The ketogenic diet is, no doubt, one of the most effective weight loss diets today. Aside from weight loss, it comes with several other health benefits, such as lowering blood pressure, reducing insulin and blood sugar level, and the list goes on.
This is why people who are looking to shed some pounds this coming New Year are convinced that the keto diet is the right diet for them. However, the diet, unless done properly, could come with some drawbacks, which makes it not suitable for everyone.
One of the problems that some people have with the diet is its ability to increase the acid load, which changes one’s urinary chemistry and could put you at risk of developing kidney stones and other problems. It is for this reason that the keto-alkaline diet was born.
Please note that the type of acidity I am talking about throughout this article is not the same as ketoacidosis, a harmful condition associated with type I diabetics.
But what exactly is the Keto-Alkaline Diet? Read on to find out more about this diet and why it’s the best diet for New Year weight loss.
What Is An Alkaline Diet
Also known as the alkaline ash diet or the acid-alkaline diet, the alkaline diet aims to keep your blood pH value at normal. (see more about this further on) The pH value is basically the measurement of your body’s alkalinity or acidity.
The way your metabolism works when converting food into energy is like a fire, which involves a chemical reaction that would break down solids. However, your body’s chemical reaction happens in a slow and controlled manner. If things are burned, ash residues are formed. In the same way, all those foods you have consumed will also leave residues similar to ash, which is known as the metabolic waste.
The metabolic waste that your body produces can either be alkaline or acidic. Those who are behind the alkaline diet believe that the metabolic waste could directly affect your body’s level of acidity. If you’re going to eat foods that could generate more acidic ash, your body will become acidic. Acidic ash could make your body vulnerable to various illnesses.
pH Varies In Your Body
It’s important to note here that pH varies within your body. For example your blood pH is tightly controlled to remain slightly alkaline and even slight deviations above or below the ideal pH of 7.4 is extremely life-threatening. Your stomach which produces hydrochloric acid as part of the digestive process, is highly acidic. Dr Anna Cabeca says
On the other hand, things like food can make your urine and salivary pH more or less alkaline. Measuring those fluctuations reveals cellular health.
When experts talk about maintaining optimal pH, they’re referring to urinary not blood – pH. Checking your urine pH can provide clues to cellular health, mineral status, and lifestyle consequences.
If you’re going to follow the Alkaline Diet and eat only alkaline forming foods, you’ll be able to “alkalize” your body, which means that it will only produce alkaline ash. As a result, your overall health will be greatly improved. As stated on the Global Glow’s blog,
The reason why people, such as Elle Macpherson, Victoria Beckham, Jennifer Aniston, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley and Gwyneth Paltrow, to name a few, are followers of the alkaline diet is because this lifestyle actually works and helps you be the best version of yourself.
Combining Keto and Alkaline Diet
The keto-alkaline diet is basically a combination of the Ketogenic Diet and the Alkaline Diet. Although the ketogenic diet is truly effective in terms of losing weight and improving health, it can also be acidic.
Since the diet requires you to eat a lot of keto-friendly foods such as dairy and meat, your body’s pH level could become acidic and too much acidity could make your body susceptible to certain diseases.
Traditional keto diets tend to exclude alkaline foods and these foods are critical for optimizing your overall pH level. Many health experts believe that the missing link to a truly successful ketogenic diet is more alkaline foods. Therefore, if you’re going to follow the ketogenic lifestyle while also staying in the alkaline state, you will get the benefits that come with both the ketogenic and alkaline diets.
Dr. Anna Cabeca, one of the proponents of the keto-alkaline diet, has this to say about this powerful combination.
“Keto-Alkaline Diet is the perfect plan for fat loss and optimal health by allowing your body to use fat for fuel while staying alkaline.”
Following the Keto-Alkaline Diet
When you’re already on a keto diet, you just need to tweak your diet a little bit by following these tips:
Focus on eating alkaline foods – along with drinking filtered water, you must also include green leafy vegetables in your diet, such as spinach, kale, chard, beet greens, and veggie-blend powder. That should help you to stay alkaline without going out of ketosis.
Perfect Keto Micronutrient Greens Powder
One way of getting enough alkaline foods into your keto diet is with Perfect Keto Micronutrient Greens Powder. Keto Micro Greens contains no less than 22 different fruits and vegetables, plus MCT fats for better absorption. it includes digestive enzymes so your body can properly absorb and use every little bit of nutrition.
Each scoop of Keto Micro Greens is 14 servings of raw and organic fruits and vegetables. What could be better than that?
Here’s a very good graphic from Dr Jockers depicting the best pH balancing foods to include on a ketogenic diet. All the plants are raw and organic for best nutrition.
Ditch foods that are acidic – this means that you should say goodbye to coffee and dairy products. But this doesn’t mean you’re no longer allowed to eat these foods. You just have to minimize them or temporarily ditch them as you are trying to get into the alkaline territory.
Allow enough time – it should take approximately a week to reach the alkaline state. After that, you can continue to focus on staying in the state of ketosis. Some patients might see the results almost immediately although it may take a few days before your body can start to adjust to the changes in your diet.
Try intermittent fasting – another way is to follow a modified intermittent fasting. Others would go about fasting for up to 15 hours between dinner and breakfast. This is not really that hard to follow since you’ll be sleeping most of the time during this period.
It’s not only about the food – aside from doing some changes on your diet, you must also focus on other important things, such as getting enough sleep, doing exercise, maintaining a healthy regular bowel movement, avoiding exposure to toxins, and staying away from stress.
Monitor your body temperature – if you’re able to successfully follow the keto-alkaline diet, your metabolism will increase. This is why experts recommend that you take your body temperature, at least 10 min before you sleep. Your temperature should ideally be at 97.6 F. Anything below that could indicate that you’re having thyroid issues since your metabolism is not functioning well. In this case, you may need to talk to your doctor.
Conclusion
Following the Keto diet for your New Year weight loss is a good idea. However, this could lead to too much acidity and could lead to imbalances, body aches, and pains unless you make sure you include plenty of foods that are alkaline forming.
Remember that it’s not enough that you lose weight. You must also focus on improving your health and well-being. Chances are, your metabolism will be able to thrive more in an alkaline environment than in an acidic environment.
If you’re able to adapt the keto-alkaline diet, you’ll have stronger immunity, more energy, and better health. The key is to eat more greens and to cut down on highly acidic foods, such as processed foods and animal products.
