The Alkaline Diet claims it can prevent cancer and help you avoid arthritis. The theory behind it is that certain foods we eat cause your body to produce a lot of acid, which this diet can combat. The alkaline diet came onto the scene by Victoria Beckhman. She tweeted a picture of an Alkaline cookbook and it caught fire from there.
This diet has merits, but not for the reasons many think it does. Let’s look at some basic science. Ph levels measure how acidic or alkaline something maybe. Your stomach is very acidic and for good reason, it needs to break down food. Throughout the rest of your body the Ph level may vary. Your blood on the other hand is more alkalized. The alkaline diet claims to help keep your blood ph levels balanced, however your body does this automatically.
The good thing about the alkaline diet is the foods that are supposed to help alkaline your body are great for you. The typical American diet contains many foods that are considered “acidifying”. These foods include; meat, dairy, corn, wheat and many other processed foods. The standard American diet does not include enough alkaline foods to balance this out. Foods recommended to be eaten with this diet are; a wide array of fruits and vegetables, while avoiding processed foods. This aspect of the diet I really like. It emphasizes the importance of whole foods and getting in a lot of micronutrients.
How can a bodybuilder benefit?
Any diet works to some degree. I highly disagree that this diet will lessen your chance to get cancer and lessen your arthritis pain. I do believe that this diet does have some benefits. You should be focusing on eating the types of foods recommended. These foods are jam packed with vitamins and minerals. If your goal is to lose weight these foods will help your satiety. If you’re trying to gain size, the amount of calorically dense foods recommended by this meal plan will also help you to get in the calories needed to gain muscle.
The Alkaline Approach
These basic foods are recommended by the Alkaline Diet.
