Imagine you’ve been given charge of the most complex piece of machinery in existence. It’s a daunting task, but in truth, it’s already under your management—your body. So have you been able to keep it in top shape? If not, the key might be balancing your body’s acid and alkaline levels.

Around the turn of the century, the standard American diet was about 50 percent alkaline and 50 percent acidic. Today, it’s closer to 95 percent acidic thanks to the increased consumption of ultra-processed foods, says Pew Research. Most people no longer understand the need for the quality and quantity of food necessary for good nutrition. They stress about every facet of nutrition except the fundamentals of preventing illness and disease: alkalinity.

What Is Acidosis?

Many experts state that there’s no evidence that an alkaline diet “alkalizes” anything, despite a growing body of research identifying acidity as a real phenomenon.

It’s true that the pH of our blood is tightly regulated by a complex system of buffers that maintain a blood pH of about 7.4. If our blood truly became acidic (called acidemia), we’d get critically sick fast. That’s why many “acid-alkaline skeptics” call this theory a myth.

But though the blood’s buffer system strongly resists pH changes, it can still become challenged by acidic conditions within extracellular fluids (outside of the blood). Other bodily mechanisms become involved to regulate pH levels, which may stress the entire body over time.

While mainstream medicine has yet to acknowledge the root cause as an unhealthy diet, it’s important to note that without a majority of nutrient-dense, alkaline foods, the battle for good health becomes tenuous. Bodily acidity prevents cellular waste disposal and proper oxygenation, allowing accumulating toxins and pathogens to suppress the immune system. It also burdens the kidneys in excreting excess acids, resulting in elevated disease risk such as weak bones and osteoporosis, kidney disease, muscle loss, worsening of heart disease, inflammation and overall poorer health function (British Journal of Nutrition, 2010).

What Determines Alkalinity?

America’s 12 leading preventable diseases account for more than 75 percent of all deaths. Common sense tells us that the modern adulterated diet is a leading contributor to this tragedy.

Herbert W. Armstrong said that it’s best to eat natural foods before they spoil, especially those that are alkaline. He recommended a diet that consists of a 3:1 balance of alkaline to acidic foods.

Acidic foods are not necessarily bad. In fact, natural acidic foods like grains and meats contain important nutrition when eaten in their healthiest states. Continue to eat them in moderation as part of a balanced diet. But overall, concentrate on lots of leafy green vegetables, superfoods (sea veggies, bone broth), healthy fats, starchy plants (sweet potato, turnips, beets), plant proteins (almonds, beans), most fruits, green drinks (green vegetables and grasses in powder form) and apple cider vinegar.

A Helpful Guide

Sometimes people use acid-alkaline food charts as a guide, where the lower the pH, the more acidic the food. But scientists also use the pral Acid-Alkaline Chart. Short for “Potential Renal Acid Load,” it’s considered the most accurate way of calculating the acidifying effects of foods eaten based on alkalizing minerals.

Foods with a positive pral number (usually high in protein and phosphorus) are considered acid-producing, while a negative pral score (higher in potassium, magnesium and calcium) is suggestive of foods that are more alkaline. When adding up numbers on the chart, the final tally shows whether your meal could benefit from adding more alkalizing foods.

High pral foods are not necessarily acidic before we eat them. For example, tomatoes and lemons are acidic, but they have a negative pral value, meaning they’re alkaline once ingested. That’s because pral measures the acidity of the food’s metabolites, not the food itself, states the Kidney Dietician.

How to Put a Balanced Diet Together

Understanding how to achieve alkalinity is not overly complicated. Simply have a look at your plate. Is 70 to 80 percent of it made up of alkaline foods? And does the remaining 20 to 30 percent of acid-forming foods belong to the category of naturally acidifying foods rather than refined?

In general, food from animals can be very acidic. The same is true for sugar, alcohol, refined grains, highly processed and junk foods, caffeine, sodas and even chocolate. Foods that are somewhat acidic are not bad in moderation.

The key is to reduce acidic foods as much as possible while increasing the intake of natural alkaline foods like greens, vegetables, fruits, whole grains, raw nuts and seeds, beans, legumes, and commonly known superfoods (OneGreenPlanet.org).

A dietary change can start with more salads, stir-fries or casseroles with added veggies. You can also substitute cauliflower “rice” for regular white rice; or sweet potatoes instead of white potatoes.

Snacks can also be healthy. Try avocado dip with veggie sticks, almond butter with apple slices, roasted chickpeas, homemade kale chips, or carrots and hummus. The Internet has a lot of ideas on the subject.

Alternatively, you can increase veggie consumption through juicing, or add apple cider vinegar, squeezed lemon, oranges or green grasses to your water to modify your body’s pH levels. If you consume a low-quality beverage such as soda, it takes about 32 glasses of neutral pH water (7.0) to balance out its acidity. Similarly, other acidic drinks like liquor, wine, beer and coffee require additional alkaline sources to nullify (Revivalchiropractic.com).

It’s unwise to neglect the issue of excess acidity given that roughly 70 percent of people today die due to illnesses that stump modern medicine. The more acidic your diet is, the higher your risk of contracting diseases that can hasten your death.

Returning to an alkaline diet to maintain that beautiful balance of pH 7.4 is the answer to regaining abundant health. Resolve now, with firmness of mind, to set yourself on the right course and acquire active, robust living.