For me Friday night meant a huge girly catch up with one of my closest friends and fellow blogger, Sian Peters. We were discussing ambitions, fashion, men and of course food, when Sian mentioned something that got my blogging brain ticking- alkaline diets. I got to my research and here’s what I found!

So, what exactly is it? It’s a new diet that’s only just emerged over the past couple of years, which recommends eating alkaline food to help keep the body’s pH between 7.35 and 7.45 (pH being the measurement of how acidic or alkaline your blood is). This is a healthy pH level meaning that your blood contains slightly more alkaline than acid. Nutritional therapist Vicki Edgson and organic chef Natasha Corrett are the founders of this revolutionary diet and set up The Honestly Healthy Alkaline Programme.

What are the benefits? As usual, weight loss is a benefit but it’s not the only one. It can improve energy levels, memory and can even help to bloating, headaches, muscle pain and heart disease. An alkaline diet can reduce the risk of arthritis and diabetes and many studies have even found that cancer can’t thrive in an alkaline environment. Additionally, alkaline foods are much easier than acidic foods for the body to breakdown and hence, vitamins and minerals are more easily absorbed.

All sounds good so far but how do I go about it? The diet recommends eating 80% alkaline foods and 20% acidic. Basically, the 80/20 rule.

Alkaline foods include fresh fruit and vegetables, nuts, roots and legumes (a plant family- peanuts are actually legumes and not nuts)! Foods that score highest on the alkaline front are lemon, lime, dates, watercress, broccoli, cauliflower, cucumber, kale, celery, pepper, spinach, apples, grapes, kiwi, melon, mango, watermelon and passionfruit. Seeds and nuts are also great and contain essential oils that are amazing for your skin!

Unfortunately all dairy products aren’t so alkaline based (booo!), as well as pasta, wheat, meat and fish.

The trick is to make sure that 80% of the food that you consume is alkaline-based. When preparing meals, 80% of the food on your plate should be vegetables with grains or protein making up the final 20%.

I  personally don’t believe in quick weight loss diets, seeing healthy eating as a lifestyle with balance being the key ingredient, and this is exactly what an alkaline diet is all about. It should be used as a long-term eating guideline with multiple health benefits, rather than a fad, unhealthy way to loose weight! It also doesn’t mean cutting out bad food completely, just to eat it in moderation. So, what do you think? I for one, will be giving it a try! xx