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Fact Checked
The Dr. Sebi alkaline diet is a plant-based eating pattern that strongly emphasizes consuming alkaline foods and branded supplements. This diet might be suitable for individuals who are already adjusted to plant-based eating, but for people new to alkaline veganism, this eating plan may prove too expensive or limiting in terms of acceptable food choices and dietary rules.
The late Alfredo Bowman—who went by the nickname Dr. Sebi—created the Dr. Sebi alkaline diet. A self-educated herbalist, Bowman didn’t hold a Ph.D. nor was his M.D. title official. Sebi mainly claimed that diabetes, pneumonia and other diseases result from mucus buildup in the body.
He further argued that acidic bodies attract disease and that diseases don’t survive in alkaline environments. These ideologies are the foundation of the Dr. Sebi alkaline diet. In 1987, Sebi was sued for practicing medicine without a license, and in the 1990s, a consumer fraud lawsuit was filed against him for claims he made about his diet and lifestyle, including that it could cure AIDS, leukemia, sickle cell anemia and lupus.
In 2016, Sebi died while imprisoned in Honduras over money laundering accusations.
The Dr. Sebi alkaline diet promotes the consumption of plant-based, unprocessed foods and supplements. It’s intended to alkalize the body by reducing supposed “disease-causing mucus” so that your body is better equipped to increase its disease-protection barrier and flush toxic waste, according to its claims.
While some proponents of the diet suggest that it has significant health benefits that range from disease cures to weight loss, this diet lacks scientific evidence to validate these claims.
The “approved foods” list for the Dr. Sebi alkaline diet consists of alkaline-based fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, seeds and other plant-based foods that purportedly strengthen the cells (otherwise known as “cell food” by the brand). Additional diet rules, such as drinking a gallon of natural spring water daily and avoiding alcohol, serve as guidelines on how to navigate this eating pattern properly.
Approved foods include:
Additional diet rules are as follows:
According to recipes on the brand’s website, a Sebi-approved menu plan may look like:
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Dr. Sebi doesn’t sell branded meals or food items on its website, but it does sell supplement packages and individual teas online.
When it comes to the pricing of various supplement packages, they can range from $250 for a small package to $1,500 for an all-inclusive women’s package designed to provide “enhanced nutritional support for the brain, heart and delicate endocrine glands.”
It’s recommended that followers of the Dr. Sebi diet keep supplements on hand for as long as they adhere to the diet. The online shop’s prices are as follows:
The online shop offers payment plans if you prefer to pay for orders in installments. While the shop doesn’t offer shipping discounts, the company notes that local individuals can pick up their orders at its headquarters in Los Angeles.
The diet’s website features a disclaimer confirming that its health claims lack FDA approval. Furthermore, the company warns that it’s not staffed with medical doctors and users shouldn’t equate the site’s content with medical advice.
“While there are some health benefits to eating a plant-based diet, the Dr. Sebi diet is far more restrictive than a traditional vegan diet and is not healthy,” says Pittsburgh-based registered dietitian Liz Cook. “While traditional plant-based diets include beans, lentils and soy as protein sources, this alkaline diet forbids all of these items, leaving dieters very low on protein,” she adds.
While a plant-based diet has been shown to improve weight, energy metabolism and systemic inflammation in healthy participants and people living with obesity and type 2 diabetes, there’s no scientific consensus around the benefits of an alkaline-focused plant-based diet.
“This diet is extremely restrictive and may lead to nutrient deficiencies,” continues Cook. “More specifically, this diet forbids almost all protein sources—both plant- and animal-based—making it nearly impossible to get enough protein for optimal health. Additionally, with no animal sources at all, dieters are likely to become low in vitamin B12 as well.”
Due to the possibility of nutrient deficiencies and the diet’s restrictive nature, following it in the long term is risky, explains Cook. “Dr. Sebi claimed that to see the benefits of the diet, it must be followed forever, which is extremely unrealistic for most people.”
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I’ve tried following the Sebi diet plan, on and off, for a number of years. However, it doesn’t seem to be a realistic option for me to follow it perfectly, as I’m technically allergic to multiple foods that Sebi approves (including bell peppers, coconut oil, tomatoes, oranges and papayas). I also can’t see myself eliminating chicken and fish from my diet completely.
With that said, I do incorporate some Sebi-inspired dishes on a rotating menu. My household frequently begins the day with fruit-rich breakfast dishes, snacks on vegetables with hummus dip and eats dinner meals with quinoa and kale. These dishes work in favor of my weight management goals.
Recently, I ordered the Dr. Sebi branded herbal energy tea that comes in an 8-ounce plastic pouch. I purchased it online since I couldn’t pick it up in person, but the arrival of my product only took a few days. When I opened the box, I immediately noticed the tightly sealed and neatly packaged pouch.
I chose the herbal energy tea, which indicates muicle (also known as Justicia spicigera and Mexican honeysuckle), being the only ingredient, because it closely aligned with my health goals at the time.
The tea’s flavor was a bit intense initially (slightly bitter), but I did eventually get used to it. I followed the brand’s recommended instructions and added one tablespoon per two cups of distilled water and drank it twice daily for a few days. Even though a few days is a short period of time, I did notice that my energy levels seemed to shift in a positive direction.
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Johnaé De Felicis is a health writer and passionate wellpreneur. Her mission in life is to inspire others to lead happy, healthy and wholesome lives, and she covers a variety of topics that are centered around this goal. Johnaé’s work also appears in Healthline, Well+Good and Blue Zones.
Jessica is a writer and editor with over a decade of experience in both lifestyle and clinical health topics. Before Forbes Health, Jessica was an editor for Healthline Media, WW and PopSugar, as well as numerous health-related startups. When she isn’t writing or editing, Jessica can be found at the gym, listening to a health or true prime podcast, or spending time outside. She also really enjoys bread (even though she’s not supposed to eat it).
