Alkaline diet for weight loss: recipes of dishes

When the conversation turns to the craze for diets for beauty and slimness, it is unlikely that it will touch upon such a moment as the alkaline diet. And it is not that this diet is ineffective. It, like many others, allows you to say goodbye to a couple of extra pounds in a week by following certain nutritional principles. It is just that the goal of such a diet is not initially to fight weight, but to improve the health of the body. Weight loss in this case is a positive side effect.

So what kind of diet is this that allows you to both improve your health and slim down your figure? And what does its strange name "alkaline" mean?

Indications

As we have already understood, the alkaline diet was conceived by nutritionists as a way to improve shaky health in a natural way without the use of medications. In their opinion, it is enough to create an alkaline environment in the body, and the pre-processes in it will return to normal.

With a normal diet with a predominance of acidic products, the pH of the internal environment of the body decreases. The body, in turn, tries to reduce the acidity of the blood and restore the normal acid-base balance by retaining water in the body. But this is not a solution, because in this way the course of metabolic processes is disrupted. The reserves of useful minerals migrate to the blood, making it less acidic. But at the same time, bones, muscles, nerve fibers, cartilage lose the substances they need, which affects our well-being and health.

As a result, the following symptoms appear:

• chronic fatigue even in the absence of physical or mental stress,
• increased fatigue and, as a result, decreased performance,
• frequently recurring attacks of headaches,
• hypovitaminosis leading to anemia,
• a tendency to allergic reactions (rhinitis, lacrimation) due to increased sensitivity of the body to the effects of irritants,
• excess weight, obesity and the resulting pathologies,
• increased frequency of colds due to a weakened immune system,
• mood swings, sleep disturbances, irritability and anxiety, which are the result of the incorrect functioning of the nervous system, suffering from a deficiency of magnesium and B vitamins,
• decreased sexual desire,
• development of pathologies of the musculoskeletal system, neurological diseases, gastrointestinal disorders, etc.

Most likely, most readers have found these symptoms in themselves. But the appearance of such a number of unpleasant symptoms does not even indicate a pathology, but only that the blood in the body is highly acidic. This means that an alkaline diet can be useful for almost any of us, especially for those who have accumulated extra pounds over the years of poor nutrition.

Moreover, scientists claim that with the help of this diet you can not only improve the general condition of the body, but even treat many pathologies.

Let's not focus on excess weight and such a pathological condition of the body as obesity again, because everything is extremely simple here. Alkalization of the body will lead to acceleration of metabolic processes, and this state of affairs and excess weight are incompatible.

Since the body's fight against increased acidity leads to the leaching of useful substances into the blood, and first of all calcium, as a well-known antacid, it is clear that the bones will definitely suffer. Bone tissue will gradually deteriorate and become brittle. An identical situation is observed with other "consumers" of calcium: nails, teeth, hair, skin. It turns out that alkalization of the body will help preserve the useful mineral exactly where it is needed. And an alkaline diet will help with this.

In the same way, changing the acid-base balance towards increasing pH will help preserve magnesium and B vitamins in nerve fibers, where they are most needed. This means that it is advisable to combine the treatment of neurological diseases associated with metabolic disorders in the nerves with an alkaline diet.

The situation is identical with muscle pathologies, because as a result of the acidification of the body, muscles lose the vitamins (B, A, E) and minerals (sodium, potassium, zinc, magnesium, etc.) they need. An alkaline diet will help restore the vitamin-mineral balance in muscle tissue, improving its tone and motor activity.

An acid-alkaline diet (aka alkaline) helps to normalize the internal environment of the gastrointestinal tract. By consuming foods with an alkalizing effect, you can achieve normalization of the acidity of gastric juice without using antacids and soda, which, by the way, has its own side effects (soda irritates the gastrointestinal mucosa, and antacids often cause constipation). Alkalizing foods, the main part of which are fruits and vegetables, do not have a negative effect on the body, so the alkaline diet can be considered a safe method for getting rid of heartburn.

Let's talk about such a well-known autoimmune disease as psoriasis. Everyone knows that this disease is practically incurable. It has a chronic course and is prone to relapses. Relapses are usually observed against the background of mental or emotional stress.

But there is another important reason for this state of affairs - the prevalence of acid reactions in the body. It turns out that reducing the acidity of the internal environment of the body, which is what the alkaline diet is aimed at, will help to significantly reduce the frequency of relapses in psoriasis.

Alkaline Diet for Cancer?

We can talk for a long time about the benefits and expediency of using an alkaline diet for various diseases, but let's focus on those that have become the scourge of our time. We are talking about oncological pathologies.

Cancer is classified as a systemic pathology of metabolic nature. The most probable cause of its development is metabolic disorders, and as a result, a deficiency of nutrients, inadequate functioning of the immune system, intoxication and acidification of the body, leading to pathological changes in the cellular structure.

Now you can find a lot of information on the Internet about treating cancer with soda. But the essence of such treatment is alkalization of the body (isn't this what the alkaline diet is aimed at?), because alkali inhibits the replication of cancer cells, and therefore helps to stop the development of oncological pathology.

Perhaps many scientists and doctors disagree with this, rejecting the hypothesis that the Candida fungus is to blame for the malignancy of cells (according to the theory of the Italian doctor Tulio Simoncini), which is what soda therapy is aimed at combating. However, they are also in no hurry to reject the information that the likelihood of mutations in cells increases under the influence of meat and dairy products, sugar, fast food, etc., which are classified as acid-forming.

Whether T. Simoncini is right or not, but alkalization of the body with soda gives its results, as evidenced by the grateful reviews of people saved by him and their relatives. We will not dwell on the fact that there are also negative reviews, since they are also with chemotherapy, practiced in oncology centers. But the fact is that the treatment helps, and therefore it makes sense to practice it, even in combination with traditional treatment, as doctors insist.

Let's get back to our diet. The goal of the alkaline diet, as well as treatment using the T. Simoncini method, is to alkalize the body. However, the effect that the alkaline diet has on cancer will be softer and safer compared to soda or chemotherapy

Such a diet will not cause harm, and even if there are doubts whether it can cope with cancer, it is quite capable of preventing the development of oncology. An acid-alkaline diet helps to normalize metabolism, hence the strong immunity, against which cancer, as is known, does not develop.

[ 1 ]

General information alkaline diet

The alkaline diet, which is also called the Hollywood star diet, since its fans are popular movie stars Jennifer Aniston, Victoria Beckham, Gwyneth Paltrow, Elle Macpherson and other equally popular actresses, allows recognized beauties to stay slim and young for a long time. The actresses themselves speak only positively about the diet, because the result, as they say, is obvious.

What allows actresses in their 40s and 50s to look like 20-year-old girls with soft, smooth skin and a slender figure? Most likely, it is not only a matter of diet, but also physical activity, professional skin care for the face and body, but women claim that they would hardly have been able to achieve such a result without a diet.

So what is the essence of the "magic" diet that makes a woman healthy, slim and beautiful? The main goal of alkalizing nutrition is to normalize the pH of the body, which usually decreases under the influence of familiar products on our table: meat, milk, sweets, etc. The lower the pH level, the more acidic the body (and blood in particular).

But if it is possible to lower the pH of the blood with the help of food, then it is possible to increase this indicator in the same way, by replacing acid-forming foods with alkaline ones, i.e. those that, when entering the body, are capable of changing the internal environment from acidic to alkaline.

The alkaline diet is not quite the right name, it is more correct to call it acid-alkaline, because it does not provide for extremes, which is a complete rejection of products that reduce pH. According to the principles of the alkaline diet, 4/5 of all products consumed (80 percent) should be alkalizing, but 1/5 (20 percent) still remains for acid-forming.

It is impossible to completely exclude such products. Firstly, they are a source of protein (building material of cells), and secondly, the removal of acid-forming products from the diet can carry the risk of overalkalinization of the body, which is also fraught with disruption of metabolic processes.

Some sources claim that the 80 to 20 ratio is too harsh for the human body. It is enough for a person's diet to contain only 70 percent alkalizing foods, and the rest can be neutral and acid-forming foods and dishes made from them. This is the ratio that an alkaline diet for weight loss and body cleansing should be based on, and a stricter diet is better used to combat diseases.

What other points should be taken into account when following an alkaline diet? Let's start with the fact that you need to switch to the diet gradually. You cannot abruptly limit the consumption of animal protein products. This will be a big blow to your health.

Since the total amount of acid-forming foods in our diet usually exceeds the amount of foods that create an alkaline environment, we first need to at least equalize these indicators, and then gradually shift the bar in favor of the latter, approaching the cherished ratio of 80 to 20 (or 70 to 30).

Every day on an empty stomach it is recommended to drink 0.25 - 0.5 liters of purified water (or better yet, alkaline water, which was initially passed through alkaline filters). This start of the day will help to make the internal environment of the body less acidic from the very morning, activate digestive and metabolic processes in the body, which will contribute to its cleansing and healing.

The food itself should be fractional if possible. This means that the usual portions will have to be reduced, and the number of meals, on the contrary, increased to 5-6 per day. It is important to eat slowly, chew food thoroughly, focusing on the process of eating, and not on your problems. Poorly chewed food only slows down the metabolic processes and creates an additional burden on the digestive organs, causing disruptions in their work.

By the way, according to the rules of the alkaline diet, breakfast should include green and yellow vegetables.

Herbal infusions, pure water, fruit and berry juices prepared without added sugar and preservatives can be used as a drink after the main meal. It is advisable to eat before 7 p.m., after which you should give your body a rest, which is quite logical due to the decrease in physical activity in the evening. However, you should not refuse a cup of herbal tea even in the evening.

Alkaline Diet Nutrition Guidelines

When following an alkaline diet, it is not only what you eat that is important, but also how you eat it. This includes the methods of cooking and combining different products in them, the frequency of consumption of acid-forming products and their quantity.

Alkaline diet dishes consist of different products, including acidic ones. However, you should always stick to the recommended ratio. For a healthy person, this ratio should be 50 to 50. If a person begins to feel unwell and detects suspicious symptoms, the ratio of products with the opposite effect relative to the body's pH should change to 70 to 30. If the diet is used to treat existing pathologies, alkalizing products in the daily diet should already be 80 percent.

Although vegetables are considered alkalizing foods, it is better to eat them raw (or alternatively steamed, boiled, baked). This way, their effect will remain strong and all the useful nutrients and vitamins will be preserved.

The same applies to fruits, although no one forbids making delicious desserts from them in the form of jelly or mousse, but sugar can be added to such dishes in limited quantities. And it is better to do without it altogether.

Perhaps, at first you will be tormented by an irresistible desire to eat something sweet. In this case, no one forbids you to treat yourself to sweet fruits and berries, brown sugar, natural honey or maple syrup. But it is better to refuse sweet confectionery and candies altogether.

Cereal products (bread, porridge) should be included in the menu no more than 3 times a week, and non-fatty fish only 1-2 times.

Nutritionists advise, when making a menu for the day, to combine alkalizing dishes with acidic ones in such a way that their ratio is 2 to 1. That is, to consume 2 products from the first group and 1 from the second at a time.

In the morning, it is recommended to choose a couple of green and red vegetables for breakfast (for example, lettuce and tomatoes or beets).

Caution should be exercised with peas and nuts. Peas are best eaten green, then they will not acidify the body, and nuts are best eaten in small quantities.

It is recommended to season dishes with vegetable oil or melted lard, almost completely excluding butter and margarine.

Meat can be included in the diet in small portions 2-3 times a week, giving preference to products with low acid-forming ability (beef, chicken, lean lamb). It is better to use lean meat in culinary delights.

As for fish, here, as usual, preference is given to sea fish, which are distinguished by their low fat content.

Drinks should definitely be present on the table. You need to drink a lot of clean water (2-2.5 liters per day) and herbal teas. Drinking green tea without sugar will also be useful. As for alcohol, it is better to switch to a healthy lifestyle if possible, leaving alcoholic drinks to your enemies.

Another important point. Since almost all vegetables are alkalizing products, it is recommended to mix them with products of the 2nd group in dishes. In this way, the oxidizing effect of the latter will be compensated, and the pH of the body is unlikely to change.

For example, boiled and stewed meat (these are the best cooking methods) can be served with a fresh vegetable salad during lunch. This combination of products will be very healthy and tasty. With the right approach to nutrition, you will not have to starve or limit yourself to tasteless dishes.

Alkaline Diet Menu

An alkaline diet is a way to improve your health without doing violence to your body. Therefore, it is advisable to change your habits and preferences gradually, day after day accustoming your body to new rules of existence.

If you want to improve your health and lose a few extra pounds, you need to stick to an alkaline diet for 2-4 weeks, during which the body will be able to completely cleanse itself of accumulated "garbage". In the first and subsequent weeks, weight is noticeably reduced, and well-being improves. Then there is an active decrease in acidity until the blood pH reaches normal levels. The last week is to consolidate the result.

The alkaline diet menu is slightly different for each week. In the first week, you do not need to give up acidifying foods. It is important to limit their quantity, allowing the body to gradually get used to the new diet and cleanse itself of accumulated slags and toxic substances caused by increased acidity in the body.

The alkaline diet menu for the first week includes fish and meat dishes combined with vegetables. Alcohol, flour and sweet dishes are allowed, but only in limited quantities. In other words, you can eat everything you ate before, but slightly changing the proportions of the components in the dishes.

Let's look at 2 menu options for the day.

Option 1:

• Breakfast – fresh tomato salad, baked potatoes in their skins, yogurt with fruit
• Lunch – boiled chicken (it’s better to take the breast, since it doesn’t have fat), vinaigrette, a piece of rye bread, green tea
• Dinner – vegetable casserole, a glass of yogurt

Option 2:

• Breakfast – oatmeal, fruit salad, herbal tea
• Lunch – hake with tomato sauce, fresh vegetable salad, fruit and berry compote
• Dinner – fruit mousse, tea with bread

Additional meals may consist of fruits and dried fruits, fruit and vegetable juices, jelly, mousse, bread with a little honey, compote, herbal decoctions and infusions, mineral water (preferably still). You can drink water in unlimited quantities, this will only help to avoid increasing the acidity of the internal environment of the body.

Don't starve yourself. You need to eat as your appetite appears. And in the first week it will overcome you often, until the body gets used to eating less and with benefit. But at the end of the week, digestion returns to normal, you begin to experience incredible relief and improvement in your general condition.

The second stage of the alkaline diet is more strict, it is started after the amount of acidifying products has been reduced to a minimum. It is recommended to remove alcohol, any flour products, sweets from the menu, and strictly limit the consumption of meat and fish.

Sample menu for one day of the second stage:

• Breakfast – vegetable salad, glass of kefir, herbal tea
• Lunch – vegetable soup, fruit
• Dinner – cottage cheese with fruit, green tea

Twice a week, add a little boiled or baked lean sea fish or meat, a few nuts, a small portion of barley or buckwheat porridge to the menu. Oatmeal and whey can be consumed in large quantities.

By the end of the second stage, many people notice a lightness in the stomach, an improvement in mood, and headaches and other symptoms associated with low pH in the body go away. During this time, the acid-base environment should normalize.

The fact that the pH of the internal environment has approached the norm is not yet a reason to return to our usual diet. First, you need to consolidate the result, gradually adding protein and flour products to the diet, but still giving preference to alkalizing vegetables, fruits and dairy products.

For example, a daily menu may consist of:

• Breakfast: steamed omelette with spinach, fruit salad, glass of fermented baked milk,
• Lunch: vegetable casserole with meat, salad with greens, black tea with bread and honey
• Dinner: barley porridge, a piece of boiled fish, cottage cheese, herbal infusion

After 7-12 days from the start of the 3rd stage, you can leave the diet and return to your previous life. But you are unlikely to want to eat the same way you did before the alkaline diet. The body will feel relief and will not want the old problems. After 21 days from the start of the diet, a habit of proper nutrition will have already been developed, so that it will not be difficult to adhere to its requirements in the future.

The usual diet in the days following the diet should be balanced so that the body receives equal amounts of alkalizing and acidifying foods.

This diet option is considered the most effective, but if you can't give up protein products as much as possible during the second stage, you don't have to do it. It's enough to stick to the recommended ratio of oxidizing and alkalizing products throughout the diet.

[ 2 ]

Benefits

It is not known for certain who came up with the idea to divide products into 3 categories. But in the middle of the 20th century, information appeared that different products affect our body in different ways. Some change the internal environment of the body towards increasing its pH, others, on the contrary, make it more acidic, and others do not affect the acid-base balance at all.

It would seem that what does this information give us? It does not tell the average person anything. But scientists and nutritionists tried to understand this issue and concluded that a violation of the acid-base balance in one direction or another can threaten the development of various diseases.

Normally, the pH of the internal environment acidity should have an average value that is within the number 7. The higher the pH, the closer the environment is to alkaline. So, the pH of blood is normally 7.35-7.45. This is the acidity indicator that is considered optimal for various chemical reactions in such a complex system as the human body.

American professor of microbiology Robert Young insists that the human body is initially alkaline in nature (take at least the pH of the blood, which is shifted towards alkalization). Increased acidity is observed only in the stomach (the pH of gastric juice is approximately 3.5), but this is a necessity, due to the fact that at high pH values, the digestion process slows down, and food is less well absorbed by the body.

Having studied the lists of products capable of shifting the acid-base balance of the body in one direction or another, scientists came to an unattractive conclusion. There were many more products that acidify the body than those that shift the pH level towards an alkaline environment. Thus, by adhering to the usual diet, we ourselves disrupt the acid-base balance of our body, its internal environment becomes more acidic.

Should we be very upset by this? In principle, yes. Robert Young and his associates claim that many diseases in our body arise precisely because of an overly acidic internal environment. It is an acidic environment with a deficiency of oxygen in it that is considered the most suitable for the reproduction of numerous pathogenic microorganisms.

The higher the acidity of the body (its liquid environments, mainly blood and urine), the more actively bacteria multiply, releasing toxic waste products into the body. This cannot but affect the well-being of a person, who begins to get sick often. At the same time, the disease in the presence of a bacterial infection is more difficult and most often becomes chronic. Thus, we can conclude that the cause of many chronic diseases in humans is precisely the high acidity of their internal environment.

Let's consider the action of acid and alkali using the example of common gastrointestinal pathologies of our time: gastritis, duodenitis, stomach ulcers and duodenal ulcers. Increased acidity of gastric juice promotes the proliferation of a specific bacterium, Helicobacter pylori, which remains inactive in an alkaline environment, although it is present in the body. It is the presence of a bacterial infection that is associated with the transition of gastritis or duodenitis to a chronic form, because the same Helicobacter pylori maintains an inflammatory process in the gastrointestinal tract that began due to irritation by mucous acid.

The use of antacids in cases of bacterial gastritis, duodenitis and stomach ulcers, alkalizing the internal environment of the gastrointestinal tract, is due not only to the need to create gentle conditions for the damaged mucous membrane of the organs, but also to make the life of Helicobacter pylori unbearable. Only by reducing the activity of this bacterium or destroying it, can one try to stop the inflammatory process.

But gastrointestinal problems are just the tip of the iceberg. Acidification of the body also leads to other health problems:

• The general health deteriorates. Pathogenic microorganisms feel great in the acidic environment of the body, but the owner of this environment begins to feel very tired and fatigued, a decrease in tone and a weakened immune system. He begins to get colds more often, notices irritability and anxiety, as well as inexplicable weakness.
• The sensitivity and integrity of teeth and oral mucosa are impaired. The proliferation of bacteria in the acidic environment of the oral cavity leads to increased sensitivity of teeth and cracks in the enamel, which gradually transform into caries caused by a bacterial infection. The oral mucosa also suffers, because the acid causes irritation and inflammation, and bacteria only support them. Hence, periodontosis, periodontitis, stomatitis and other inflammatory pathologies of the gums and mucosa. The tonsils and delicate skin on the lips can also become inflamed (cracks and ulcers appear along the perimeter of the lips and in the corners).
• Deterioration of the skin condition. The skin becomes hyperemic and noticeably dry. Cracks and inflammation spots in the form of acne and pimples appear on it.
• Urinary system. A change in the acid-base balance towards acid leads to the blood and urine becoming more acidic. And acidic urine in turn leads to the formation of stones in the kidneys and bladder, which complicate the process of urine excretion from the body.

As we can see, the situation is not pleasant, but everything is logical. It turns out that if you start practicing an alkaline diet, which shifts the acid-base balance in the opposite direction, all the above problems can be avoided.

This is the conclusion that American Robert Young came to in his research. His idea seemed quite logical to many, and the transition to a diet predominantly based on alkaline products was entirely justified. And although not everyone supports this idea, the alkaline diet has proven its effectiveness more than once, which is why it was included in the list of the most popular diets developed by the British Society of Dietitians.

[ 3 ]

What can and what can not?

After we have learned about the division of products into acidifying and alkalizing, and also understood the main goals and principles of the alkaline diet, the reader will have a fair question: what products are alkaline and what exactly can you eat while following a healthy diet?

What can you eat?

First of all, you need to understand that an alkaline diet does not exclude the use of acid-forming products. This means that you can eat everything, provided that there are still many more alkalizing products in the diet. These are the products we will talk about now.

The main part of products that can "quench" acid are vegetables, fruits and berries. The most interesting thing is that almost all of them have the property of reducing acidity, even those that seem sour to taste.

Let's start with vegetables. Beets, garlic, celery, tomatoes, carrots, cucumbers, and lettuce have the highest pH levels. Slightly higher pH levels are found in potatoes in their skins (their juice is used to relieve heartburn caused by increased acidity of the gastric juice), eggplant, broccoli, bell peppers, radishes, asparagus, cauliflower, white cabbage, raw spinach, melon, and pumpkin. Parsley and dill, beans, and fresh beans also have this property. By the way, if beans are dried or subjected to heat treatment (for example, baked), they will change their properties and will contribute to the acidification of the body.

Green peas (dry, like beans, they increase acidity), basil, cilantro, onions, and Brussels sprouts have a slightly lesser alkalizing effect.

Let's move on to fruits. Dried apricots, figs and dried apricots boast a strong alkalizing effect. Citrus fruits (lemon, lime, grapefruit) and overseas fruits (mango, papaya) can also be included here.

Fresh apricots, avocados, oranges, pears, peaches, cherries, fresh and dried plums, and prunes (canned plums or compote can increase acidity) have a slightly lesser effect on the body's pH.

The weakest alkalizing effect is possessed by apples, cherries, ripe bananas (green bananas can lower the body's pH), fresh and dried grapes, and dates.

As for berries, almost all of them, including watermelon, are able to combat increased acidity in the body. Black currants and black berries have the strongest effect, cranberries have the weakest.

Vegetable and fruit juices should have an alkaline effect. But this only applies to those juices that are made from fresh products without adding sweeteners, flavors and preservatives. It is unlikely that such an effect can be expected from store-bought juices.

As for cereals, only some of their types have alkalizing properties. Preference should still be given to oatmeal, followed by wild rice, millet, amaranth, quinoa.

Despite the prevailing opinion that dairy products are supposedly prohibited in the alkaline diet, some of them do have alkalizing properties, which means they are acceptable for consumption in sufficient quantities. Such products include, first of all, whey and cottage cheese, as well as "milk" with a weaker effect: cow's and goat's milk, kefir and yogurt, goat's cheese. We are talking about products with a low fat content.

Soy milk and cheese also have a medium level of activity in terms of reducing acidity.

But nuts, seeds, vegetable oils, which, it would seem, should help reduce acidity, behave the opposite way. The only exceptions are almonds, flax seeds and vegetable oils such as olive, flaxseed and rapeseed oil. They are characterized by an average indicator of anti-acid activity.

As for meat and fish products, a slight alkalizing effect has been observed only in pork fat.

Among other products, natural honey and raw sugar (regular sugar and refined sugar acidify the body), herbal tea, water with lemon, as well as real green and ginger tea can be added to the permitted ones. Black tea has a slight acidifying effect.

What shouldn't you eat?

Let's be honest, the question is not posed that way. The alkaline diet does not belong to the category of therapeutic diets with strict restrictions. All products in it are divided not into permitted and prohibited, but into alkalizing and acidifying. At the same time, the first should be in the diet much more than the second.

The acid-alkaline diet is not a short-term course of semi-starvation. It is a long-term lifestyle that allows you to maintain the health of your body. Therefore, it is not possible to remove most of the products we are accustomed to from the diet, because after a while the body will begin to experience a deficiency of many of the substances it needs, which are contained in products with an oxidizing effect.

Now we will talk about this group of products that can be consumed, but in limited quantities. They can also differ in effectiveness. Some reduce the pH of the internal environment more strongly, others are less capable in this regard.

Let's first look at products that have a strong oxidizing effect. Many of these products can be avoided altogether or consumed occasionally (no more than 3 times a week) in small quantities.

These products include:

• fruits and berries: sweetened juices from fruits and berries, jam and marmalade with sugar,
• vegetables and legumes: only baked beans can significantly lower the body's pH,
• nuts: walnuts and peanuts are the leaders here,
• meat products: some types of game, beef liver, chicken,
• fish: almost all types of fish, especially fatty ones, seafood,
• drinks: any kind of alcohol, low-alcohol drinks, fermented drinks, sweet soda, cocoa
• sweets: chocolate and various sugar substitutes,
• eggs in any form except raw yolk.

Now let's move on to products with medium and low oxidizing activity:

• fruits and berries: pickled plums, unripe bananas, low-sugar compotes,
• vegetables: mainly dried peas and beans,
• grain products: barley, buckwheat, corn grits, as well as rye, white and brown rice.

Starch and flour, as well as food products based on them (pasta, pastries, pancakes) are also considered products with medium oxidation. Pastries made from rye flour and sprouted wheat have a low oxidizing effect.

• Dairy products: mainly fatty (hard cheese, butter, cream, sour cream). Soft cheese is famous for its low acidifying effect.
• Nuts: cashews and peanuts,
• vegetable oils: corn, sunflower and pumpkin oils, as well as the grains (seeds) from which these oils are prepared, have a low acidifying effect,
• meat products: low oxidizing effect of heat-treated lamb, bacon, ham, beef, pork, chicken and turkey meat,
• Coffee, sugar, honey and black tea are also considered to be products with medium and low oxidation.

Such products can be consumed at least every day, but their total volume should not exceed 30 percent of the total amount of food on your table.

Contraindications

The alkaline diet is classified as low-calorie, which allows not only to cleanse the body of unnecessary "ballast" but also to reduce body weight. Weight is lost both by removing toxins from the body and by burning its own fat reserves, which will be converted into energy due to the lack of external fat intake and the small amount of incoming carbohydrates, which were previously used as energy sources.

But, like any low-calorie diet, this method of healing the body is not suitable for everyone. A small amount of animal protein supplied to the body and a deficiency of polyunsaturated fatty acids in the diet are unacceptable during pregnancy. Such a diet can negatively affect the development of the fetus, which will not receive "building" material for its organs and systems, and as a result, various intrauterine developmental disorders of the child may occur.

It is also not advisable for nursing mothers to follow such a diet. After all, breast milk is the only source of nutrients, vitamins, minerals and other components necessary for the growth and development of the human body for newborns.

If a lack of nutrients is dangerous even for a fully formed organism, then what can we say about children, many of whose organs and systems are still developing for several years after birth. This means that another contraindication to the use of an alkaline diet is childhood. A child's adequate nutrition is the key to a healthy life in adulthood.

You should not start a diet if your deterioration in health is associated with a developing pathology. In the acute period of any disease, the body throws all its strength into fighting it. If it experiences a deficiency of the substances it needs, it will not have enough strength to fight. You can lose weight and cleanse your body only in the absence of acute pathologies or exacerbation of chronic ones.

An alkaline diet can have a negative impact on the health of patients with digestive system pathologies. It improves digestion, but in healthy people. The presence of inflammation, erosions or ulcers in the stomach and intestines is treated with a special diet that takes into account the properties of the products themselves (acidic or alkaline), and not the effect it has on the body. Thus, lemon, garlic, tomatoes, cranberries are alkalizing products, but their use with increased acidity of gastric juice and the presence of wounds on the gastric mucosa can only worsen the situation.

Great care must be taken when selecting an effective diet for patients who have severe pathologies of the cardiovascular system (for example, coronary heart disease or heart failure), functional disorders of the liver and kidneys.

Those diagnosed with prediabetes or diabetes should also be careful. Not all foods recommended for the diet have a low hypoglycemic index, which means that the diet of diabetics will be even more meager, which can negatively affect their well-being.

Complications

Despite the fact that the alkaline diet is considered to be quite balanced and has a clear health-improving effect, which is noted not only by relatively healthy people, but also by patients with cancer, psoriasis, gastrointestinal pathologies, etc., the attitude of doctors towards it is not so enthusiastic. This is largely due to the promotion of the diet as a health-improving one, in the presence of unpleasant symptoms, which are attributed to increased acidity of gastric juice.

But if you look closely, you can see that all the symptoms described above are not specific. Their appearance may also indicate the development of many pathologies, including those noted in the contraindications to the alkaline diet. Using the diet in such conditions carries a real risk to health in terms of the development of various complications. That is, before starting the diet, you need to consult a doctor about the possibilities of its use.

The risks associated with the diet do not end there. According to doctors, the alkaline diet is still poor in animal protein (the building material for the body's cells) and polyunsaturated fats. Well, animal protein can be compensated to some extent with plant protein, but what about fatty acids, the main source of which is considered to be fatty fish, peanut butter and other "forbidden" products?

A deficiency of Omega-6 fatty acids in the body will not have the best effect on the skin, which will become dry and flaky, thicker and rougher. Eczema-like rashes may appear on it. The body's growth also suffers. In addition, a deficiency of Omega-6 can cause hair loss, degenerative processes in the liver and kidneys, frequent cases of infectious diseases, complicated wound healing, and infertility.

Deficiency of Omega-3 can negatively affect the health of the brain and nervous system. In addition, there may be disturbances in the functioning of the visual apparatus, the development of peripheral neuropathies. And if we also consider that Omega-3 is considered a powerful anti-inflammatory component that helps prevent oncological pathologies, then the benefit of giving up such healthy fats will be questionable.

If you practice the diet for 2-4 weeks, it will not cause any particular complications, but using it on a permanent basis is a big health risk, often exceeding the benefits of such a diet.

[ 4 ]

Alkaline Diet Reviews

Nutritionists and doctors have different opinions about the alkaline diet. The former consider the alkaline diet to be quite balanced and healthy, so they actively recommend it to their clients. Doctors' attitude to the diet is based on doubts about its safety.

On the one hand, an alkaline diet helps prevent such a dangerous pathology as cancer. And in combination with traditional treatment, it even helps cancer patients recover faster. An alkaline diet also helps prevent psoriasis relapses and relieve heartburn caused by increased stomach acidity.

But on the other hand, it can cause an exacerbation of existing diseases. Take, for example, heartburn, which is an indicator of the acidic environment of the stomach. As long as the increased level of acid in the stomach has not caused its inflammation and wounds on the mucous membrane, the use of the diet can only be beneficial. But if the increased acidity of the stomach has led to the development of diseases, the alkaline diet is already a certain risk. Not to mention cases where the acidity of the gastric juice is already reduced.

According to doctors, only relatively healthy people can use an alkaline diet for no more than a month. Others are not recommended to use the alkalizing method without consulting a doctor.

As for repeating the alkalizing diet course, it is recommended to do such recovery no more than once a year, provided that the person has been on the diet for a month. If the diet is followed for only a couple of weeks, then the course can be repeated after 4-6 months.

As for healthy people who have tried the alkaline diet, many were generally satisfied. The very fact that you can lose 3-5 kg in the first week of the diet attracts more and more fans. In the following weeks, weight loss is not as active, but it is there, and many consider this a plus, because a gradual decrease in body weight and parallel cleansing of the body has a beneficial effect on both the figure and the condition of the skin.

The fact that Hollywood stars prefer an alkaline diet only whets their appetites. After all, from TV screens and magazine pages we see 20-30 year old beauties who are actually at least 40 years old. Isn't this an incentive for a woman who dreams of always remaining young and beautiful? Another question is whether diet alone is the reason for "eternal youth"? Or maybe the reason is that famous beauties, in addition to diet, monitor their health, lead an active lifestyle, maintain the beauty and radiance of their bodies with the help of various cosmetic procedures.