The Acid-Alkaline Diet for Optimum Health: Restore Your Health by Creating Balance in Your Diet (Paperback)

~ Christopher Vasey N.D. (Author) "The importance of the body's acid-alkaline balance to overall health is being recognized by an increasing number of patients and therapists..." (more)
Key Phrases: metabolizing acids, alkaline supplements, acidifying foods, Alkalizing Slightly, Sanarter Basic (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Shows how a simple change in diet to restore the acid-alkaline balance can result in vast improvements of health."
(Celebrity, May 2004 )

"If you are plagued by any of the disorders or discomforts ranging from lack of energy to dry skin or from falling hair to arthritis. . . then you will want to dash to read The Acid-Alkaline Diet for Optimum Health at your first opportunity to learn all you can to improve your health."
(Linda Davis Kyle, The Midwest Book Review, Nov 2005 )

"I am happy to report that this book is certainly exhaustive in its approach and is, at the same time, very well-written and highly readable."
(Swamy Swarna, Swamy's Book Reviews )

"If you are looking for a simple plan for detoxification and rejuvenation, you will find this book very useful." (
Dhara Lemos, Lotus Guide magazine, Nov/Dec 08
)

Product Description

A practical diet plan for restoring the acid-alkaline balance your body needs to experience optimum health

• Explains how acidification of the body contributes to disorders such as chronic fatigue syndrome, eczema, and ulcers • Categorizes food according to its acidifying or alkalizing effect on the body, rather than by chemical composition • Contains food tables to help readers design the best diet for their health needs

To enjoy optimum health, our body needs balanced quantities of alkaline substances and acids. An imbalance can result in health problems ranging from minor skin irritations, chronic fatigue, back pain, and depression to arthritis, ulcers, and osteoporosis.

Most people consume an abundance of highly processed foods that acidify the body and, as a result, are afflicted with many of these ailments. Naturopath and detoxification expert Christopher Vasey shows how a simple change in diet to restore your acid-alkaline balance can result in a vast improvement in health.

Vasey provides easy test methods to determine your acid levels, how to interpret these test results, and ways to establish a proper diet to maximize your health. Rather than organizing alkaline and acid foods on the basis their chemical composition, Vasey categorizes foods based on their actual alkalizing or acidifying effect on the body so that you can design a diet best suited for your particular health needs. He goes further to explain how some foods, such as fruits, can have either an alkalizing or an acidifying effect, depending on who eats them, and how to use alkaline supplements to support your dietary needs.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Healing Arts Press (January 31, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0892810998
• ISBN-13: 978-0892810994
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #60,700 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

171 of 179 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good book on eliminating acids by alkalizing, February 23, 2005

By	An Avid Reader (San Diego, CA) - See all my reviews

This book is a great resource when it comes to eliminating acids (and their related adverse health effects) from your body.

Mr. Vasey starts the book with a quick review of the chemistry of acids and alkalines, what the pH does, and how the body reacts to over-acidifcation. His review is not as scientific or as thorough as that of San Whang in his book "Reverse Aging"... but it's sufficient to help you understand the rest of the book.

He then goes through a list of symptoms associated with over-acification so that you can identify if you are suffering from this problem. He does this better than many other authors... I specially like the table he gives about the pH measurements of urine and what they mean. He gives instruction for 6 "acid tests" you can perform at home to help you figure out whether you are suffering from over-acidifcation.

The rest of the book is dedicated to eliminating acidification through diet, supplementation, and non-pharmaceutical remedies.

In the diet section, he doest a good job of suggesting alkaline foods and _meals_ you can take instead of acidic ones. Like most other books, he also gives a nice list of foods and whether they are alkalizing, slightly acidifying, or highly acidifying.

The section on alkaline supplements is not really useful. It's not detailed enough, and he doesn't seem to make any clear recommendations for what kinds or which ones to use.

Finally, the section on drainin acids gives some good tips and techniques for removing acids through the lungs and skin.

What's sorely missing from this book is some practical, step-by-step instructions on what to do tomorrow to become more alkaline. Although he gives some very limited menu suggestions, he doesn't give you any recipes or instructions for recording your progress.

Out of all of the books I've read on this topic, I've only found one home study course that does that... [...]

Overall, if you already have a book with alkaline menus and day-to-day instructions, I would pick up this book or "Reverse Aging". Otherwise, I would pick up the home study course at AcidAlkalineDiet.com and "Reverse Aging" by Sang Whang.

58 of 58 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Invaluable for people with sensitive systems !, February 15, 2007

By	Dora - See all my reviews

I was diagnosed with chronic fatigue some years ago, and I have been suffering from bad digestive problems, insomnia and various other ailments for a long time.
This book has made a huge difference to my life. I came to it thinking I knew quite a lot about diet and nutrition, but it has opened my eyes. Most importantly, it has made me understand why some "healthy" foods that many nutritionists insist are "really good for you" make me feel unwell.
Of course asparagus, onions and garlic are "really good" for many people, but sadly they're not good for me. I feel unwell when I eat them, and Vasey is the first person who has given me an explanation that feels right: they are sulfurous vegetables, and sulfur being an acid, they can be hard to handle for a system that's become as weak and sensitized to acids as mine.
There were many other revelations. You come across so much conflicting advice, sometimes it's hard to know what to believe. Some people tell you to eat lots of fruit "because they're alkalizing". Others, like Young, tell you not to eat them "because of the sugar". Who do you believe ? Well, neither advice made sense to me because my own experience was different. How could fruit be alkalizing when I felt so unwell after eating most of them ? Yet how could it be because of the sugar since I was doing well on "sugary" bananas ?
Again, it is Vasey who has given me the answers: for some people fruit are alkalizing, for others they are acidifying. It depends on the person. Some people's systems aren't able to metabolize fruit acids, and therefore eating fruit can acidify them even more, but since the banana's acid content is too weak to cause acidification it is usually well tolerated by them. I believe Vasey is right because of personal experience. Tomatoes, too, make me feel unwell, and he confirms that they're very acidic. The list goes on.
In fact, this book has been one long confirmation of my "gut feeling". What a relief to finally find someone who's spelling out what my body has been telling me for years ! I just wish I'd listened to it sooner. Vasey is a godsend, and I believe he really knows what he's talking about.
So I'm puzzled by some of the other reviews here. One reader even claims that Vasey says soy is alkaline. Did we read the same book ? Vasey in fact says soy is a potent acidifier, it only becomes alkalizing if it is sprouted. It is Young who champions soy, not Vasey.

The supplement section in this book is indeed useless. The author is Swiss, and there is a tradition of taking alkalizing powders in continental Europe, where you can find them quite easily in the shops. It's not so easy here. I did try the mail order addresses mentioned, but the products didn't work for me. I even wonder how much Vasey actually had to do with the mail order addresses for the American edition of his book, as he would never have approved of some of the products on offer there. He would never have approved of a product that includes lots of phosphorus, for example, as it's simply too acidic for a sensitive system to cope with. So yes, this section is a weak point. It's not that big a deal, though. We have excellent calcium/magnesium citrate supplements in the shops here, and they do the trick for me.
It's also true that this book doesn't give you detailed eating plans and recipes the way some books do. What it does give you is a lot of invaluable information. Vasey understands that there will never be a "one size fits all" diet that works for everyone. Every'body' is different, and ultimately you have to find out for yourself what works for you. Nobody can do that for you.
Of course not everything in this book will be right for you, I don't eat dairy, for example. But Vasey has given me the information and confidence I needed to work out the right diet for ME.
The most important thing of all: listen to your body !

63 of 66 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars No Agenda, June 20, 2005

By	RS Joni "rsjoni" (Redwood Shores, CA) - See all my reviews

Finally, an author who simply does what he says he will do. Vasey does a great job presenting how to balance the pH of your blood - gives very practical instructions and then how to analyze the results of all testing. He doesn't seem to have an ulterior motive, like Young, to create vegetarians or raw food groupies. Vasey sticks to one single diet rather than adding an additional 5 - 10 diet plans as Kliment does in her book.

If you want to learn how to manage your blood's pH, then use this book.