Comment by UniverseHacker
3 months ago
Exactly- this is based on how it alters urine pH, and there is a whole alternative medicine thing around assuming this is extremely important- but the entire idea seems unconvincing to me. Both stomach and blood pH are carefully regulated by feedback control and don’t themselves change much based on foods.
It is extreemly important because it is easy to measure and varies wildly based on concious decisions: things that make it easier to sell the snake oil. Blood pressure is another. Many a "tonic" of flavored alcohol seemingly cured symptoms of high blood pressure... long enough to make the sale.
I can see why the directly observable effect could help here, but what are these “alkaline diet” people selling exactly? I’ve mostly seen it just from individuals giving me unsolicited health advice. Also are these people really measuring the pH of their urine?