reflux disease, gerd, acid alkaline pH osteoporosis,

A recent seven-year study conducted at the University of California, San Francisco, on 9,000 women showed that those who have chronic acidosis are at greater risk for bone loss than those who have normal pH levels.

The scientists who carried out this experiment believe that many of the hip fractures prevalent among middle-aged women are connected to high acidity caused by a diet rich in animal foods and low in vegetables.

This is because the body borrows calcium from the bones in order to balance pH. - American Journal of Clinical Nutritionreflux disease, gerd, acid alkaline pH osteoporosis,

---

I have found a source that explains this far better than myself - people who really have a handle on bone-density issues:

The Astronauts

Here are two interesting items, the first one from a NASA site for kids.

ABC's: Acid-Base ChemistryOne important aspect of chemistry is called pH. pH is an acidity scale from 1 to 14, with pH 7 being neutral. Acid substances have lower pH, and basic (alkaline) substances have higher pH.

Your body has a pH that can be measured in your blood. Several factors can affect the body's pH, including the food you eat.

Some foods contain acid or base precursors, which can change the body's pH. Acid precursors do not necessarily have a low pH, but the do become acidic once they are broken down in the body.

Likewise, base precursors bcome basic once they are broken down.

In general, protein-rich foods (such as meats) contain lots of acid precursors. On the other had, vegetables contain large amounts of base precursors.

We just finished doing an experiment in which we found that people who eat a lot of acid precursors (without a lot of base precursors)during bed rest have more chemical breakdown of their bones than people who don't eat as many acid precursors.

This is yet another reason why it is important for astronauts to eat a healthy, balanced diet - and for you, too!

Did we mention that vegetables are a good source of base precursors? Keep eating those greens!

The second is from American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.It covers similar information, and is far more technical. The results are the same: pH changes related to the food we eat can accelerate or slow bone loss.

To change the rate of bone loss, we must change what we eat and drink. Also in this study, exercise is a positive influence on bone mass.

Understanding pH - the Acid-Alkaline Relationship

'pH' stands for the 'potential of hydrogen'. pH measures the acidity or alkalinity of a solution - in this case, the bloodstream.

Here are the important points:

• pH is measured on a scale of 0 to 14

• Lower pH is more acidic

• Higher pH is more alkaline

• When a solution is neither acid nor alkaline it has a pH of 7, which is neutral.

Examples:

• pH 1 is very low on the scale. pH 1 is a strong acid - the pH of battery acid is 1.

• pH 7 is in the middle. pH 7 is neutral - the pH of water is 7.

• pH 13 is very high on the scale. pH 13 is a strong alkali - sodium hydroxide (Drano) is pH 13.

Why This Is Important To Humans

We humans like to live near the middle of the chart.

In fact, water is the most abundant compound in the human body, about 70% of the body. Living near the neutral zone is where we experience our optimum levels of health.

We aren't exactly water, though. We are made up of other things. Certain organs require a high level of acidity and cannot function without it. The stomach, for example, produces a very strong acid in the digestive juices in order to dissolve and break down the foods that we eat.

For the most part we require an acid-alkaline balance that is slightly alkaline.

Alkali is not generally a problem with us... acid is.

The body has an acid-alkaline (commonly called the acid-base) ratio called the pH ration. This is the balance between positively charged ions (acid-forming) and ;negatively charged ions (alkaline-forming).

The body continually strives to balance pH. We collect acid from the bloodstream as it flows through the kidneys. The kidneys filter, accumulate, and eliminate acid.

When this acid-alkaline balance is compromised, many problems can occur - cells and tissues don't work the way they should.

It is important to understand that we are not talking about stomach acid or the pH of the stomach. Or the acid-collecting processes of the kidneys. Those two systems function at a higher level of acidity than the rest of the body.

We are talking about the about the pH of the body's fluids and tissues which is an entirely different matter.

When our blood chemistry shifts too much toward the acid side of the scale, we create a condition called acidosis, and it causes major health problems.

---

Researchers at the Shulich School of Medicine - University of Western Ontario have solved a "100-Year-Old Mystery". They report they discovered why acid in our bodies leads to bone loss.

(February 2005) MAJOR RESEARCH DISCOVERY ON BONE LOSS: "discovered how acid in your body interacts with the cells responsible for bone loss and what can be done to stop it. "The discovery helps us understand the biological basis of several diseases affecting bone, such as rheumatoid arthritis and the spread of cancer within the skeleton," says Jeff Dixon, professor of Physiology & Pharmacology and Dentistry at Western. "More importantly, this discovery may lead to the development of drugs that reduce bone loss without disrupting the rebuilding of normal bone."

The researchers found that acidosis triggers a sequence of events leading to bone loss. "These findings suggest that new drugs targeted at the OGR1 receptor could stop the bone loss that results from acidosis."

So the recognize the problem, and are hopeful for new drugs to offset 'the results from acidosis."

But drugs are not the answer - they only address the symptoms, the end result.

Follow me on this: They know the following with certainty, having solved the mystery:

• Acidosis is the cause

• Something happens in the middle (the acidosis causes OGR1 receptors to do something)

• Bone loss, arthritis, and cancer is the result

Based on this new information, they want to create a drug to stop a particular action from taking place in the middle of the sequence.

They are proud of solving the mystery, and they should be embarrassed for their wrong-headed response.

If the question is 'acidosis', the better answer is 'lets prevent the acidosis' rather then mess with the effects after bone loss, arthritis, or cancer has already begun.

Instead of thinking 'cure', perhaps they could be thinking 'prevention'.

We should begin educating people about the natural solutions available to us right now - a change in how we look at what we eat.

Oh, I forgot to mention... Schulich School of Medicine receives money from the Alliance for Better Bone Health. This alliance is funded by Procter and Gamble Pharmaceuticals, and Sanofi-Aventis worlds 3rd largest drug company. They make Actonel, an osteoporosis drug that doesn't prevent anything, but adds great profits after the condition has progressed.

Meanwhile, the real solution - prevention - is in the produce section of every grocery store, available to every one of us without prescription.

Simple, safe, natural, effective.

We like logical and science-supported directions such as that presented by Dr. Susan Brown of New York's non-profit Osteoporosis Education Project. They have an excellent, easy-to-read 3-page overview of food and pH. Prevention is better that attempts to cure.

Another excellent site teaching about the nature of acid-alkaline pH and food is from Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine "Preventing and Reversing Osteoporosis". They include a great list of natural, alkalizing foods that provide all the calcium your body needs.

---

Acid levels increase because of the things we eat. Meat products increase the acid level in blood; so do colas and other beverages that contain phosphoric acid. There are different mechanisms involved, but they both create a shift in the normal acid-alkaline balance.

Eating too much protein and drinking soft drinks will cause the blood chemistry to shift toward the more-acid side of the scale. Calcium and carbonate (alkaline minerals) is then taken from the bone 'warehouse' and used by the body to buffer, or offset, the acidity, and things get back to normal.

The result is, we place unnecessary stress on the body systems that do this, and we lose calcium through the kidneys and carbonate through the lungs.

Over time, this acid-alkaline imbalance creates conditions like osteopenia, osteoporosis, and other health conditions.

Correction is possible by simply shifting the acid-alkaline balance back to normal, by doing essentially three things:

• Make water your beverage of choice. Give up phosphoric acid, usually found in colas. Read the label.

• Make plants the basis of your diet.

  60% of the food we eat every day should come from plants, in order to maintain health

  80% of our food should come from plants if we want to restore health.

• Exercise 30 minutes a day, 3 to 5 times a week.

If you really don't like veggies and fruits, or simply don't eat enough of them, do what Lisa and I do for the assurance we aren't missing something - we supplement with fruits and veggies in capsules, the very best we can find.

You have a busy life, I know, and you are worth the time it takes, to take care of you. Walking is enough, something like Curves is better. It's all good, and it makes a real difference. (Thinking about walking doesn't work... actually walking does.)

The acid-alkaline issue is simple to understand, and simple to control. It requires thoughtful decisions about what you eat throughout each day, that's all.

Two important topics related to acid-alkaline balance regarding too little acid and too much acid are the Antacids page (too little), and the Cola and Phosphoric Acid page (too much).

In the USA, these are major contributing causes of osteoporosis - and they are easily corrected.

---

Top of Acid-Alkaline pH Osteoporosis Page

Osteoporosis-People Home Page

---