Alkaline Diet Questions with Gareth (#9)

Hey everyone!

Each fortnight we’re putting the best alkaline diet questions we receive from you to our Alkaline Diet Expert, Dr Young trained blood analyst and highly qualified nutritionist – Gareth Edwards.

Gareth is right at the very top of his field, so these answers are absolutely the best you’ll find from arguably Britain’s most qualified expert in this area!

Q&A With Gareth Edwards

These answers are not intended to replace the advice that can be acquired from a personal consultation with a qualified physician. If you are experiencing persistent symptoms of any sort, you should consult with a nutritionally aware physician.

Question One: A bodybuilder’s diet rated by Gareth!

I’m a bodybuilder and eat lots of animal protein from good sources such as chicken, fish and red meat and whole eggs. I also eat lots of fresh fruit and veg every day and also use lots of healthy oils such as avocado, evo, walnut, coconut and fish oil. My carbs come from rice, oats and sweet potatoes as the “main” big sources outwith the fruit. I feel in the best condition of my life and my health has never been better! How would you rate the above diet?

Doing lots of exercise and eating lots of vegetables and healthy oils (such as Jarrow Krill Oil) are likely to help you feel great. Chicken, red meat and eggs are likely to have an acidifying effect on your body. If you are doing high levels of exercise then it is likely that you will excrete a lot of that acidity in the form of sweat. I would however consider going for live blood analysis to see if what feels good to you actually is good on the inside. I have a client who was following a similar regime to you, was ripped with muscles, felt great but started to loose his skin pigment.

I think that bodybuilding can be great, but I’m unconvinced that you need to eat lots of animal protein to achieve muscle bulk. Have a look at my other answer on the subject of alkalising and muscle mass and look at the new book by Jonathan Safran Foer “Eating Animals”.

Question Two: I just can’t get my pH up!

I found it very difficult to raise my ph, which is almost always around 6. I am vegetarian and I always worry about what foods to eat, though I think I eat too much carbs since it is the only thing that fills my stomach properly. For breakfast I have oats. They are not in Dr. Young’s food list. How acidic are oats? Thank you for your help.

Thanks for this important question. Concentrated, high starch carbohydrates are where we often look for sustenance when we don’t eat animal protein, but they are indeed slightly acidifying. The most important (and potentially challenging) shift to make to really reap the benefits of an alkalising regime is to dramatically increase your intake of fresh (mainly raw) dark green and leafy vegetables. Green foods, in Chinese medicine, help with blood sugar control and thus should help reduce cravings for carbohydrate foods. This is why drinking your green powder (such as perfectlyhealthy Mega Greens with MSM) with alkalising drops (such as pHion pH Booster) and water, can be such a powerful and effective way to get the alkaline ball rolling (and keep it going!). Drink two to three litres a day.

The biggest difference for many of my clients comes when they start the day with an alkaline breakfast. That means tucking into the veg right from the outset. A big raw vegetable plate, a green smoothy or green juice will fit the bill. If that’s too daunting then ease yourself in with an open sandwich on wholemeal (brown) or sprouted grain bread, piled high with avocado, tomato cucumber and alfalfa.

The best things I’ve found to help me feel full after veg only meals are: a) use plenty of healthy oils (olive, hemp, flax) and avocados b) add nuts (almonds and walnuts (ideally soaked) c) load up on sprouted beans, seeds and grains d) put salt (such as Himalayan Crystal Salt) in the dressing.

Question Three: Can the Alkaline Diet help with Thyroid problems?

My friend has been told that she is suffering from parathyroidism and has hyper-calcaemia as a result. She has had a scan where the results were ”inconclusive” but the medical profession feel sure that a gland is the problem and are keen to do surgery. She is very interested in following the alkaline diet instead, but is confused as to what to do, especially as the greens that she should eat on the diet are advised against because they are too high in calcium. I would love your advice on this.

Hyper-calcaemia describes an elevated level of calcium in the blood. This is a concern because it can lead to stones in the kidney. If somebody has an elevated level of calcium in their blood one might assume that this would be associated with the parathyroid glands which regulate whether calcium is stored in bones or released from bones into the blood.

The important factor to consider, however is that when blood, body fluids and tissue become acidic, the parathyroid glands actively promote the release of calcium from the bones into the blood in order to buffer (neutralise) the acids. The reason why your friend has hyper-calcaemia is far more likely to be because of elevated acidity through diet, hydration and lifestyle “choices” than because of “mis-functioning” parathyroid glands.

If she starts an alkalising eating, hydration and exercise programme the calcium levels in her blood should start to fall. She could explain to her doctor that she understands the concerns about the possible effects of high calcium in the blood, but would like a two to three week period to try to lower the levels. Consulting with a physician who understands these principals would probably be beneficial. The reduction in calcium levels when alkalising should be measurable by your friend’s doctor. Trying other avenues before surgery seems wise.

Question Four: Can I build muscle with the Alkaline Diet?

Hi, I am a really keen fan of the alkalising principles. I have studied “The pH Miracle” by Dr Young and listened to Anthony Robbins Living Health program. I am keen to build muscle. Everyone tells me that a diet rich in water content food will not enable this to happen because I would be denying myself the calories for this to happen. Do you agree or disagree with reasons? I would really appreciate your responses to this ….. many thanks. Can I build plenty of muscle simply by alkalising and eating lots of salads?

I think I’d flip this one on its head. I’d say that you can build muscle on a high animal protein and high carbohydrate diet, but it is likely to be at a cost to your overall health. If you want inspiration read about the Championship winning New Zealand bodybuilder Dusan Dudas on Dr. Young’s articles of health blogspot. He’s just won his first title as an alkaliser and his description of the lack of post competition exhaustion is an inspiration. On his high protein and carb regime he had elevated cholesterol and blood pressure.

The best way to build muscle, is …. to be healthy! It’s pretty tricky to do that without eating loads of fresh raw vegetables. Their high water content will facilitate the excretion of acidic waste products generated by the workouts you’ll need to do to build muscle. Muscle is built from red blood cells and red blood cells are best “built” from chlorophyll rich green plant foods. Kale, spinach, chard, watercress and other leafy greens will also help you develop a healthy digestive tract so that you can absorb any protein that you do eat.

The calories you require for energy should come from raw unsaturated vegetable fats such as olive, hemp and flax oils. Unrefined salt (such as Himalayan Crystal Salt) should provide the electrical conductivity required to energise your body too. Use sprouted seeds, almonds and walnuts and tofu as healthy, relatively alkalising sources of vegetarian protein sources.

Another set of great questions and great answers! If you have a question for Gareth – leave it in the comments below!

Tagged as: green drink, green powder, healthy oils, himalayan crystal salt, krill oil, muscle building, ph drops, unrefined salt

Note: This blog is only my opinion. It is not medical advice or diagnosis. Only opinions based upon our own personal experiences or information detailed in medical/academic journals or other publications is cited. WE DO NOT OFFER MEDICAL ADVICE or prescribe any treatments. Please consult with a medical professional before making any diet or nutrition changes. Refer to our full disclaimer for more information.