Acid-Forming and Alkalinizing Foods

Discover which common foods are acid-forming and alkalinizing

Over-acidity in the body comes from consuming too many acid-forming foods and not enough alkalizing foods. Below is a brief list of the most acid-forming and alkalinizing foods.

Keep in mind that a food is not necessarily unhealthy because it is acid-forming and that I’m not saying you should avoid all of them. In fact, many acid-forming foods are necessary for optimum health. It’s simply a matter of balance. Fixing your acid/alkaline balance isn’t the complete answer to perfect health; it’s only one piece of the puzzle. The bottom line is that we need to eat enough alkalizing foods to help our bodies neutralize the acid-forming foods.

Acid-Forming Foods

• All meat (beef, pork, lamb, and chicken) and fish
• Rice (white, brown, or basmati)
• Cornmeal, oats, rye, spelt, wheat, bran
• Popcorn
• Pastas
• Breads and most other grain products, such as cereals (hot or cold), crackers, and pastries
• The following beans (unless sprouted, in which case they become alkaline-producing): pinto, navy, mung, lentils, black, garbanzo, red, white, adzuki, and broad
• Cheese (Parmesan and sharper cheeses are the worst)
• Sunflower and pumpkin seeds
• Wheat germ
• The following nuts: walnuts, pecans, cashews, dried coconut (fresh coconut is alkaline-producing), pistachios, macadamias, filberts, Brazil nuts, and peanuts
• Colas
• Alcoholic drinks
• Coffee and other caffeinated drinks
• Sweetened yogurt
• Most forms of sweeteners (artificial sweeteners, cane sugar, beet sugar, barley syrup, processed honey, maple syrup, molasses, fructose, lactose)
• Refined table salt
• Soy sauce
• Mustard (dried powder and processed)
• Ketchup (unless natural and homemade)
• Mayonnaise (unless natural and homemade)
• White vinegar (apple cider and sweet brown rice vinegar are less acid-producing and preferred)
• Nutmeg
• Tobacco
• Practically all drugs

Alkalizing Foods

• Practically all vegetables
• Practically all fruits, except blueberries, plums, prunes, and cranberries. Even citrus fruits such as lemons, which we think of as being acidic, are alkaline-producing in the body. They are rich in organic salts, like citrates, which are converted into bicarbonates.
• Beans such as string, soy, lima, green, and snap
• Peas
• Potatoes
• Arrowroot flour
• Grains such as flax, millet, quinoa, and amaranth
• Nuts like almonds, pignoli, fresh coconut, and chestnuts
• Sprouted seeds of alfalfa, radish, and chia
• Unsprouted sesame
• Fresh unsalted butter
• Milk, cream, and goat’s milk
• Eggs
• Whey
• Plain yogurt
• Sweeteners like raw, unpasteurized honey, dried sugar cane juice (Sucanat), brown rice syrup
• Fruit juices
• All vegetable juices
• Most herbal teas
• Garlic
• Cayenne pepper
• Gelatin
• Most all herbs
• Miso
• Most vegetable and unprocessed sea salt
• Most all spices
• Vanilla extract
• Brewer’s yeast
• Most unprocessed, cold-pressed oils are neutral or alkaline-forming. (Even margarine seems to be neutral, but I don’t recommend this “liquid plastic.”)

More Dr. Williams Advice on Diet and Overall Wellness

• Foods everyone should be eating
• Why sugar is slow suicide
• Why you should drink distilled water