ALTERNATIVES

An acidic diet can lead to type 2 diabetes and a host of other health problems, says author and health coach Ross Bridgeford. Here’s how an alkaline approach to eating can transform your health

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) affects millions of people worldwide. In the US alone, over 38 million people have a type 2 diabetes diagnosis, and it’s estimated that a further 97 million people have prediabetes.1 Unmanaged, it can have devastating consequences, including kidney failure, vision loss, amputations, nerve damage and even ultimately death.

It’s one of the most common “foundational diseases” that dramatically increases the risk of a host of other serious conditions. Several studies have shown that following a T2D diagnosis, all cause mortality risk increases by up to 3.4 times, and atherosclerosis and cancer are far more likely. In fact, Alzheimer’s disease, kidney disease, nerve damage, eye damage and mental health can all worsen with T2D.

But T2D is completely reversible with diet and lifestyle changes. When you follow an alkaline diet, you can reverse T2D, get off insulin and receive a whole host of other benefits along the way.

T2D and DIA

Diet-induced acidosis (DIA) is eating and drinking in a way that puts the body into an acidic state (see box, page 55).

T2D occurs when the body produces insufficient insulin or fails to use it effectively. As a result, glucose levels remain abnormally high in the bloodstream and can lead to serious damage to blood vessels, nerves and immune system.