Overacidity in the body comes from consuming too many acid-forming foods and not enough alkalizing foods. Below is a brief list of the most acid-forming and alkalinizing foods.
Keep in mind that a food is not necessarily unhealthy because it is acid-forming and that I’m not saying you should avoid all of them. In fact, many acid-forming foods are necessary for optimum health. It’s simply a matter of balance. Fixing your acid/alkaline balance isn’t the complete answer to perfect health; it’s only one piece of the puzzle. The bottom line is that we need to eat enough alkalizing foods to help our bodies neutralize the acid-forming foods.
Acid-Forming Foods
- All meat (beef, pork, lamb, and chicken) and fish
- Rice (white, brown, or basmati)
- Cornmeal, oats, rye, spelt, wheat, bran
- Popcorn
- Pastas
- Breads and most other grain products, such as cereals (hot or cold), crackers, and pastries
- The following beans (unless sprouted, in which case they become alkaline-producing): pinto, navy, mung, lentils, black, garbanzo, red, white, adzuki, and broad
- Cheese (Parmesan and sharper cheeses are the worst)
- Sunflower and pumpkin seeds
- Wheat germ
- The following nuts: walnuts, pecans, cashews, dried coconut (fresh coconut is alkaline-producing), pistachios, macadamias, filberts, Brazil nuts, and peanuts
- Colas
- Alcoholic drinks
- Coffee and other caffeinated drinks
- Sweetened yogurt
- Most forms of sweeteners (artificial sweeteners, cane sugar, beet sugar, barley syrup, processed honey, maple syrup, molasses, fructose, lactose)
- Refined table salt
- Soy sauce
- Mustard (dried powder and processed)
- Ketchup (unless natural and homemade)
- Mayonnaise (unless natural and homemade)
- White vinegar (apple cider and sweet brown rice vinegar are less acid-producing and preferred)
- Nutmeg
- Tobacco
- Practically all drugs
Alkalinizing Foods
- Practically all vegetables
- Practically all fruits, except blueberries, plums, prunes, and cranberries. Even citrus fruits such as lemons, which we think of as being acidic, are alkaline-producing in the body. They are rich in organic salts, like citrates, which are converted into bicarbonates.
- Beans such as string, soy, lima, green, and snap
- Peas
- Potatoes
- Arrowroot flour
- Grains such as flax, millet, quinoa, and amaranth
- Nuts like almonds, pignoli, fresh coconut, and chestnuts
- Sprouted seeds of alfalfa, radish, and chia
- Unsprouted sesame
- Fresh unsalted butter
- Milk, cream, and goat’s milk
- Eggs
- Whey
- Plain yogurt
- Sweeteners like raw, unpasteurized honey, dried sugar cane juice (Sucanat), brown rice syrup
- Fruit juices
- All vegetable juices
- Most herbal teas
- Garlic
- Cayenne pepper
- Gelatin
- Most herbs
- Miso
- Most vegetable and unprocessed sea salt
- Most all spices
- Vanilla extract
- Brewer’s yeast
- Most unprocessed, cold-pressed oils are neutral or alkaline-forming. (Even margarine seems to be neutral, but I don’t recommend this “liquid plastic.”)
