![Photo: Fresh cut fruits and vegetables. Link to photo information](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20090509202026im_/http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/graphics/photos/dec99/k8666-1i.jpg)
Neutralizing an acid-producing diet, which can be
done by eating fruits and vegetables, appears to be an important key to
reducing bone breakdown while aging. Click the image for more information
about it.
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Neutralizing Acidosis and Bone Loss among Mature
Adults
By Rosalie Marion
Bliss
January 30, 2009 A new study funded in part by the
Agricultural Research Service (ARS)
suggests that neutralizing an acid-producing diet may be an important key to
reducing bone breakdown, or "turnover," while aging. The study comes
on the heels of several ARS-reported studies suggesting that consuming
more-than-recommended amounts of calcium may not be the main answer to
protecting bone.
The study was led by physician and nutrition specialist
Bess
Dawson-Hughes at the
Jean
Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at
Tufts University, Boston, Mass. ARS is a
scientific research agency in the U.S.
Department of Agriculture.
Fruits and vegetables are metabolized to bicarbonate and thus are
alkali-producing. But the typical American diet is rich in protein and cereal
grains that are metabolized to acid, and thus are acid-producing. With aging,
such diets lead to a mild but slowly increasing metabolic "acidosis."
The researchers conducted a placebo-controlled study involving healthy male
and female volunteers aged 50 or older. Key measurements were taken at the
beginning and end of the intervention, which lasted three months.
A group of 78 volunteers had been provided either of two
bicarbonatespotassium or sodiumalong with their usual diet and
exercise regimes. Key bone mineral nutrients were controlled to reduce
variation in study outcomes. The bicarbonate groups consumed an amount of
bicarbonate equivalent to about 9 servings of fruits and vegetables daily. This
allowed the researchers to look at possible acid-neutralizing effects from an
adequate, not high, alkali load.
The results showed that the 78 volunteers in the bicarbonate groups had
significant reductions in biomarkers that are associated with bone loss and
fracture than the 84 in the no-bicarbonate, or control, group.
The authors concluded that increasing the alkali content of the diet, for
example by consuming more fruits and vegetables, merits further study as a safe
and low-cost approach to improving skeletal health in older men and women.
The research was published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and
Metabolism.