Alkaline Diet

The conflicting information available online about the alkaline acid diet means that you might have difficulty determining whether coffee is an alkaline food or an acid food. Despite the fact that I originally believed it was an acid food and actually decided to stop drinking coffee based on various alkaline acid food charts I had seen, I now believe that rather than having an acidifying effect upon our bodies, it actually has a mildly alkalizing effect.

But is coffee acid or alkaline? The alkaline acid diet has much to teach us about the effects various foods have upon our bodies. However my opinion is that it is rather absolute to base your dietary decisions solely on whether a particular food is an acid or alkaline food. For example, other than their alkalizing effect upon our bodies, there are many other reasons why we should eat sufficient fruit and vegetables. Conversely, even though egg yolks have a strongly acidifying effect upon our bodies, they are full of nutrients. So eating acid foods isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

The premise of the alkaline acid diet, that eating alkaline and acid foods in a ratio between 70:30 to 80:20 alkaline to acid allows our bodies to remain in the best pH balance is appealing. However it acan be frustrating when you see a food appear on the acid foods side on some charts while being on the alkaline foods side of others. Which is it? Is coffee acid or alkaline?

The reason I now consider coffee to be an acid food is  because of the charts that list it as such. While many of the “popular” charts suggest it is acidic, or even highly acidic, the charts that actually provide scientific references for their data, as well as the seminal research by Remer and Manz say that it has a mildly alkalizing effect. However most pop food charts don’t provide any reference as to where their data is from.

There are other arguements both for and against drinking coffee. Looking into green coffee beans may be an option for the health conscious to consider. From the available research I feel confident that as far as the alkaline acid diet is concerned, coffee is actually an alkaline food.

Reference: Remer T, Manz F. Potential renal acid load of foods and its influence on urine pH. J Am Diet Assoc 1995;95:791