The Alkaline Diet: Effective for Hurdlers?
by Melinda Burris

Yes, there is yet another diet, and it’s inevitable that it must be discussed. There are so many diets that trend for a while and then, as quickly as they come into fashion, are replaced by the newest “incredible discovery.” With all diets, opinions vary about the benefits versus the drawbacks, and this diet is no different; there are opposing views on its efficiency in general and for hurdlers and high-intensity athletes in particular.

This article discusses the history of the alkaline diet and what science has been able to prove, as well as the questions and outright myths that continue to surround this nutritional approach.

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What Is the Alkaline Diet?

“The alkaline diet is a group of diets based on a discredited notion that the body pH balance can be affected by food, which is not the case physiologically,” according to Erika Zoellner, a senior registered dietitian at Baylor College of Medicine. She continues, “The food you consume does not affect the pH level of your blood.”¹

Zoellner explains that the alkaline diet’s primary focus is choosing foods that are not acidic. Those who follow the diet are driven by a conviction that foods with high acidic levels can lead to low bone density, increased risks for cancer and other diseases, and a higher propensity for inflammation.¹

Despite extensive scientific research and studies, it is important to note that none of the above claims have been proven.¹

Foods Recommended for Those on the Alkaline Diet

The alkaline diet is high in consumption of certain fruits, legumes, and vegetables (particularly sea vegetables). Other approved dietary choices include dishes made with leafy greens, soy, and tofu. Dieters are strongly encouraged to avoid dairy products, including eggs, fish, meat, wheat, yeast, grain-based products, alcoholic beverages, coffee, and processed foods. Seeds and nuts are also prohibited.¹

Trying to follow an alkaline diet can be frustrating. Zoellner points out that there is no one alkaline diet; as if that weren’t challenging enough, she further explains, “There is no specific ratio set for alkaline to acidic food intake. You can see a variation of alkaline diets that recommend 80/20 (alkaline: acid) or 60/40.”¹ On top of that, there are diverse strategies for following the alkaline diet, as some variations are designed to be a short-term cleanse, while others are meant to be a long-term dietary approach, with different alkaline to acid proportion expectations depending on which version you are trying to implement into your dietary regimen.¹

The Calcium Component

One thing to be cautious of when considering the alkaline diet is that the foods it allows are low in calcium; in fact, individuals on the alkaline diet often develop a calcium deficiency, which can have adverse impacts on your bone health and can cause you to be more susceptible to osteoporosis.¹ If you have arthritis or osteoporosis, it is not advisable for you to try this diet, as doing so can cause your existing condition to worsen.

Research studies have investigated the average calcium ingestion of a person following this diet and found that it is generally around 550 mg, approximately half of what the body needs daily.¹

Is the Alkaline Diet Beneficial for Hurdlers and Other High-Intensity Athletes?

This is the heart of the question for hurdlers and other track athletes: Will the alkaline diet work for me? This is not surprising as all competitive athletes are always looking for something else they can do to give themselves an edge, something that will take their natural skills and training to the next level.

This is where discussion of the alkaline diet can get murky because there are positive aspects of this diet, such as:

• It encourages drinking lots of water.¹ This is vital because dehydration is a common concern among athletes.
• The diet also promotes eating lots of fruits and vegetables — fresh foods versus processed ones.¹
• Followers are encouraged to avoid added sugars, meat, and alcohol, steps that have been proven to enhance overall health, but, and this is an essential point, removing these items from your nutritional intake and the positives that can result from doing so, have no proven relationship to the level of alkalinity or pH in your bloodstream.¹ To put it simply, if a diet encourages eating habits that benefit your health, you will most likely see positive results. However, that does not mean the underlying theory that maintaining a low pH blood level is good for you.

Zoellner cautions, “An athlete or someone who exercises frequently at a moderate or high intensity should avoid this diet because their carbohydrate consumption may be too low with the avoidance of grains.” The Registered Dietitian goes on to state that, given athletes’ need for a diet high in carbohydrates, attempting to follow the alkaline diet can be extremely difficult as it severely restricts common sources of carbs. In short, rather than enhancing physical abilities, trying to adhere to this diet can have the opposite effect, making it difficult for the athlete to maintain their current muscle mass and level of performance.¹

The History of the Alkaline Diet

Even though it is trending now, the alkaline diet, like most diets, is nothing new. Registered Dietician Matthew Kadey points out, “It’s been around for many years now (the backbone of the diet may have started in the mid-1800s with the ‘dietary ash hypothesis’), but became more mainstream as celebrities began touting the positive results they experienced by keeping their acid levels in check.”² It’s no secret that in our society, celebrities are often mimicked by the general population in an attempt to look the way they do or achieve the same results.

Several athletes, as mentioned earlier, always looking for ways to improve their physical prowess, have jumped on the bandwagon, giving the diet a try to see if claims commonly made by its supporters, such as it improves health, can give you added protection against developing severe health conditions, and of course, provide an additional athletic edge.²

Interestingly, what we know as the alkaline diet was first developed in an attempt by researchers in the early 1900s to find a way to treat conditions, including kidney stones and urinary tract infections (UTIs). It was thought that lowering the acidic levels of urine would help combat these ailments. This early version of the diet fell out of favor, according to Zoellner, for two significant reasons: new drug therapies were being developed and used with success, and the dietary approach was shown to be wanting due to the “high variability of the effect of food on urinary pH.”¹

To those who may be thinking of giving credence to claims put forth by promoters of the alkaline diet that, in addition to improving overall health, this nutritional regimen can help individuals lose body fat and shorten recovery times for athletes, Kadey’s response is blunt: “To be frank, don’t bother. And please stop wasting your money on bottled alkaline water.”² He continues by remarking that “to say there’s a lack of quality research backing the main principles of the alkaline diet is an understatement — and for some athletes, the approach may come with setbacks in health and performance.”² Experts agree that the claimed benefits of this diet are far exceeded by the risks such as calcium deficiency and for physically active individuals, the struggle to meet the protein and carb nutritional requirements for a body you are asking to rise to peak performance demands consistently.

Experts also express concern that such a restrictive diet can lead to the development of a long-lasting and detrimental relationship with food.²  For athletes, this lack of adequate nutritional support often manifests as relative energy deficiency in sport (REDs). This occurs when physically active people’s food intake does not provide the fuel necessary to meet the demands of their training and competition. It is a serious disorder that can have lasting adverse effects both physically and mentally.

References:

1. Baylor College of Medicine. (28 February 2022). Debating Diets: What Is the Alkaline Diet?
2. Kadey, M. (13 April 2022). Is the Alkaline Diet Good for Athletes?

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