What is an alkaline diet?
Not eating at all? Not an option!
©© Dominik Ketz
An alkaline diet is ideal if you want to...
...notgo without food.
...want to try a vegan diet
...want to make a fundamental change in your diet
...like to eat vegetables and potatoes
Even without fasting, you can relieve your body significantly by avoiding acid-forming foods completely for a while.
But what does this mean?
In chemical terms, acids are compounds that release charged hydrogen atoms. Naturally, they are constantly formed during metabolism, end up in the intercellular space and must be neutralised there by buffer compounds.
These in return require hydrogen-absorbing alkalis. However, there is only enough supply if the diet is rich in vegetables and fruit. Potatoes are also metabolized to form alkalis, while most other foods contribute to the body's acid load, especially meat, cheese and dairy products.
Since the acid balance is essential for survival, the body has to "get to the point" and attack structures such as the bones in order to provide enough buffer compounds and achieve a good balance.
The greater the acid load on the body, the stronger the coagulation of proteins in the lymph, i.e. the tissue fluid that connects the blood circulation and the cells. Naturopaths compare the situation with that of a pudding, which is first liquid and then thickens more and more.
The result: the supply of the cells and the removal of substances that are no longer needed become worse. Over time, chronically undersupplied tissue becomes increasingly inelastic and hardens. A well-known example are the painful muscle knots (myogeloses) that can be felt from the outside and which many people experience, especially in the shoulder area. But such hardenings can also occur in other tissues. Other typical complaints are arthrosis, digestive problems, chronic respiratory diseases and migraine.
Many naturopaths are convinced: With a one to two week cure, in which you eat exclusively alkaline food, you can already relieve the body decisively from an excess of acid. In the meantime, you should also drink a lot, ideally water with plenty of hydrogen carbonate or herbal tea. Fruit tea, on the other hand, can have an acidic effect. You should also make sure that you are sufficiently relaxed during an alkaline fast, because anger, hectic and other psychological stress can also make you sour in the truest sense of the word.
How strongly alkaline or souring food acts, by the way, is indicated by the so-called PRAL list. In normal everyday life after the cure, the sum of the results should be below zero at the end of the day.