- Dr. Michael Greger
- February 14, 2014
In my video
Alkaline Diets, Animal Protein, and Calcium Loss
I presented evidence challenging the notion that our body is buffering
the acid formed from our diet with calcium from our bones. How then is
our body neutralizing the acid? Maybe with our muscles! Our blood gets
more acidic as we age and our kidney function declines, and this may be a
reason we lose muscle mass as we get older. As a pair of researchers
note:
“The modern Western diet based on animal products generates an acid
load that may cause a lifespan state of unnoticed and growing metabolic
acidosis.” This chronic low-level diet-dependent metabolic acidosis
might contribute to the progressive shrinking of our muscle mass as we
age.
Muscle wasting appears to be an adaptive response to
acidosis. When our muscles break down, amino acids are released into the
bloodstream. Our liver can then take these amino acids and make
something called glutamine, which our kidneys can use to get rid of
excess acid. And indeed, in a three year
study I profile in the above video, those over age 65 eating
alkaline
diets were better able to preserve their muscle mass, which the
researchers think may be because the alkaline-producing fruits and
vegetables helped relieve the mild acidosis that occurs with the
ingestion of the standard American diet.
So what should we think about the latest
review’s question, “Does an alkaline diet benefit health?” If the question is “Does a diet low in meat,
eggs,
and dairy—all acid-producing—and high in fruits and vegetables with
lots of dark green leafies benefit health?” then of course the answer is
yes, an alkaline diet benefits health. But if the question is “Does it
matter what our “
peeH” is (whether our urine is acid or
alkaline) regardless of what actually goes into your mouth?” then the
answer is… still yes, but the accepted benefits of having alkaline urine
appear limited to two areas: lower risk of kidney stones and better
uric acid clearance.
Read More Here
