The Importance Of The 80/20 Rule For Eating Alkaline Versus Acidic Foods
What science says about the pH of foods and why exactly it should matter to you
The pH of the foods we eat is an important, yet oft-overlooked, aspect of leading a healthy lifestyle.
Why? Well because in order for you or I to be alive enough to be reading this article in the first place, our lungs and kidneys must work around the clock to sustain the pH of our blood somewhere between the precise numbers of 7.35 and 7.45 (1).
Then, depending on the types of foods that we’re eating day-to-day, our kidneys are then required to maintain an optimal pH level within the body by compensating (either more or less) to make up the difference produced by our diets.
What’s more is that when it comes to the pH of foods, certain categories can be deceiving. Lemons and limes, for example, are highly acidic fruits that when processed by the body actually contribute to an overall alkalizing effect.
This is due to something referred to as potential renal acid load (PRAL) which determines where on the scale of alkaline-acidic substances different foods fall, based on the net effect they have on your pH post-consumption — not the pH of the food itself (2).
