Acid Alkaline Diet For Dummies

by Julie Wilkinson

Least acid forming: Kidney beans, string beans, navy beans, black-eyed peas, green peas Moderately acid forming: Carrots, green beans, lima beans, chick peas, snow peas, split peas Very acid forming: Corn, white potatoes

Least acid forming: Chicken, cold-water fish, duck, goose, shellfish Moderately acid forming: Lamb, pork, mussels, farmed fish, and wild game — elk, wild turkey, venison Very acid forming: Beef, lobster, organ meats (such as liver and kidney), smoked or processed meats

Least acid forming: Brown rice, buckwheat, canola oil, pecans, processed oats Moderately acid forming: Corn oil, groats, palm kernel oil, peanut oil, rye, safflower oil, sesame oil Very acid forming: Brazil nuts, cashews, hazelnuts, pistachios, wheat and all its derivatives — including bread, flour, and pasta — wheat germ, white rice

Least acid forming: Butter, goat cheese, yogurt Moderately acid forming: Goat milk, margarine, sheep’s milk Very acid forming: Casein (milk protein derivative), cow milk, cream, egg yolk, processed cheese

Least acid forming: Gelatin, honey (processed honey, not clover honey), syrup, tea, distilled vinegar, rice vinegar Moderately acid forming: Coffee, vanilla, balsamic vinegar Very acid forming: Alcohol, artificial sweeteners, cocoa, condiments (the worst include ketchup, mayonnaise, and pickle relish), hops, soft drinks, sugar (brown, white, and confectioners), yeast

check to see if sulfites are listed as an ingredient in the preserving process.

If you decide to use a recovery drink but are worried about your pH impact, you can make one at home without any fillers or chemicals. Mix six ounces of fresh squeezed fruit juice (carbohydrates) with a scoop of whey protein powder (protein) and you have a pH balanced recovery drink. Just be sure to drink it within two hours following the exercise session, as this is when your body is primed to shuttle the nutrients to your warm muscles.

Your best pH bet is to find one that contains whey protein, which is not acid-forming during digestion.

If it isn’t labeled alkaline water, look for the key buzzwords of microwater, ionized water, micro-clustered water, or real mineral water (not created, but bottled at the source).

To increase the insoluble fiber in your diet you can eat more: Edible fruit skins (apples, pears, peaches, apricots) Nuts (almonds) Vegetables (and edible skins, like sweet potatoes) To increase the soluble fibers in your diet try adding: Beans, legumes Oats, barley Vegetables and fruit

Table 13-2 shows a possible weekly menu using recipes from the hoards provided in Chapters 14 through 17.

Clarified Butter

Artificial sweeteners (except Stevia) Brown sugar Powdered sugar Raw sugar

Dehydrate this

A healthy breakfast should consist of a mixture of protein and carbohydrates (think a spinach and egg white omelet)

Make sure you eat your breakfast within an hour of waking. After that, your body thinks you’re starving and enters caveman mode. Your tissues begin to leech energy from your muscles, and your brain gets pretty unhappy as it’s deprived of its main energy source — glucose, better known as sugar.

Breakfast Scrambler

Whey Good Smoothie

Bananas for Oatmeal

Avoid arrowroot and cornstarch as thickening agents. Although they’re convenient and easy to use (no lumps!), their starch component is acid-forming.

Simple soups

Greens: Spinach, kale, cabbage, broccoli, green beans, celery, leeks, endive, asparagus Perfect proteins: Vegetable stock, silken tofu, chicken stock (sparingly), egg whites, lentils Fillers: Small diced potatoes (sparingly), wild rice, spelt pasta, onions, zucchini, tomatoes, garlic

Spinach Medley

Fabulous Fruit Salad

Recipes in This Chapter

Firm tofu comes in a vacuum-sealed pack filled with water. To get a block ready for cooking:

You can freeze blocks of tofu.

Stuffed Green Peppers

Veggie Bake

Hold the Acids Pizza Dough

Pass the Pizza Sauce

Sprucing up your pie with roasted garlic

Lentil Pilaf

Chicken Hash

Salmon Fettuccini

Power Greens

Rooty Tooty Smoothie

Kale Chips

I’ve tried some pretty wild diets in my day, but none of them whittled my waistline like this simple tip: I zap a mug of vegetable broth in the microwave and drink it whenever I feel like snacking.

Snack tip! Hot broth

Mashed “Taters”

Beggars Popcorn

Lemonade by the glass

Scrumptious Salsa

Almond Roast

Terrific Tomatoes

Pizza Cups

Consider exchanging the acidifying sugars for: Stevia Honey (in moderation — this one’s pH effect on the body is under debate) Natural fruit sweetness

Silky Lemon Pie

Better Baked Apples

Oatmeal Cookies