Can you really eat meat and recover from it Cancer? Assuming that the meat is prepared without excessive salt and is not cooked on a charcoal grill, the general answer is yes. What really matters is not avoiding meat or eating meat but achieving an acid-base balance.
As you probably know, alkalis are the opposite of acids, and neutralize them. And if there is any valid dietary truism to fight cancer, it is as follows: The acid is bad.
Acidity and alkalinity
Acidity and alkalinity are measured in terms of pH. Alkalis have a high pH. Acids have a low pH. The pH below 7 is acidic, while the pH above 7 is alkaline. Maintaining the correct pH is crucial in every chemical process in every single cell in the body. Different cells act at slightly different pH levels, but the kidneys very tightly regulate the body’s overall acid-base balance.
The modern industrialized diet has almost all of us in a constant acidosis state. We don’t have extreme symptoms that doctors would treat, but almost everyone who eats a standard diet has an overall body pH that is a little low. Even in healthy people, chronic acidosis can lead to:
▪ Higher levels of stress hormones, especially when there is a diet high in salt,
▪ Mild hypothyroidism and concomitant fatigue, and weight gain
▪ Resistance to growth hormone and insulin-like growth factor 1 helps maintain muscle tissue.
For people battling cancer, the effects of acidosis are even more insidious. The kidneys neutralize acids with two nutrients, calcium, and glutamine. The acid actually “flushes” calcium from the bones so that you can send it to the kidneys to create alkalis. Weaker bones are more susceptible to metastases.
The kidneys neutralize the acids formed by the breakdown of proteins with the amino acid glutamine. Bone muscles are the body’s largest supply of glutamine. Their proteins are broken down when too much protein is ingested in an acidifying diet, nullifying protein benefits in the meal!
How do we become acidic?
Digestion breaks down much of the food we eat into its chemical components. Each of these chemicals eventually travels to the kidneys, stimulating the production of acids (low pH) or alkali (high pH). At the end of a meal (if there is only one meal a day) or at the end of the day, all the chemicals together have a net effect that is acidic or alkaline. The effect on pH includes the intensity of the food compound that creates the acid or alkali and how much the compound is consumed.
The acid-base balance is mainly the result of the way the body processes the mineral content of food:
▪ If a food chemical contains chlorides, sulfates, phosphoric or organic acids, it stimulates acid formation.
▪ If the food chemical contains calcium, magnesium, potassium, or sodium, it stimulates alkalis formation.
The foods that stimulate the most acid production are aged cheeses (especially low-fat cheeses), egg yolk, canned meat products, lunch meat, and, surprisingly, brown rice and oats. Foods that encourage the most basic alkali production are dried fruits (especially raisins), leafy greens, fruits, and vegetables.
The advice used to be to eat it if it creates alkali, and if it does create acid, don’t eat it. The problem with this extensive advice is that all whole grains and most protein foods form acids. Protein is necessary to overcome cancer. Fortunately, it is possible to eat acid-producing foods while having a net alkaline diet. You need to know the acid formation and alkali strength in food to eat it in the right balance.
110 common groceries
At the end of this article, I have attached a table of 110 common foods adapted to the work of two German scientists named Manz and Remer. You will see a + or – rating for each food. A grade of + means it adds acidity. The result means that the food is alkalized, that it takes away the acidity.
As you can see in the chart, some foods create much more acid or alkali than others. This means that, for example, a portion of spinach of one ounce will more than eliminate the potential for acid formation in a meal of beef, chicken, brown rice, or even salami (not that you should take this fact into account) as a recommendation to eat salami). You can safely eat foods rich in protein and acids, even some treats, as long as you maintain a negative overall balance of acids and bases.
You can use this table to calculate acid-base calculations, but you don’t have to worry about doing math with this table. Simply balance the higher items on the list with the items that are lower on the list, then add more vegetables to make sure you have a net alkalizing meal.
WHAT TO DO IF YOU CAN’T EAT VEGETABLES AND FRUITS (or if you don’t want to).
If you know, you’re going to eat a meal with a lot of meat or cheese, and you can’t eat enough vegetables to balance acid production, take extra glutamine. (Or if you can’t afford the supplement, try eating cooked cabbage and beets that are rich in amino acids.) This amino acid acts against acidosis.
At first, take only 1,000-2,000 mg to make sure you don’t have digestive problems. Then gradually increase the dose until you take a total of at least 25,000 mg. At this point, your body has enough glutamine for up to 3 days. Then repeat the process.
There are several regular precautions around taking glutamine supplements. If you are sensitive to MSG, do not take glutamine to convert to each other. If you are taking medication for bipolar disorder or seizures, do not take MSG to stimulate glutamate production in the brain. And if you have diabetes, do not take more than 5,000 mg of extra glutamine a day, as the body may not fully metabolize it.
PRAL rating for a food or food group
Parmesan cheese 34.2
Velveeta and other processed cheeses 28.7
Cheddar cheese with low-fat content 26.4
Average for hard and high-protein cheeses 23.6
Egg yolks 23.4
Hard cheese 19.2
Sir Gouda 18.6
Cooked meat (canned) 13.2
Brown rice 12.5
Liverwurst 11.6
Salami 11.6
Trout 10.8
Oatmeal 10.7
Meat for lunch 10.2
Veal 9.9
Average for all types of meat 9.5
Turkey 9.0
Rump steak 8.8
Chicken 8.7
Fresh cheese 8.7
Peanuts 8.3
Whole eggs 8.2
Average for soft cheeses with low protein content 8.0
Lean pork 7.9
Average for all fish 7.9
Lean beef 7.8
Whole grain spaghetti 7.3
Cod 7.1
Herring 7.0
Haddock 6.8
Walnuts 6.8
Hot dogs (without bun) 6.7
Average for all noodles 6.7
White spaghetti 6.5
Noodles with eggs 6.4
Cornflakes 6.0
Average for all desserts 4.3
Mixed cereal rye bread 4.1
Rye bread 4.0
Cake 3.7
Mixed wheat bread from cereals 3.7
White bread 3.7
Average for all bread 3.5
Lens 3.5
Rye crackers 3.3
Milk chocolate 2.4
Wheat bread 1.8
Whole milk yogurt with fruit 1.7
White rice 1.7
Whole milk yogurt, plain 1.5
Sour cream 1.2
Average for beans and legumes 1.2
Peas 1.2
Egg white 1.1
Raw whole milk 1.1
Average for all dairy products except cheese 1.0
Pale beer 0.9
Pasteurized whole milk 0.7
Ice cream 0.6
Butter 0.6
Buttermilk 0.5
Coca Cola 0.4
Average for all fats and oils 0
Olive oil 0
Sunflower oil 0
White sugar -0.1
Stamen beer -0.1
Draft beer -0.2
Honey -0.3
Tea -0.3
Asparagus -0.4
Hot cocoa -0.4
Margarine -0.5
Cucumber -0.8
Grape juice -1.0
Broccoli -1.2
White wine -1.2
Mushrooms -1.4
Paprika -1.4
Coffee -1.4
Marmalade -1.5
Bow -1.5
Average for all beverages -1.7
Leek -1.8
Mineral water -1.8
Watermelon -1.9
Endive and Radicchio -2.0
Apple juice -2.2
Apples -2.2
Strawberries -2.2
Red wine -2.4
Lettuce -2.5
Lemon juice -2.5
Zucchini -2.6
Pineapple -2.7
Average for all vegetables -2.8
Tomato juice -2.8
Hazelnuts -2.8
Orange juice -2.9
Pears -2.9
Tomato -3.1
Average for all fruits and nuts -3.1
Green beans -3.1
Eggplant -3.4
Cherries -3.6
Radishes -3.7
Cauliflower -4.0
Potatoes -4.0
Kiwi -4.1
Apricots -4.8
Carrots -4.9
Celery -5.2
Bananas -5.5
Black currant -6.5
Spinach, kale, collars, and other leafy greens -14.0
Raisins -21.0
