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Alkaline- vs acid-forming foods--blueberries
I was reading something about raw foods and the difference between alkaline- and acid-forming foods. I didn't realize that some fruits and vegetables were acid-forming. I just thought they were all alkaline-forming. For instance, apparently blueberries are acid-forming. Any thoughts on this?
Tags: acid, alkaline, blueberries, foods, fruits, raw, vegetables
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Vega Kelly on -
There is a good table in Thrive about the pH effect of foods. The vast majority of fruits and veggies are either alkaline-forming or highly alkaline-forming. Blueberries are alkaline-forming.
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Permalink Reply by Jay Crawford on -
Nikki,
Foods are deemed acidic or alkaline by the minerals that they contain. It is the mineral content of food that determines whether the 'ash' left behind after 'burning' is either acidic or alkaline. Foods are then rated by their potential to form acid or alkaline solutions when these ashes mix with our bodily fluids (at the cellular level). Some foods have high potentials in either direction and some are considered close to 'on the line'. It is recognized that a diet should be approx: 4-1 alkaline to acid. A diet 100% alkaline would shift ones PH too far and that has impilcations of its own. The body normally stores alkalines to help balance PH since most metabolic processes form acids. It is important to have these alkaline reserves in the event of sudden high stress situations say, illness, injury or accidents. When you encounter a dangerous situation like a car accident, your bodies reaction (fight or flight) can accelerate a lot of metabolic proccesses that result in acid byproducts and in amazingly large volumes. It has been seen that the conventional North American diet is rather on the acidic side so most people are depleted in their natural alkalines by middle age, then minerals like Calcium are borrowed (robbed) from tissues like bones.
Blueberries are just barely over the line to the acidic side. Their potential to form acids is then determined by the PH of the body fluids it is combining with. Meaning; if you are generally a raw food vegan that eats mostly alkaline foods then your PH will be higher than a person that lives on a typical NA diet so the blue berries affect will be nil. Another is Cranberries, considered more acidic than blue berries yet the benefits of cranberries and their kidney-bladder support outweighs the potential to create acids. I put both Cranberries and blueberries in my WFHO smoothie (plus banana) and have figured the end product is still greater than 4-1 alkaline so it matters not, only that I am getting complete whole food nutrition.
If PH balance is a real concern for you you should be able to aquire a personal PH testing kit from a health food store or Pharmacy?? Check your PH first thing in the morning to get an Idea if your diet is balanced enough. If a person were to have a low PH and switch to the Thrive program, that most of us here live by, their body would balance itself out quite quickly and restore the alkaline reserves needed for those unforseen moments of stress.
A couple web sites to see:
www.liferesearchuniversal.com/acid.html
www.essense-of-life.com/moreinfo/foodcharts.htm
The first has a good short explanation while the second site has better charts. The problem I have encountered is that different charts say different things in regard to some foods. Google: 'acid alkaline foods', and you'll get hundreds of sites; read ones that build their charts based on biochemistry.,
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Permalink Reply by Frances Worster on -
Jay, I just have to say, as always, your knowledge and common-sense easy-to-read responses are fabulous. Thank you! - I get concerned sometimes because there is a lot of conflicting information out there, and it seems as though there is a fair amount of anxiety on the Vega boards as we all try to "get it right" yet have to mine through all the misinformation and outright bull.....
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Permalink Reply by Aubrie Rose on -
A very easy way to figure out if something is Acid or Alkaline forming is by looking into "Gout", which is a new thing for me! The better gout cure diets are very in-depth with no bias and detailed menus on what is acid or alkaline forming. Very simplistic these menus are.
Remember that our bodies need both acid and alkaline to balance out. If you have too much fat and feel yourself becoming sick to your stomach, you might balance it out with an Orange, Tangerine, or Lemon which is more acidic and can break-down the fat content.
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