Acidic foods and alkalizing foods: what they are and why they differ

What are acidic foods? Let's see the complete list and find out when it is necessary not to eat them and when, instead, they are recommended.

Acidic foods are those that, after ingestion, create a specific reaction in the body. This means that acidity is not related to the flavor of a given food. Let's discover the list of fruits, vegetables, pasta & Co that are considered particularly acidifying and the list of foods defined as alkalizing.

What are acidic foods?

Acidic foods are those that acidify the blood and remove mineral salts from the body. Therefore, the adjective is not given by the taste of a given food, but by the reaction it generates after ingestion. Those who follow an alkaline diet , for example, try to limit acidic foods because they are convinced that they can cause various inflammatory diseases and widespread malaise, including generalized fatigue. Below is the list of acidic foods :

• fatty meats (lamb, duck, rabbit, liver, loin, pork, beef, goose, chicken, turkey and veal);
• fish and shellfish (eel, herring, carp, mussels, cod fillet, shrimp, shrimp, crab, salmon, sardine in oil, redfish, sole and trout);
• cold cuts and cold cuts;
• egg;
• cheeses and dairy products;
• bakery products (white, rye and durum wheat bread and pizza) and pastry;
• cereals (wheat, corn, wheat, oats, rye, barley and rice) and pasta (egg pasta, brown rice, spaghetti, wholemeal spaghetti, white rice);
• beans, lentils, chickpeas and broad beans;
• coffee, tea, chocolate and cocoa;
• fried foods;
• preserved foods;
• alcohol, beer and carbonated soft drinks;
• walnuts, almonds, peanuts, pistachios and hazelnuts.

Some foods are also considered slightly acidic, such as blueberries and plums. Among the cheeses, pay attention above all to the melted, fresh and white ones, but also to the aged or fermented ones. Same precautions for cream, butter, milk, vanilla ice cream and yogurt, both natural and sweetened. Finally, sour vegetables are: tomatoes, aubergines, peppers and corn.

Non-acidic foods: what are they?

Conversely, non-acidic or slightly acidic foods are those not mentioned in the previous list. Among cereals, for example, the green light for millet, quinoa and amaranth. Particularly alkalizing foods, on the other hand, are: umeboshi plums, broccoli, seaweed, citrus fruits, pumpkin seeds, persimmons, watermelon, cinnamon, molasses, soy sauce, chestnuts, pepper, peppers, miso, kohlrabi, green cabbage, garlic , asparagus, parsley, endive, rocket, green mustard, ginger, broccoli, nectarine, pineapple, molasses, melon, blackberry and mango. In conclusion, it should be emphasized that a healthy and balanced diet must always be personalized by a nutritionist.