Health Notes

Hutt News, Volume 16, Issue 42, 14 April 1943, Page 4

Health Notes

By H. K. & D. W. Adamsim (Osteopaths).

What are (he main acid forming foods and is there any rule or guide by which Ihey may be recognised.' asks a reader oL' these Notes. Beyoncl the possession ot a knowledge ol' food values, there is no guide by which the layman may detect the presence of acid forming properties in a food. They can only be detected by the processes of chemical analysis of food, or as a result of thai influence 011 the fluids and tissues of the body, again by laboratory methods. Many people still adhere to the belief that the taste or flavour of a food decides the question, but this is going to the extreme in fallacies. Taste is 110 criterion whatever, as, for instance, how could one associate the alkalinity of a fruit such as the lemon with that of its decidedly acid flavour.' The acid flavour ol the lemon is due to the presence of citric acid, but citric acid is readily oxidised in the blood and leaves on insoluble residues to float around in the fluids of the body or to lodge in the joints and other crevices to cause rheumatism for instance. Oi the mineral salts in the lemon, calcium and others of the alkaline group preponderate and thereby greatly add to the other valuable properties of this nutritious fruit. foods are acid forming only in relation to the quantity of acid residues Ihey leave behind tlieni after being" assimilated. or consumed. Taste has 110 bearing on the question at all. Meat and all other flesh foods are acid forming, not only because they contain a decided preponderance of acid forming elements, but also because of the formation of uric acid which occurs as a result of the changes through which the portein passes before its final assimilation by the tissues of the body. Refined white sugar is acid forming because it contains 110 mineral elements of any kind let alone those of an alkaline nature. But in the ultimate consumption, or oxidation, of sugar, acid waste products are formed, and expelled by the lungs in the form of carbonic acid gas. White Hour bread and everything made from white Hour are highly acid forming because of the presence of excessive amounts of phosporic and similar acids White (lour products include biscuits, cakes and pastry, macaroni, pie crusts, puddings. etc, and in addition to the presence of excessive amounts of acid substances, their waste products are all highly acid. The meats, white Hour products and refined sugars are the main acid forming foods, but there are many others which if consumed to a much lesser extent than the staple foods, are nevertheless responsible for much acidity trouble because of the potency of their acid residues and substances. These include pepper, oysters, sweetbreads, spirits and other fermented drinks, tea, coffee, cocoa and to a lesser extent ruhbarb.