Thanks Marilyn for posting the Merck Manual. But
I don't necessarily believe anything I read on Quackwatch.
They are totally opposed to acupuncture, acupressure, ayurveda, herbs,
chi gung, and massage as a therapeutic practice.
They also do not believe in Gulf War syndrome or multiple
chemical sensitivity.  They believe propaganda techniques are responsible
for the illnesses of people who have been exposed to toxic chemicals.

They brush off questions about iatrogenic deaths and illnesses, although
side-effects of precribed drugs, taken as prescribed, are a leading
cause of death in this country as reported by NEJM, but not to QuackWatch.

They become livid about herbal medicine which has been in use for
at least 5000 years, and which causes maybe 5 deaths per year from misuse,
but completely ignore 100,000 deaths from prescribed medicine taken
as prescribed. 

The fact of the placebo effect, alone, is enough to throw their trolley
completely off the track.  Most medications approved by the FDA
are barely more effective than placebos, and some are worse.
The placebo effect PROVES that there is more to medicine than
chemical reactions. If the only thing that mattered was the chemical
and physiological reaction of the drugs, there would be no placebo effect.

Back to the main point: acid-alkaline balance is obviously
a complicated business.

The articles Cordain based his newsletter article on were published
in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, the Journal of the
American Dietetic Association, the Journal of the
American College of Nutrition, and several other scholarly journals.
It would be interesting to see the original articles.  (Obviously the
Quackwatch doctor has not read these journals, or considers them
to be quackery too.)

    Lynnet