5 Myths of the Acid Alkaline Diet

five myths of the alkaline diet

From running liveenergized.com I get dozens of emails every day from people who have questions about the alkaline diet. There are so many people out there who are really excited about starting on a path to acid alkaline balance but who have a reason (sometimes called an ‘excuse’ ๐Ÿ˜‰ ) not to get started.

And this is such a shame because these reasons are often founded on shoddy science, misconceptions and lies from the naysayers.

I’ve been studying and working in this area for long enough now to have an extremely thorough understanding of the principles, science and practical application of the acid/alkaline diet and so here it is –

The Top 5 Myths of the Alkaline Diet

Myth #1 It’s Too Hard To Stick To

This is simply not true. In fact, through my alkaline diet coaching membership – the Alkaline Base Camp, I’ve proven with thousands upon thousands of people that it is, in fact, really easy to stick to. You just need to understand the rules and get organised.

Here are my top five tips:

  1. Transition: my experience and research has shown over and over that the success rate of people transitioning to this diet and lifestyle is SO MUCH higher when you transition gently rather than going cold turkey.
  2. Focus on the Core First: to begin with, don’t worry too much about getting everything right straight away, just focus on the few core things that will instantly start making a big difference. Firstly, make sure you have 3-4 litres of good quality water each day. Secondly, ensure you have a big salad with every lunch and dinner. Finally cut out one big vice – not all of them, but one. Take it step by step.
  3. Be Organised: this is probably the most important thing – get yourself organised, get your week of meals planned and shop for it. Until you get used to living alkaline you can’t just go shopping randomly and hope you get the right food in, you have to be prepared.
  4. Snack Healthy: always make sure you’ve got healthy snacks on hand so you don’t fall into the trap of “Oh I’m hungry, but there is nothing healthy to eat. OK I better have this biscuit/chocolate bar/chips to stop myself feeling hungry. Damn, thats not alkaline – I’ll start again tomorrow – I promise”.
  5. Exercise! Even if just a little – exercise is such a good rewarding, empowering and positive reinforcing behaviour. I’ve found that people who exercise 3-5 times per week are WAY more likely to stick to other healthy new habits than those who just try to change through diet alone

Of course, I’ve my weekly newsletter helps you to cover all of the above. You can sign up for our free newsletter to get my latest alkaline recipes delivered weekly (it’s free) here.

Myth #2 Meals Are Boring

Again – REALLY not true. I’ve published two bestselling Alkaline Diet Recipe Books that are now amalgamated into my Alkaline Recipe System here to prove it! Plus there are over 220+ delicious recipes on this very site for you to try for free too!

We’ve got delicious:

…and more alkaline recipes here!

You can make almost any meal alkaline with a bit of thought and creativity.

Myth #3 You Can Never Have Treats Again

I’ve blogged about this at length before and here is the crux of it:

I believe that success with this lifestlye is guaranteed when you donโ€™t change who you are at your core. You should still be social, you should still have treats, you should still be naughty, you should still enjoy life!

I guarantee that you are FAR more likely to succeed if you are 80% great and 20% relaxed than if you try to be 100% perfect.

Still go out for dinner. Still have a glass of wine. Still enjoy your espresso. Just make the right choices at the right time, don’t let unhealthy things become habitual and always keep your end goal in mind.

If you try and be perfect you will almost always fail in the long term.

Myth #4 You Don’t Get Enough of….protein, dairy, calcium, calories etc

This is a classic myth about almost every type of vegetarian diet and it is so flippin outdated. In fact, with regards to the alkaline diet it makes no sense whatsoever. I have no reason why people believe that if you, basically, don’t eat meat and dairy you will somehow be unhealthily not getting enough of something. Nothing could be further from the truth.

In fact, on an alkaline diet I can promise you that you are getting an abundance of every vital nutrient you need – including protein.

The most eaten foods on an alkaline diet (dark leafy green vegetables, nuts, pulses, seeds etc) are all very rich in protein and give you just as much as you need. Even an extremely active sports person can supplement (the same way as meat eating sports people do) with hemp protein powders, and of course tofu and soy milk is acceptable on this diet too.

The concept behind dairy is ridiculous in terms of it providing calcium (that you somehow miss if you don’t drink milk). Alkaline foods are alkaline because they are packed full of the most alkaline minerals on earth: magnesium, calcium, sodium and….CALCIUM. In fact, studies have proven that drinking lots of milk has no impact on bone strength. I’ve written fairly extensively about this here.

I can promise you, again, that you get more than your adequate supply of calcium on an alkaline diet, and in fact, when you don’t consume so many acids you bones will be stronger anyway!

As for calories, again, I’ve been living this way for many years and I am never going without calories! Calories are almost redundant on this diet as you can eat as much as you need to and get such a good source of energy from the essential fatty acids (omega oils) you consume, along with the abundance of fresh veggies, salads, nuts, seeds etc.

I promise you, living alkaline will give you so much more energy than ever before, you seriously won’t be worried about calories any more.

Myth #5 It’s Only for Weight Loss

This is one I can understand, because historically people who want to lose weight go on a diet, right? Weight loss has always been the only reason to diet, hasn’t it?! This is why it is a shame that this approach to health was dubbed “The Alkaline Diet” or “The Acid Alkaline Diet” – because really it is more holistic and long term than that.

I prefer to call it “The Alkaline Lifestyle” but that scares some folks off ๐Ÿ˜‰ (what – it’s, like, forever?)

So when you get past the fact that it has the word “diet” in the title here are the facts:

Fat is not a calorie problem, it is an acid problem. When you are over-acidic one of the most visual symptoms will be over OR under weight. When you alkalise you find your ideal body weight. If you are already slim, you won’t get slimmer – you’ll reach your ideal weight. If you are large, the fat that has been hanging on to protect your organs from the acids will drop away.

You seriously don’t need to worry about fat loss if you’re already slim.

So what else? The Alkaline Diet has been particularly positive for people with symptoms of:

  • Candida
  • IBS
  • Fibromyalgia/Chronic Fatigue
  • Eczema
  • Psoriasis
  • Acne
  • Low Libido
  • Low Mood
  • Poor Mental Clarity
  • Stronger Emotions
  • Thyroid Issues & more!

SO there you have it – starting and living alkaline is easier that you’d thought!

If you have any questions at all, feel free to leave them below and don’t forget to browse the blog! There are heaps more articles in here!

Have a great day
Ross

Related Posts to The Five Myths of the Alkaline Diet

Can I Still Eat Meat on the Alkaline Diet?
5 Brilliant Tips to Stay Alkaline & Stay on Track
Five Things I WISH the Media Knew About the Alkaline Diet


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  1. Shari tyson Reply

    hi… would love idea,,,on coumadin,, have st Jude metal valve in heart,,it been 14 years and yes i am mizerable,,,!!!,, been doing this for 14 years so you can see i am blotted all the time..do you have any ideas Shari

  2. Janet Matthews Reply

    Thanks Ross for your very thorough explanation – and thanks for the kind words about my blog. That has encouraged me to spend some more time on it.

    regards

    Janet

  3. Janet Matthews Reply

    I have a friend who has major health problems due to over alkalinity. She cannot tolerate bicarb. She hasn’t been eating a particulary alkaline diet – so this is obviously a more complex issue than you blog implies

    • Ross Reply

      Hi Janet

      The body can be over-alkaline in the same way that it can be over acid, but this is most certainly an extremely rare scenario and is more determined by a situation in her internal system rather than dietary. The reason why most people are over acid is:

      Firstly, the body creates acids through it’s daily processes of metabolism and everything else it does to keep us alive
      Secondly, we generally consume a lot of foods and drinks that create more acids – meat, dairy, sugar, tea, coffee, juice, simple carbs etc.
      Thirdly, negative emotions such as stress, worry, jealousy, panic, anger etc. are huge contributors to acids in our body (I know, I was skeptical too until I saw the blood samples from someone who actually proved this beyond doubt)

      So we have all of these contibutors to acidifying the body, but our blood (and other fluids & cells) HAVE to remain at pH 7.365 to keep us alive – and the body will do whatever it takes to keep that balance. This is much that same way that your body does whatever it takes to keep your temperature at a certain level.

      The body has a small alkaline buffering system that it can draw upon to neutralise the acids, but we only have enough to neutralise the natural amount of acid we produce through our bodily functions. So when we chuck a heap of acidic food, drink and emotions in it causes massive unrest and havoc in our system.

      The same is happening with your friend, but the body is struggling to keep the pH at 7.365 because too much alkalinity is being produced or used.

      I suggest that your friend sees a blood microscopist to try to determine what is happening and where the body is drawing the extra alkaline minerals from.

      This is a complex issue in the case of over-alkalinity, but for 99.9% of the population the other way is the case.

      I hope this makes sense
      Ross

      p.s. love your blog by the way – keep it going!

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