I am reviewing the ninth edition (2006) of Dr. Baroody's book, Alkalize or Die. Dr. Baroody's book has helped me understand the relationship between acid-forming foods and alkaline-forming foods, yet I must say it required some level of discernment to sift the wheat from the chaff.
One of the positive features to Dr. Baroody's approach to healthful living is his recognition of each person's unique biochemistry. Throughout this book he continues to remind his readers that each person is an individual and therefore might experience variant results when compared to other people.
It is important to understand that Dr. Baroody's theories and principals are based as largely on his personal alternative health experiences (trial and error) as they are on any demonstrable medical science. It is also important to know that Dr. Baroody gives much credence to the metaphysical teachings of eastern spiritualism, which may be a detractor to some readers. In the book's introduction, Dr. Baroody writes, "My viewpoint is founded on ancient Hindu, Chinese, Tibetan, and Greco-European healing philosophies and on several great modern men in the field of health." One of these "great modern men" is Edgar Cayce, who is referenced as an authority many times throughout the book.
So long as the reader is a proponent of New Age and/or Eastern spiritualism, this book should be quite acceptable. For those of us who are more Western in their worldview, the book requires discernment to pick and choose what you care to take from it.
An example of how Dr. Baroody's metaphysical beliefs influence his dietary advice can be seen in his counsel for reducing the consumption of red meat: "The destructive emotion of slaughter is assimilated by the person who eats flesh." (pg. 63). For many, this statement might resonate well with their worldview, but for others this statement will likely be challenged as to it's applicability to the subject of acidity/alkalinity.
Dr. Baroody's experience in the alternative health field appears to be quite extensive. No doubt he has learned a lot from published medical research and other practitioners, yet much of what he proposes in this book is admittedly derived from his own experience; some of which he still doesn't fully understand himself (for example, read chapter 4 on the "Vagus Nerve"). Those readers who are looking for a book filled with footnotes and documented scientific research will be disappointed with this work.
What I found most helpful in the book is Dr. Baroody's exhaustive list of foods with a corresponding rating as to their alkaline-forming or acid-forming properties. Dr. Baroody abandons the conventional 0-7-14 pH scale in favor of a scale he developed to measure alkaline-forming and acid-forming foods. Dr. Baroody's scale (pg. 38) ranges from 0.5 to 7.5. All foods below 4.0 are acid-forming and all foods above 4.0 are alkaline-forming.
The chart I refer to above is alone worth the price of the book. Depending on the readers religious and scientific convictions, the rest of the book may or may not be appreciated.
