Alkaline Diet for Degenerative Disc Disease

Degenerative disc disease is a spine disorder which occurs when the discs positioned in between your vertebrae begin to degenerate as you age. Degenerated discs can cause Lumbar spinal stenosis which is a constriction of the canal that holds your spinal cord and nerve roots; the disc can move forward out of the normal position and cause Spondylolisthesis, or the disc can move backward from normal positioning and cause Retrospondylolisthesis. All three conditions are characterized by intermittent pain and discomfort. An alkaline diet can help improve your health and diminish issues associated with degenerative disc disease.Alkaline Diet

An Alkaline Diet is used to counteract the back pain and bodily discomfort that accompanies the onset of degenerative disc disease. An Alkaline Diet is an eating plan that is the opposite of a low carbohydrate, high protein diet: the diet is used to establish the correct alkaline and acidic balances in the body to further promote your health and general well being.

Alkaline exists in your body naturally; its purpose is to act as an acidic neutralizer and to expel acids from the body. By consuming a diet that contains foods high in alkaline, your body is able to maintain bodily organs, and the nutrients you consume are not depleted. It is believed that low alkaline levels are responsible for the onset of chronic diseases, pain, bodily deficiencies, and inflammation, including conditions like degenerative disc disease.Acidosis

If alkaline levels are insufficient in your body, the body cannot properly neutralize acids and this can result in acidosis, which are excessive acid levels in your body. When you have too much acid in your body, the acid accumulates in your bodily tissues. The accumulation of acids in the body is believed to be responsible for illnesses and fatalities. The goal of the alkaline diet is to balance pH levels in the body, and achieve bodily well being.Alkaline vs. Acid Levels

Acid and alkaline exist in your body at all times, but the levels fluctuate based on the foods you consume. Your pH balance is a measurement of the level of acid and alkaline inside your body. When your levels are measured, a scale ranging from 0 to 14 is used to define your levels. Your pH measurement can be tested daily through the use of home test kits that contain a test strip that can be dipped in your urine. The strip reacts to the chemicals in your urine and indicate your pH levels by changing colors. You can compare the results to the color coded chart. A finding of 7 is a neutral pH measurement and this is the ideal balance to achieve. Anything higher than 7 indicates that you have too much alkaline in your system, and anything lower than 7 indicates that you have too much acid in your body.How Much Alkaline Containing Foods to Consume

In Restoring Your Digestive Health: How the Guts and Glory Program Can Transform Your Life, Jordan S. Rubin and Joseph Brasco assert that the acid alkaline diet is divided into two different categories; alkaline forming and acid forming foods, of which eighty percent of your diet should consist of alkaline foods and twenty percent of your diet should consist of acidic food selections. The authors further explain that the alkaline diet is based on the idea that human beings have evolved from an alkaline environment, the ocean, and that by not following a high alkaline diet we invite disease, metabolic issues, pain, arthritis, and back complications into our lives. Rubin and Brasco argue that the alkaline diet is not supported by scientific facts and the diet is primarily based on assumptions. Nevertheless, the diet remains a popular approach for people looking to diminish pain associated with chronic conditions like degenerative disc disease and other health complications.

High Alkaline containing foods include things like apples, apricots, asparagus, bananas, beets, berries, broccoli, cabbage, cantaloupe, celery, cherries, chicken, cucumbers, eggplant, eggs, ginseng tea, grapes, green tea, mushrooms, onions, parsnips, peaches, pears, peas, peppers, squash, watercress, whey protein, and yogurt, among many others. Meanwhile, foods high in acid content include things like alcohol, beans, beef, butter, cheese, corn, cranberries, lamb, milk, oils, pork, potatoes, rice, seafood, spaghetti, and turkey, among others.

REFERENCES:

Medtronic for information on Degenerative Disc Disease at:

http://wwwp.medtronic.com/Newsroom/LinkedItemDetails.do?itemId=1101769745199&itemType=fact_sheet〈=en_US.

Vitamins Diary.com for information on the Alkaline Diet at:

http://www.vitaminsdiary.com/nutrients/alkaline-diet.htm.

For information on the Alkaline Diet:

Restoring Your Digestive Health: How the Guts and Glory Program Can Transform Your Life; Jordan S. Rubin and Joseph Brasco; 2003.