What is the Alkaline Diet?

What is the Alkaline Diet?

An alkaline diet is a diet that emphasizes, to a varying degree, fresh fruit, vegetables, roots and tubers, nuts, and legumes. It is also known as the alkaline acid diet and acid alkaline diet

Info source: 
http://altmedicine.about.com/od/popularhealthdiets/a/alkalinediet.htm

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The following is from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alkaline_diet

Alkaline diet (also known as the alkaline ash diet, alkaline acid diet, acid ash diet, and the acid alkaline diet) describes a group of loosely related diets based on the belief that certain foods can affect the acidity of bodily fluids, including the urine or blood, and can therefore be used to treat or prevent diseases. Acidity is measured by the pH level of the bodily fluids.

The relationship between diet and acid-base homeostasis, or the regulation of the acid-base status of the body, has been studied for decades, though the medical applications of this theory have largely focused on changing the acidity of urine. 

Traditionally, this diet has advocated for avoiding meat, poultry, cheese, and grains in order to make the urine more alkaline (higher pH), changing the environment of the urine to prevent recurrent urinary tract infections (UTIs) and kidney stones (nephrolithiasis). 

However, difficulties in effectively predicting the effects of this diet have led to medications, rather than diet modification, as the preferred method of changing urine pH.

The "acid-ash" hypothesis has been considered a risk factor for osteoporosis by various scientific publications, though more recently, the available weight of scientific evidence does not support this hypothesis.

Due to the lack of human studies supporting any benefits of this diet, it is generally not recommended by dieticians and other health professionals.[1]

The term "alkaline diet" has also been used by alternative medicine practitioners, with the proposal that such diets treat or prevent cancer, heart disease, low energy levels as well as other illnesses. These claims are not supported by medical evidence and make incorrect assumptions about how alkaline diets function that are contrary to modern understanding of human physiology.

Diet composition
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According to the traditional theory underlying this diet, acid ash is produced by meat, poultry, cheese, fish, eggs, and grains. 

Alkaline ash is produced by fruits and vegetables, except cranberries, prunes and plums. 

Since the acid or alkaline ash designation is based on the residue left on combustion rather than the acidity of the food, foods such as citrus fruits that are generally considered acidic are actually considered alkaline producing in this diet.[2]