The 27 Acidic Foods That Can Cause Inflammation

A cupcake or a lemon—which food do you think is more acidic? The answer may surprise you.

Certain foods create an acidic environment in your body. When we talk about a food and how “acidic” it is, we’re not talking about the taste. For example, lemons may taste acidic but when you eat them, they don’t create an acidic state in your body. So when we talk about acidic foods, we’re referring to the changes in the acidity levels within the body once that food is ingested.

This means that while a cupcake may not taste acidic or sour like a lemon, it does create an acid condition within the body—it’s an “acid-forming” food. And when there is a lot of acid-forming food in your diet, it can lead to many different forms of inflammation, including arthritis, acne, fatigue, bloated feeling, weight gain, and more.

Over time, highly acidic diets mean that the body has to work harder to neutralize its acidic state. Through your bloodstream, your kidneys, lungs, and other organs work hard to keep your PH balanced and keep your acid levels under control. When we ingest a high amount of “acid forming” foods, our bodies work to neutralize it with a system called “buffering.”

One of the ways your body neutralizes or “buffers” these acidic foods is by taking calcium and magnesium from your teeth, bones, or muscles—calcium and magnesium that your body already needs for other reasons. Could an overly acidic diet put undue burden on a body’s natural calcium sources?

Every food has a pH value—a special scale created to measure how acidic or alkaline a fluid or substance is. It ranges from 0 (most acidic) to 14 (most alkaline) with 7 being neutral. The more alkaline a food is, the more detoxing it is. Alkaline foods feed and regenerate the body instead of deplete it. In addition, they are packed with live nutrients that help detoxify the body. At NAVA, we believe that it is critical to minimize acid forming foods like dairy, sugar, glutens and red meats.  We emphasize the foods that are alkalizing, mostly fruits and vegetables.

• Fruits
• Vegetables
• Greens
• Avocado
• Beans
• Raw nuts
• Seaweed
• Vegetable juices
• Sprouts
• Miso
• Apple Cider Vinegar

In general, to avoid an acidic state within your body, avoid foods that contain sugar, artificial sweeteners, gluten, refined grains, or dairy. But here’s a list of 27 common but highly acidic and inflammatory foods you should definitely rule out!

1. French fries
2. Fried chicken
3. Potato chips
4. Pop Tarts
5. Red meat
6. Pancakes
7. Oatmeal
8. French toast
9. Crackers
10. Cookies
11. Candy
12. White potatoes
13. Most protein bars
14. Yogurt-covered nuts and fruits
15. Roasted nuts
16. Boxed cereals
17. Heated oils
18. White bread
19. Pizza
20. Corn chips
21. Margarine
22. Bottled fruit juices
23. Coffee
24. Most sports drinks
25. Beer
26. Soda
27. Diet Soda