Alkaline acid diet fad?

The alkaline acid diet suggests eating larger quantities of alkaline foodstuffs. Alkaline foods are fruit and vegetables. A healthy vegetarian diet, not one with an absence of meat, eating plenty of fresh fruit and veg would be an example of the alkaline acid diet.

There are many dietary choices that can be followed to improve our health. Searching the web today there are many diets that we can use to better our overall health. When deciding what diet is most appropriate for us it is important to think about what our goals are. Loosing weight, putting on weight or simply becoming healthier are all feasible if we select an appropriate diet. Initially for people who are interested in going on a diet, thinking about what the goals are is an important step.

We must not forget that exercise is also necessary if we want to achieve any of the goals already mentioned. Important aspects to bear in mind include that a new dietary regime might have a dramatic effect on your lifestyle. Are you ready? Further are diets that claim to promise quick weight loss without any effort on your part to be believed?

There are 3 parts of our lifestyle that are important as we move towards our ideal health goals. They are sleep, exercise and diet. If we lack in any one of these areas will make it much harder to achieve what we want.

The alkaline acid diet can be effective for those interested in weight loss and improving health overall. Putting on muscle is slightly harder although not impossible as excess protein consumption is discouraged. No matter what diet you choose not many people would argue that eating more fresh fruit and veg is a bad idea.

nutrition composition of food

There USDA Nutrient Data Library is an excellent site to discover details of the food we eat. The site has details of the nutritional values of a host of different foods.

This data can then be used to make decisions on what foods one wants to include or cut out of one’s diet. For followers of certain dietary protocols, e.g. the alkaline acid diet, the data can be used to calculate whether foods leave an acid or alkaline ash.

Searching the database today I discovered that clams appear to be one of the best sources of iron in the diet. Oysters are one of the top sources of zinc.

Researching Wikipedia it discusses that both iron and zinc are essential nutrients but that over consumption is toxic to human health.

The message appears to be there is such a thing as too much of a good thing!

dietary guidelines part 2

In my first dietary guidelines post I wrote about chapter 5 of the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans report. Today I want to discuss some of the other dietary guideline conclusions the report reaches and how we can use the report’s information to improve our own diets.

The report lists the following food groups as major food groups and suggests that we ensure we consme adequate portions from each group. Vegetarians may not be too happy about that!

fruits

vegetables

grains

milk, yogurt, and cheese

meat, poultry, fish, dry beans, eggs, and nuts

Personally I steer clear of some of the foods on this list. Having an allergy to dairy products means that I tend to avoid the foods listed in the fourth group above. Recently I have also began cutting down the amount of animal products that I eat. The largescale manufacture of animals for human consumption is putting me off. These foods are also often considered acid foods.

Greater fruit and vegetable consumption, in the region of between 5-13 servings a day is also recommended. Eating a high proportion of fruit and vegetables is associated with a reduction in certain cancers as well as type 2 diabetes. It can also be an important part of weight loss diets.

The report states that blood pressure levels are directly related to salt consumption. Therefore limiting salt intake is to be encouraged. On top of this, a high intake of potassium, of over 4,700 mg/day helps in counteracting the effects of sodium salts. Other positive effects that come from potassium are a reduction in the likelihood of developing kidney stones and decreased bone loss.

dietary guidelines

Dietary guidelines for Americans 2005 is a very interesting report discussing all manner of suggestions for our diets. It is a long and detailed document although well worth spending some time with if you are at all concerned about the health, or not, of your current diet. It details the relationship between health and food.

The report is published jointly between the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Department of Health and Human Services every five years and has been since 1980. The dietary guidelines are not for babies but provide information on dietary goals, making our diets better and how to improve health and reduce the risk of chronic disease.

Chapter 5 discusses Food groups to encourage. It provides a detailed discussion of why foods we know are good for us, like fruit and vegetables, are in fact good for us. The report also suggests what quantities of fruit, vegetables, dairy and whole grain produce we should be consuming in our diets.

It tells us that a diet rich in fruit and vegetables reduces our risk of chronic diseases such as strokes and other cardiovascular diseases as well as specific types of diabetes and cancers. Everyone knows eating lots of fruit and vegetables in our diet is a good thing. We all know it will make us feel healthy and improve our vitality. But we’re still not doing it! The dietary guidelines simply suggest replacing low density nutrient food with higher quality nutrient dense foods.

The paper goes on to outline what nutrients come from which foods. So variety of fruit and vegetables is as important as quantity. It is a great resource to help you create a healthy diet plan.

If you think of your body as an engine, surely you’d want to put give it the highest quality gas. I know I do.

Eating a better diet has a variety of beneficial effects upon our health. One of the most important for me is simply feeling good, feeling energetic, feeling alive.

Healthy diets are a great way to improve the quality of your life without recourse to medications, treatments and therapy.

Reference: Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2005