Alkaline diets

One of the most common questions related to food and cancer survivorship relates to whether acidic foods increase cancer risk. Here's the research.

The Claim: Acidic foods can alter the body’s pH balance and promote cancer.

The unsubstantiated theory is based on lab studies that suggest cancer cells thrive in an acidic (low pH) environment, but cannot survive in alkaline (high pH) surroundings.

The Research: While these findings are accurate, they apply only to cells in an isolated lab setting. Altering the cell environment of the human body to create a less-acidic, less-cancer-friendly environment is virtually impossible.

While proponents of this myth argue that avoiding certain foods and eating others can change the body’s pH level, these claims stand in stark contrast to everything research shows about the chemistry of the human body.

Acid-base balance is tightly regulated by several mechanisms, among them kidney and respiratory functions.

Even slight changes to your body’s pH are life-threatening events. Patients with kidney disease and pulmonary dysfunction, for example, often rely on dialysis machines and mechanical ventilators (respectively) to avoid even small disruption of acid-base balance.

Home “test kits,” which measure the pH of urine, do not relay information about the body’s pH level. Foods, drinks and supplements will affect the acidity or alkalinity of urine, but it is the only fluid that is affected. In fact, excess acid or base is excreted in the urine to help maintain proper pH balance in the body.