It seems that today many people are advocating a diet based primarily on fruits and vegetables, claiming that it minimizes acid formation. Just turn on the TV or go online and you hear how being vegetarian is the healthiest way to live all the celebrities are doing it. While including fruits and veggies into your diet is extremely important for numerous reasons, including the fact that these foods provide alkalinizing minerals, it’s not necessary to minimize or eliminate foods such as meat and whole grains in order to maintain acid-base balance. In fact, a diet in which these foods are absent can lead to deficiencies that undermine the body’s ability to maintain the proper blood pH. Meat and other animal foods provide protein, red meats provide zinc, and whole grains provide the body with phosphorous, all of which are used in the regulation of acid-base balance. Fat soluble vitamins found in organ meats, shellfish and good quality butter help maintain the health of the lungs and kidneys, the two major organs involved in acid-base regulation. Research indicates that a nutrient dense diet that supplies both alkaline-ash and acid-ash minerals in liberal amounts is key to the health of the entire organism, including the complex systems that regulate acid-base balance. So leave the fruit and veggie only diet to the birds and stop depriving your body of the meats and grains it needs and craves.
