If you’re new to alkaline diets, you may be wondering how to begin incorporating more alkaline foods into your daily routine. The alkaline diet for beginners focuses on promoting overall health by balancing the body’s pH levels. By consuming more alkaline-forming foods like vegetables, fruits, and whole grains, while minimizing acidic foods like meat, dairy, and processed items, you can support better digestion, reduce inflammation, and improve energy levels. Transitioning to an alkaline diet doesn’t have to be overwhelming.
Understanding the Alkaline Diet
The premise is that our blood’s PH level is naturally slightly alkaline (perfectly neutral would be 7.0, and our blood stays around 7.4). Proponents of the diet believe your body is happier in a more alkaline state - and that food can change this balance. Foods fall on a scale between alkaline-promoting and acid-producing - fresh fruits and vegetables, for example, are on the alkaline end, while coffee, refined sugars and flours, white bread, cheese and meats are in the acid category. Fans of the diet recommend eating alkaline-promoting foods and cutting out the acid-producing ones, arguing that if your body has to work less to maintain its PH balance, it’s easier on all your organs and systems, and you can reap loads of health benefits.
The fact is (paging your high school biology teacher), you can’t really change your blood PH. And no matter what you eat, your body is going to keep your PH balanced within this range, because if it didn't, you would die. So while the experts I interviewed say the supposed rationale behind the diet doesn't hold water, there's almost no risk in trying it, since the recommended foods are just foods that are already good for you.
Benefits of the Alkaline Diet
The alkaline diet for beginners benefits are numerous, from improved digestion to increased energy, and by following these meal plans, you’ll be well on your way to experiencing those benefits firsthand. Supporters say it can have a positive impact on any number of ailments, including arthritis, joint pain, kidney stones, heart problems and even cancer.
According to TODAY's diet and nutrition editor Madelyn Fernstrom, "The reason behind it really makes no difference because it's a health-promoting eating plan," . "But to say that the alkaline diet specifically is altering your body function because of a change in your body PH? That's not something you can do."
Read also: Plant-Based Alkaline Wellness
Getting Started with a 21-Day Plan
To help you kickstart your alkaline journey and your alkaline diet for beginners, while I don’t have pre-made meal plans available, I’ve curated a list of fantastic books filled with recipes and meal plans. These resources will provide you with everything you need to maintain an alkaline lifestyle.
Recommended Books for Alkaline Diet Beginners
- Structured 21-Day Plan Book: This book provides a structured 21-day plan to introduce you to the alkaline diet for beginners.
- Nutrient-Dense, Plant-Based Meal Book: This book emphasizes nutrient-dense, plant-based meals that are satisfying and easy to follow.
- Easy One-Pot Meal Book: For those who love simplicity, this book features easy one-pot meals that are quick to prepare, making it perfect for busy individuals.
- Beginner-Friendly Guide: This beginner-friendly guide focuses on simple, nourishing recipes designed to ease you into an alkaline lifestyle.
- Meal Prep-Friendly Recipes Book: If you’re someone who likes to plan ahead, this book provides meal prep-friendly recipes that help you stay on track throughout the week.
Sample Alkaline Recipes and Instructions
Here are a few simple recipes and instructions to get you started:
- Avocado Mash: Mash avocado with lemon juice, sea salt, and pepper.
- Baked Sweet Potatoes: Bake sweet potatoes until soft.
- Almond Milk Oats: Cook oats in almond milk.
- Stir-Fried Vegetables: Stir-fry vegetables with garlic and ginger.
- Green Smoothie: Blend spinach, kale, banana, and almond milk.
- Stuffed Peppers: Stuff peppers with cooked quinoa, black beans, and corn.
- Avocado Pesto: Blend avocado, basil, garlic, olive oil, and lemon juice into a pesto.
- Chia Seed Pudding: Mix chia seeds with almond milk and vanilla.
- Rice Bowls: Prepare ingredients ahead of time. Assemble bowls with rice, sweet potatoes, kale, and chickpeas.
- One-Pot Meals: Cook all ingredients in a pot.
- Alkaline Pancakes: Mix ingredients and cook pancakes on a griddle.
- Stuffed Mushrooms: Stuff mushrooms with sautéed spinach, sun-dried tomatoes, and pine nuts.
A Week on the Alkaline Diet: An Experiment
One individual armed with a chart printed off the Internet and a box of PH strips ordered to test saliva set out to try the diet for seven days. For one slightly depressing week, they cut out all the foods on the “acid” side of the chart and limited meals to foods on the alkaline side. They originally tried to start the diet while headed to a wedding out of town but had to start over because they failed almost immediately. It turns out it’s very tough to stick to these restrictions on the road - try finding an airport salad or an entrée at a Midwestern Mexican restaurant that doesn’t come covered in cheese.
But when they were back in their own kitchen or willing to shell out a little extra cash at New York's array of overpriced health food restaurants, the diet was easier to follow. Smoothies were an easy solution, as were salads. After cutting out meat, they found themselves forming a special bond with tofu. They even developed a fondness for quinoa and lentils, which they had (mistakenly!) shunned in the past. And they fully fell in love with their first-ever bowl of chia pudding, the kind of surprisingly delightful eating experience that made them feel Gwyneth-levels of radiant.
They spit-tested their PH twice a day, morning and night, and measured it against the guide on the back of the box. On days when they really loaded up on fresh fruits, they did notice it shift to be slightly more alkaline, but overall it stayed within a pretty constant range close to neutral.
Read also: Foods for Alkaline Diet
Challenges and Triumphs
On days when they didn’t have time to really prepare a good breakfast, they struggled to find good options, leaving them ravenous by the time lunch rolled around. This diet is feasible if you are good at planning ahead, and a little more challenging if you’re used to snagging a snack at Starbucks on the way into work.
Their main problems were eating on the go, boredom and the psychic pain of bypassing the steaming tub of macaroni and cheese in the cafeteria at lunch. After five days of following the diet as strictly as possible, they did “cheat” by having their avocado on a piece of whole-wheat toast, which tasted like heaven after days of bread deprivation.
Plus, they hated being that person anytime they shared a meal with friends, having to constantly explain why they couldn't eat this or that. Sometimes it's just easier to shut up and eat the cheese than explain for the millionth time that you're conducting a bizarre Kelly Ripa-inspired food experiment "for work."
The Verdict
They weighed themselves on a daily basis and was pretty surprised to see the numbers barely budge. After a week, though, they were down two pounds - which is a pretty standard amount of weight loss when following a healthy diet. So it's not some kind of miracle that will transform you into a swimsuit model overnight, but it is a good rubric to use if you're looking to clean up your diet.
They did feel better physically during the experiment, and completely bloat-free, which is something they realized more after they went off of it and resumed their pre-diet levels of pasta and caffeine. They didn't notice any of the short-term health benefits they'd read about, like shinier hair or better skin. But the highly restrictive nature of the diet became really onerous, and because it was so difficult, it was hard for them to maintain - the battle to find meals that fit the bill often left them feeling low energy.
Read also: Foods for an Alkaline Vegan Diet
Integrating Alkaline Principles into Your Life
While there may be no desire to keep a strictly alkaline diet going forward, it was a nice jolt to realize how much better it feels not to be weighed down by junk food, and just how good fresh fruits and veggies are, and are for you.
According to Fernstrom, "If you want to do it, it's certainly not going to harm you; it's probably going to be healthful,". "It's a win-win, but not for the reasons people think."