When most of us think about the foods we eat and whether or not they’re healthy for us, we most often think about things like fat, calories and the amount of sugar in them.
Yet, one thing few of us consider is the effect of food on the pH balance — alkalinity to acidity ratio — of the body, which is equally as important, even moreso, for your kidneys.
Your body’s pH impacts the disease state of your body. If you’re already having problems, a high pH or acidic environment in the body could make things worse.
In fact, if you’re struggling with kidney problems, whether your kidneys remain healthy or whether they fail, could depend heavily on the acid content of your diet and what it’s doing to your body.
The acid/alkaline balance and kidney failure
While it may sound strange that it’s acid in foods that can put the nail in the coffin of your kidney’s health, it’s easy to see why when you consider their function.
After all, your kidneys must process all waste from your body.
They’re the final stop on the train where everything gets off. So if there are high levels of acid, your kidneys don’t just deal with it, they can be irritated and then destroyed by it.
That’s why a team of researchers from UC San Francisco set out to examine the effects of acid-inducing diets on kidney disease progression.
The team analyzed information on 1486 adults with chronic kidney disease who were participating in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey III (NHANES III). And they followed all patients for an average of 14.2 years.
Their results?
The team found that higher levels of dietary acid were strongly linked with progression from kidney disease to full-blown kidney failure!
And patients who consumed high acid diets were a whopping three times more likely to develop kidney failure than patients who consumed low acid diets.
Yup, when it comes to your kidneys, acidic foods can take things from bad to worse.
Alkalizing your diet
So what can you do to keep your kidneys healthy and functioning at their best?
Reduce acidic foods in your diet and lean towards those that lean more alkaline.
Acidic foods that should go on the rarely to never list include meats, highly processed foods, cheese, processed meats and starchy foods like granola and brown rice.
Carbonated beverages also fall in the acidic category and should be avoided.
Instead alkalize your diet by:
- Eating plenty of fresh fruits and veggies, especially the ones that make the top 7 most alkaline list
- Add a fermented greens drink to your day like Peak Organic Alkalizing Greens™ with its blend of alkalizing fruits and vegetables plus alkaline-forming grasses
- Drinking alkaline water which you can buy at your local health store or buy an alkaline water pitcher
- Buying organic produce as much as possible. Chemicals commonly used in commercial farming, are acid-promoting. That means if you are choosing produce that is not organic, you undercut the alkaline factor of those foods.
- Adding more beans to your diet because plant proteins help tip your body into a naturally alkaline state
It’s about alkalizing now to support your kidney health for years to come.
Sources:
High acid diet may have negative effects on kidney health – ScienceDaily