Acidosis Revisited

[Guest guest]

Awhile back we had a discussion of the acidosis

and " acid food " theory. Well, actually it has come

up a few times. My comment at the time was that

I don't think the blood actually GOES acid plus

the studies didn't seem very scientific. But the whole

issue of " buffering " uric acid when when you eat

meat (i.e. does meat rob calcium from your bones?)

also keeps coming up.

Anyway, I read a good summary of this lately on

Mercola's site for those that are interested. They

measure the " potential renal acid load " of foods,

which just so happens to correlate to the vegetarian's

" acid food " list. But they are NOT anti-meat -- the idea

is that if you eat protein, you need a source of potassium

calcium or magnesium to buffer it.

Also, in the same article on the FIRST page, there

is a good discussion of ketosis/low carb.

-- Heidi

http://www.mercola.com/article/Diet/carbohydrates/scientific_evidence_low_grains\

2.htm

In a 4-year longitudinal study by Tucker, he was able to demonstrate that a

greater bone mineral density was associated with increased dietary potassium and

magnesium levels, as well as increased consumption of fruits and vegetables. The

authors concluded that this positive association was due to the beneficial

effects of potassium and magnesium on calcium balance and bone metabolism, as

well as the buffering properties of increased alkaline ash in the form of fruits

and vegetables.

Given the divergent nature of the theories, it is highly probable that both have

merit. With respect to protein's beneficial effects, protein is certainly

necessary for proper bone matrix formation and metabolism. It is likely a

chronic suboptimal intake will jeopardize this function. One could conjecture

that the studies finding a negative association between protein and osteoporosis

have somehow highlighted this aspect of the equation. Those studies finding a

positive association between protein and osteoporosis are probably looking at

the endogenous acid production issue.

In an article by Remer, he calculated the potential renal acid load (PRAL) of

frequently consumed foods in order to help dietitians design diets of varying

urinary pH. On their list, animal protein sources (as expected) were calculated

to increase PRAL.

However, grain products, legumes and dairy products (especially hard cheeses)

also increased PRAL. In fact , according to Remer's data brown rice had a

greater PRAL than any of the meat products examined (with the exception of

canned corned beef - if you want to call that meat).