I would like to point out two things:

1.  Numerous populations have survived for very long periods of time on what
would be considered acid promoting diets (very low in fruits and vegetables,
very high in meat and fat) without any evidence (from examining their
corpses) of any bone degradation - in fact, the opposite.  Inuit come to
mind, but there have been others (the usual suspects).  This makes me
question the validity of the conclusion.

2.  I looked at that study and as many others as I could find on the
subject, and they all compared people on a mostly SAD (standard american
diet) with relatively more or fewer fruits and vegetables.  That is, both
subject groups were eating grains, dairy, etc., processed meat (at least not
grass fed beef), which means they all had serious deficiencies in Vitamind
D3 and K2M4 intake.  I haven't found any studies comparing, for example,
people who eat raw meat and organs and zero carbs (meaning zero fruits and
vegetables) with people who eat lots of fruits and veggies - it may be that
the protective value of the increased vitamin intake for the zero carb
crowd, if they're eating healthy (grass fed) meats, more than makes up for
the acid load of the food.  Also, higher protein intake leads to reduced
calcium excretion (because acid can be exreted as ammonia, a byproduct of
amino acid metabolism, sparing the calcium needs of the kidneys), so if
someone eats more protein than those on the SAD (which most meat - based
dieters probably would) that would protect from calcium loss

The argument in #2 is really just supposition, but I find it really hard to
find flaws with the first point.  Obviously, being on an acid-promoting diet
could be causing bone loss and that would be very hard to notice in oneself
- the loss of noticeable bone density would take years.   But the examples
of hunter gatherer corpses with fantastic bone density in groups that ate
little or no plant matter really makes me wonder.
On Thu, Aug 27, 2009 at 7:00 PM, Kenneth Anderson <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> An addendum to my last post on the acid/alkaline guide.  I should have
> emphasized again that grains, dairy products and meat give a net acid
> load in the body, and vegetables and fruits produce alkaline loads. To
> be healthy we want the acid-alkaline balance leaning more toward the
> alkaline. For example, diets rich in fruits and vegetables
> significantly reduced urinary calcium loss in men and women in a John
> Hopkins study (Dr Appel) reported in the New England Journal of
> Medicine.
>
> Ken
>



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