Can You Get Too Alkaline?

Can I be too alkaline?

What is Alkalosis?

Can I Get Too Alkaline? It’s a question I’m asked a lot, and I want to put your mind at ease in this guide as to what the real story is here with the alkaline diet, the effects of acidity, whether eating alkaline helps and whether it can go too far!

I’ve been teaching people how to have huge success with the alkaline diet since 2004, or as I prefer to call it – the Alkaline Life (it’s not a ‘diet’) and this idea of getting too alkaline is one of the most common concerns that comes up. And it’s a legitimate worry for so many people because intuitively, it kind of makes sense.

When you think about it in a kind of ‘common sense’ way – it’s easy to understand how: if the logic runs that eating too many acidic foods will make us ‘too acid’, then eating too many alkaline foods could make us ‘too alkaline’.

Makes sense right?

Erm, wrong. 🙂

Thankfully, it doesn’t work like that.

Why Getting ‘Too Alkaline’ Is Practically Impossible

The biggest myth / argument agains the alkaline diet is that ‘you can’t change your pH’, and in my guide here that completely rips that notion to shreds (yep, completely) I show how this is a completely ridiculous claim because the goal of the alkaline diet is NOT to change your pH! The goal is to support your body to MAINTAIN your pH at the alkaline 7.365.

The damage of an acidic diet is done when we constantly eat foods and drink drinks that push our blood pH below 7, into what the scientific community called ‘diet-induced acidosis’.

When we do this the body goes into red-alert mode to do everything it takes to buffer the acidity and push the blood pH back to alkaline.

This causes a lot of damage – the effects of which are incredibly far reaching, unbalancing every one of what I call our ‘Five Master Systems’ of the endocrine (hormone) system, digestive, immune, detoxification and of course acid-buffering systems.

This acidic environment (and the damage caused by the body’s immediate necessity to bring the pH back to alkaline) is what sets the stage for sickness and disease – the constant diet-induced acidosis caused by our modern diet. (I discuss this in more depth here if you want to go a little deeper on this).

When there is too much acidity for the body to deal with, as just a few quick examples of THOUSANDS of knock on effects this can have:

  • As noted in the research paper ‘Examining the Relationship Between Diet-Induced Acidosis and Cancer‘ ‘net acid load’ in the body causes the adrenals to release excess cortisol, not only stressing the adrenals and leading to adrenal fatigue (which then leads to weight gain, fatigue, low mood and so on) but chronically elevated cortisol is one of the most common pre-cursors to dozens of different cancers
  • And in the paper ‘Diet-Induced Low-Grade Metabolic Acidosis and Clinical Outcomes‘ the researchers show how the dumping of acidity into the bloodstream causes an excessive release of insulin – not only leading, of course, to insulin resistance, more stress to the adrenals and the pancreas (and when the pancreas is stressed it loses the ability to burn fat for fuel) but also insulin release causes inflammation in the body – which is the precursor to practically every sickness and disease we know of!
  • PLUS (and I’ll make this the last one – I think you’re probably getting the picture), in the paper ‘Reducing the Dietary Acid Load: How a More Alkaline Diet Benefits Patients With Chronic Kidney Disease‘ the author shows how when there is more acidity than the body can immediately deal with, “the remaining acid is neutralized or stored within the body. Bone and muscle are lost in order to neutralize the acid.” Thousands of studies such as this and this have gone on to show how an acidic diet is directly linked to muscle loss and osteoporosis.

    Therefore, we are not eating alkaline foods to make our pH MORE alkaline, we’re eating these foods to give our body the tools it needs to effortlessly MAINTAIN this pH, repair, heal, nourish, restore and thrive.

    the alkaline diet is to support your body's pH not change it

    These alkaline foods are those that are packed full of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, anti-inflammatories – an abundance of goodness and nourishment.

    When we give our body everything it needs to do it’s job properly, it doesn’t just needlessly become too alkaline. It just doesn’t happen.

    The foods we are consuming that are acid-forming, things like sugar, gluten, soda, chips, chocolate, pizza, alcohol etc. have a pH that goes as low as pH 3-4.

    Even the most alkaline-forming foods are around pH 7.5-8.2.

    Can you see the difference here?

    Remembering also that the pH scale is logarithmic, meaning pH 6 is 10x more acidic than pH 7, pH 5 is 100x, pH 4 is 1000x…

    You can see how easy it is to get into a state of acidosis, but then on the flip side, how you are simply not ever overly overloading your body with ‘too much’ alkalinity.

    Even in the theoretical situation that you somehow consumed an insane (frankly impossible) level of alkaline foods that caused your pH get too alkaline, your body would buffer it back down like it does day-in, day-out, with each coffee, or processed food, packaged food, sugar.

    And again, think of how mildly alkaline these most alkaline foods are, compared to how shockingly acidic these most acidic foods are…well, it would just take a huge, huge amount of effort to be even slightly over alkaline, compared to the one soda to get crazy over-acid.

    What is Alkalosis Then?

    So if I’m saying you want to stay well out of ‘diet induced acidosis’, what about alkalosis?

    Alkalosis is possible – it’s the name given to when the pH of the blood is consistently too alkaline – and this is what some critics (usually those in the medical/pharmaceutical industry) cite when they criticise the alkaline way.

    However, diet-induced alkalosis is not possible. Well, if you REALLY REALLY wanted to try to get too alkaline, you possibly could, if you wanted to eat frankly crazy volumes of specific foods, but it’s not possible in normal reality. Sure it’s theoretically possible, but you’d have to consume such a CRAZY ridiculous amount alkaline foods that the alkalosis, at that stage would probably be the least of your worries!

    Alkalosis is a medical term that is given to when the blood pH is too high, but it occurs only when there is a serious condition in the body. It comes in four forms, the most common two being the first two here:

    1. Metabolic Alkalosis: Metabolic alkalosis develops when the body loses too much acid or gains too much alkalinity – at a rate caused by an underlying medical condition such as chronic kidney disease, prolonged vomiting, adrenal conditions caused by Cushing’s disease or adrenal tumours or the abuse of diuretics.
    2. Respiratory Alkalosis: Respiratory alkalosis when the lungs can’t remove enough of the carbon dioxide (CO2) produced by the body – and the most common cause is hyperventilation (caused by an underlying medical condition). Asthma, COPD, pneumonia and sleep apnea are the most common causes of the hyperventilation and liver disease and lung disease can also play a role.
    3. Hypochloremic Alkalosis: occurs when there’s a significant decline of chloride in your body. This can be due to prolonged severe vomiting or sweating induced by a medical condition.
    4. Hypokalemic Alkalosis: occurs in a condition of severe deficiency of the alkaline mineral potassium. Kidney disease, excessive sweating, and diarrhea are the most common causes of this.

    Summary: Should I Worry About Getting TOO Alkaline?

    In short – alkalosis can only be caused by a medical condition, not by eating too many alkaline foods. If you’ve had this concern in the past, I hope this puts your mind at ease.

    And if anyone has ever tried to tell you that you shouldn’t ‘go alkaline’ because of this – you now have the answer to put them in their place 🙂

    I hope this helps,
    Ross

    PS. a related question to this is ‘why eat alkaline, or drink alkaline because the stomach is acid anyway’ – and I’ve answered that one in-depth here.

    SEE ALSO:

    [+] The Ultimate Guide to Starting the Alkaline Diet
    [+] The Alkaline Diet & Cancer Explained
    [+] Foods to Eat to Heal Adrenal Fatigue

    Scientific References & Links

    Carnauba RA, Baptistella AB, Paschoal V, Hübscher GH; Diet-Induced Low-Grade Metabolic Acidosis and Clinical Outcomes: A Review; Nutrients 2017, 9(6), 538; (link)

    Dawson-Hughes B, Harris SS, Ceglia L. Alkaline diets favor lean tissue mass in older adults; The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Volume 87, Issue 3, 1 March 2008, Pages 662–665 (link)

    Gaw A, Murphy MJ, Srivastava R, Cowan RA, O’Reilly DS. Acid-base disorders. In: Gaw A, Murphy MJ, Srivastava R, Cowan RA, O’Reilly DS, eds. Clinical Biochemistry: An Illustrated Colour Text. 5th ed. Philadelphia: PA: Elsevier; 2013:chap 24.

    Lambert H, Frassetto L, Moore JB, Torgerson D, Gannon R, Burckhardt P, Lanham-New S. The effect of supplementation with alkaline potassium salts on bone metabolism: a meta-analysis. Osteoporos Int. 2015 Apr;26(4):1311-8. (link)

    Passey C. Reducing the Dietary Acid Load: How a More Alkaline Diet Benefits Patients With Chronic Kidney Disease; Journal of Renal Nutrition; May 2017Volume 27, Issue 3, Pages 151–160 (link)

    Robey IF, Examining the relationship between diet-induced acidosis and cancer; Nutritional Metabolism; 2012; 9: 72 (link)


order the alkaline life book now

Ask Me a Question or Leave a Comment Here - I'd Love to Hear from You

*

  1. Christelle Reply

    Hi, after 5 weeks of not eating acidic food such as processed wheat, gluten, refined sugar, coffee etc…and focusing on green juice and alkaline food I started to feel light headed, anxious, very low mood close to depressed, lost appetite and not sleeping well at all…Is this not the sign of being to alkaline…I also lost 4 kilos in 4 weeks…Did I over did it?
    I have realised I might not have balanced well my acidic food to my alkaline food intake…

    • ross Reply

      Hey Christelle

      It’s really hard to know what is going on with such a little slice of information. BUT, I would say that 4-5 weeks of cold turkey no sugar, gluten, caffeine etc would be a fast and sudden halt, and could lead to a lot of physiological cravings. If you let me know more of what you were eating on a daily basis I can help dig in a little more.

      With the anxiety and mood elements, there are a LOT more questions and depth I’d need.

      R

  2. janeen sophie koconis Reply

    Q1: when you recommend 5-7 servings of greens/day, what is your serving size?
    Q2: where does corn land on your “0-14” acid-alkaline scale? and, then, non-gluten corn-rice pasta?

  3. Salina Reply

    Hello! I’m not sure if you’ve been asked this yet but I work out and am trying to build muscle while eating alkaline. I know there are specific food items that will help with the proteins and some carbs I need to consume but was thinking about adding a supplement. Is creatine ok to take while on this diet? I’ve been researching but haven’t had any luck finding this out.

  4. Mayra Reply

    Hi I’m going to anxiety and depression do u think there something u can help me I just find out I have h pylori bacteria I don’t know if that part of my problem

  5. Reeja Reply

    I’ve been on the alkaline diet for 4 days and started with a ph of 6.5. I’ve had no real problem with the diet so i’ve not eaten anything that i’d Really call too acidic. This evening I felt like I could be getting a uti which hasn’t happened to me in a long while. I checked my ph before bed like normal and found that my ph was 8.5. Now i’m Not sure how to proceed or if I should do alkaline only 50%.

  6. Maryann Reply

    As best I could I was able to do the 7 day cleanse for my osteoporosis. All went well especially toward the end of the week when my pH finally restored to normal range. My problem now is that I have since been diagnosed with stage 3 chronic kidney disease. Are you able to answer diet questions that would help me figure out what I should or shouldn’t eat from this alkaline diet?

  7. Rob Feinberg Reply

    Hi Ross – I’m not sure where to check for your reply. Should I keep looking here where I wrote it (Article – Can I Become TOO Alkaline?) or should I look in my email inbox or somewhere else? I’m Rob Feinberg and asked below that some lists have mushrooms as good (alkaline) and yours has it as bad (acid). And also are pickles alkaline? I know cucumbers are but when they are pickled and become pickles, are they still alkaline (good) or do they become acid (bad). I’m going to order your recipe and eating out books. Can’t wait! Thanks Ross. – Rob

  8. Rob Feinberg Reply

    Ross – I missed it! BUMMER!! I can’t believe it. The Alkaline Reset Cleanse. I was looking forward to it and it was yesterday! Like you said in one of your emails, because you are out of the country, you thought it was Wednesday the 6th and I guess I must’ve seen the word Wednesday and didn’t think of the date and now I’m a day late. Will you ever do it again or will you have it maybe on a video or something that I could see sometime in the future. Thanks – Rob

    • ross Reply

      Hey Rob – the replay is here: https://training.liveenergized.com/arc-web-replay

      🙂

    • Rob Feinberg Reply

      Watched it! BIG THANKS!!! Great stuff! You, my friend, are a GREAT speaker!! (Cool accent! You don’t sound like the Beatles so you must live not by Liverpool but closer to London because you sound more like the Stones. Actually pretty close to the late great Steve Marriott of Humble Pie.) But anyway, got a lot out of it! I am fairly advanced on this as I have been eating and loving many of the great stuff you’re talking about but never put it together and have always had to “reward” myself with the wrong stuff due to figuring I deserved it and being with friends and family. So I think I will start with purchasing your book. I definitely need some more ideas and increase what I can eat especially with condiments. You are a REAL MOTIVATOR!! I DO have one question. I am seeing a lot of different lists of what to mostly eat and what not to eat and what’s OK once in a while and a lot of the items are consistent but some are completely on the other side. Like on yours, I think I saw mushrooms as acidic but on somewhere else’s, it had it as alkaline. So I guess my question is, would you say the list that you sent me is 100% accurate with no mistakes. And is there one that goes even further that includes say, pickles. I know cucumbers are good (alkaline) and pickles are cucumbers. But once they’re pickled are they still good?

  9. Maryann Reply

    I worry about doing a 7 day cleanse and not getting enough protein by eating just vegetables.

    • ross Reply

      My question to you is how much protein do you want to consume each day?

      • Maryann Reply

        I weigh about 120 lbs, so around 44 g of protein.

        • ross Reply

          You will have absolutely zero problem getting that level of protein and more on MY Alkaline Reset Cleanse – I don’t know exactly which protocol you’d be following, but check out the link to my webinar above that’s on Tuesday to get my blueprint (it’s a free webinar).

  10. Alek Reply

    Hi Ross,
    What do you think of the 70%(alkaline food–30% (acidic food) ???
    It is like having both worlds haha
    Thank you Ross you are doing a very very good job and i must admit very good at it.

    • ross Reply

      That’s the goal Alek – we’re not aiming for perfection – 80/20 or 70/30 is perfect 🙂

      Ross

«