How to Mix Alkaline & Acidic Foods

A proper balance of alkaline and acidic foods can help your body feel good and function more efficiently. Mixing alkaline and acidic foods is known as food combining. Alkaline-forming and acid-forming foods require different digestive fluids to adequately digest. When you eat alkaline and acidic foods in the same meal they may interact in a way that causes your digestive system to slow down or stop all together. Once you know if a food is alkaline-forming or acid-forming, you can make better choices about what types of ingredients to include in your meals. The article, “Food Combining” (www.kamron.com/Health/food1.htm), notes that the proper (food combining) ratio is 4 parts alkaline foods to 1 part acidic-forming foods.

Identifying and Combining Food Types

Identify alkaline-forming foods.
Most vegetables and fruits are alkali-forming; examples include:
•Fresh fruits, such as watermelon, cantaloupe, mangoes, honeydew, seedless grapes, apples, bananas and grapefruit.
•Fresh vegetables, such as celery, parsley, seaweed, asparagus, broccoli, peas, cauliflower, lettuce.
•Most herbs, including ginger and garlic.

Identify acid-forming foods.
Most grains, proteins and highly processed foods are acid-forming; examples include:
• “White” foods, such as white sugar, white flour and foods made from them (such as white bread and pasta).
• Protein, including meat, poultry, eggs, fish, seafood and shellfish, cheese.
• Beverages such as alcohol, soft drinks (soda pop), coffee.
• Cereals, grains and nuts.

Combine foods to maintain a good alkaline-acid balance in your diet. (www.kamron.com/Health/food1.htm).

• Eat a variety of fresh vegetables.
• Eat fresh fruit by itself, or avoid eating it entirely.
• Eat only small amounts of proteins, starches and fats.
• Limit or avoid combining alkaline-forming carbohydrates (starches and sugars) with acid-forming proteins (meat, fish, eggs, cheese); when you eat starches and sugars with protein in the same meal, your stomach produces too much acid to process the starches but not enough acid to sufficiently digest the protein.
• Eat whole grains and starches (such as barley, quinoa, brown rice, etc.).
• Avoid food products made with white flour and white sugar.
• Avoid highly processed fats and convenience foods.
• Wait until one food grouping (alkaline-forming or acid-forming) is fully digested before you eat items from a different food group.