I think many people may know that foods are classified into acidity or basicity (alkalinity) in nature. Acidity and basicity (alkalinity) is measured by pH scale. Pure water has a pH very close to 7 which is a neutral value. Solutions with a pH greater than 7 are basic or alkaline and solutions with a pH less than 7 are said to be acidic. The pH value of our normal blood (adult) is 7.4. It is a bit basic / alkaline. The distance in being acidic or alkaline is very small. It can be a problem even just 0.001 difference. Blood of people who have gout have pH value 7.399. So you could see that only 0.001 differences could lead to joint aching.
To define a food whether it is acidic or alkaline is not by tasting or feeling of tongue. It is by the remaining substance from foods we eat after digestion. The remaining substance from vegetables and fruits after digestion are calcium, potassium, iron, magnesium … etc. It is more prone to be alkaline. While the remaining substance from meat, fish, egg and grains of all kinds after digestion are phosphorous, chlorine, sulfur … etc. which is more prone to be acidic
What types of foods are acid?
A. All types of oil: animal fat/oil, vegetable refined oil is acid.
B. Most types of grains: barley, wheat, oats, sweet corn (maize), rice, bread and noodles are middle acidity foods. Only millet, chestnut, sweet potato, potato, pumpkin (squash) are alkaline. Most types of nuts, seeds and beans are acid that includes cashew nut, walnut, peanut, sesame and hyacinth bean (haricot bean). Only almond. Soybean (soya bean) and pod of any legume are alkaline.
C. All types of meat, internal organs, egg, seafood and shellfish are high acidity. When an animal is killed, there is no oxygen in flesh so it makes meat goes acid. Eating live animal, fish, shrimp and shellfish are still acid because they contain many acid substance. They are acid foods.
**For people who have cancer or tumor, it is the best to have 100% natural vegetarian diet and alkaline foods. They must not eat meat. Besides, people who have cancer cannot eat too much rice and bread because they are all acid foods, but can eat alkaline foods such as potato, sweet potato, pumpkin, millet and chestnut.
What types of foods are alkaline?
98% of plants are alkaline except plum / prune and cranberry. Almost all types of fresh vegetables and fruits are alkaline foods. But if vegetables are preserved with salt or sugar, fermented or deep fried, they would become acid foods.
By reading above, people who like eating meat, oil, pastries and puddings or drinking coffee, tea, soft drink, etc. which belong to acid foods, their blood should also be high acidity. But not the case, their blood is still slight alkaline (pH value 7.4). Why is that? This is how marvellous capability of Mother Nature creates human. Liver and kidney neutralizes (counteracts) acid blood to make it slight alkaline (pH value 7.4) so that our body can function well. But if we eat meat, oil, pastries and puddings or drink soft drink all the time, our liver and kidney would run down one day. Waste material in our body cannot clean away and accumulates inside our internal organs, joints, mucous membrane, etc. Then they would develop inflammation and make us sick.
All the animal meat processed foods are acidic which make people sick easily. When we are young, our liver and kidney still have ability to neutralize (counteract) acidity. However, when we get older and less exercise, acidity of blood is not easy to neutralize (counteract). Thus we get sick easily. Blood of chronic disease patient would become acid.
If we want to be healthy, our blood must always maintain slight alkaline. This would make our body waste to easily eliminate and to have good immunity system. Therefore, to maintain blood in slight alkaline is very important. How to maintain it? (To be continued - next article)