alkaline diet?
#26
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More or less sums it up for me as well... everything in moderation, low glycemic index, plenty of fiber, drink water, etc.
Personally, I don't put much weight on buying organic, it's mostly marketing. Those dirty dozen lists aren't actually based on anything, just arbitrary values. Organic crops use pesticides too, just "organic" pesticide instead of synthetic pesticide (all the same to me, pesticide is pesticide). Your money though... the only "true organic" is what you grow yourself or buy local and know the farmer and I absolutely support both of those!
Personally, I don't put much weight on buying organic, it's mostly marketing. Those dirty dozen lists aren't actually based on anything, just arbitrary values. Organic crops use pesticides too, just "organic" pesticide instead of synthetic pesticide (all the same to me, pesticide is pesticide). Your money though... the only "true organic" is what you grow yourself or buy local and know the farmer and I absolutely support both of those!
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Our agriculture system is incredibly complex and the more I read/learn the more I realize how much I don't know. In fact, one of my New Year's resolutions is to find time to visit a few farms (of various types) this summer and ask questions and learn as much as possible!
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Where it becomes nonsense/pseudoscience/whatever is when people start buying litmus strips to measure urine pH and/or believing the diet will prevent/cure cancer (and every other ailment under the sun).
Most of what I see online is faddish alternative health stuff making wild claims about the origin/cause of disease. That's not to say that there aren't real implications, which is evident by the large number of papers that come up with a search of PubMed (mostly in regards to bone health studies).
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Depends? My personal thought is that a healthier diet would on its own accord be more "alkaline." That's different than saying an alkaline diet is healthier as a general rule.
Where it becomes nonsense/pseudoscience/whatever is when people start buying litmus strips to measure urine pH and/or believing the diet will prevent/cure cancer (and every other ailment under the sun).
Most of what I see online is faddish alternative health stuff making wild claims about the origin/cause of disease. That's not to say that there aren't real implications, which is evident by the large number of papers that come up with a search of PubMed (mostly in regards to bone health studies).
Where it becomes nonsense/pseudoscience/whatever is when people start buying litmus strips to measure urine pH and/or believing the diet will prevent/cure cancer (and every other ailment under the sun).
Most of what I see online is faddish alternative health stuff making wild claims about the origin/cause of disease. That's not to say that there aren't real implications, which is evident by the large number of papers that come up with a search of PubMed (mostly in regards to bone health studies).
Is it our consumerism that gets us to look for the latest thing even though there is nothing new about it?
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#34
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I think the reason is quite personal and varies widely from one person to another; I suspect that it's usually looking for answers for some chronic condition (most likely caused by dietary and life choices, but who knows). I only call it a fad because popular websites play a role in spreading such diets, as does social media. I've seen a lot of "alkaline diet" posts as of late, for whatever reason; it's definitely trending right now.
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It can become a "fad diet" when taken to an extreme...And there is nothing wrong with eating a little bit of junk food, as long as the person is physically active and following a well balanced diet of mostly whole foods. Junk food can make great fuel during times of intense physical activity.
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But I wouldn't call that an alkaline diet ... I'd just call it looking for easy ways to cut calories.
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#38
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One of the more science based works on this topic is in a book called "Molecular Fitness" from Darrell L. Tanelian, M.D., Ph.D from Stanford. In it he describes it's not about whether the food itself is acid or alkaline. It's about whether the digestion of that food makes your system acidic or alkaline. Many of the later articles I think have confused his research with the acid/alkaline balance of the food itself and then they go on to tell you that acidic food won't make your system acidic. Very true but irrelevant since that's not what his research said. It's a very interesting book with voluminous references. You can decide for yourself if you believe his research and yes, eating lots of fruits and vegetables is a good thing.
#41
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I'm probably one of the few here who has experienced a lifethreatening acidosis. It's always lifethreatening since it develops so rapidly if it comes to that and my symptoms were heavy breathing, kinda like i was starving for oxygen all the time. And that breathing kept the insulin deficiency induced ketoacidosis in check for weeks. OK, few more days and I probably would have died but whatever.
My point is, the body is completely capable of handling and maintaining a steady PH without damaging itself in any way. If it wasn't all humans would have died at first sing of a food deficiency (kinda like cats do)
#42
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One of the more science based works on this topic is in a book called "Molecular Fitness" from Darrell L. Tanelian, M.D., Ph.D from Stanford. In it he describes it's not about whether the food itself is acid or alkaline. It's about whether the digestion of that food makes your system acidic or alkaline. Many of the later articles I think have confused his research with the acid/alkaline balance of the food itself and then they go on to tell you that acidic food won't make your system acidic. Very true but irrelevant since that's not what his research said. It's a very interesting book with voluminous references. You can decide for yourself if you believe his research and yes, eating lots of fruits and vegetables is a good thing.
#43
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If we are talking about acid/alkaline then whole foods etc has NOTHING to do with it. None. It's about the properties of foods supposedly causing a acid/alkaline reaction in the body.
Eating whole foods and all that very overrated jazz is a whole another topic.
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It can become a "fad diet" when taken to an extreme...And there is nothing wrong with eating a little bit of junk food, as long as the person is physically active and following a well balanced diet of mostly whole foods. Junk food can make great fuel during times of intense physical activity.
... If it was OK, they wouldn't call it junk food!
OK, it may not kill you outright, but while it will not promote good health it will promote poor health.
... And no, you cannot 'burn it off', too many marathon runners with heart attacks thought they could. You can't. Exercise has many benefits. But burning off junk food ain't one of them.
#45
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the foods you're supposed to eat on the alkaline diet are good for you (anyway)
Alkaline Diet Plan Review: Does It Work?
Alkaline Diet Plan Review: Does It Work?
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And for those who subscribe to acid/alkaline diets, eating lots of fruits and vegetables is the single best way to boost alkalinity.
A bit of perspective from Matt Fitzgerald (or Racing Weight fame):
Seven Diets for Seven Health Objectives? | Racing Weight Blog
On closer inspection it appears that the authors of all of the above-mentioned books recommend eating lots of vegetables and not a lot of sweets and other junk foods. Indeed, I’m tempted to conclude that just one broadly defined healthy diet will allow me to achieve all of my health objectives! (Agnostic healthy eating, anyone?) Okay, I’ve removed my tongue from my cheek. The point of the forgoing exercise, as you may have guessed, was to highlight the absurdity of eating for single, specific objectives. The body is an integrated whole. A person has only one diet, and it affects every dimension of health simultaneously. What’s more, precisely because the body is an integrated whole, any food type that enhances one dimension of health is likely to enhance others and is unlikely to have a negative impact on any.
Take whole grains, for example. Consumption of whole grains has been shown to favorably impact gut health and to reduce insulin resistance and systemic inflammation as well as the risk for several cancer types and heart disease. Vegetables and fruits likewise boost all dimensions of human health while nuts and seeds have a wide range of healthful effects and no negative effects. Fish too has a handful of beneficial health effects and (mercury contamination not withstanding) no negative effects. So whichever dimension of overall health is most important to you, you should eat whole grains, vegetables, fruit, nuts and seeds, and probably fish as well.
Take whole grains, for example. Consumption of whole grains has been shown to favorably impact gut health and to reduce insulin resistance and systemic inflammation as well as the risk for several cancer types and heart disease. Vegetables and fruits likewise boost all dimensions of human health while nuts and seeds have a wide range of healthful effects and no negative effects. Fish too has a handful of beneficial health effects and (mercury contamination not withstanding) no negative effects. So whichever dimension of overall health is most important to you, you should eat whole grains, vegetables, fruit, nuts and seeds, and probably fish as well.
#47
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Hilarious. In the field of nutrition science there is lively debate about a whole series of things, but the whole eating whole foods thing seems to be one of the rare points of consensus.
And for those who subscribe to acid/alkaline diets, eating lots of fruits and vegetables is the single best way to boost alkalinity.
And for those who subscribe to acid/alkaline diets, eating lots of fruits and vegetables is the single best way to boost alkalinity.
"boost alkalinity" would take something like 18 lbs of oranges for a marginal change not much different than the fluctuations your body goes through anyways... and it wouldn't even last very long. I hope you like oranges.
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Based on the Molecular Fitness research, yes it is. Not sure what the current acid/alkaline diet fads have to say since I don't follow those. But in Dr. Tanelian's research, the body's reaction to foods causes an acidic or alkaline response regardless of whether the food itself is acid or alkaline. This response in turn has a significant impact on the connexin molecule which is what most of his book is about. Foods that cause an alkaline reaction, like fruits & vegetables, can offset or buffer foods that cause an acidic reaction like meats and proteins.
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