There are four elementary principles for
selecting foods to ensure a proper
balance of acidifying, alkalizing, and
weak-acid foods. The four additional
rules are for those who are unable to
metabolize acids properly.
1. A meal should never
consist solely of acidifying foods
but should always contain alkaline
foods.
A meal of meat with pasta, or fish and
rice, with cake and coffee for dessert is
not a recommended menu because it
consists entirely of acidifying foods; the
same applies to a meatless meal of pasta
with tomato sauce followed by a dessert
sweetened with white sugar. When
vegetables are added to this meal in the
form of salads or raw or cooked
vegetables, the alkaline intake at least
partially compensates for the acids.
Vegetables are typically included with
meals, but often in such small quantities
that their effect is negligible. This takes
us to rule number two.
2. The amount of alkalizing
foods should be greater
proportionately than the amount of
acidifying foods at any one meal.
The proportion of foods that produce
alkaline elements should always be
greater than that of foods that produce
acids. Eating in this manner ensures that
the acids are neutralized at the intestinal
or tissue level without any need for the
body to draw from its reserves.
3. The proportion of
alkalizing foods should be even
greater when there is pronounced
acidification of the internal
environment or when the individual
is unable to metabolize acids
properly.
The more the body is weakened or
exhausted, the less the alkaline reserves
it has for its buffer system, and the less
capable it is of oxidizing acids. Putting
less acid into the body makes it easier
for the body to maintain its acid–alkaline
balance.
4. A diet consisting solely
of alkaline vegetables and plantbased
food is possible, but only for
a limited period (one to two
weeks).
An exclusively alkaline diet,
consisting solely of vegetables, potatoes,
bananas, almonds, and so forth, cannot
be continued indefinitely because it is
seriously inadequate in protein. Such
diets are useful when acidification is
very significant and the disorders it has
caused are acute, intense, and painful.
The abrupt, complete elimination of all
acids allows the body to recover more
rapidly and return to a normal acid–
alkaline balance. An exclusively
alkaline diet should remain a short-term
therapeutic action so as not to
compromise health.
Four additional rules to metabolize acids properly
