The right combination of food components can help prevent not only heartburn and gastritis but also more serious issues. The consequences of an overly acidic body can include intoxication, infections, mineral depletion, protein breakdown, and cell decay. Maintaining an acid-base balance is a crucial indicator of health. What should you know about the pH of foods?
The Hostess’s Responsibility
There’s a saying that a cook is responsible for a sick stomach. The hostess bears the responsibility for the diners she feeds. But does every woman know, for instance, which ingredients in her dish are alkaline and which are acidic? These insights can help prevent mistakes in menu planning that could cost someone their health. Ideally, alkaline foods should make up at least twice as much of the daily diet as acidic foods. To maintain a healthy eating regimen, people need 80% alkaline foods and 20% acidic ones.
Some substances in food leave an alkaline residue during digestion, while others leave an acidic one. The former are known as alkaline-forming, and the latter as acid-forming. Among minerals, potassium, calcium, sodium, copper, magnesium, iron, and manganese have an alkaline effect, while sulfur, iodine, phosphorus, chlorine, carbon dioxide, carbonic acid, lactic acid, and uric acid contribute to acidity.
Symptoms that indicate an excess of acid-forming foods may seem unrelated to dietary mistakes. When the body struggles to neutralize acids, it signals this through digestive issues, weight gain, or loss of appetite (anorexia). Other signs include bronchitis, runny nose, headaches, nervous tension, fatigue, insomnia, and deterioration of hair, skin, and nails. Prolonged acidity can lead to frequent illnesses and premature frailty. A healthy internal environment, which is alkaline, supports effective bodily functions and contributes to vitality and longevity.
The Flavor Paradox
For safety reasons, it’s essential to be aware of foods with an acidic taste and understand their impact. Nutritionists have highlighted the preservative and flavor additive with the index E296, which is malic acid. Its pH level, a measure of the acidity of aqueous solutions (from Latin, pondus Hydrogenii – “weight of hydrogen”), ranges from 1.9 to 2.2, while an acidic solution has a pH of less than 7.
Due to its high content of malic and oxalic acids, rhubarb is considered the most sour-tasting vegetable in the world (which is why it’s not eaten raw), while lime holds the record for acidity among fruits.
Fruits like lemons, grapefruits, oranges, mandarins, pomegranates, kiwis, gooseberries, cranberries, and cherries all have varying degrees of sourness. The sour taste of these fruits comes from organic acids: malic, citric, and tartaric. As fruits ripen, the concentration of these fruit acids decreases as they are utilized by the plants during respiration.
A product that is acidic in nature does not necessarily taste sour, and a lemon, despite its sour flavor, is not considered an acidic product in terms of pH. Despite their apparent acidity, citrus fruits have an alkaline effect and are actually classified as alkaline foods.
Acidic products are characterized by high animal protein content and low water content. This category includes all types of flour, most grains, sugar, bread, mushrooms, fried nuts, legumes, and more.
It’s important to remember that meat, eggs, fish, beans, and grains are inherently acidic, while vegetables and fruits are alkaline. In their natural state, whole grains, flour, and rice have moderate acid-forming properties, but when refined and processed, they become more acidic.
Food Classification
All our food can be divided into three categories. The “tasty” group, which is also the most problematic because it acidifies the body, mainly consists of processed foods: refined, cooked, and fiber-free.
Acidic foods:
- oils and fats;
- dairy products (sterilized and pasteurized milk, butter, and cheese);
- other animal products (meat, fish, poultry, eggs);
- fried and spicy foods;
- ready-to-eat meals and convenience foods (baked goods, white flour, white sugar, polished rice);
- sweets made with white sugar (cookies and candies);
- grains and legumes (including wheat, corn, beans);
- dried peas;
- dried seeds and nuts (sunflower, sesame, cashew, peanuts, walnuts, melon seeds);
- alcohol, coffee, tea, carbonated drinks.
Alkaline foods:
- sprouts of peas, legumes, and grains;
- fresh vegetables and green root vegetables;
- fresh or dried fruits, including citrus.
Partially alkaline foods:
- fresh nuts (almonds, coconut, Brazil nuts);
- fresh green beans, peas, grains, and millet;
- raw milk and fresh cheese.
Interestingly, the same food can be acidic or alkaline depending on its state. For example, raw milk is alkaline, while boiled milk is acidic. To aid digestion of legumes, they should be consumed soaked and sprouted, which will reduce their acidity.
How to Lower Acidity?
Acidosis occurs due to poor nutrition, excessive consumption of acidic foods, and lack of water. Foods with high acidity levels can provoke inflammatory processes. The solution lies in neutralizing and eliminating excess acid from the body. Watermelon, cucumber, mango, banana, and coconut can help with this.
Increased acidity stimulates the secretion of gastric juice. It’s important to eat foods that naturally reduce this activity. Choose foods that are easy for the stomach to digest and do not linger in the body.
To soothe the stomach:
- low-fat broth and semi-liquid soup;
- semi-liquid porridge made from whole grains (in water or a water-milk mixture);
- vegetable puree or pureed meat dish;
- steamed omelet;
- lightly toasted wheat bread.
Contraindications:
- fatty and mushroom broth;
- carbonated drinks;
- fermented, pickled, and canned foods;
- smoked, fried, or spicy foods.
How to Increase Acidity?
If acidity is below normal, that’s not good either. Low acidity can cause nausea. This imbalance can lead to increased gas production and bloating. The goal of a corrective diet is to normalize gastric juice secretion. You can eat both fresh and cooked foods: boiled, stewed, baked, or lightly fried.
Options include:
- fiber-rich foods (fresh or baked vegetables and fruits);
- meat, fish, mushroom, or vegetable soup with grains and vegetables;
- ham;
- seafood (fish roe);
- dairy products;
- mild cheese.
Contraindications:
- vegetables and fruits with coarse fiber (radish, radish, grapes);
- legumes;
- fried mushrooms;
- fatty dishes;
- fats and oils (both plant and animal);
- spicy sauces and seasonings;
- salted and smoked fish;
- boiled eggs;
- baked goods;
- milk;
- carbonated drinks.
Maintain Balance
The pH level affects how food is perceived by taste receptors. The lower the pH, the more acidic the food seems, while an increase in this value makes food taste more bitter.
With a list of foods that acidify the body (as established, sour taste is not related to this), try to avoid overindulgence. First and foremost, it’s important to limit sugar intake: moderate your chocolate consumption, eliminate or reduce sweets, baked goods, and carbonated drinks. There should not be an excess of animal protein in the diet. Specifically, red meat should be consumed no more than once or twice a week.
Alkaline foods are a vital part of a healthy diet, as they help maintain optimal pH levels in the body. Vegetables (pumpkin, potatoes, zucchini, carrots, cabbage, broccoli, cucumbers, tomatoes, green peas), greens (spinach, celery, lettuce, basil, dill, parsley), and fruits (lemons, limes, grapefruits, oranges, pears, kiwis, grapes) can balance acidity.
You can check your body’s acidity level by measuring the pH of saliva or urine using a pH meter (a device for measuring acidity), test strips, or indicator paper. It’s best to assess the acid-base balance an hour before eating or two hours after. The optimal pH balance is between 6.4 and 6.5.