Category Archives: Alkaline Diet

Review: Acid-Producing Diets May be Protective When Calcium is High

Abstract

The acid-ash hypothesis revisited: a reassessment of the impact of dietary acidity on bone.

The acid-ash hypothesis states that when there are excess blood protons, bone is eroded to provide alkali to buffer the net acidity and maintain physiologic pH. There is concern that with the typical Western diet, we are permanently in a state of net endogenous acid production, which is gradually reducing bone. While it is clear that a high acid-producing diet generates increased urinary acid and calcium excretion, the effect of diet does not always have the expected results on BMD, fracture risk and markers of bone formation and resorption, suggesting that other factors are influencing the effect of acid/alkali loading on bone. High dietary protein, sodium and phosphorus intake, all of which are necessary for bone formation, were thought to be net acid forming and contribute to low BMD and fracture risk, but appear under certain conditions to be beneficial, with the effect of protein being driven by calcium repletion. Dietary salt can increase short-term markers of bone resorption but may also trigger 1,25(OH)2D synthesis to increase calcium absorption; with low calcium intake, salt intake may be inversely correlated with BMD but with high calcium intake, salt intake was positively correlated with BMD. With respect to the effect of phosphorus, the data are conflicting. Inclusion of an analysis of calcium intake may help to reconcile the contradictory results seen in many of the studies of bone. The acid-ash hypothesis could, therefore, be amended to state that with an acid-producing diet and low calcium intake, bone is eroded to provide alkali to buffer excess protons but where calcium intake is high the acid-producing diet may be protective.

Nicoll R, McLaren Howard J
J. Bone Miner. Metab. Feb 2014
PMID: 24557632

Urine pH or Acid Excretion Doesn’t Predict Bone Density or Fractures

Abstract

Low urine pH and acid excretion do not predict bone fractures or the loss of bone mineral density: a prospective cohort study.

The acid-ash hypothesis, the alkaline diet, and related products are marketed to the general public. Websites, lay literature, and direct mail marketing encourage people to measure their urine pH to assess their health status and their risk of osteoporosis. The objectives of this study were to determine whether 1) low urine pH, or 2) acid excretion in urine [sulfate + chloride + 1.8x phosphate + organic acids] minus [sodium + potassium + 2x calcium + 2x magnesium mEq] in fasting morning urine predict: a) fragility fractures; and b) five-year change of bone mineral density (BMD) in adults.
Design: Cohort study: the prospective population-based Canadian Multicentre Osteoporosis Study. Multiple logistic regression was used to examine associations between acid excretion (urine pH and urine acid excretion) in fasting morning with the incidence of fractures (6804 person years). Multiple linear regression was used to examine associations between acid excretion with changes in BMD over 5-years at three sites: lumbar spine, femoral neck, and total hip (n = 651). Potential confounders controlled included: age, gender, family history of osteoporosis, physical activity, smoking, calcium intake, vitamin D status, estrogen status, medications, renal function, urine creatinine, body mass index, and change of body mass index.
There were no associations between either urine pH or acid excretion and either the incidence of fractures or change of BMD after adjustment for confounders.
Urine pH and urine acid excretion do not predict osteoporosis risk.

Fenton TR, Eliasziw M, Tough SC, Lyon AW…
BMC Musculoskelet Disord 2010
PMID: 20459740 | Free Full Text

The evidence to support the acid-ash hypothesis of osteoporosis predominantly comes from studies using changes in urine calcium as the outcome [6,8-12,46], some prospective observational studies [16,18,19,47] and one randomized trial [13]. Although one randomized trial has supported the hypothesis [13], another did not [40]. The randomized trial [13] supporting the hypothesis did not use concealment of allocation, a study quality indicator for randomized studies that is important to avoid bias during the randomization process [48]. Without concealment of allocation, investigators can influence the allocation of individuals into the treatment groups, invalidating the randomization. Trials that do not have concealed allocation can overestimate effectiveness of a therapy [49]. The more recent randomized trial, that concealed allocation, did not reveal any protective effect of either potassium citrate or increased fruit and vegetable consumption on change in BMD [14].

Three previous prospective cohort studies of the hypothesis reported some protective associations between fruit and vegetable, potassium, and/or vitamin C intakes and bone health [16,18,19], and thus may support the hypothesis, while two more recent cohort studies do not support it [50,51]. One of the positive reporting studies did not see a significant protective association for potassium once potential confounders were controlled [16]. Further, it is possible that the associations in agreement with the hypothesis in the cohort studies were due to uncontrolled confounding by estrogen status [19], baseline BMD [16,19], change of weight status during follow-up [18], and/or vitamin D status [16,18,19,47].

Further, three recent meta-analyses of the acid-ash hypothesis do not support the hypothesis. First, a meta-analysis of calcium balance studies, restricted to studies of superior methodology, revealed no association between net acid excretion and calcium balance, in spite of the strong relationship between net acid excretion and urinary calcium [52]. A systematic review and meta-analysis of the effect of protein intake on bone health revealed a small beneficial effect of protein supplementation on lumbar spine BMD in randomized placebo-controlled trials [53]. Further, the acid-ash hypothesis predicts higher phosphate intakes would be associated with increased urinary calcium and lower calcium balance, but this was not supported by a third recent meta-analysis [54].

Review: Alkaline Diet is Not Supported by Evidence

Abstract

Causal assessment of dietary acid load and bone disease: a systematic review & meta-analysis applying Hill’s epidemiologic criteria for causality.

Modern diets have been suggested to increase systemic acid load and net acid excretion. In response, alkaline diets and products are marketed to avoid or counteract this acid, help the body regulate its pH to prevent and cure disease. The objective of this systematic review was to evaluate causal relationships between dietary acid load and osteoporosis using Hill’s criteria.
Systematic review and meta-analysis. We systematically searched published literature for randomized intervention trials, prospective cohort studies, and meta-analyses of the acid-ash or acid-base diet hypothesis with bone-related outcomes, in which the diet acid load was altered, or an alkaline diet or alkaline salts were provided, to healthy human adults. Cellular mechanism studies were also systematically examined.
Fifty-five of 238 studies met the inclusion criteria: 22 randomized interventions, 2 meta-analyses, and 11 prospective observational studies of bone health outcomes including: urine calcium excretion, calcium balance or retention, changes of bone mineral density, or fractures, among healthy adults in which acid and/or alkaline intakes were manipulated or observed through foods or supplements; and 19 in vitro cell studies which examined the hypothesized mechanism. Urine calcium excretion rates were consistent with osteoporosis development; however calcium balance studies did not demonstrate loss of whole body calcium with higher net acid excretion. Several weaknesses regarding the acid-ash hypothesis were uncovered: No intervention studies provided direct evidence of osteoporosis progression (fragility fractures, or bone strength as measured using biopsy). The supporting prospective cohort studies were not controlled regarding important osteoporosis risk factors including: weight loss during follow-up, family history of osteoporosis, baseline bone mineral density, and estrogen status. No study revealed a biologic mechanism functioning at physiological pH. Finally, randomized studies did not provide evidence for an adverse role of phosphate, milk, and grain foods in osteoporosis.
A causal association between dietary acid load and osteoporotic bone disease is not supported by evidence and there is no evidence that an alkaline diet is protective of bone health.

Fenton TR, Tough SC, Lyon AW, Eliasziw M…
Nutr J 2011
PMID: 21529374 | Free Full Text

 

Alkaline Diet is Not Justified

Abstract

Meta-analysis of the effect of the acid-ash hypothesis of osteoporosis on calcium balance.

The acid-ash hypothesis posits that protein and grain foods, with a low potassium intake, produce a diet acid load, net acid excretion (NAE), increased urine calcium, and release of calcium from the skeleton, leading to osteoporosis. The objectives of this meta-analysis were to assess the effect of changes in NAE, by manipulation of healthy adult subjects’ acid-base intakes, on urine calcium, calcium balance, and a marker of bone metabolism, N-telopeptides. This meta-analysis was limited to studies that used superior methodological quality for the study of calcium metabolism. We systematically searched the literature and included studies if subjects were randomized to the interventions and followed the recommendations of the Institute of Medicine’s Panel on Calcium and Related Nutrients for calcium studies. Five of 16 studies met the inclusion criteria. The studies altered the amount and/or type of protein. Despite a significant linear relationship between an increase in NAE and urinary calcium (p < 0.0001), there was no relationship between a change of NAE and a change of calcium balance (p = 0.38; power = 94%). There was no relationship between a change of NAE and a change in the marker of bone metabolism, N-telopeptides (p = 0.95). In conclusion, this meta-analysis does not support the concept that the calciuria associated with higher NAE reflects a net loss of whole body calcium. There is no evidence from superior quality balance studies that increasing the diet acid load promotes skeletal bone mineral loss or osteoporosis. Changes of urine calcium do not accurately represent calcium balance. Promotion of the “alkaline diet” to prevent calcium loss is not justified.

Fenton TR, Lyon AW, Eliasziw M, Tough SC…
J. Bone Miner. Res. Nov 2009
PMID: 19419322

Review: High-Protein + Calcium + Fruit + Veggies is Important for Bone Health

Abstract

Acid diet (high-meat protein) effects on calcium metabolism and bone health.

Update recent advancements regarding the effect of high-animal protein intakes on calcium utilization and bone health.
Increased potential renal acid load resulting from a high protein (intake above the current Recommended Dietary Allowance of 0.8 g protein/kg body weight) intake has been closely associated with increased urinary calcium excretion. However, recent findings do not support the assumption that bone is lost to provide the extra calcium found in urine. Neither whole body calcium balance is, nor are bone status indicators, negatively affected by the increased acid load. Contrary to the supposed detrimental effect of protein, the majority of epidemiological studies have shown that long-term high-protein intake increases bone mineral density and reduces bone fracture incidence. The beneficial effects of protein such as increasing intestinal calcium absorption and circulating IGF-I whereas lowering serum parathyroid hormone sufficiently offset any negative effects of the acid load of protein on bone health.
On the basis of recent findings, consuming protein (including that from meat) higher than current Recommended Dietary Allowance for protein is beneficial to calcium utilization and bone health, especially in the elderly. A high-protein diet with adequate calcium and fruits and vegetables is important for bone health and osteoporosis prevention.

Cao JJ, Nielsen FH
Curr Opin Clin Nutr Metab Care Nov 2010
PMID: 20717017

Review: Protein Restriction Potentially Dangerous for Bone Health

Abstract

Dietary protein and skeletal health: a review of recent human research.

Both dietary calcium and vitamin D are undoubtedly beneficial to skeletal health. In contrast, despite intense investigation, the impact of dietary protein on calcium metabolism and bone balance remains controversial. A widely held view is that high intakes of animal protein result in increased bone resorption, reduced bone mineral density, and increased fractures because of its ability to generate a high fixed metabolic acid load. The purpose of this review is to present the recent or most important epidemiological and clinical trials in humans that evaluated dietary protein’s impact on skeletal health. Many epidemiological studies have found a significant positive relationship between protein intake and bone mass or density. Similarly, isotopic studies in humans have also demonstrated greater calcium retention and absorption by individuals consuming high-protein diets, particularly when the calcium content of the diet was limiting. High-protein intake may positively impact bone health by several mechanisms, including calcium absorption, stimulation of the secretion of insulin-like growth factor-1, and enhancement of lean body mass. The concept that an increase in dietary protein induces a large enough shift in systemic pH to increase osteoclastic bone resorption seems untenable.
Recent epidemiological, isotopic and meta-analysis studies suggest that dietary protein works synergistically with calcium to improve calcium retention and bone metabolism. The recommendation to intentionally restrict dietary protein to improve bone health is unwarranted, and potentially even dangerous to those individuals who consume inadequate protein.

Kerstetter JE, Kenny AM, Insogna KL
Curr. Opin. Lipidol. Feb 2011
PMID: 21102327

Review: Alkaline Diets and the Acid Load Theory are Bunk – 2013

Abstract

Nutritional disturbance in acid-base balance and osteoporosis: a hypothesis that disregards the essential homeostatic role of the kidney.

The nutritional acid load hypothesis of osteoporosis is reviewed from its historical origin to most recent studies with particular attention to the essential but overlooked role of the kidney in acid-base homeostasis. This hypothesis posits that foods associated with an increased urinary acid excretion are deleterious for the skeleton, leading to osteoporosis and enhanced fragility fracture risk. Conversely, foods generating neutral or alkaline urine would favour bone growth and Ca balance, prevent bone loss and reduce osteoporotic fracture risk. This theory currently influences nutrition research, dietary recommendations and the marketing of alkaline salt products or medications meant to optimise bone health and prevent osteoporosis. It stemmed from classic investigations in patients suffering from chronic kidney diseases (CKD) conducted in the 1960s. Accordingly, in CKD, bone mineral mobilisation would serve as a buffer system to acid accumulation. This interpretation was later questioned on both theoretical and experimental grounds. Notwithstanding this questionable role of bone mineral in systemic acid-base equilibrium, not only in CKD but even more in the absence of renal impairment, it is postulated that, in healthy individuals, foods, particularly those containing animal protein, would induce ‘latent’ acidosis and result, in the long run, in osteoporosis. Thus, a questionable interpretation of data from patients with CKD and the subsequent extrapolation to healthy subjects converted a hypothesis into nutritional recommendations for the prevention of osteoporosis. In a historical perspective, the present review dissects out speculation from experimental facts and emphasises the essential role of the renal tubule in systemic acid-base and Ca homeostasis.

Bonjour JP
Br. J. Nutr. Oct 2013
PMID: 23551968 | Free Full Text

…experiments carried out among patients suffering from severe metabolic acidosis caused by renal insufficiency, or among healthy subjects made acidotic by administering NH4Cl, suggested the involvement of bone tissue in maintaining the acid–base balance. This hypothesis was later refuted on the basis of both theoretical and experimental arguments. Despite this rebuttal, the hypothesis was put forward that bone could play a buffering role, with the consideration that nutrients, particularly animal proteins with their acid load, could be a major cause of osteoporosis. Several recent human studies have shown that there is no relationship between nutritionally induced variations of urinary acid excretion and Ca balance, bone metabolism and the risk of osteoporotic fractures. Variations in human diets across a plausible range of intakes have been shown to have no effect on blood pH. Consistent with this lack of a mechanistic basis, long-term studies of alkalinising diets have shown no effect on the age-related change in bone fragility. Consequently, advocating the consumption of alkalinising foods or supplements and/or removing animal protein from the human diet is not justified by the evidence accumulated over the last several decades.

Mediterranean Diet + Nuts Does Not Significantly Increase Resorption

Abstract

Mediterranean diet and high dietary acid load associated with mixed nuts: effect on bone metabolism in elderly subjects.

Objectives: To analyze the effect of differing diet on the acid load content on bone metabolism.
Design: Multicentric, randomized, single-blind, parallel-group clinical trial.
Setting: Outpatient clinics.
Two hundred thirty-eight elderly men and women aged 60 to 80 at high risk for cardiovascular disease were randomly assigned to three interventional groups: a recommended low-fat diet (control diet group), a Mediterranean diet supplemented with virgin olive oil, or a Mediterranean diet supplemented with mixed nuts.
Main outcomes were 12-month changes from baseline in bone formation and resorption markers and bone mass measured according to quantitative ultrasound scanning.
The baseline data on the anthropometric, bone densitometry, and biochemical variables did not differ between the three groups. Dietary potential renal acid load (PRAL) and daily net endogenous acid production (NEAP) at baseline did not differ between groups. After intervention, subjects allocated to the Mediterranean diet with mixed nuts had a significant increase of PRAL and NEAP. In comparison, subjects in the Mediterranean diet with nuts group had higher parathyroid hormone (PTH) levels (2.63, 95% confidence interval (CI)=-1.01-6.35, P=.02) and a nonsignificantly higher (0.31, 95% CI=-0.13-0.74, P=.14) urine free deoxypyridoxine:creatinine ratio, a marker of bone resorption, than the control group and the Mediterranean diet with virgin olive oil group.
A Mediterranean dietary pattern associated with a high dietary acid load derived from consumption of mixed nuts does not seem to have a much greater effect on bone metabolism biomarkers, with the exception of PTH levels, than a Mediterranean diet without mixed nuts or a control diet in elderly subjects.

Bulló M, Amigó-Correig P, Márquez-Sandoval F, Babio N…
J Am Geriatr Soc Oct 2009
PMID: 19807791

High Protein + Low Calcium Increases Fracture – 2008

Abstract

Proteins, dietary acid load, and calcium and risk of postmenopausal fractures in the E3N French women prospective study.

Excess dietary proteins and “acid ash” diets have been suspected to increase the risk of osteoporosis, but experimental and epidemiological evidence is mixed. We aimed to determine whether the association between protein intake and the overall acid-base equilibrium of the diet (as renal net acid excretion [RNAE] estimate) and fracture risk vary according to calcium intake. During an average of 8.37 +/- 1.73 yr of follow-up, 2408 women reported a fracture (excluding high-impact trauma) among 36,217 postmenopausal women from the E3N prospective study. We used Cox regression models to study the interaction between calcium and, respectively, proteins and RNAE, from the 1993 dietary questionnaire for fracture risk determination, adjusting for potential confounders. There was no overall association between fracture risk and total protein or RNAE. However, in the lowest quartile of calcium (<400 mg/1000 kcal), high protein intake was associated with a significant increased fracture risk (RR = 1.51 for highest versus lowest quartile; 95% CI, 1.17-1.94). An increasing fracture risk with increasing animal protein intake was also observed (trend, p < 0.0001). A similar pattern of interaction for fracture risk was observed between RNAE and calcium. In this Western population of postmenopausal women with normal to high protein intake and fairly high calcium intake, there was no overall association between total protein or RNAE and fracture risk. However, there was some evidence that high protein-high acid ash diets were associated with an increased risk of fracture when calcium intake was low (<400 mg/1000 kcal).

Dargent-Molina P, Sabia S, Touvier M, Kesse E…
J. Bone Miner. Res. Dec 2008
PMID: 18665794

Review: Protein and bones – 2003

Abstract

Dietary protein and bone health.

The effects of dietary protein on bone health are paradoxical and need to be considered in context of the age, health status and usual diet of the population. Over the last 80 years numerous studies have demonstrated that a high protein intake increases urinary Ca excretion and that on average 1 mg Ca is lost in urine for every 1 g rise in dietary protein. This relationship is primarily attributable to metabolism of S amino acids present in animal and some vegetable proteins, resulting in a greater acid load and buffering response by the skeleton. However, many of these early studies that demonstrated the calciuric effects of protein were limited by low subject numbers, methodological errors and the use of high doses of purified forms of protein. Furthermore, the cross-cultural and population studies that showed a positive association between animal-protein intake and hip fracture risk did not consider other lifestyle or dietary factors that may protect or increase the risk of fracture. The effects of protein on bone appear to be biphasic and may also depend on intake of Ca- and alkali-rich foods, such as fruit and vegetables. At low protein intakes insulin-like growth factor production is reduced, which in turn has a negative effect on Ca and phosphate metabolism, bone formation and muscle cell synthesis. Although growth and skeletal development is impaired at very low protein intakes, it is not known whether variations in protein quality affect the achievement of optimal peak bone mass in adolescents and young adults. Prospective studies in the elderly in the USA have shown that the greatest bone losses occur in elderly men and women with an average protein intake of 16-50 g/d. Although a low protein intake may be indicative of a generally poorer diet and state of health, there is a need to evaluate whether there is a lower threshold for protein intake in the elderly in Europe that may result in increased bone loss and risk of osteoporotic fracture.

Ginty F
Proc Nutr Soc Nov 2003
PMID: 15018487