The Alkaline Diet: Could It Boost Your Energy?

Want to leap into 2016 bouncing with energy and vitality? The key could be in the Alkaline Diet.

You may think it’s all the carbs, trans fats or late nights that have been zapping your energy, but the culprit might be more unusual: your body’s acid levels.

WHAT IS THE ALKALINE DIET?

The diet has been around for some 30 years, but the spotlight was firmly put on “keeping alkaline” last year when supermodel Elle Macpherson confessed that she always carried a pH balance urine tester kit in her purse to check she maintains “an alkaline state”.

Despite the urine kit, the premise of the diet is pretty simple: strike a balance of eating 70–80 per cent alkaline-rich foods like leafy greens, fruits and vegetables and 20–30 per cent acid forming (protein, dairy and grains). If you do, you’ll create a pH balance in your body that is optimal for health, reducing the risk of chronic illness and disease, while increasing your energy and helping you shift unwanted kilos.

Although many nutritionists have dismissed the diet, arguing that the body has its own natural system for keeping the balance in check, studies have shown diets overloaded with processed foods and animal proteins might be capable of overriding our systems.

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HOW TO BECOME MORE ALKALINE

The first lesson starts with getting a handle on what is alkaline and what isn’t.

“The mistake most people make is thinking it’s about avoiding foods that taste acidic,” says naturopath Mim Beim. “Rather than the taste, it’s actually about the mineral composition of the food after it’s been absorbed that determines whether it’s acid-forming or alkaline.”

Step 1:

Eliminate, or at least heavily reduce, the following: proteins (particularly red meat); dairy (except ricotta, which is alkaline); sugars; alcohol; caffeine; grains; and processed foods.

Step 2:

Replenish your diet with these alkaline foods: fresh fruit; fresh juices; seeds and nuts; herbs; large helpings of vegies – particularly the green and leafy variety, such as spinach.

Step 3:

Dr Simone Laubscher, Elle Macpherson’s nutritional doctor and co-founder of nutrition at Rejuv Physio & Nutrition (rejuv.co.uk), advises kicking off your mornings with a glass of warm water and lemon juice, plus “add an additional two litres of water per day to help dilute acids”.

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Step 4:

Keep coffee to a maximum of one cup a day, which “you’ll need to drink at least one hour away from any nutritious foods or supplements, so the caffeine doesn’t impair absorption of key alkalising ingredients”, says Dr Laubscher.

Step 5:

Increase exercise and reduce stress. “Sweat acts as a great back-door way to dump acid wastes and toxins,” explains Dr Laubscher. Plus, stress-management techniques, such as meditation, are very beneficial. “When you are stressed, your digestive system switches off so you need to find ways to relax and aid your body,” says Grasseschi.

And if you really can’t say no to that leftover mince pie? Try throwing back a green smoothie packed with celery, apple and spinach alongside it, advises Beim. After all, eating well – whether it’s about alkalinity or not – is simply about balance.

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