The basic concept behind an alkaline diet is that certain foods are acidic or can create acidic byproducts in your body after you digest them.
Almost all foods we regularly consume are acidic or acid forming in our bodies. And this fact puts a lot of pressure on our body, as it needs to be constantly fighting to maintain it’s balance.
When our body is acidic, it is vulnerable to become ill. The opposite is also true, when our body is in balance, meaning it is slightly alkaline, it does not get sick.
When there is an imbalance, our body’s natural reaction is to store water so that it can protect it’s vital organs. It also is forced to take calcium and other minerals from our bones and teeth to help digest and alkalize what we have consumed.
And these are only two of the many symptoms our body shows when being acidic. Now, the most dangerous ones are the fact that it is vulnerable to degenerative diseases and decay.
Best 10 Alkaline Foods
Talking about the specific benefits of some of the most alkaline foods available to us is maybe the best way to encourage people to embrace them as part of their diet.
I honestly believe that we could change the statistics, and stop this epidemic of obesity and disease we are living.
Spinach
Spinach is a good source of vitamins K (1,110% RDA), A (337.3% RDA), Manganese (84% RDA), Folate (65.7% RDA), Magnesium (38% RDA), Iron (35% RDA), Vitamin C (31% RDA), Vitamin B2 (27% RDA), Calcium (25% RDA) Potassium (23% RDA), Vitamin E (21% RDA).
It also has fiber (19% RDA) and other vitamins from the B complex, carotene, iodine, phosphorus, some trace elements and several amino acids.
Together with it’s alkalizing effects, which contribute to overall health and longevity, some benefits of eating spinach include boosting your immune system, cleansing and aiding with weight loss, and relieving fatigue and depression.
The next time you have a salad, I invite you to change the iceberg lettuce for spinach. If we compare these two, just as an example, spinach has more nutrients, less sugar, and is more alkaline than iceberg lettuce.
Make it a habit to add some spinach to at least one meal in your day. Toss it in your salad or stir fry, add it to your wraps or sandwiches, chop it and add it to your pasta or rice, and if you juice, make sure to include a handful of spinach in your juice!
Dark green leafy vegetables are alkaline forming thanks to the Chlorophyll in its green pigment. As a general rule, the darker the color, the more alkalizing this food is.
Going back to our previous comparison, you can immediately see which is darker, and yes, darker is healthier.
Celery
Not as dark in color, but as amazing in nutritional value, celery is a fantastic alkalizer. Its high water content makes its nutritional content easier to absorb in the body.
Great source of vitamin C, phthalides, and coumarins. These nutrients have been show to lower cholesterol and reduce your risk of certain cancers.
Celery is a great cleanser and diuretic as well.
Kale
Have you tried kale? A few years ago, no one talked about this super veggie, but lately it seems to have become a hype food, and for good reason.
Whether you follow a strict alkaline diet, or are just looking to improve the way your family eats, this amazing dark green veggies should definitely be part of your grocery list.
Kale has rapidly grown in popularity in trendy restaurants, and in my own family’s table too. Deep green bitter veggies have gained popularity because of their amazing alkalizing and nutritional qualities.
Kale specifically is one of my alkaline favorites, it has a high antioxidant and flavonoid content, and is rich in Calcium, Vitamin K, and fiber.
Kale has been found to have cholesterol-lowering and detoxifying benefits, and is considered a cancer preventive food.
Watercress
Watercress works as both an antibiotic and an antibacterial. It is a great source of antioxidants and essential nutrients that are great for cleansing and preventing disease.
Watercress stops and reduces oxidative stress and increases the antioxidant effect. It affects the exchange of chemical compounds in our metabolism.
This plant cleanses the blood, refreshes and purifies the whole body. In traditional medicine, watercress has a great application in various treatments.
Cucumber
Cucumbers are wonderful when it comes to cleansing and releasing accumulated toxins from your body.
Most of the time, cucumbers seem to be an excellent treatment for getting rid of urea, thus bringing benefits to your body.
Because they help excrete urine, cucumbers are considered a real diuretic.
Cucumber juice is successful in overcoming conditions caused by excessive accumulation of urea in the body.
Broccoli
Another big favorite in an alkaline diet is broccoli. The phytochemicals in broccoli help alkalize the body and improve estrogen metabolism.
This tasty vegetable is full of different vitamins, especially vitamins C, K and A.
It also contains fiber, manganese, potassium, iron, folic acid and protein. Broccoli has excellent anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties.
Research has proven over and over again that broccoli has great cancer and disease preventing properties and that is supports digestive and cardiovascular health.
It also helps boost your immune system and supports metabolic and skin health.
To reduce the acidity of the body, try to eat broccoli at least four times a week. It is most delicious boiled or baked, and can also be eaten in salads, juices, soups and shakes.
Lime
This citrus is extremely rich in vitamin C, which is useful for expelling toxins, acids and microbes through the urinary tract.
Uric acid can be a cause of great pain. In any case, limes have strong soothing and purifying ingredients, which can help excrete uric acid from your body to alleviate its negative effects.
Lemon
It is another fruit that is rich in vitamin C, and which can flush the entire body, including the digestive tract.
Because of its sour taste, most people will not believe that lemon is an alkaline food.
Lemon is rich in alkaline minerals such as potassium and magnesium. Citric acid is acidic in its natural state, but when eaten, it is metabolized and has an amazing alkaline effect on the body.
Lemon is an excellent source of calcium, iron, vitamins A, C and B vitamins, as well as pectin fiber and carbohydrates.
Lemon has antibacterial and antiviral properties and strengthens the immune system.
In addition to cleansing the body of toxins, lemon improves digestion, encourages weight loss, is good for the skin, strengthens the immune system, lowers blood pressure, prevents infections and much more.
To make the most of lemon as an alkaline food, squeeze the juice of half a lemon into a glass of lukewarm water. Drink it every morning on an empty stomach and wait at least half an hour before eating something.
Avocado
Avocado is one of the most versatile and healthy foods in the world. Ideal for salads, sandwiches and soups; as a replacement to the typical serving of animal protein in the dish, as a snack and even as an ingredient for sorbets and desserts.
85% of the calories in avocado come from its fat content. But not the fattening and sickening fat, but the kind of fats that will promote good health, the good fats.
Thanks to its content of omega 3 and omega 6, avocados helps lower total cholesterol and raise HDL cholesterol, the good cholesterol. Its content of oleic acid, helps delay the development of heart disease, and promotes the production of antioxidants.
Because amino acids in avocados have been separated naturally by the sun, its protein is easier to digest. The avocado contains all the essential amino acids the body needs, so it can be considered a complete protein source.
This favorite among alkaline food also contains enzymes, minerals, carotenoids, folate (the natural presentation of folic acid) and vitamin K, E, C, B5 and B6 among other things.
The avocado is a very nutritionally dense food, with amazing anti-inflammatory properties. Another benefit is that it helps speed up the metabolism, making weight loss.
Different studies have found that avocado helps improve liver health and skin, to prevent certain cancers and regulate sugar levels in the blood. Furthermore, when combined with other vegetables, avocado facilitate the absorption of nutrients in them.
I eat lots of avocado, several times a week, usually. Many people have a hard time coming up with ways of using avocado as part of their diet. My recommendation is to start by always having avocados in the kitchen; and from then on, the sky is the limit of the possibilities! Play with it, make it part of your meals and your routine.
I love guacamole, and realizing I did not need to wait for a party day or a special occasion to have it, was very liberating!! Make guacamole at home every once in a while!! How about a guacamole “just because” one of these nights?
Ginger
Ginger is one of those wonderful root vegetables that you can use to cure almost anything.
This anti-inflammatory food has been proven to inhibit enzymes involved in inflammatory processes and can therefore be useful in preventing cancer, Alzheimer’s disease and cardiovascular disease.
Ginger has been used for over 2000 years to combat a wide range of problems, such as colds, arthritis, joint pain, high pressure, nausea, and more …
The most important substance in ginger is the so-called gingerol which has been proven to improve circulation and relieve pain.
How do I use ginger to improve health and reduce inflammation? I usually use fresh ginger, buy you can add it to soups, dressings or you can drink ginger tea.
Alkaline Foods List
Nothing is black and white, and as you become more familiarized with what eating alkaline means, you will develop your own alkaline foods list.
We do not like extremes or diet-like approaches. We like to look at being alkaline as a lifestyle, and so it is a flowing and very personalized process.
The general recommendation is to eat a diet that is 60-70% alkaline and 30-40% acidic. We have put together an Alkaline Food Chart that summarizes some of the most relevant foods in six different groups, like this:
On the alkaline foods list side, we have three main groups: Slightly Alkaline Foods, Alkaline Foods, and Very Alkaline Foods.
Likewise, in the acid food list side, we have three main groups: Neutral Acidic Foods are those foods that are right there on the edge, these are healthy foods that are a good addition to your diet as part of that 30% of acid foods.
The second sub-category here are Acidic foods, and the last category are Very Acidic foods. Needless to say, this last group are the foods we want to stay away from.
The most acidic foods are the processed foods. So as much as possible, we should stay away from processed foods, “microwave ready” foods, and basically all those foods that were not around 150 years ago.
You can check out our Acid-Alkaline Chart for more comprehensive list of acid and alkaline foods. Open image in new tab to see it bigger and to be able to download it.
As you can see, my graphic design skills are not great :D.
You probably won’t find two identical alkaline foods lists online. Because of that, you should think about this list just as a reference to make healthier decisions about your diet.
At least 50% of what we eat should be alkaline.
So here are 10 amazing alkaline foods. This article could go on an on with other amazing foods I could add to this list, but we don’t want to overwhelm you.
Rather, we invite you to ramp it up, and slowly start introducing in your diet more and more of these fantastic foods.
Remember these top 10 alkaline foods in your next grocery shopping trip, and try a new recipe with them this week!
