<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>> Hi all, This information was requested by a number of list members. Love, Linda ================== Here's an article (followed by some websites) that explain it well: http://www.drmcdougall.com/debate.html "High protein diets cause serious metabolic changes that lead to bone loss and kidney stones. Red meat, poultry, fish, shellfish, and eggs are acidic in make up. Vegetable foods are alkaline by nature. The body guards its acid-base balance (pH) carefully so that all of the pH-dependent biochemical reactions take place normally. The dietary-derived acid load from high-protein animal foods must be buffered. The primary buffering system of the body is the bones which dissolve for that purpose into phosphates and calcium. The alkaline phosphate then buffers the animal-food derived acid. This is the first step in bone loss that leads to osteoporosis. The second step leading to osteoporosis consists of changes in kidney physiology caused by the acid, the sulfa containing amino acids (plentiful in meat), and the increased solute load, all resulting in a loss of large amounts of bone material, including calcium, into the urine. The presence of this bone material in the kidney system also lays the foundation for calcium-based kidney stones." "The Nurse's Health Study recently found women who consumed 95 grams of protein a day compared with those who consumed less than 68 grams a day had a 22% greater risk of forearm fractures (Am J Epidemiol 143:472, 1996). Metabolic ward studies done on people have found a negative calcium balance is created when 95 grams of protein are consumed with 500 mg of calcium. The calcium intake must be raised up to 800 mg before calcium balance is achieved (the calcium entering the body is the same as the amount leaving). People following the Zone diet commonly consume 100 grams of protein and less than 800 mg of calcium. Athletes attempting to follow the Zone diet will consume 140 grams or more of protein a day. Even with a very high calcium intake of 1400 mg daily these people are still in negative calcium balance." http://www.veg.org/veg/Articles/calcium.html Everything you ever wanted to know about calcium in 5 easy lessons. http://www.vrg.org/nutrition/calcium.htm Calcium in the Vegan Diet by Reed Mangels, Ph.D., R.D. http://www.dsiegel.com/wiwd/diet/calcium.html article - Calcium: White Gold