Alkaline alkalizing green smoothies

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QuinnQuiver

Assistant Cook
Joined
Feb 18, 2013
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21
Location
Kenosha
So a lemon is a very acidic(pH 0-7) fruit but I heard that it is an alkalizing food...so when you digest it it's pH turns alkaline(ph 7-15)...is this correct? ....Lately have been drinking green smoothies(with kale and cucumber and spinach...super alkaline and alkalizing food) a lot more but I still get canker sores(from acidity) . I put a lot of lemon and lime in though because it makes the smoothies delicious(+mango/banana/kiwi/etc). So is like my stomach like super alkaline while my mouth is super acidic or something now? I use baking soda toothpaste. I put a lot of greens in my smoothies...how much does a few tablespoons of lemon and lime change the pH of a blender volume amount of green smoothie(with about a 1/3 water pH of 7 a 1/3 of greens(very alkaline) and a 1/3 of fruits(that may or may not be acid)+lemon/lime juice)
I would think they since there is a third of each that they would balance out around a pH of 7 but it doesn't seem so due to my canker sores.... I am searching the google for more info on green smoothie pH to be more scientific about this but I'd thought I'd post this here also just to see if I'd get any helpful info back.
 
Acid foods can cause canker sores (had to look this up - we call the little blighters "mouth ulcers"), but so can stress, injury, poor mouth hygiene (eg not brushing your teeth properly), a weakened immune system, gastro-intestinal disease or nutritional problems.

I have had gastric reflux disease for most of my life and also had mouth ulcers (sometimes multiple ones!). A few years back I went to the doctor about the GRD and was prescribed Lansoprazole which dealt with the GFD. I haven't had a mouth ulcer since.

When I did have mouth ulcers I tried every remedy known to man, from the home-made, such as rinsing with diluted hydrogen peroxide, salt, baking soda, etc., to over-the-counter remedies and nothing worked. Then I discovered the cure quite by accident. Don't sneer - it was honey applied onto the ulcer! It soothes the pain (and no-one who hasn't had one can have any concept of how painful mouth ulcers can be - I sometimes couldn't eat when I had them!), it cleans out the white gunk from the ulcer and it speeds up the healing. It really does work!

I'd suggest you visit your dentist as a sharp edge on a chipped tooth could be causing ulcers in your mouth and the dentist or the dental hygienist will also advise you on mouth hygiene.

A visit to your doctor to find out if there is any under-lying health problem would be useful. I know that visiting the doctor or the dentist in America is "a considered purchase" as they say on shopping television, and isn't to be undertaken lightly but in this case it could be worth the expense if it sorts out your problem. It isn't trivial if it's affecting your life to this extent.

In the mean time do try the honey. Any sort will do. It doesn't have to be the very expensive sort.
 
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Why would you want your body and esp stomach to be alkaline?
Your stomach should have a pH of around 4 or below to digest foods properly
 
Some information on having an alkaline diet versus an acid forming diet. https://nutritionfacts.org/topics/alkaline-diet/
Acid Base Balance: https://nutritionfacts.org/topics/acidbase-balance/
There are videos and podcasts on acid-alkaline in diets on nutritionfact.org with cited medical studies.

I heard a beekeeper that studies honey speak about how honey works when applied to the body. Honey which is low moisture, breaks down and produces hydrogen peroxide which aids in healing. Honey continues to be used for sores on the skin, or mouth with good results. (we happen to use it a lot)

I like having smoothies, green or red. More greens for me, is my aim. I try to keep them at 10 oz or smaller because they tend to be digested quickly spiking blood sugar. Having some whole grain toast, cereal, or beans along with it slows down the absorption. Rinse your mouth with water to neutralize the acids in your mouth.
 
i have heard that it is a bad idea to drink more greens than you would normally eat. your mouth is telling you something!
 
More acid vs alkaline diet nonsense.

Regardless of the food we eat, the food, referred to as chyme when entering the small intestines is rendered alkaline via the pancreatic duct (HCO3) which are basically bicarbonates which neutralize the stomach acid which raises the pH which allows for enzymes activity to occur and consequently the absorption of nutrients.

The body maintains a very tight control on how acid or alkaline the body is and regulates it between the tight parameters of 7.35 and 7.45 and if this move even one point, we die, plain and simple. Basically what we eat has no effect on this regulated balance.

As far as humans are concerned our stomach acid that breaks down food has a pH of
around 1.5, but can go as low as 1, very acidic and when compared to other animals we're on the same plane as vultures, bald eagles, lions and tigers which coincides with the evidence that we were scavenger originally and eventually hunters after a few million years of evolution when we started using tools and weapons. Plant eaters like chimps and other primates, cows, llamas and camels stomach pH is in and around the 6 or 7. Yeah, we are omnivores and not herbivores.

All of this information is easily available on line and I would suggest using "google scholar" as opposed to opinion pieces from dedicated websites that have agendas. :)
 
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I didn't even think about that. That's actually a really interesting topic. Thanks for bringing it up! I'm glad you mentioned it because now I'm curious to learn more.
 
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