One misconception about cancer is that its cells are acidic and/or cancer thrives in acidic environments resulting from an acid-forming diet.
The alkaline diet supporters claim that by increasing the consumption of alkaline foods, the environment becomes more alkaline, resulting in a reduction of the risk of cancer, the suspension of the cancer cell growth or even the elimination of cancer cells.
The following are the three main reasons why this theory is incorrect:
- What we eat does not change the blood pH or extracellular fluid (read more..) and has nothing to do with the acidic environment around cancer cells. (1, 2, 3)
- Cancer cells have a neutral or slightly alkaline pH, but never acidic.
However, outside the cancer cells, the environment may be slightly acidic. The acidity in the cancer cell environment is caused by a homeostatic mechanism in which the cancer cells expel hydrogen ions and lactic acid to maintain a constant neutral or alkaline pH within the cells.
Therefore, cancer cells are actually causing the acidic environment around them. (4, 5)
- Cancer creates its own acidic environment in which it thrives. It’s rapidly multiplying cells increase glucose consumption, leading to an increased acid production.
This excess of acid is then exported outside the cancer cells in order to maintain a near neutral pH. Meanwhile, in this process, the cells become more resistant to acid-induced cell toxicity.
The increased acidic environment outside the cancer cells helps them to expand by invading other tissues not resistant to this acidic environment.
The microenvironment created by cancer cells has a reduced circulation making it difficult for the blood to influence its pH. (6, 7)
This biological fact is often omitted in the studies that try to prove that cancer is a result of the acidosis caused by diet.