Author: Mokhtar

The food we consume plays a crucial role in maintaining the acid-base balance in our blood. This simple fact is key to understanding how the Osteoporosis Reversal Program uses nutrition to prevent and reverse osteoporosis.

In a state of low-grade metabolic acidosis, where the balance becomes too acidic, the body begins to dissolve bone mass. That’s because the minerals in bone are alkalizing and the body needs to maintain its alkaline pH.

Nevertheless, too acidic a pH causes more than just bone loss. Today we’ll look at some of the other health consequences of metabolic acidosis and learn how to avoid them.

Dietary acid load

Nutrition is critical for maintaining acid-base balance. As our bodies break down the food we eat, the compounds and molecules that make up that food are released. Some compounds have an acidifying or alkalizing effect as they interact with our digestive system.

These compounds are called acidic or alkaline precursors. Acidic precursors include phosphorus and some proteins. Alkali precursors include potassium, magnesium and calcium.

The food we consume determines the balance of acid and alkali precursors in our digestive system, which determines the pH level of our blood.¹

Our kidneys play an important role in maintaining a healthy pH level. They metabolize acid and alkali precursors and eliminate excess acid through the urine. The measurement of this excess acid secreted is called net acid production (NEAP) and may indicate an imbalance of acid and alkali precursors in the diet.

The effect of a particular food or meal on our net acid production is called the potential renal acid load (PRAL). Each food has a PRAL score that indicates whether it will acidify or alkalinize serum pH. Scientists have developed systems to assess the potential renal acid burden (PRAL) of a person’s diet and use PRAL to estimate their net acid production (NEAP). This illustrates the direct connection between nutrition and pH levels.

A diet with a high PRAL score will correlate with a high NEAP level and indicates some degree of metabolic acidosis.¹

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Food contains acid and base precursors, which acidify or alkalize the pH of our blood. The measure of excess acid secreted is net acid production (NEAP), and the measure of a food’s impact on pH is potential renal acid load (PRAL). Diet has a direct influence on the pH value of the blood.

The health effects of metabolic acidosis

Diets rich in acid-producing compounds and deficient in alkali-producing compounds such as potassium, calcium and magnesium can cause low-grade metabolic acidosis. Metabolic acidosis can lead to many conditions and harmful changes in your body.¹

• Increased cortisol levels – Cortisol, the stress hormone, is linked to increased inflammation. Chronic high cortisol levels and the inflammation it causes contribute to many of the other health effects of acidosis.
• Sarcopenia – Sarcopenia refers to the loss of muscle mass. It is likely caused by an increase in cortisol which inhibits the production of proteins for muscle building. This loss of muscle mass is accompanied by a loss of strength and increases the risk of frailty. Sarcopenia also affects the ability to build bone because muscles stimulate bone formation.
• Hypertension – Hypertension refers to high blood pressure. Cortisol increases vasoconstriction, which increases blood pressure. Hypertension can lead to heart disease and stroke.
• Diabetes and insulin resistance – Metabolic acidosis alters the expression of insulin receptors, causing insulin sensitivity. Insulin sensitivity is an important risk factor leading to diabetes.
• Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease – Another effect of insulin resistance is an increase in available free fatty acids, leading to non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Over time, inflammation and scarring can occur in the liver, which can lead to liver failure.
• Chronic kidney disease – Metabolic acidosis can cause early and irreversible stages of chronic kidney disease. Once kidney damage has occurred, acidifying diets accelerate the progression of the disease.
• Cardiovascular disease and death – Several of the previously mentioned consequences are risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Cardiovascular disease can be fatal and is even the leading cause of death worldwide. Research in Japan found that participants who consumed a diet high in PRAL had a 16% higher risk of cardiovascular death, and a 13% higher risk of general mortality.¹
• Bone loss – As Savers know, an acidic blood pH causes bone loss. Metabolic acidosis both decreases the bone-building activity of osteoblasts and increases bone resorption of osteoclasts. This can result in a decrease in bone mineralization and an increase in the number of fractures.¹

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Metabolic acidosis can lead to a variety of health problems, including hypertension, diabetes, insulin resistance, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, chronic kidney disease, cardiovascular disease and premature death. Many of these are attributed to increases in cortisol caused by metabolic acidosis.

How to prevent metabolic acidosis

Because an acidifying diet mainly causes metabolic acidosis, following a pH-balanced diet is a direct and straightforward method to prevent this. The PRAL scoring system provides an accurate and numerical way to measure how acidifying or alkalizing a food is.

The potential acid load in the kidneys describes the excretion of excess acid, so negative PRAL scores indicate a reduction in acid load, and positive scores indicate an increase in acid load. Below are some examples of the PRAL scores of 100 grams of alkalizing and acidifying foods:¹

*Food Foundation

Fruits and vegetables tend to be alkalizing, and most other foods tend to be acidifying. However, that does not mean that acidifying foods are bad for you. It’s all about balance.

The Osteoporosis Reversal Program contains a complete list of alkalizing and acidifying foods that you can use when creating pH-balanced meals. Each meal should contain approximately 80% alkalizing foods and 20% acidifying foods. ORP’s pH-balanced diet goes beyond improving your bone health; it also helps protect you from all the ailments described above.

The system is easy to use, requires only one look at the composition of your plate and offers enough flexibility to process all your favorite dishes in moderation.

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You can prevent metabolic acidosis by eating a pH-balanced diet. The Osteoporosis Reversal Program includes a complete list of alkalizing and acidifying foods and guidelines for the 80/20 pH balanced diet.

What this means for you

Although the consequences of an acidifying diet require time to recover, acidification can be tackled fairly quickly. Our blood is constantly pumping and our diet is constantly changing the pH of our blood. Start eating a pH-balanced diet today to help get your body on the right track.

The Save Institute has developed a special program to boost your progress: the Osteoporosis Fresh Start Cleanse. It is a seven-day program that accelerates your body’s ability to heal itself and grow stronger bones. With six simple steps, it helps you restore healthy pH levels and start the journey to better health and stronger bones.

Consume a varied and tasty pH-balanced diet that not only prevents acidosis but also promotes bone health, ensuring a long, independent life.

References

¹ https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2013251419301129

Did you know that heart disease and osteoporosis are closely linked – to the extent that it is suggested that people with heart disease should be screened for osteoporosis and vice versa? According to emerging science, the two conditions are linked by one key factor: inflammation.

That’s why, for February’s Heart Health Month, I recommend getting one simple blood test that can detect runaway inflammation and the associated antioxidant deficiency: the C-Reactive Protein (CRP) test. Some authorities even suggest that the high-sensitivity CRP test could predict the risk of developing serious heart disease (and other chronic diseases) years in advance (He et al. 2010; Li et al. 2017).

What is C-reactive protein?

C-reactive protein (CRP) is produced in the liver in response to inflammation; its job in the body is to attach itself to phosphocholine (a chemical produced by both microbes and dying cells) to ‘mark’ the unwanted cells so the immune system can remove them.

If there is actually an infection or injury, inflammation and the resulting high CRP are not so bad. You want your immune system to be activated so it can find and eliminate bacteria or dead and injured tissue. But in heart disease and other chronic diseases, the high CRP level indicates ongoing inflammation that does not go away.

You may remember a 2004 TIME Magazine cover story that alerted the public to the clear link between inflammation and heart disease. That was when elevated CRP was first understood for its role in the development of chronic inflammation (Rifai and Ridker 2001). It was linked not only to heart disease, but also to diabetes, stroke, metabolic syndrome and many other serious, long-term diseases, including osteoporosis.

There are dozens of studies that have looked at CRP levels in individuals with low bone density and osteoporosis and have found a clear relationship between high CRP and weak or thin bones (Ganesan et al. 2005; de Pablo et al. 2012). Interestingly, there was a greater relationship between bone weakness and CRP than bone density. One study (Schett et al. 2006) concluded that “hs-CRP level is a significant and independent risk predictor of non-traumatic fractures. This finding is consistent with the hypothesis of a close interaction between low-grade inflammation and bone turnover.” And where osteoporosis coexists with other inflammatory conditions, such as emphysema, CRP highlights that connection as well (Samaria and Bhatia 2015).

C-reactive protein is such an important marker that I even include it in my medical tests for osteoporosis that I give to all my clients. You can learn more about these tests and their significance in my online course Osteo Lab Tests.

Decreasing elevated CRP levels

• So now that we know that elevated CRP is a red flag for both your bone and cardiovascular health, what can we do about it? Fortunately, many of the recommendations I make for bone health also help reduce inflammation and lower CRP.

• Eat an Alkaline for Life diet focused on whole foods and filled with colorful fruits, berries, vegetables, nuts and seeds – and dark chocolate. By doing this, you increase your intake of antioxidants, such as vitamin C, quercetin dihydrate, alpha lipoic acid, selenium and curcumin, as well as the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K, and important minerals. such as magnesium.

• Eliminate sugar, fried and processed foods, and reduce alcohol – all of which promote inflammation.

• Exercise has been found to lower CRP levels while strengthening bone. Mindfulness exercises such as tai chi and yoga can be helpful for people just starting out – and they help reduce stress levels, which are unsurprisingly also associated with higher CRP and inflammation.

• Rest! Insufficient sleep has been shown to increase inflammation and CRP levels. (And no, there’s no point in taking a nap. You need your eight hours at night.)

I encourage you to learn more about keeping your heart and bones healthy, including the amazing benefits that vitamin K2 provides your heart and bones. Read my blog — Is vitamin K2 your body’s best friend? – for more.