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This article published in 2013.

I won’t claim to be an expert here, but lately I’ve been reading a lot about your pH after having some tests done showing my pH was acidic. When your body is acidic, you can actually breed cancer rather than scaring it away, (and one of my main reasons for going keto is to scare cancer away!) so I’ve been reading about it more lately.

Three years ago I went to a natural health clinic where they tested my pH (saliva). This was about a month after being in ketosis for the first time. One major red flag that came up was that my pH was around 6 when it’s supposed to be between 6.4 and 7.4, ideally closer to the 7.4. In fact, they say Cancer dies at a pH of 8. A pH of 6 might not look far off, but it is. A reading of 5.5 is acidosis. Anything below 7 is acidic.

Note: From what I’ve learned, your blood pH is a different beast, and nothing you can eat will change your blood pH.

To confirm whether you have low pH, all you have to do is buy some pH strips at your local medical supplies store (or online, or perhaps at your local pharmacist, but CVS doesn’t have them.) I keep them in my bathroom.

Beyond food though, I also run a business, so my stress levels are high all day, every day, which can contribute to a low pH (aka being highly acidic).

I also eat a lot more animal protein than when I was living la vida high carb, which can also be acidic.

When your pH is low, you also absorb 20% less oxygen too; It’s not healthy. Adding pH balancing foods to your diet can help, and is pretty much necessary for a balanced keto diet. It can’t be bacon and eggs all the time!

Adding pH balancing foods to your day

Something I was told when I got this diagnosis was that when you follow a ketogenic diet, it’s really important to drink lemon water every day.

You might think lemons would make a person more acidic, but one website I read makes an important note: “lemons are very acidic, however the end products they produce after digestion and assimilation are very alkaline so, lemons are alkaline forming in the body. Likewise, meat will test alkaline before digestion, but it leaves very acidic residue in the body so, like nearly all animal products, meat is very acid forming.”

Something important to note is that your body has different pH levels. For example, your blood pH must stay a consistent 7.35-7.45, but you eat doesn’t determine your blood’s pH level, only your stomach pH. Your blood will almost always always self-regulate.

The perfect alkaline Keto diet

According to WebMd, the perfect alkaline diet “discourages eating acid-promoting foods, which include meat, fish, poultry, dairy products, processed foods, white sugar, white flour, and caffeine.”

As you can see, the perfect pH balanced diet is very vegetarian and very anti-meat. That doesn’t mean we can’t maintain balance while eating meats, though.

Here’s a list of pH balancing foods I edited to be keto-friendly from this site by Christopher Vasey, ND.

pH Balancing Vegetables

Salad Greens: Chicory, Escarole, Lettuces, Mache, Dandelion

Green Cabbage

Celery Stalks

Green Beans

Fennel

Beet Greens

Artichokes

Broccoli

Brussel Sprouts

Asparagus

Spinach

Red Cabbage

Yellow Beans

Peppers

Garlic

Zuchini

Squash

Cucumber

pH Balancing Nuts



Almonds (and Almond Milk I assume?)

Brazil Nuts

pH Balancing Dairy

Fresh Butter

Soft Cheeses – Well drained

Egg Yolk — (I know eggs aren’t dairy, but that’s how it’s categorized in his list)

pH Balancing Miscellaneous Items

Sea Salt

Virgin Cold Pressed: Sunflower,

Olive, Safflower, etc.

Herbal Tea – Mint, Verbena, Linden, etc.

I recommend checking out this list too. According to the experts, any good diet should include 60% alkaline forming foods and 40% acid forming foods. On keto we’re a little limited, so some people recommend drinking a lemon + aloe mixture every morning to alkalize:

2oz Organic Aloe Vera Juice (I use organic Lily of the Desert because it’s the most trusted aloe brand and it has 1 carb per serving)

1 packet of True Lemon, or the juice of 1/2 a lemon

1/2 packet stevia (you can do it without Stevia but it’s a bit awful) — non keto-ers use honey

10 oz of water

On a happy note, one wonderful things that raises your pH naturally to make you more alkaline: Hugs.

Seriously. So, hug away!

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