Acidic -or acidifying- foods are those that lower the pH of our body. However, find out what they are and what their health effects are.
In food, the pH of food is used as an indicator, in order to know its acid content, which tends to vary between 0 and 14. In this way, all that food or drink that has a pH value lower than 7 it is considered acidic or acidifying. In fact, the pH value is used in Chemistry as a measure of the degree of acidity or alkalinity of an element, which is normally evaluated in its liquid state.
But there is not only a pH of food. We also have our own pH: for example, we can mention the pH of the skin, or the pH of the blood (undoubtedly one of the best known is the pH of the urine, mainly because it is one of the basic parameters that is taken into account in routine blood tests).
What is an acidic or acidifying food and what does it consist of?
As with alkaline foods, whether a certain food is acidifying or alkalizing is determined by its mineral content, and especially by how these alter the pH of our body.
In fact, while our body has a neutral pH, which ranges between 7.35 and 7.45, there are certain minerals that lower the pH of our body (that is, they are acidifying), and others that increase it (that is, are alkalizing).
Effects of acidic foods on the body:
The truth is that alkalizing foods cannot be lacking in our daily diet, mainly because not only the consumption of acidic foods tends to reduce the average pH of the body. Also other habits such as overeating, and even healthy habits such as physical activity.
However, if our diet were only acidifying, and also unbalanced by a low intake of alkalizing foods, a metabolic acidosis would appear, which influences the appearance of premature aging.
Therefore, we must always bear in mind that there are no good or bad foods, since, like everything else, the main key is that there is a balance in our diet between alkalizing and acidifying foods, since both groups are very important for the proper functioning of our organism.
