Alkaline diet
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The main problem with the concept is that it is impossible to alter the pH of a patient's blood without causing severe health concerns. [[Mammal]]ian blood contains a vast number of different pH buffers which evolved to automatically raise or lower the blood pH if a deviation occurs <ref>[http://www.chemistry.wustl.edu/~edudev/LabTutorials/Buffer/Buffer.html "pH Buffers in the Blood" - Rachel Casiday and Regina Frey Department of Chemistry, Washington University]</ref>. If the buffers become saturated and the pH of the blood is altered more than +/-0.4 pH, [[death]] will result <ref>[http://www.newton.dep.anl.gov/askasci/gen01/gen01768.htm "pH Significance of Blood" - Newton BBS]</ref>. It is commonly claimed by alkaline diet proponents that cancer cells are killed in an alkaline environment, which is true, but so are almost all other cells in the human body. | The main problem with the concept is that it is impossible to alter the pH of a patient's blood without causing severe health concerns. [[Mammal]]ian blood contains a vast number of different pH buffers which evolved to automatically raise or lower the blood pH if a deviation occurs <ref>[http://www.chemistry.wustl.edu/~edudev/LabTutorials/Buffer/Buffer.html "pH Buffers in the Blood" - Rachel Casiday and Regina Frey Department of Chemistry, Washington University]</ref>. If the buffers become saturated and the pH of the blood is altered more than +/-0.4 pH, [[death]] will result <ref>[http://www.newton.dep.anl.gov/askasci/gen01/gen01768.htm "pH Significance of Blood" - Newton BBS]</ref>. It is commonly claimed by alkaline diet proponents that cancer cells are killed in an alkaline environment, which is true, but so are almost all other cells in the human body. | ||
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| + | While the above information regarding the pH of human blood is valid, the information regarding the concept behind the diet is misunderstood. Proponents of the diet acknowledge that the pH of the blood cannot vary much without resulting in coma or death, but the bodies mechanisms of neutralizing acidic foods will leave the body depleted of the highly alkaline minerals such as Potassium, Magnesium, Calcium, and Sodium. As a result, the body will break down bones to obtain calcium, and steal magnesium from the eyes, resulting in a degeneration of the body over time. The "Net" acidity of the food is in fact what matters, meaning whether it has enough vitamin and mineral content to neutralize its own acids when it is broken down by the body. | ||
Proponents will attempt to disregard the above by reminding us that it is possible to alter the pH of urine by eating or drinking particular foods, which is also true, but is completely independent of the blood pH. This is based on the metabolites of certain food chemicals (referred to as "Ash") becoming concentrated in the urine <ref>[http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/DSH/coral2.html "Acid/Alkaline Theory of Disease Is Nonsense" - Gabe Mirkin, M.D.]</ref>. As the bladder is an independent receptacle in the body, the pH of the fluid contained therein also has no effect on the blood pH. | Proponents will attempt to disregard the above by reminding us that it is possible to alter the pH of urine by eating or drinking particular foods, which is also true, but is completely independent of the blood pH. This is based on the metabolites of certain food chemicals (referred to as "Ash") becoming concentrated in the urine <ref>[http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/DSH/coral2.html "Acid/Alkaline Theory of Disease Is Nonsense" - Gabe Mirkin, M.D.]</ref>. As the bladder is an independent receptacle in the body, the pH of the fluid contained therein also has no effect on the blood pH. | ||
Revision as of 22:38, 23 March 2012
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The alkaline diet is a relatively new diet fad, based on the notion that it's possible to alter your blood pH through a change in diet to make it more alkaline, receiving numerous health benefits.
The diet is also complemented by the belief that some people have that apple cider vinegar will cure all ills. Apparently, ingesting six teaspoons of this acid every day will produce a more alkaline body pH. (This idea is so backwards it can only be described as "scary".)
Contents |
Claims
Health benefit claims vary, but are as wide as:
- IBS, Crohn’s and other digestive disorders
- Eczema
- Candida/Yeast Infections
- Acne
- Fatigue, Chronic Fatigue & Fibromyalgia
- Weight Problems
- Being Underweight
- Cancer
- Low Libido & Other Sexual Disorders
- Migraines & Headaches
- Back Pain
- Blood Sugar Dips & Spikes
- Sugar Cravings
- Afternoon Mental Energy Dips
- And Much More...! [1]
The first thing to note is that claiming a treatment will help treat cancer without concrete evidence is illegal in the UK under The Cancer Act 1939 [2]. Most of the sites promoting the alkaline diet have a Quack Miranda Warning on them to bypass legal problems such as this [3].
Theoretical problems
The main problem with the concept is that it is impossible to alter the pH of a patient's blood without causing severe health concerns. Mammalian blood contains a vast number of different pH buffers which evolved to automatically raise or lower the blood pH if a deviation occurs [4]. If the buffers become saturated and the pH of the blood is altered more than +/-0.4 pH, death will result [5]. It is commonly claimed by alkaline diet proponents that cancer cells are killed in an alkaline environment, which is true, but so are almost all other cells in the human body.
While the above information regarding the pH of human blood is valid, the information regarding the concept behind the diet is misunderstood. Proponents of the diet acknowledge that the pH of the blood cannot vary much without resulting in coma or death, but the bodies mechanisms of neutralizing acidic foods will leave the body depleted of the highly alkaline minerals such as Potassium, Magnesium, Calcium, and Sodium. As a result, the body will break down bones to obtain calcium, and steal magnesium from the eyes, resulting in a degeneration of the body over time. The "Net" acidity of the food is in fact what matters, meaning whether it has enough vitamin and mineral content to neutralize its own acids when it is broken down by the body.
Proponents will attempt to disregard the above by reminding us that it is possible to alter the pH of urine by eating or drinking particular foods, which is also true, but is completely independent of the blood pH. This is based on the metabolites of certain food chemicals (referred to as "Ash") becoming concentrated in the urine [6]. As the bladder is an independent receptacle in the body, the pH of the fluid contained therein also has no effect on the blood pH.
Weight loss
As far as weight loss is concerned, a lot of patients will report a notable drop in body fat whilst following the alkaline diet. This is not, however, anything to do with the proclaimed method of action, and is instead because the diet classifies foods as either acid or alkali, and all acidic foods should be avoided. Browsing the list of acid and alkali foods, it should become instantly apparent that the foods to avoid are those classically associated with a high calorie diet (dairy products, fizzy drinks, confectionery, fast food, and just about all fats), and those marked as alkaline are generally fresh fruit, vegetables, nuts and seeds [7]. If you avoid eating gobs of fat and sugar and otherwise keep the same lifestyle, your weight goes down - who'da thunk it?
Alkaline water
Of course, with a new fad diet comes new expensive books and gadgets. On the top of the list are water filters or ionisers which claim to alkalinate drinking water and can cost several thousand pounds [8]. Just adding some sodium bicarbonate to tap water is not sufficiently profitable.
Real Water® is claimed to have "millions of added electrons" which makes the water alkaline and improves cell hydration.
A blog entitled Real Water Health written by a Shelley Penney a retired nurse (interested in "health, peace and abundance") publishes many articles advocating the benefits of alkaline water. A list of 17 "Peer Reviewed Articles on Alkaline Water"[9] is given on the site but while they all discuss research on acidosis, none of them mention any benefits from actually imbibing alkaline water. Shelley is not too hot on her chemistry as she claims "Because it is very alkaline, ionized water may dissolve accumulated acid waste and return the body to a balance"[10] very alkaline products are caustic (e.g. drain cleaner); ionized water typically has a pH of 8 which is the same as sea-water. She further claims that "keeping our body fluid pH in an alkaline state may be the first line of defense in fighting any disease", as the body naturally regulates the pH of arterial blood between 7.35 and 7.45 you are likely to be dead before your blood stops being alkaline. As noted above, blood is a buffer solution which has the property that the pH changes very little when a small amount of strong alkali is added to it.
Ray Kurzweil sells alkaline water filters on his website. His transhumanist fans tend to gloss over this really obvious left turn into blatant alternative medicine pseudoscience, preferring to concentrate on his computer pseudoscience.
External links
- Real Water Health - A pro alkaline water blog by Shelley Penney
Footnotes
- ↑ Claimed benefits of the Alkaline diet
- ↑ The Cancer Act 1939
- ↑ "Energise for Life" disclaimer, displaying Quack Miranda Warning
- ↑ "pH Buffers in the Blood" - Rachel Casiday and Regina Frey Department of Chemistry, Washington University
- ↑ "pH Significance of Blood" - Newton BBS
- ↑ "Acid/Alkaline Theory of Disease Is Nonsense" - Gabe Mirkin, M.D.
- ↑ List of Alkaline Foods
- ↑ Alkaline Water Ionizers - energiseforlife.comimg
- ↑ Real Water Health: Peer-reviewed papers.
- ↑ [http://www.realwaterhealth.com/ionized-water/ Real Water Health: Ionized Water Is Alkaline