First of all, I am happy to find a healthy debate about the alkaline diet.
After reading the book “The pH Miracle” by Dr. Robert Young, I started following an alkaline diet. At the same time I started being a vegan. The book indeed gave me the health “approval”, but the reasons were more complex (climate change mostly, and the animals’ basic right not to be farmed as well).

After receiving the “pH Miracle” newsletter daily, I have decided that Dr. Young is not a credible source of information. Even if he started off for the good reasons, he became too driven by greed, in my opinion, to give accurate statements. His “findings” are over simplified as well, like the conclusion that cancer is liquid acid.. Since the book was my reason of starting the diet, or actually Dr. Young was I suppose, he again was the reason for me stopping it.

Saying that, I learned a lot from this new lifestyle. Being quite healthy before as well, I enhanced my cooking abilities, and stopped eating processed food. I still eat more vegetables than anything else, and do not touch any sugars.

This article here, and Tris’s post, however, made me reconsider the whole thing. It seems like this diet has more profound sources than Dr. Young. Not jumping to any rushed decisions yet, but keeping an open mind.

I personally, do not believe that we need animal proteins to maintain good health. Especially not dairy (regardless of the fact the animal farming affects climate change more than driving cars.. And I can’t imagine us being very healthy once we’re all gone due to “natural” hazards :)). I would like to know what makes you say that plant protein is inferior to animal’s.

I would also be interested in hearing your opinion on yeast if possible.

Cheers!

Wow…

I’ll tell you what. I’m finding all this information completely confusing and i got no idea what to do anymore.

When i walk to into any store or a foodcourt or grocery/wholefood sotre everything seems contra-indicative of good health due to all the different things i’ve been reading about and i end up going in there with a list and coming out after an hour to have purchased maybe one of 5 things.

I am currently trying to ‘de-tox’, heal my crappy gut, and increase my immunity whilst staying away from certain hyperallergenic/toxic/intolerant foods to help rid myself of eczema!

This is no easy task and i am extremely confused where i now show signs of paralysis from analysis.

Is there a simple way or method?

I’m not asking for diagnosis or a quick fix, just i was just about to become a vegan inc. no eggs or dairy, then i realised that i didn’t have to, then i read this and other things and its like, so now what?

I’d greatly appreciate any advice!

Epsom salts for eczema? Won’t that dehydrate the skin?

And like, shouldn’t i consume no carbs what so ever to kill candida albicans?

I agree with you that many of the body’s cravings are for what it really needs for health but that we are confused by the huge level of advertising and food adulteration that many times mislead those cravings. In essense I like moderation in diet balanced with an understanding of health and keeping things natural.

Ciao

Geoff

Years ago he suffered from a hip problem. He had not been eating well–a lot of “junk tucker.” He went to a Chinese acupuncturist who not only did acupuncture but punched and kneaded him all over–he said it was very painful. He had lots of sore spots which the doctor attributed to a too-acid condition. He told him not to eat tomatoes, oranges and nuts.

My husband followed this advice and whether it was eliminating these foods or possibly improving his diet overall or the acupuncture, he had no more problems with his hip. He definitely stayed away from nuts because they gave him indigestion and made him feel sore.

When we met, one of our first discussions was about nuts. He said he didn’t eat them because they were “too acid.” I explained that if nuts were properly prepared (that is, soaked in salt water and then gently dehydrated, the “crispy nuts” in my book), they would not be “too acid” and cause digestive problems. He followed my advice and was delighted to find that he could eat nuts again without any problems.

So what is the point of this rambling story? One is that the term “acid diet” or “acid condition” is thrown around and used to describe a lot of conditions and “acid foods” has a lot of different meanings for different people. Although “acid” has a precise chemical definition, is a vague and general term when used in discussions of diet and health, so we need to be cautious in using it.

But the main point is that when any whole, natural and traditional food is giving trouble, the approach we take is not to eliminate that food, but to figure out how to include the food. Not to say that you can’t eat something, but to be as inclusive as possible. Not to suggest a diet that requires a lot of discipline to follow, but one that is delicious, satisfying and that does not cause cravings. So, in the example of nuts, we prepare them by soaking in salt water to get rid of enzyme inhibitors; in the case of grains, we soak them in an acidic solution or prepare via sourdough method to get rid of the many antinutrients in grains; in the case of dairy foods, we recommend raw dairy, which is so much easier to digest than pasteurized; in the case of green leafy vegetables, we recommend that they be cooked and eaten with butter or some other animal fat so that the minerals are liberated and absorbed; in the case of meat, we teach that meat must be eaten with the fat and the organs so that we have the vitamin A we need to digest the meat; we recommend unrefined salt so that it does not cause health problems; natural sweeteners to satisfy the sweet tastebuds in our mouth; and, finally, lacto-fermented foods and gelatin-rich broth to make all foods more digestible. (We had a letter from someone who was unable to eat meat until he ate it with a broth–he was thrilled!)

I think we often apply pleasure anxiety to food, feeling that we need to deprive ourselves or punish ourselves with a spartan diet in order to achieve enlightenment, spiritual advancement, the perfect cholesterol level or urine pH, you name it. But food, like everything else in life, is to be tasted, enjoyed, savored as well as give us strength and health. It is important to make an effort to avoid all processed foods, and to properly prepare the natural foods we eat–and those with severe health problems will need to be more careful about this than those who are relatively healthy–but the goal is a healthy emotional relationship with our food and enjoyment in every bite. Sally