Re: Can eating a lot of bases help you lose weight?

The short answer to this is no. I wish it were this easy!

Your body operates best within a very narrow blood pH level. If the pH of the blood gets too acidic or alkaline, coma or death can result. (Nutrition Concepts & Controversies, Sixth Edition; Sizer and Whitney, 1994, pgs 192, 270-271, 276, 278.)

This means that, just because you eat something that is acidic or basic, it likely won't stay that way. Through digestion, it may be metabolized so that it no longer has basic or acidic properties. Or, it may be linked with another compound while in the body so that its acidic or basic properties are masked.

So, just because a base can dissolve grease and fat outside the body, doesn't mean it can do that inside the body. Eating bases will have no effect on losing weight - eating fewer calories than you expend is the only way to lose weight.

Even though the answer to the question you asked is no, it was a great question because you thought beyond what you were told. Keep up that questioning - that is what helps us learn new things.

Thanks for the question.

Jill Irvin
Ohio State University