If you follow an alkaline diet plan, you want to know which foods are acidic and which are alkaline so that you can put together the right diet plan.
There are many lists of alkaline foods, some of which differ significantly from one another. This is because the definition of "alkaline foods" has changed over the years as a result of research into alkaline foods.

 

For example, an alkaline food list can categorise foods based on their pH in their physical form in the fridge. This is how most people would see foods, for example, lemons and limes are acidic foods, while milk, cheese and chicken are alkaline.

This seems logical and obvious. However, it is not entirely correct or at least insufficient. It does not take into account the effects of these foods on our bodies.

We aim for a predominantly alkaline diet to keep the blood pH at its slightly alkaline set point, so we need to look at the effect of a food on the body.

According to this definition, limes and lemons are actually highly alkaline foods when processed in the body, whereas cheese, milk and meat are highly acidic.

Research from the early twentieth century to the recent past categorised acidic and alkaline foods by burning them and then measuring the pH of the resulting ash residue dissolved in water.

In later studies, however, it was found that the isolated ash residue is not the decisive factor, but the chemical compounds of the food after metabolism.

Our metabolism is a marvellously complex and intricate system, so defining acidic and alkaline food additives is a lengthy and ongoing task, one that scientists are now completing.

A food that is alkaline in material form can often have an acidifying effect on the body, and vice versa.

Here are some foods that appear everywhere on the 'alkaline foods list' - no matter when or who compiled it and by what definition:

Broccoli, spinach, rocket, lettuce, cucumber, avocado, kale, cabbage, lemons, limes, tomatoes, green beans, wheat grass, barley grass, leek, watercress, omega-3 fatty acids.

Here are some foods/drinks generally categorised as acidic:

Cake, chocolate, carbonated drinks, burgers and other fast food, ice cream, pastries, biscuits, fried food, alcohol.