A couple of weeks ago, someone contacted me and ordered ashitaba capsules. Within a few minutes, he cancelled the order after hearing from a doctor he knows that ashitaba may be bad for our body because it makes the stomach alkaline. This suppresses the acids that supposedly break down food for digestion. In essence, an alkaline stomach cannot digest food.
Many people may not be correctly informed on the issue. In this post, we will try to analyze the truth and science behind this and try to answer the question posted in the title. Feel free to share your own understanding or correct me if I get it wrong in the comments below for a healthy discussion.
Alkaline and Acid in the Stomach
Before anything else, let us lay down these facts:
- Our stomach is very acidic and the PH level is around 4. The amount and level of acid must remain adequate since this is necessary for proper digestion and assimilation of nutrients.
- As we consume food, bacterias and viruses along with the food are sent to our stomach. The primary gastric acid secreted by the
stomach known as hydrochloric acid (HCL) sterilizes the food
we eat and prevents harmful bacteria from entering the GI tract. - Carbon dioxide, water and sodium chloride or potassium chloride are the ingredients that make hydrochloric acid. HCL destroys the bacteria and parasites, helps in digestion and also absorbs protein.
Next, we ask:
- What happens when there is too much acid in the stomach? What causes too much acid?When you have too much stomach acid, you are likely to experience
abdominal discomfort, such as heartburn, indigestion and stomach pain. The cause mostly points to diet. If you eat too much acidic food like meat, dairy products, processed food and acidic beverages like soda and coffee, you will tend to have too much acid. Without an abundant reserve of alkaline minerals found mostly in fresh vegetables, the body’s buffering systems become compromised, hence acidity results. - What happens to alkaline when it is in the stomach, which is highly acidic?I’ve mentioned in the facts above that the stomach must be acid for proper digestion, right? So is taking alkaline food bad? Let’s insert ashitaba (Angelica keiskei), a high alkaline veggie, into the question: Is taking ashitaba bad and harmful for the stomach because it produces alkaline? The answer is no, and frankly, I’m quite surprised.
Apart from research via online articles, I got in contact with
other ashitaba suppliers and researchers to inquire about what they
think about alkaline being produced by ashitaba in our stomach. The following lists my interesting findings:
- When we eat alkaline food, the PH level inside the stomach goes up. This commands the stomach to secrete more hydrochloric acid to regulate the pH level as an instantly-as-needed basis (in other words, “bring back the pH level to 4”).
- The more alkaline in our stomach ingested by substances we take, the more HCL will be secreted to maintain the stomach pH value. This makes the stomach become acidic again (back to normal). This is because alkaline or acid produced by the body will have an equal and opposite acid or alkaline produced by the body; therefore, there is no net gain and it seems like this is never-ending.
Conclusion
To conclude, there’s really no problem in eating taking alkaline food such as ashitaba because pH level in our stomach always gets normalized by our own body. As long as you consume it at a reasonable amount and eat variety of food, everything will balance out. We also learned that appropriate stomach acid levels are crucial for our digestion, immune system and for adequate nutrient status.
If you want to read more about this topic, you can refer to the following links where explanations are less technical:
http://www.naturalhealthschool.com/acid-alkaline.html
http://primaldocs.com/opinion/the-truth-about-stomach-acid/
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1xGz6GiXPdBtCen0L0LehoexEDsMFMoffCKQ3RuqD5q4/edit?hl=en_GB
I’m thanking Mr. Jaime T. Licauco for bringing up the issue.
Get an additional 10% off your order of Kenko Ashitaba when we refer you.
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this is really an useful post,didn't have so much knowledge of all that,thanks for such an health conscious post.
You're welcome. It feels great to learn something new and also share learning to everyone.
yes,absolutely true.
So it's also important to take Ashitaba in our system to have just the right amount of Alkaline in our tummy.
Ashitaba helps but there are so much more vegetables and other food that belong in the same category. Too much acid is bad. Too much alkaline is also bad. Just get the right balance and your health will be fine. 🙂
I guess moderation is really important in balancing Alkaline in our system and it's also important to be aware of what foods brings in our system.
Yes, being aware is important. I bet only a few % of our population do research about food they intake before consuming them.
Yes, that's why there should be information drive on proper nutrition.
Agreed. In fact, I think in general, our diet lacks in alkaline food. That's why alkaline water is gaining popularity. But don't overdo it. Just get your body into the right balance.
Yeah. Many people seem to be choosing alkaline water over tap water, bottled spring water and even filtered water as these contain impurities.
Love this post ate! Super informative 🙂
Thanks, Rubbie. Hope you really learned from this post. 🙂
Wow! you're better than my bio professor dear!. The informations you shared really helps some of questions while reading this article. :))
Thanks, Michael. I guess I achieved my goal of not sounding too scientific.
any idea where I can get the ashitaba plant here in Manila?
Yup! Do you want it in pots? You can send me an email so I can send you the address.
Do you know where do get the seedlings of Ashitaba? or plants here in cdo? I would really want to have this plant. Thanks in advance
You can get it online from horizonherbs.com
I am planting ashitaba soon when I come home to CdO this march..my bf's mother gave it, she had a lot in cabadbaran city. I'm still checking if the one planted in Nazareth survived.
Im eating one now, mixed in my creamy avocado 🙂 slurpy
Nice! Good that you make the plant grow well. 🙂
Nice catch Mona! Watermelon is a low-acidic food that’s highly alnalike-forming when it enters the body, very similar to a lemon or lime. The ph chart on page one is sourced from a different website than the last two pages, hence the slight difference in information. And as stated in the 9 min short acid/alkaline video () even though blueberries, walnuts and almonds are acidic, we can still have a few each day without doing any harm to our bodies. Another example is I do a raw, vegan protein shake everyday (typically after drinking 24 ounces of my green juice). Because I keep my ph way over on the alnalike side of the scale, adding a few minor acidic items to the shake is really not worthy of any concern. I also have a few glasses of wine each week (my big cheat!) and I add acid neutralizing tablets to the wine when I do have it. Hope this helps!
Wow! This is the only site I heard about this plant/medicine. I am curious now – Carlo
Well, there's a number of sites also talking about ashitaba. You can also learn from them. 🙂
We actually have this at home. This is a miracle plant. It almost does everything to help our body.
It would be nice if you can share some testimonies on how this ashitaba plant has made improvement in your life. 😀
So that's about it! Very informative and I think my grandma has this not sure but will ask her later hi-hi. I believe herbal is more effective!
Thanks for sharing
Thanks, dear. 😀
Really helpful information about this newfound herbal plant. I know a few but this one I hadn't heard of before. I'm sure it will make the rounds in the herbal medicine shops soon.
Actually every time I visit a plant shop I ask about ashitaba and the owners keep on showing the gynura precumbens (local ashitaba). In your rounds, make sure that you're asking for the real ashitaba one.
Very informative post. I didn't know these things before but I know that alkaline is good for the body as told by my relatives who own a water station business and they have alkaline water to sell.
I hear a lot of good benefits of drinking alkaline water over mineral water or distilled water. Yup, it's good for the body.
i guess there is really no harmful things in life as long as we balance it out and don't take too much. WE should take note this seriously so we dont get any damage
That's right. Everyone should be noted.
Our body system needs some other nutrients to normalize it…and I think this is excellent one.
If you ever feel like being too acidic, ashitaba is worth trying.
I would love to recommend this to my father. He's complaining on stomach cramps and the like. I'm sure he would love to try this since he is eating ashitaba leaves every now and then.
Your father is commendable for taking raw ashitaba leaves. I can't stand the taste hehe.
Good share sis, I've heard that also when I was asked by a parent from my kids' school. They saw my daughter drinking ashitaba tea, and she tells me that it is not good because my daughter is still young and it's harmful. Well, now I know what to answer. Thanks for this.
Oh yeah, I also have an article that tackles about the effects of ashitaba on children. Short answer: it's safe because it's just like taking any other vegetables.
This is interesting. What would be the benefits of taking ashitaba tablets? Is it when one is not getting the right amounts of nutrients from diet? Take care, Gaynor Paynter http://www.typewritetranscription.blogspot.com
Hi Gaynor, thanks for dropping by. You can view the right portion of this blog for the links of benefits of taking ashitaba.
Everything must be taken in considerate amounts.. and I think there's no research yet that claims ashitabas to be dangerous..
Yup. I hope researches both in the Philippines and abroad would release more findings and studies about this plant.
i've never taken any of that lol
thanks for all the information! i'll consider if ever i take 'em
Whether or not you are sick, taking herbal supplements might be a good way of caring more about your health. Still it's good to consult a doctor before trying so.
love the information how safe that we can use ashitaba without damaging our stomack since it is a very sensitive thing for our health!
Yes, good to know. On the other hand, I'm also open to accept feedback from people who claim to experience negative effects because of ashitaba.
Love your posts! Really useful and interesting!
Thanks! Keep sending in comments so we'll try to learn from each other.
Great info! Thanks for sharing
Thanks and you're welcome!
This is good to know. We've been trying Ashitaba recently.
Wow. Feel free to post about results here.
Very informative post. Gained knowledge thanks for this! I should tell my friend who are acidic about this.
Good day!
Welcome. Have a great day and stay healthy. 🙂
I simply had to thank you very much yet again. I do not know the thgnis that I might have achieved without the entire opinions discussed by you relating to my theme. Entirely was a real depressing issue for me personally, however , seeing your specialised style you treated that took me to weep for fulfillment. I am grateful for the work and pray you really know what an amazing job that you are carrying out teaching people thru your web page. I am certain you’ve never got to know any of us.
i really want this , where can i buy i am acidic kasi i think this is very useful.
For starters, you may switch to drinking alkaline water instead of mineral or distilled.
Too much acidic stomach is not good as well as too much alkali. Being a medical pro I can totally relate that how informative and depth in article you'd created. Great share xx
Thanks. Too much acid in the stomach will cause heart burn, acid reflux, indigestion, irritable bowel syndrome, etc.
Thanks for sharing this one up – very informative. Being acidic is always something to talk about especially in using different products too
Learning about health is crucial for the youth of today. Blogs make it fun and easy.
Thank you so much for sharing this. very useful information about Ashitaba!
You're welcome. Feel free to browse through other articles to know more.
What an interesting facts about Ashitaba! It was introduced to me by my friend yesterday and I thought of searching it on Google and this is what i found. I got to learn more about this plant. Thank you. 🙂
You're welcome!
Great post, very informative! I'm learning so much about ashitaba in one go :D!
Thanks, Mindy! I hope you'll find out more about ashitaba as large plantations of this plant are in your country. 🙂
so the alkaline produces by Ashitaba trigger the stomach to produce more hydrochloric acid so as to maintain a balance acid level. Am I right ba, sis.
Yes, you're right. Our body always aims for balance naturally.
I really have less knowledge about this plant. Thanks for sharing more benefits of Ashitaba. I didn't know it's good for alkaline production in our tummies.
Yup. Welcome! 😀
That was a brief and insightful explanation of why Ashitaba is safe to intake. Sometimes people tend to judge quickly even before researching or knowing the facts.
Documentation of patent by US and studies from Japan all say it is safe and can be ingested like any other vegetable. Yeah, there are many readings that have been published out on the web. It's just a matter of knowing where to look and learning how to understand / digest more medical terms and put them as laymen terms.
Can anyone tell me where i can buy the real ashitaba seeds? I tried to search the web but not sure if its real or fake. The organic Angelica Keiskei. Thank you.
Strictly Medicinal Seeds sells angelica keiskei seeds.
yes, in my knowlegde about ashitaba , we have in japan. most of the old folks believes ashitaba is a very good herbal. we often eat ashitaba as vegie. they believe to cure a lot of illnesses in our body. imagine my inlaw died at the age of 94 years old. he is always had the ashitaba on the table. at least we eat 3x in a week on our meal. its really good.i plan to have a plantation soon here in the philippines . wish i can generate.
Love it!
Can we consume ashibata tea during medication
Yes, as long as your allowed to drink tea you should be fine with substituting ashitaba tea.