Roland,

My understanding of your reply to my posting (about dietary potassium,
dietary protein, and renal acid load) seems to do 2 things:

1.  To negate the perceived importance of the protein/potassium ratio
[which you seem to do by arguing that protein does not induce a net acid
load]

2.  To implicate a new dietary ratio (ie. carbohydrate/potassium or
carbohydrate/cations) to be of primary functional importance in maintaining
human health [which you seem to do by arguing that carbohydrate intake in
the context of a subclinical potassium deficiency may be at the root of
most (all?) of the modern-day diet-related metabolic disorders that have
surfaced as public
health concerns in the past century or so - primarily
due to diet-induced insulin resistance]

While you may be found to be entirely correct in these 2 seperate
postulations, will you please respond to the following concerns which
surface when your post is subjected to the scrutiny of critical analysis?

First, with regard to point #1 from above (that protein does not induce a
net acid load), I understand that, at least in theory, protein might be
thought of as being alkaline to the human body (by providing an excess of
ammonia).  Still, empirical observations have quantified a renal acid load
following increases in dietary protein [1,2].  Can/will you provide any
reasoning for these observations (as they directly contradict the "protein
doesn't induce a net acid load" argument)?

And secondly, with regard to point #2 from above (that the dietary
carbohydrate/cation r
atio is the pivotal dietary factor implicated in the
recent rise of insulin resistance in Western populations):  How do you
explain other 'competing' theories that seem to have data supporting them,
such as a dose-response effect of the long-chain omega-3 polyunsaturated
fatty acids on insulin sensitivity in the animal model [3] which, I must
admit however, has not been conclusively substantiated in humans [4]?

Ed Thompson


References:

[1] Remer T, Manz F. Estimation of the renal net acid excretion by adults
consuming diets containing variable amounts of protein. Am J Clin Nutr 1994
Jun;59(6):1356-61

[2] Manz F, Remer T, Decher-Spliethoff E, Hohler M, Kersting M, Kunz C,
Lausen B. Effects of a high protein intake on renal acid excretion in
bodybuilders. Z Ernahrungswiss 1995 Mar;34(1):10-5

[3] Somova L, Moodley K, Channa ML,
 Nadar A. Dose-dependent effect of
dietary fish-oil (n-3) polyunsaturated fatty acids on in vivo insulin
sensitivity in rat. Methods Find Exp Clin Pharmacol 1999 May;21(4):275-8

[4] Vessby B. Dietary fat and insulin action in humans. Br J Nutr 2000
Mar;83 Suppl 1:S91-6