Acid-Base and Osteoporosis - Nevada City

Diets that create acidic conditions in your body cause you to break down bone. While this has been known for many years, a new study sheds light on the issue. The study involved giving 2 groups of men similar diets up to a certain point--the remainder of the diet was made up with either grains or fruits and vegetables. Researchers found that the group eating the increased grains became more acidic, secreted more parathyroid hormone (PTH--the hormone that causes you to break down bone), and lost more calcium in their urine. Why?

Your body likes to operate in a very narrow pH window. If you become too acidic your body secretes PTH to liberate calcium from your bone. This calcium has an alkalinizing effect in your body--thus your body buffers the acidic conditions with calcium. This is a common occurrence in this country. Too much grain, protein in the absence of fat and carbohydrate (like many diet products labeled "low fat"--by taking the fat out of products you effectively create an acidifying product!) , and refined sugar products like soda pop all create a high acid environment. While Americans consume huge quantities of calcium, we continue to have one of the highest rates of osteoporosis. Consider that a black woman in Africa consumes about 190mg (on average) of calcium daily. An American black woman with similar ancestry consumes 1,200-1,400mg of calcium per day. The American has 9 times the osteoporosis related fracture risk!

Read the study here .