The 9 Most Cleansing Alkaline Foods
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The Nine Most Cleansing Alkaline Foods to Detoxify Your Body…and 10x Your Energy!
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I’m a Big Believer in an Alkaline Cleanse for Everyone
If you saw my guide late last month on the Quick Start Guide to the Alkaline Cleanse you’ll know I am a big believer in the power of a cleanse.
When you do it right.
When you do it wrong, it’s just plain too hard (if you’ve ever tried a cleanse and found it tough – please email me here I’d love to hear your experience).
In that guide I taught you the basics of cleansing my way.
You know that I am passionately driven to make living alkaline and getting to your dream health, energy and vitality (and of course, your dream body) – “easy, enjoyable and sustainable”.
And cleansing is no different!
To continue your learning on how to do an alkaline cleanse, today I am teaching you about the “Nine Most Cleansing Alkaline Foods“.
While you can’t simply eat these and call it an ‘alkaline cleanse’ – I want you to start incorporating these foods into your daily life so that you can give your body the tools it needs to slowly cleanse and rebuild, detoxify and thrive.
I have hand-selected these foods because they are proven to help support the most important cleanse organs in the body:
- The Liver: Your first line of defense against toxins is your liver, which acts like a filter in preventing toxic substances contained in foods from passing into your blood stream.
- The Colon: This organ has bacteria that produce both healthy and unhealthy chemicals. You want to keep your colon flowing regularly since its main role is to flush out toxic chemicals before they can do you any harm.
- The Kidneys: Like clockwork, the kidneys are constantly filtering your blood and getting rid of toxins in the form of urine.
To experience vibrant health, you need to maintain these three key organs by nourishing your body with the right nutrients. And these foods will give you these nutrients in abundance!
The Nine Most Cleansing Alkaline Foods
Cleansing Alkaline Food #1: Avocado
Avocados are an excellent source of alkalinity and fantastic for cleansing. They are classed as a fruit, but are one of the few truly alkaline fruits. They are so alkaline they actually make it only my famous list of the seven most alkaline foods here.
Avo’s contain a wide variety of phytonutrients, including phytopstreols, stigmasterol, campestrol and sistosterol and are also a great source of vitamin B6, vitamin C and vitamin K.
The beauty of avocados are that they are such a good source of health promoting fats, which help speed the metabolism to help reduce weight, promote healthy skin and help stimulate the cleansing actions of the digestive system.
Avocados also encourage elimination of toxins from the body from the absorption of fat soluble vitamins including vitamin A, D, E and K.
Finally, avocados provide a great source of the super-cool antioxidant glutathione. Glutathione is so important because it is known as the ‘master-antioxidant’, meaning it ‘recycles’ antioxidants. According to Dr Mark Hyman in his report in the Huffington Post, Glutathione is “the mother of all antioxidants, the master detoxifier and maestro of the immune system”
Glutathione is the most critical and integral part of your detoxification system. Toxins actually stick like glue onto glutathione. From here they can then be carried into the bile and the stool – and finally, out of your body.
PLUS, one half-cup of avocado has a great big cleansing 8 grams of dietary fibre!
That’s just fantastic and a great reason to get LOADS of avocado into your diet.
Avocado Cleanse Nutrients: Glutathione, fibre, antioxidants, good fats, potassium.
Avocado Cleanse Target: gallbladder, digestive system
Ross’ Top Alkaline Recipes Containing Avocado:
– Alkaline Avocado Power Shake
– Delicious Raw Alkaline Soup
– Alkaline Sushi
Cleansing Alkaline Food #2: Cabbage
Cabbage is part of the cruciferous family of vegetables, and provides super-nourishment across a variety of nutritional categories. It is an excellent source of vitamin K and vitamin C, along with being a good source of fibre, manganese, folate, vitamin B6 and potassium.
Containing fibre, antioxidants, alkaline minerals and more good fats, it’s a great all round cleanser, but is particularly noted for being powerful at cleansing the GI tract and for being an anti-inflammatory – which is always hugely beneficial during a cleanse.
It’s associated with the good ol’ cabbage soup diet of the 80’s and 90’s but don’t let that put you off – cabbage is a great food to cleanse your body all year round as part of your every day alkaline lifestyle.
Cabbage Cleanse Nutrients: Fibre, antioxidants, good fats, manganese, folate, B6 and potassium.
Cabbage Cleanse Target: GI tract and digestive system overall
Ross’ Top Alkaline Recipes Containing Cabbage:
– Ribolita Bean Veggie Soup
– Alkaline Antioxidant Super Meal
– Chickpea Kale Rolls
Cleansing Alkaline Food #3: Kale
Kale is a green leafy vegetable, and is a natural antioxidant and anti-inflammatory. This helps to naturally detoxify your body whilst keeping you feeling healthy.
[Big word warning ahead] This is due to the fact that the isothiocyanates made from the kale’s glucosinolates have been shown to control detox activities within the cells of the body.
Kale is also rich in vitamins, including vitamin A, vitamin K and vitamin B6. I love to recommend kale whilst cleansing, because it helps to reduce your overall cholesterol levels. It is also wonderful to eat after cleansing, as it helps to rebuild your body with new material.
Kale is also high in vitamin k, vitamin a and vitamin c and being leafy green it also has huge chlorophyll content.
Remember, when you’re cleansing it’s especially important to cleanse the blood – so getting a big boost of chlorophyll is always fantastic.
Kale Cleanse Nutrients: Chlorophyll, antioxidants, good fats, antioxidants
Kale Cleanse Target: blood, digestive system.
Ross’ Top Alkaline Recipes Containing Kale:
– Chickpea & Kale Mashup
– A Pint of Real Kale
– Antioxidant Smoothie
Cleansing Alkaline Food #4: Cucumber
The best thing about cucumber is that they provide the base for practically every alkaline soup, smoothie and juice, giving you a very alkaline, very nutritious base that also tastes great.
The water content of the cucumber also contributes to why it’s great to eat. Nearly 95% of the cucumber is made up from water, therefore making it very hydrating to consume, and also providing vast amounts of antioxidants. Cucumbers are a key source of conventional antioxidant nutrients including vitamin C, manganese and beta-carotene.
Cucumber Cleanse Nutrients: High-alkaline water content, antioxidants, vitamin c, manganese.
Cucumber Cleanse Target: Liver
Ross’ Top Alkaline Recipes Containing Cucumber:
– Cucumber & Watercress Soup
– Bright & Breezy Summer Salad
– Immune Booster Juice
Cleansing Alkaline Food #5: Spinach
Spinach is one of the most nutritious and alkaline vegetables you can eat. The health benefits of spinach are so plentiful that no matter what your goal, you’ll get benefits from getting lots in!
Research has shown that there are a variety of different flavonoid compounds that can be found within spinach with function as anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer agents.
Furthermore, this and the carotenoid nutrients found within the spinach also provide the body with antioxidant benefits. Spinach also contains a rich amount of vitamins, which all contribute towards reducing the many health problems related to oxidative stress.
The huge amount of chlorophyll in spinach also helps with cleansing the colon and blood, which again – is always recommended on the alkaline diet.
Spinach Cleanse Nutrients: Fibre, chlorophyll, antioxidants
Spinach Cleanse Target: Blood and colon
Ross’ Top Alkaline Recipes Containing Spinach:
– Roast Garlic & Spinach Salad
– Warm Red Pepper, Zucchini and Spinach Salad
– Big Bad Green Juice
Cleansing Alkaline Food #6: Broccoli
Broccoli has been proven over and over and over again to be incredibly powerful in inhibiting cancers, supporting the digestive system, the cardiovascular system, the detoxification processes in the body and also supporting the skin, metabolism, immune system, being an anti-inflammatory and providing ample antioxidants.
Broccoli contains an unusual combination of three phytonutrients, glucoraphanin and glucobrassicin. This unique combination of nutrients allows broccoli to have a solid impact upon the body’s detoxification system.
Eaten steamed or raw it’s a hugely alkaline and nutritious food. Broccoli also contains good amounts of Vitamin A which helps to maintain your eye sight. Broccoli contains Vitamins A and K, which help to keep the metabolism of Vitamin D in balance.
Broccoli Cleanse Nutrients: Critical detoxifying phytonutrients, fibre, antioxidants
Broccoli Cleanse Target: Anti-inflammatory, anti-carcinogenic, digestive system
Ross’ Top Alkaline Recipes Containing Broccoli:
– Broccoli Coconut Curry
– Broccoli & Potato Curry
– Spelt Pasta with Broccoli & Almonds
Cleansing Alkaline Food #7: Celery
Celery is a rich source of phenolic phytonutrients that have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties and because it is such high-water-content AND fibre it is brilliant for cleansing.
It is also an excellent source of vitamin C, along with potassium, folic acid and vitamin B6 and B1.
Celery is often overlooked, however is a great food to complement your meal, which also keeps well and its roots, stalks and leaves call all be eaten!
A great base for all alkaline juices which makes it one of the most commonly used ingredients for cleansing the body, the alkaline way.
Celery Cleanse Nutrients: Fibre, antioxidants, good fats, manganese, folate, B6 and potassium.
Celery Cleanse Target: GI tract and digestive system overall
Ross’ Top Alkaline Recipes Containing Celery:
– Lettuce Tacos
– Immune Booster Juice
– Ribolita Soup
Cleansing Alkaline Food #8: Ginger
Ginger is regarded as an excellent carminative and intestinal spasmolytic.
Modern scientific research has revealed that ginger possesses numerous therapeutic properties including antioxidant effects, an ability to inhibit the formation of inflammatory compounds, and direct anti-inflammatory effects.
Ginger promote detoxification specifically by increasing the movement of food through the intestines, thanks to compounds called gingerols and shogaols.
It can be a great addition to your favourite vegetables, can be used to flavour juices, soups and smoothies and can even be eaten raw if you like it spicy (like me!).
Ginger Cleanse Nutrients: ginger is an anti-inflammatory, anti-septic, anti-carcinogenic nutrient in itself!
Ginger Cleanse Target: intestines and digestive tract
Ross’ Top Alkaline Recipes Containing Ginger:
– The Ultimate Liver Cleansing Drink
– Leafy Greens & Ginger Stir Fry
– Chai Infused Quinoa Porridge < —-NOTE, YUM
Cleansing Alkaline Food #9: Garlic
Garlic has a huge reputation, and has the ability to certainly transform the taste of your meal.
The sulfur compounds in garlic are its most unique nutrients.
There are literally dozens of well-studied sulfur molecules in garlic, and virtually all of them have been shown to function as antioxidants. In addition, many provide you with anti-inflammatory benefits. Garlic is also an excellent source of manganese, vitamin B6 and vitamin C.
I use garlic every day without fail and love it’s immune-system-boosting, alkalising effects.
Garlic Cleanse Nutrients: manganese, sulfur compounds.
Garlic Cleanse Target: liver, immune system
Ross’ Top Alkaline Recipes Containing Garlic:
– Garlic & Ginger Tonic Tea
– Baby Pea & Bean Spread
– Gluten Free Spinach & Garlic Tofu Burgers*
*there are pro and con arguments for and against tofu and soy. My personal preference is to include it a little.
Cleanse Resources
For further reading and information, see these resources. Note, there is a full detailed (and free) training series on cleansing coming up in the next few weeks – so definitely look out for that!
1) The Complete Quickstart, Cheat’s Guide to Cleansing
2) Top Five Cleanse Tips
3) Cleansing vs Fasting (an important distinction)
4) Diary of a Weekend Cleanse
5) Health Benefits of Chlorophyll

The food value is too good. As well, if we make juice and take it twice a day, you can assure a well blood circulation in your heart. Thanks for the helpful tips.
Which food is good for people with high blood pressure
Alkaline foods. See the charts at the top of this page
CAN YOU PLS LET ME KNOW WHAT ARE FOODS I SHOULD TAKE FOR ORAL LICHEN PLANUS
Hi Ross
I am new to juicing and am finding your site most interesting and useful. Thank you!
About Kale and spinach..Please help.
I live in Germany where kale is not easy to come by, neither is fresh spinach. I can always find frozen organic spinach, will this do for juicing if I defrost it? Sorry if you’ve answered this somewhere else already. And I can never find kale. What can I use instead of kale?
Looking forward to your reply.
🙂
Hello!
Why do The avokado stay inside my juicer , like a cream? Its waist of time and money! Better to eat them as is?
Interesting stuff for an acid person with no feelings of any problems, except some White toe nails 🙂
Best wishes from Norway
Hey! When adding avocado, banana and green leafy stuff to my juices, I juice first then add the rest of the denser or harder to juice items into my blender and make it into a nice rich, creamy smoothie! Its a bit more work and clean up, but definitely worth it! 🙂
thank you, Ross for the list of alkaline foods. It serves as a reminder for me to keep up with my alkaline diet. I am very excited to get your newsletters each time. Please keep them coming. I also have your alkaline recipe book and I love it! I also own a Chanson water ionizer. However, I read this following quote from Wikipidea, any comment you have on the last sentence?
“A water ionizer is an appliance that ionizes water. Although there is no empirical evidence that ionized water is beneficial to human health, it is marketed with claims that it is an antioxidant and can slow aging and prevent disease.[1] Such claims contradict laws of chemistry and physiology[2] and are often unfounded.”
thank you once again for your time and generosity,
Ketsani
Hi Ketsani
It’s wikipedia, which is policed by and large by people who have a personal vendetta against nutrition and natural health. No idea why.
To say antioxidants don’t help prevent disease is quite incredible. Using words like ‘contradicts laws of chemistry’ is great for sounding important, but in reality I think the world is by and large accepting of the fact that antioxidants are good for us.
Ross
Thanks for a great article and a great video. Watching this motivates me to make sure I at LEAST get these 9 foods in every day. THANK YOU!!!!!
Your article is very interesting.
Thanks Richard!
Hi Ross: I am wanting to be more alkaline but I am having a hard time doing this. I hate vegetables they make me gag whenever I try to eat them. I have heartburn offten so I know that this has a lot to do with my diet. Also on the top 9 foods that you listed above how do I prepare them to do a smoothie with them. Example: The avocado do I put the whole avocado in the blender or do I take the inside out. Sorry I’m so stupid on this I don’t eat vegetables but am going to try. Can you please help me to figure out how I can convience my taste buds that I need these foods to live a healthy life style. I am desperate to try & change I just don’t know how. Most of my diet consist of Acid foods not Alkaline ones. Any advice is most helpful Please Help Me!!! Thank you Sooooo Much
Hey Mary – first and foremost don’t worry – I’ve gotten loads of people alkaline who are in your situation: symptoms of overacidity but hate the taste of the alkaline food!
The good news is, in time your tastebuds WILL adapt
BUT…there is a journey from here to there.
The immediate question you’ve asked is ‘Also on the top 9 foods that you listed above how do I prepare them to do a smoothie with them’.
The recipe I linked to below the avocado segment is probably the best:
http://liveenergized.com/wordpress/2009/04/23/alkaline-recipe-23-alkaline-avocado-power-shake/
You can add any of the ingredients of the nine into that recipe, but from memory it already contains avo, spinach, garlic, ginger, cucumber…oh, but dont’ add celery. Celery doesn’t blend too well.
For now I would recommend:
Not worrying about taking acid foods OUT of your diet as a priority – the priority should be adding alkaline foods IN. This training from last week will help with that:
http://liveenergized.com/wordpress/2013/09/11/alkaline-tip-salads/
This is all about sneaking greens and alkaline foods into your diet – so your tastebuds don’t notice!
Hope this all helps
Ross
hi there, regards your avocado take the flesh out of the green skin discard the stone, add it to your juicer after the other veg. or not I prefer to eat them w/ a litlle coconut or olive oil pour a tsp into the cavity left by the stone and enjoy……………hope it helps.
Thanks for all the great comments everyone! I will be getting to them all very soon – just working on my next video for next week 🙂
Thank you very much for such awsome information, may God bless you for your fantastic gift of sharing your knowledge and experience with us.
Thanks so much Andres!
I have borborygmi, it’s not painful but extremely annoying, it also suggest to me that it’s due to poor digestion or perhaps leaky gut.
Help please
Hi Germain
I’m not legally able to help with a specific, diagnosed medical condition. The foods above will help with digestion, plus I also recommend looking into adding psyllium husks to your daily routine. In the past I’ve found this has great success with improving digestion.
Thanks
Ross
Thank you for very useful information. However I have a tendency of kidney stone formation .please advice can I eat food like cabbage, kale,Spinach,broccoli which are high in Oxalate. Please advice.
Ashok Jawale
India
Hi Ashok
I’m not legally able to comment on a specifically diagnosed condition – as there might be a specific situation regarding your condition that your Doctor knows but I would not know about.
I recommend asking a nutritionally aware physician how they feel about oxolates and your specific condition.
There are loads of alkaline foods that are not high in oxolates though – so these will still be ok for you either way.
Thanks
Ross
Hey Ross! I have your book but I want to know what you feel is the best alkaline muscle building post workout food. Thanks to you my arthritis has improved sooooooo much from the alkaline diet and I’m going back to the gym. Really want your advise on this as I want a really good post gym shake smoothy or meal that’s good for this 🙂
Hey Avril
That’s AWESOME!
This article might help: http://liveenergized.com/wordpress/2010/08/23/alkaline-diet-muscle-building/
This morning for brekkie I had a simple bowl of:
Lentils, garlic, onion, tofu, carrot, broccoli, tomatoes, basil and a huge handful of spinach – all cooked gently for 8 minutes in a saucepan.
Very high in protein, super high in alkalinity and the most satisfying post-workout meal I’ve had in a while…
That might just become my next alkaline recipe of the week. It’s SO easy.
Ross
Super helpful and fairly easy to get hold of.
Thank you.
Thanks Cynthia – hope all is good your end.
Hi, I know about those products, that they are well, but the problem is how to cook them or eat by daily basis and you can`t eat just this, you need something more too?
Hi Jakrz
This is why I included 3 recipes below each so you can see how to include them in meals.
Thanks
Ross
Awesome as usual Ross. I love all of them, except garlic… sadly. It’s just never agreed with me no matter how often I try. My two boys love avocados. They eat at least 1 a day
Yeah Leo is nuts for avo too. Makes it very easy to give quick alkaline snacks to him!
Great to hear from you mate – hope everything is good your end!
i eat all the above and juice every day for last 3 years why do i still have sarcoidosis any more tips please help!!
Hi Fay
Hard to say as I don’t know what else you’re doing in your day/diet/lifestyle.
Ross
I’m delighted to say that although I don’t know a whole lot about the alkaline diet yet I have all of those 9 ingredients in my kitchen at the moment, 4 of which I added to a juice this morning. At least I started right, but as the day goes on my food choices seem to get less and less alkaline 😉
BRILLIANT! Well done ELmear.
You’re off to a flyer!
Ross