The Rule of 80/20: The body needs a balance of alkaline-forming and acid-forming natural vegetarian food. The following rule has evolved as a consequence of many years of research and clinical findings vis-a-vis the use of nutrition to heal disease. To replenish and sustain your proper alkaline and acid reserves, eat 80% of your foods from the alkaline-forming list and 20% from the acid-forming list. The following is an outline of the major vegetarian food groups and their chemical reaction tendencies in the body. All of the food items should be raw and organically grown (this collection of data from Hippocrates Health Institute). source ALKALINE-FORMING sprouts of small seeds, beans and most grains leafy and root vegetables vine-ripened fruits/vegetables (cucumbers, squash, tomatoes, bell peppers, etc) sea vegetables (dulse, nori, wakame) fresh food herbs cayenne pepper garlic and onions tree-ripened fruits small grains (amaranth, millet, quinoa, teff, etc)