Alkalizing foods consist primarily of
green and colored vegetables (with the
exception of tomatoes) and potatoes.
These foods are alkalizing because
they are rich in alkaline elements and
contain few, if any, acid substances, and
because they do not produce acids when
they are utilized by the body. Even when
significant amounts of this type of food
are consumed, no acid is produced,
regardless of the metabolic capacities of
the person who eats them. Just as
acidifying foods are acidifying for
everyone, alkalizing foods are alkalizing
for everyone. These are the foods that
people suffering from an acid–alkaline
imbalance need to eat above all.
Green and colored vegetables are the
primary source of alkaline substances
for the body. They should be included in
every main meal, whether as salad, raw
or cooked vegetables, juice, or soup, by
anyone trying to restore or maintain
acid–alkaline balance. The sole
exception is the tomato, which is very
acidifying whether eaten raw or cooked.
(Botanically speaking, however, the
tomato is not a vegetable but a fruit.)
ALKALIZING FOODS
-Potatoes
-Green vegetables, raw or cooked:
salad greens, green beans, cabbage,
and so on
-Colored vegetables: carrots, beets
(except for tomatoes)
-Corn (kernels or cooked as
polenta)
-Milk (liquid and powdered form),
large-curd cottage cheese, cream,
butter
-Bananas
-Almonds, Brazil nuts
-Chestnuts
-Dried fruits: dates, raisins (except
for those that are acidic to the taste
—apricots, apples, pineapple)
-Alkaline mineral waters
-Almond milk
-Black olives preserved in oil
-Avocado
-Cold-pressed oils
-Natural sugar
Potatoes are well known for their
anti-acidifying qualities; their juice is
often recommended as a remedy for
stomach acidity and ulcers. The potato’s
wealth of alkaline elements makes it the
best choice of foods to counter the
acidification of the body. A starchy
food, it is nourishing and a beneficial
alternative to cereal grains, which are
acidifying. A deacidifying diet must
include potatoes more often than foods
from cereal grains.
Another nourishing and valuable food
for fighting excess acidity is the chestnut.
Like the potato, it is starchy, it supplies
fuel for energy, and it is not acidifying
like cereal grains. Chestnuts can be
roasted in the oven or boiled in water
and eaten as a vegetable. The bestknown
recipe containing them is
probably red cabbage with chestnuts.
Like potatoes, chestnuts go well with
cheese. But watch out for chestnut
purees, which are often sweetened with
sugar.
Of all the fruits, the banana is the only
one that is truly alkalizing, because its
own acid content is so weak that it never
causes acidification, even when
consumed in large quantities or as a
regular part of the diet. Other fruits, in
contrast, even those that are only faintly
acid, such as melons, do contain acids,
which means that the more one eats of
them, the greater the acidifying effect
they have.
Generally speaking, dried fruits
(dates, raisins) are alkalizing because a
portion of their acid content is oxidized
in the drying process. They are less
alkalizing if they are set out to dry
before reaching full maturity, as is often
the case with apples and apricots. The
alkaline nature of dried fruits is also
slightly reduced when they are treated
with sulfur as a preservative.
Almonds and Brazil nuts are the only
alkalizing oleaginous fruits. They can be
eaten just as they are, or chopped or
sliced and mixed with salads,
vegetables, and desserts. Some dietetic
and health food stores sell a sugarless
almond paste, which can be mixed with
water to make almond milk, a very
pleasant and alkalizing beverage.
Black olives preserved in olive oil
are alkalizing, unlike those, either black
or green, that are preserved in a vinegarbased
brine.
Raw or whole sugar is not alkalizing,
properly speaking, meaning that it does
not alkalize the internal environment if
eaten in large quantities, but when eaten
in moderation it does not acidify either,
as is the case with other sugars.
Likewise, corn, milk, large-curd cottage
cheese, cream, butter, and so on, eaten in
moderation, do not acidify the body.
Water usually has a pH of 7.
Carbonated mineral water is acid,
because the gas that gives it its
carbonation is carbonic acid. The
principal alkaline mineral waters—
those with a pH above 7—are Limpia
Water (Italy), Contrexéville and Évian
(France), and Henniez bleue
(Switzerland). To determine whether a
mineral water is alkaline, read the label
on the bottle, as the pH is indicated
there.
