Alkaline water and diet, good or bad?

Alkaline water and diet, good or bad?

Alkaline water and the alkaline diet fad.

Is alkaline water good for me?

No, it is not.

Why do some people drink alkaline water?

There is a popular thought that if you drink alkaline water, it will make your body alkaline. Most people who have ailments have bodies that are too acidic. So some think therefore that the cure for illness is to make your body more alkaline and they think that alkaline water is the easiest way to do this. Many drink alkaline water who are not sick but are hoping to prevent future ailments, but it doesn’t work.

Does alkaline water make the body more alkaline?

No. If anything it makes the body more acidic. Alkaline water is a stress on your stomach. Stress makes the body more acidic.

Is alkaline water bad for the stomach?

Yes. The body in general is supposed to be on the alkaline side, but one organ that likes to be acidic is the stomach. You may have heard of ‘stomach acid.” The stomach makes acid to digest your food. If you drink alkaline water, the stomach becomes alkaline, then has to work much harder to create an acid environment at your next meal. Of course too much stomach acid is a problem too, but that’s usually caused by a bacterial infection or a hiatal hernia, neither of which is caused by eating acidic foods or beverages, or from being overall too acidic. Alkaline water could make the symptoms of an over-acid stomach feel better during a flare-up, but it won’t fix the underlying cause of the over-acid stomach.

What if I drink alkaline water between meals so that it doesn’t interfere with digestion?

This is still bad. The stomach consists of cells called epithelial tissue similar to skin cells. Women who learn how to treat their face to prevent wrinkles know that “beauty” washes are usually acidic, not alkaline. Those who have tanned an animal skin know that the way to clean the underlying fat from the animal skin before tanning it is to soak the skin in alkaline water to “eat” the fat away. But they know to be very careful not to leave the skin in the alkaline wash too long or else the entire hide will begin to dissolve as the alkaline water literally eats the hide into mush! And of course to condition the hide so that it is “tanned,” becoming a strong yet soft leather that lasts a long time, they soak it in an acid wash consisting of tannic acid. Bottom line: acid is generally good for epithelial cells, alkaline generally breaks down and destroys epithelial cells. Drinking alkaline water over time can tear down the stomach lining.

So what about an alkaline diet?

One interesting part of an alkaline diet is that things like citris, which are acidic foods, make your body more alkaline. And things like pasta, which are more neutral pH, make your body more acidic. In general fruits and vegetables and greens make you more alkaline, and refined foods, sugars, and animal products make you more acidic. So yes, an “alkaline” diet is good for you. But it doesn’t mean that you are eating foods that are alkaline.

How do acidic citris foods make the body more alkaline?

Because they are full of minerals. Once digested, the minerals are released and they make you more alkaline than the acid made you acidic.

But I can’t eat citrus because it gives me acid reflux, if they make me more alkaline, why does it seem to cause my stomach and throat to burn?

Because the minerals aren’t released until after you digest the citrus. So the acid in the citrus irritates you.

But I thought that in some cases of acid reflux, the stomach is actually low in acid and taking an acid supplement can make it feel better?

True. But only if you aren’t too acidic in your body. Even though the stomach likes lots of acid, if the body has too much acid, then adding more acid to the stomach will irritate things.

And so if my body has high acid and my stomach has low acid, but I can’t take an acid supplement because it burns me, and I can’t digest vegetables or greens well because my stomach acid is low and I get lots of gas and bloating, how can I possibly correct my acidic body?

With minerals, especially calcium. Calcium is the main way that the body stays alkaline. Greens and vegetables have high calcium levels, a better source than even milk. But you can’t absorb calcium without enough vitamin D in the blood. D comes from sunshine or supplements. See my articles on vitamin D here, here, here, here, here and here. But to answer your question about an acid body that reacts to acid foods even though they should make you alkaline, get your vitamin D levels up to 80 ng/ml and take a calcium supplement until the symptoms go away. After 3-6 months, if your acid reflux is gone and you are eating lots of veggies and greens, you won’t need the calcium supplement anymore, just the D.

So what’s the bottom line?

1) Don’t drink alkaline water, if anything, add some lemon juice to your water to make the water acidic yet alkalizing once digested.

2) To alkalize your body eat greens and veggies, and take vitamin D (take calcium as needed for severe cases).

3) Avoid processed foods and eat animal products in moderation.

What if I do all this and I still have indigestion or acid reflux or bloating?

Reread my article on diet and on cleansing.

Extra:

Vitamin D when chronically low is linked to cancer, heart disease, osteoporosis, arthritis, dementia, pregnancy complications, autism, and autoimmune diseases. All of these diseases are also linked to too much acid in the body. The body acid does not cause these diseases. Low vitamin D causes low calcium which causes high body acid.

So the following will largely prevent all modern disease, no alkaline water or diet tricks needed:

1) Eat fresh real food and avoid processed foods.

2) Take lots of vitamin D.