List of pH values of common foods

[CptNemo]

This is a link to a very long list.
It has been reposted more than once,but quite a few people are interested in the acid levels of their food.

http://www.addforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=49235

It relates to this recent thread:

http://www.addforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=75220

Now would be a good time for Barliman,Diz, McTavish to show up.

[Brookeslost]

It is a long list but look for the foods you eat most....and try and find ones further down to eat instead its a bit easier! I now know why my adderall wasnt working well yesterday Dt MT Dew is like liquid citric acid! lol Does taking tums do anything for any of this..... lets say taking some tums before u eat or drink? Or b4 u take our meds? just curious

[CptNemo]

That's a good question,and yes it does effect the strength.See below.I'm not sure how an average person would be able to compensate at the proper ratio!

This is a part of the 2nd link I provided above,which is what the makers of Adderall say:


Drug Interactions: Acidifying agents—Gastrointestinal acidifying agents
(guanethidine, reserpine, glutamic acid HCI, ascorbic acid, etc.) lower
absorption of amphetamines.

Urinary acidifying agents—These agents (ammonium chloride, sodium acid
phosphate, etc.) increase the concentration of the ionized species of the
amphetamine molecule, thereby increasing urinary excretion. Both groups of
agents lower blood levels and efficacy of amphetamines.
Adrenergic blockers—Adrenergic blockers are inhibited by amphetamines.
Alkalinizing agents—Gastrointestinal alkalinizing agents (sodium bicarbonate,
etc.) increase absorption of amphetamines. Co-administration of ADDERALL
XR® and gastrointestinal alkalinizing agents, such as antacids, should be
avoided.

[Shmeepod]

I'm a little confused. Is there really any good evidence that avoiding acidic foods will make your medication work better? (and by good evidence, I mean scientific, not anecdotal).

Most drug absorption takes place in the small intestine by passive non-ionic diffusion. The pH of the intestine relative to the pKa of the drug could, in theory I guess, influence the equilibrium of the ionic to non-ionic form of the drug, which would affect its absorption. However, your stomach and small intestine have, over many millions of years of evolution, become very good at regulating their own pH so that you drinking a glass of OJ will not have a dramatic effect on altering the normal pH of your stomach, intestine or other parts of your body.

Your small intestine secretes a very alkaline substance that helps to neutralize the acidity of gastric juices from the stomach. The acid from secreted by your stomach is far more formidable than a glass of sprite or an orange, so if your intestine can handle that and maintain a relatively stable pH, I don't think what you eat is going to have that much of an effect on your intestinal pH.

There is evidence, however, that one particular acidic food can affect drug absorption and that is grapefruit. And that isn't because it is acidic, it is because of a particular enzyme that it contains.

Avoiding acid is probably good if you suffer from upper GI ulcers, but I'm skeptical that it would offer any benefit in drug absorption.

[CptNemo]

Originally Posted by Shmeepod

I'm a little confused. Is there really any good evidence that avoiding acidic foods will make your medication work better? (and by good evidence, I mean scientific, not anecdotal).

If you're just a little confused,then you're doing better that me.

This has been a topic of interest,and my sole purpose was two-fold:

1) To link to what I found to be a useful list of common foods and their associated pH values,for folks who are interested in this concern.

2) To show an excerpt of the exact information provided by Shire,regarding *their* product,Adderall XR,that I felt was related to this topic.

As I said above,I would really like to hear what knowledgeable members have to say,as I hinted with a few of the member's that always are somehow able to explain this kind of stuff in a way I understand,and in a seemingly neutral manner.

I have no intrinsic knowledge regarding this area,and in contrast have proven my ability to just muddle a meaningful answer.

[KMiller]

Originally Posted by Shmeepod

I'm a little confused. Is there really any good evidence that avoiding acidic foods will make your medication work better? (and by good evidence, I mean scientific, not anecdotal).

I think the idea that acidity interrupts the normal function of Adderall comes from this blurb in the Prescribing Information:

Originally Posted by Adderall XR Prescribing Information

Drug Interactions:
Acidifying agents—Gastrointestinal acidifying agents (guanethidine, reserpine, glutamic acid HCI, ascorbic acid, etc.) lower absorption of amphetamines.
Urinary acidifying agents—These agents (ammonium chloride, sodium acid phosphate, etc.) increase the concentration of the ionized species of the amphetamine molecule, thereby increasing urinary excretion. Both groups of agents lower blood levels and efficacy of amphetamines.

There are elements of glutamic acid, ascorbic acid, sodium phosphate, and so on in many foods. I don't know to what degree the quantities found in foods would influence gastrointestinal pH, as like you've said, the GI tract is very good at removing acidity.


Urinary pH, however, is known to affect excretion of Adderall and thereby influence bioavailability over time.

Originally Posted by Adderall XR Prescribing Information

With normal urine pHs approximately half of an administered dose of amphetamine is recoverable in urine as derivatives of alpha-hydroxy-amphetamine and approximately another 30%-40% of the dose is recoverable in urine as amphetamine itself. Since amphetamine has a pKa of 9.9, urinary recovery of amphetamine is highly dependent on pH and urine flow rates. Alkaline urine pHs result in less ionization and reduced renal elimination, and acidic pHs andhigh flow rates result in increased renal elimination with clearances greater than glomerular filtration rates, indicating the involvement of active secretion. Urinary recovery of amphetamine has been reported to range from 1% to 75%, depending on urinary pH, with the remaining fraction of the dose hepatically metabolized. Consequently, both hepatic and renal dysfunction have the potential to inhibit the elimination of amphetamine and result in prolonged exposures. In addition, drugs that effect urinary pH are known to alter the elimination of amphetamine, and any decrease in amphetamine’s metabolism that might occur due to drug interactions or genetic polymorphisms is more likely to be clinically significant when renal elimination is decreased, (See PRECAUTIONS).

Again, though, I don't think people get how little, if at all, their food is going to influence urinary pH. This is mainly a concern for people who have dysfunctional kidneys.




However, it is well established that antacids and other alkalinizing agents such as protein pump inhibitors decrease excretion and potentiate amphetamines.

Originally Posted by Adderall XR Prescribing Information

Alkalinizing agents—Gastrointestinal alkalinizing agents (sodium bicarbonate, etc.) increase absorption of amphetamines. Co-administration of ADDERALL XR® and gastrointestinal alkalinizing agents, such as antacids, should be
avoided. Urinary alkalinizing agents (acetazolamide, some thiazides) increase the concentration of the non-ionized species of the amphetamine molecule, thereby decreasing urinary excretion. Both groups of agents increase blood levels and therefore potentiate the actions of amphetamines.
Proton Pump Inhibitors – act on proton pumps by blocking acid production thereby reducing gastric acidity. In the presence of a proton pump inhibitor, the median Tmax of ADDERALL XR was shortened from 5 hours to 2.75 hours. Therefore, co-administration of ADDERALL XR and proton pump inhibitors should be avoided.

So you should stay away from Tums or Prilosec.




References

Shire Pharmaceuticals. (2009). Adderall XR capsules. Retrieved from http://www.adderallxr.com/pdf/AXR_FPI.pdf

[Infinity]

Originally Posted by CptNemo

This is a link to a very long list.
It has been reposted more than once,but quite a few people are interested in the acid levels of their food.

http://www.addforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=49235

It relates to this recent thread:

http://www.addforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=75220

Now would be a good time for Barliman,Diz, McTavish to show up.

Hi Captain,

I was reading the other thread last night . Copied the list for my cancer group and got a ah ah NAH!

something about some foods after injested become alakline .

for example . corn is listed as very alkaline . yet on lists corn is listed as aciid forming. Same for eggs whites . they are concidered acid forming food.


vinegar is highly acidic but in the stomach it turns alkaline

I'm real confused as to what to eat to achiev alkalinity.

I'm between 5 and 6 with a wee test. I can't get to seven .




Have you tried the link in the first post from options guy?



its are no longer available.

also check out this statement in the second link were it says that some foods that are alkaline become acidic after they are injested making the body more ....."alkaline" and its counter intuitive.



I belive that has to be a typo. they meant to say more acid.


Im not intrested in this for better drug assimilataion . Im intrested in it for cancer and over all health.




Infinity~

[CptNemo]

Originally Posted by Infinity

something about some foods after injested become alakline .

for example . corn is listed as very alkaline . yet on lists corn is listed as aciid forming. Same for eggs whites . they are concidered acid forming food.

Remember,I only put this up,hoping for experts to show up.
I think I can help,though. In reverse order.

I posted this link:
http://www.addforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=49235

There is a list of acidic foods,on the #8 post.

Remember that a neutral pH is considered to be '7'.

The ones at the bottom of the list are the most neutral.

====================================

This thread was posted by Josh Kelly
http://www.addforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=75220

I think you misread it,like I did.
Even after I read it properly,it is still confusing!

So here's my take:

That chart is showing alkaline foods,and acidic foods.

This represents those foods *after* they have been metabolized,and are 'hanging out' in the small intestine.

*Not* what they are,when they first enter and hang out in the stomach for 30 minutes or whatever(?).

Almost all the posts,and concerns,have been about your meds hanging out in the stomach,and causing a reduced effect there.

I think this thread from Josh was the first one I have seen,addressing the effects on meds with regards to the pH in the *lower intestine*.

This was new to me,but it seems that the bioavailability in the urinary tract is pH related.
It is common to get a higher bioavailability within an alkaline solution,but I never knew it had any importance by the time it got this far.

KMiller addresses it right above you ^^^:
"Urinary pH, however, is known to affect excretion of Adderall and thereby influence bioavailability over time."



KMiller says that the urinary pH is of little importance for people with a healthy digestion system which is saying that this chart with the alkaline and acidic foods is of little importance.

I think some people will disagree with KMiller,and I'm getting my popcorn ready!

If I have made any mistakes,or misrepresented anyone *please* sound off.
This only my understanding,which you *really* shouldn't pay attention to.

[KMiller]

All I'm saying is that urinary pH isn't going to vary very much in a healthy individual - it is usually neutral with a .5 variation either way. It can be made more acidic by various health conditions such as acidosis or diabetes, but not by things like drinking lemonade.