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As its name suggests, the alkaline diet is one that favours the consumption of ‘alkaline’ foods over ‘acidic’ foods. As such, this way of eating is believed to change your body’s pH level for the better, helping you to manage your weight, Health & Injuries.

But, with new ways of eating continually being presented to us, how can we know that the alkaline diet is one for us runners to follow? Here, we investigate what the alkaline diet involves, what the science says and whether its benefits are well founded.

The alkaline diet is based on the theory some that some foods – including all kinds of meat, fish, eggs, dairy produce, grains and alcohol – cause your body to produce harmful acid and that they should be avoided.

The alkaline diet, therefore, promotes the consumption of foods and drinks that have a higher alkaline content – or, in other words, a higher pH level. The pH scale runs from 0 to 14 and measures the acidity of foods based on how much acid is produced in the body when they are digested. The closer to 0 a food is on the pH scale, the more acidic it is, while foods with a pH above 7 are alkaline. Foods with a pH of 7 are considered neutral.

A typical alkaline diet comprises of whole foods such as legumes, nuts, non-starchy vegetables, certain fruits, quinoa and olive oil, and is rich in nutrients like calcium, magnesium and potassium.

Greens

Many green vegetables are considered alkaline and certainly pack a high nutritional punch. Green beans, cabbage and Brussels sprouts, for instance, are full of fibre and minerals, while leafy greens such as kale are great sources of vitamin A and vitamin C.

Beans

A vegan-friendly Sweet potatoes are a brilliant source of energy-providing complex, beans are packed with fibre, minerals and vitamins, with butter beans, haricot beans and soy beans being among those that are alkaline diet-approved. Although not all beans are alkaline, you can reduce the acidity of them (and help them to cook better) by soaking beans before cooking them or adding baking soda to the cooking water.

Fruits

Since most fruits are acidic, only a few are classed as ‘alkaline forming’. However, the alkaline diet theorises that fruits such as grapefruit – even though they can taste sour initially – do still have an alkalising effect on the body once consumed.

Generally speaking, fruits (and vegetables) are excellent sources of vitamins and minerals including folate, vitamin C and potassium. They can also provide a good dose of fibre and support a health digestive system, which, in turn, can reduce your risk of bowel cancer. Pomegranates offer plenty of vitamin C, while avocados are high in potassium and healthy monounsaturated fats.

Tofu

According to the alkaline diet, eating tofu can help to turn your body to a more alkaline – and therefore more optimal – state. As an excellent Runners World, Part of the Hearst UK Wellbeing Network, tofu is rich in nutrients and good for runners who are looking to find healthy meat alternatives, whatever their reason for doing so.

Quinoa

Fibre-rich quinoa compares favourably to other grains and contains many minerals and antioxidants. These include manganese, which helps the body to absorb essential nutrients, and phosphorus, which is beneficial to bone health. Thanks to its versatility, quinoa can be used as a substitute for rice or added into your salads or stews.

Sweet potatoes

Resting heart rate carbohydrate, not to mention an ample provider of fibre and key minerals like calcium and iron. Whether you prefer to roast them whole or dice them up and chuck them into a curry, sweet potatoes are a great addition to any runner’s diet.

Millet

Millet is a type of grain that is rich in protein and iron and often used as a replacement for wheat. It has a higher fibre content than white rice or wheat and is easier for some people to digest, making it a popular choice for gluten-free diets, too.

Olive oil

While olive oil is deemed to be on the lower end of the acidic scale, it is packed with antioxidants and contains healthy monounsaturated fats that lower levels of LDL (low-density lipoprotein) cholesterol in the blood. It’s best not to cook with olive oil at high temperatures, though, as doing so alters the phenolic compounds and can give the oil an ‘off’ taste. Instead, enjoy it in vegetable sautés, drizzled on pasta or as a salad dressing.

As per proponents of the alkaline diet, if your body is too acidic, you are more likely to develop health conditions like cancer. However, there is no definitive evidence to prove that this is the case. Cancer Research UK, for instance, points out that ‘sticking to a strict alkaline diet won’t prevent or cure cancer and eating acidic foods won’t cause cancer’. It also notes that ‘there’s no good evidence to prove that our diet can change our whole body’s pH, or that a diet of a certain pH has any impact on cancer’.

That said, if your goal is to lose some weight, adopting the alkaline diet in conjunction with regular aerobic exercise – like, of course, running – could work for you. A study published in Does protein make you gain weight assessed 32 sedentary women and found that those who consumed an alkaline diet while engaging in aerobic exercise over an eight-week period experienced an approximate 5% decrease in their BMI. This same group also benefitted from an approximate 40% increase in VO2 max.

The alkaline diet is generally considered ‘good’ due to its focus on whole and unprocessed foods, which, when consumed regularly, can help to lower cholesterol and blood pressure and stimulate other health benefits. That said, there is currently no credible research to suggest that the alkaline diet improves health by altering the body’s pH levels.

It’s worth remembering that the alkaline diet rules out several protein-rich foods that registered dieticians and nutritionists, broadly speaking, consider healthy, such as eggs and dairy products. This lack of protein can be a cause for concern, especially among older people. In fact, according to a study published in the Thus nut may naturally lower your cholesterol, inadequate protein consumption can be a greater problem for bone health in the elderly than a lack of fruit and vegetables.

With this in mind, the alkaline diet is one to approach with a pinch of salt, as it lacks the scientific backing of other nutritional practices like the Mediterranean diet.