The file on Alkaline foods

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When I checked this file, it said "Oops, not there!"  But it is....just retitled.  Here it is:Adapted from the book, "The Rebellious Body--Reclaim Your Life From Environmental Illness or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome,"(Insight Books, 1996)by

Janice Strubbe Wittenberg, RN

Illness often happens when the body is too toxic, and therefore, too acidic. When this condition of "acidosis" exists in the body, it is necessary to restore the acid/alkaline, pH balance in order to rebalance your internal chemistry. Consuming foods that make the body alkaline results in the optimal pH for body function and for beneficial bacteria in the bowel to flouish. The standard American diet today is, unfortunately, overburdened with acid-forming foods.

The acid-alkaline balance of the body is measured by the pH, or presence of

hydrogen ions. The pH of an area of the body varies according to whether a fluid such as the blood or a particular digestive enzyme is present. Maintaining the proper pH is very important to your health. If a pH level is

abnormal, digestive enzymes are inactivated, food is not digested properly, and allergic reactions result.

Testing the pH of saliva and urine is a simple process that can serve as indicators of your acid-base balance. pH testing, or "litmus" papers are available for this purpose.

Foods are categorized as to whether they are "acid forming" or "alkaline

forming", terms referring to the pH in the body after digestion of the particular food. Foods that contain a predominance of acid elements, such as

sulfur, phosphorous, choline, and iodine are acid forming. This group of foods is made up chiefly of sugar, and all products made with sugar, coffee, tea, alcohol, meats and fish, dairy, wheat and wheat flour products, and rice. Acid-

forming foods are not the same as those that contain acid, such as citrus fruits. Foods that contain large amounts of sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, and iron are considered to be alkaline producing. This would include fruits, vegetables, sea vegetables, sprouts, and several grains like amaranth and millet. The alkaline forming foods are the most important food groups to your body, to aid in maintaining a healthy balance. The serum pH is slightly alkaline at 7.4, and should be kept constant. The closer your body is to this optimal value, the more oxygenated it is. The

more alkaline the body, the less likely that candida, viruses, and bacteria

will grow. An acid state is commonly caused by a diet high in protein.

The best way to control pH is through diet. Optimally 80% of your diet should

include alkaline foods, such as fruits and vegetables. The other 20% should be made up of acid foods, such as grains, seeds, and nuts, instead of meat, dairy

and egg products. If the diet consists of too many acid foods such as dairy, meat, beans, fats, poultry, cooked grains, and protein, the body becomes too

acid, and degenerative disease can take hold. If your pH is too acid, add more vegetables and raw fruits and decrease the amount of proteins and fats. Metabolic alkalosis does not occur nearly so often as metabolic acidosis. However, if your pH is too alkaline, your ability to digest proteins may be impaired, or you may not be eating enough protein. Ultimately, you must find the proper balance that allows you to feel most comfortable. Some people with parasite and candida problems have found that monitoring the pH to be helpful

in restoring health.

Acidic Foods Alkaline Foods

Bacon Almonds

Barley Amaranth

Beans Apples

Beef Apricots

Blueberries Avocados

Bran, Wheat or Oat Bananas

Bread, White or Wheat Beet Greens

Butter Beets

Cheese Blackberries

Chicken Broccoli

Cocoa Brussels Sprouts

Coffee Brazil Nuts

Cod Fish Cabbage

Corn Carrots

Corn Starch Cauliflower

Corn Oil Celery

Corn Syrup Chard Coconut Cherries

Corned Beef Chestnuts

Crackers Cucumbers

Cranberries Dates

Currants Figs

Eggs Grapefruit

Fish Grapes

Flour, Wheat or White Green Beans

Haddock Green Peas

Honey Lemons

Ice Cream Lima Beans

Lamb Limes

Legumes Milk, Goat Lentils Millet

Lobster Molasses

Milk, Cows Mushrooms

Macaroni Onions

Meat Oranges

Nuts Parsnips

Noodles Peaches

Oatmeal Pears

Olive Oil Pineapple

Olives Potatoes, Sweet

Organ Meats Potatoes, White

Oysters Quinoa (Keen-wa)

Peanut Butter, Peanuts Radishes

Pasta Raspberries

Peas, dried Rutabagas

Poultry Sauerkraut

Pike Soy beans, green

Plums Spinach, raw

Pork Strawberries

Prunes Tangerines

Rice, brown or white Tomatoes

Salmon Watercress

Sardines Watermelon

Sausage

Scallops

Shrimp

Spaghetti

Soft Drinks

Sugar

Squash, winter

Sunflower Seeds

Tea

Turkey

Veal

Walnuts

Wheat Germ

Yogurt