How to Supercharge Your Health with an Alkaline Diet

An alkaline diet, which contains fruits and vegetables, can help preserve muscle mass, reduce cardiovascular risk factors, relieve chronic lower back pain, benefit bone health, and even improve memory and cognition.

Humans require a pH blood level between 7.35 to 7.45 to survive. Foods cannot affect the pH of the body, but they can affect the pH of urine. Foods such as meat, poultry, cheese, and grains can make urine pH more acidic, while fruits and vegetables make urine pH more alkaline.

A study found acidic diets lead to an increased risk for kidney stones. Another study found consuming extra protein may decrease bone density if not balanced with supplements or foods that are alkali rich. However, protein is necessary for the prevention of osteoporosis and sarcopenia. Thus, it is better to eat more fruit and vegetables instead of reducing protein.

A three-year study found a diet rich in potassium (which is found in fruits and vegetables) as well as reduced acid load resulted in preservation of muscle mass. Studies found children and postmenopausal women who increased the amount of potassium in their diet experienced significant increases in growth hormone.

An increase in growth hormone has a wide range of positive health benefits. Improving growth hormone levels may improve quality of life, reduce cardiovascular risk factors, improve body composition, and even improve memory and cognition.

An alkaline diet has several other proven benefits as well. Intracellular magnesium, which is required for the function if many enzyme systems, will be increased. The body’s K/Na (potassium/sodium) ratio will be improved, which will reduce chronic diseases such as hypertension and strokes. There is also some evidence that chronic lower back pain improves from an alkaline diet

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