatgrass                                 +33.8                         Ketchup                                     -12.4

Sprouted Radish Seeds             +28.4                        Mayonnaise                              -12.5

Barley Grass                                +28.1                        Mustard                                       -19.2

Red Cabbage                                +6.3                        Soy Sauce                                     -26.2

Almonds                                       +3.6                        Vinegar                                         -39.4

Olive Oil                                       +1                           Liquor                                            -38.7

Flax Seed Oil                              +3.5                        Wine                                               -16.4

Turnip                                         +8                           Beer                                                -26.8

Asparagus                                   +1.3                        Coffee                                            -25.1

Onion                                           +3.0                       Fruit Juice (Natural)                 -8.7

Watermelon                                -1.0                        Fruit Juice (Processed)             -33.6

Tea (Black)                                  -27.1