BOSTON—A new study published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism suggests that neutralizing an acid-producing diet may be an important key to reducing bone loss while aging.
Fruits and vegetables are metabolized to bicarbonate and therefore are alkali-producing. However, the typical American diet is rich in protein and cereal grains that are metabolized to acid and therefore are acid-producing. Such diets lead to a mild but slowly increasing metabolic acidosis during the aging process.
Researchers conducted a three-month, placebo-controlled study involving 162 healthy male and female volunteers aged 50 or older. A group of 78 volunteers were provided either of two bicarbonates—potassium or sodium—along with their usual diet and exercise regimes. Key bone mineral nutrients were controlled to reduce variation in study outcomes. The bicarbonate groups consumed an amount of bicarbonate equivalent to about nine servings of fruits and vegetables daily. This allowed the researchers to look at possible acid-neutralizing effects from an adequate, not high, alkali load.
Results revealed that the 78 volunteers in the bicarbonate groups had significant reductions in biomarkers that are associated with bone loss and fracture than the 84 in the placebo group.
The authors concluded that increasing the alkali content of the diet, for example by consuming more fruits and vegetables, merits further study as a safe and low-cost approach to improving skeletal health in older men and women.
The study was led by physician and nutrition specialist Bess Dawson-Hughes at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University, and funded in part by the Agricultural Research Service.
