by Tyea Miller-Ruble
Some people believe that an alkaline diet can prevent cancer growth. Basically, an alkaline diet consists of eating mostly fruits and vegetables, which are alkaline foods, while avoiding foods like meat, eggs, bread, and dairy, which are considered acidic foods. The idea is that the food you eat will change the pH of your body, making it more alkaline rather than acidic, making it harder for cancer cells to grow. 1 A lot of you have probably seen something about this in the past year on the internet as there was a meme going around about it and also many people posting about how the alkaline diet would be the cure to cancer. Some people have even said that Otto Warburg, a Nobel Prize winner, had claimed in 1931 that an acidic body causes cancer. People are now saying that the cure for cancer has been right under our noses for over 85 years and that it’s being hidden from us by our government, scientists, and pharmacy companies. 2 The fact is though that none of these things are true.
After some research I was unable to find any real scientific evidence proving that the alkaline diet actually can cure cancer, rather I found several articles and many webpages of doctors and scientists explaining how an alkaline diet has not been found to be an effective cancer treatment. While an alkaline diet isn’t considered to be dangerous for your health it also won’t cure you or prevent you from getting cancer. The scientist, Otto Warburg, that many people credit with the discovery that an acidic body causes cancer actually never said any such thing, rather his research is being misinterpreted. Warburg won the Nobel Prize for his research on cell respiration, in that research he includes that he found that normal cells can become cancer cells when they are damaged and can no longer derive energy from respiration. 3 At no point does Warburg say that an acidic body is the cause of cancer nor is that what he won his Nobel Prize for but yet people continue to spread this false information.
One of the biggest problems with this idea of an alkaline body preventing cancer from growing is that you can’t change your blood pH with the food you eat. The pH of your urine may change based on what you’re eating but your lungs and kidneys keep your blood at a pH between 7.35 and 7.45. 1 A simple google search for “alkaline diet and cancer” brought me to a page filled with articles debunking the alkaline diet. Many of these articles just simply stated what I have above that you cannot change your blood pH with the foods you eat. One article examined studies done about whether the alkaline diet actually can treat cancer and if an acidic diet can cause it and they found that there is no evidence that proves this and also no evidence to disprove it. 4 With no actual studies proving that an alkaline diet can help to treat or prevent cancer, why are so many people promoting it as an option?
I believe that the reason this idea is becoming popular with people on the internet has to do with people not fact checking the information they are receiving and also people desperately wanting there to be a cure for cancer. Many people don’t look into what they read on the internet and assume if they read an article about something than it must be true, this is part of the reason we have fake news now. So, I’m sure many people say that a scientist with a Nobel Prize discovered a cure for cancer and they just believed it. I also know that watching someone struggle with cancer or experiencing it yourself is heartbreaking and knowing that we don’t have a cure for it can be frustrating. I think these leads people to see somewhere that there’s a cure and see people saying that it works and you just really want it to be true so you believe it. The problem with people spreading this information is that while an alkaline diet may not be hurting them and a healthier diet may even make them feel better, it’s still not doing what people are claiming it does and instead it’s giving people false hope.
Sources
- https://www.curetoday.com/publications/cure/2015/summer-2015/acid-test
- https://www.wellmindness.com/nobel-prize-winner-says-acidic-body-causes-cancer/
- https://www.snopes.com/everyone-who-has-cancer-has-a-ph-that-is-too-acidic/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4916623/
I think it was important that you talked about people recently supporting the alkaline diet because people don’t usually fact check what they read on the internet and that many people are also desperate to find a cure for cancer they are willing to believe anything. I think this relates to Psychic Medium-ship because people if they want to believe something so much and have faith in something they are willing to believe anything that’s clear and makes sense.
I was definitely glad I got to read your post because this is something I have never learned about and I was interested to read more about this. I certainly see why people believe this – especially since cancer inflicts so many of those we love. I also liked reading about the lack of research evidence, which shows that this is not supported. I also was not shocked that Otto’s research results were misinterpreted, which seems to happen often.
It’s interesting how different diets and fads come to fruition, especially on the internet. What’s really concerning is how quickly people are to adopt completely new diets based on very little evidence of how effective they are and sometimes they end up hurting rather than helping their bodies. I think your post makes great points into why people do believe these diets, especially because the uncertainty of cancer is scary as more people we know get diagnosed.
I agree with you! It is so crazy how quickly people will change their diet to something so drastic that is only claimed to work. People should fact-check even if it isn’t necessarily hurting them. In the end, its disappointing if something doesn’t work so make sure it’s supposed to before you get your hopes up!
I totally agree. I’ve known people who pick up trendy diets online that have actually caused them to gain weight simply because the diet was nowhere scientific and didn’t have any evidence of its effectiveness. As much of a desire weight loss has on people, it’s not worth trying certain diets that don’t make sense nutritionally or scientifically.
i definitely agree! It is scary and sad to think that people are willing to change everything about their diet, lifestyle, etc just because they hear it will work. It is definitely important for people to take the time and proper research about what they are putting into their bodies, treating their bodies, or stripping their bodies from.
Hey Tyea,
I have done a form of the alkaline diet before! Not to prevent cancer, just to lose some weight. Are people explicitly stating it is a cure to cancer? If so, which type? Or are they just saying that there is a correlation between the diet and the chances of getting cancer?
Tyea, I really liked your topic for the blog as it was very different from other topics! It is interesting to look back and be reminded over the years how it has drastically inclined in people saying, “oh that causes cancer”. I feel like now, anything, used in a certain aspect, can cause cancer. People read one thing and will automatically believe what it says and drastically change their lifestyle because of it.
My question is: if it was such an easy fix, why would cancer still be taking the lives of so many? I think to trivialize the curing of a disease that touches so many is insensitive. Also, the danger here is for people who are fighting cancer or have family fighting cancer, they are vulnerable, scared and desperate. If they adapt this belief, they might spend time seeking a false treatment and wasting time they could be using to actually seek scientifically proven treatments.
There are so many things that cause cancer. It seems like every day there are reports of different things being found to cause cancer. If this was the solution, I think a whole bunch more people would be using it and doctors would be recommending it.
I had not heard of this diet before, but in theory it totally makes sense. High alkalinity in the body may prevent cancer cells from growing, and fruits and vegetables are good for you anyway. I find it hilarious however, that studies of the alkaline diet both show that it doesn’t cure cancer, and people still seem to think their diet is the reason they don’t have cancer. This entire diet theory seems to be based on misinterpreted research, I’m not sure why people believe it works.