The Alkaline Food Story

An alkaline (oxygen-rich) food program focuses on eating foods that help keep the body’s pH more alkaline. This is especially helpful for cancer patients because cancer struggles to grow in an oxygen-rich, alkaline environment. One way to support alkalinity in the body is through the foods you eat.

The ReachVitality Lifestyle Medicine food program focuses on alkaline foods, while limiting (not eliminating) acidic foods.

The easiest way to track your body’s pH is by testing your urine a few times a week. Regular testing shows if your plan is working and also provides insight in case you need to make changes.

The goal is to have an average urine pH of 6.4-6.8.

With my own cancer journey, testing helped keep me informed, and accountable. Whenever my pH consistently fell below 6.4, I saw cancer growth. Notably, I’ve experienced tumor stability—and even shrinkage—when maintaining an average pH of 6.4 or higher, 85% of the time.

These strips provide a powerful window into your body’s internal environment—revealing whether it’s more likely to support healing or allow cancer to grow.

A persistently low pH (acidic) may signal that the body is under metabolic stress, which is common during cancer and treatment. This is why an integrated approach (managing the 6 Pillars together) is very important.

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1. Test your first urine in the morning (usually after 6AM) by urinating in a small container
2. Test on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday
3. Calculate the average of the 3 days (add the amounts together and divide by 3)
4. A healthy range of pH should be 6.4-6.8
5. If your pH is below these amounts, your body is acidic

If you find you are below 6.4, look back at your food log for the past 2 days and try to find out where you may have been consuming more acidic foods than alkaline. It’s possible that some minor adjustments will make a big difference. Also check to make sure you are on track with your supplementation.

If you look at your food log and you realize your alkaline/acid food balance and supplementation were on track, perhaps there’s another area in your life that you need to focus on to help achieve body alkalinity. This is where managing the 6 Pillars of Lifestyle Medicine together become relevant.

We’ve discussed the importance of alkaline body chemistry – it’s amazing cancer-fighting properties and creation of chemistry unfavorable to cancer growth. With that in mind you might think “Wouldn’t it be best to just consume alkaline foods?” Part of the answer to that question is yes, but it’s critical to also eat acidic foods, too.

• Energy (calories): to power every function, from movement to cell repair
• Macronutrients: proteins (for building and repair), fats (for energy storage and hormones), and carbohydrates (for quick energy)
• Micronutrients: vitamins & minerals that regulate metabolism, immunity, & organ function
• Phytonutrients & antioxidants: compounds from plants that protect cells from damage
• Hydration & fiber: supporting digestion, circulation, and detoxification

Hence, we need both alkaline and acidic foods in our diet. Here lies the balancing act. You want the majority of your diet to be alkaline-forming foods (fruits, vegetables, plant-based proteins), with fewer acid-forming foods (processed foods, refined sugars, excess meats). The formula is 4 alkaline foods for every 1 acidic food, and the goal is to eat between 10-14 alkaline foods per day.

When at all possible, seek out organic, sustainably-raised or wild-caught food. Basically what this means is whatever your food is given to eat, those ingredients eventually end up in your body.

Consuming fruits and vegetables from regenerative/sustainable and organic farms, wild caught fish, no-corn fed and free range animals are your best choices when you are fighting cancer. Reason being - less chemical and inflammatory load on your cells and immune system, so they can keep performing optimally.

In the next chapters, we’ll explore specific food categories and which foods within each category are best suited for cancer prevention and treatment.