pH Balance and Bone Health - Crucial Connection

Introduction:

Osteoporosis is a serious health problem that causes bone fragility and microarchitectural degeneration. Sex, alcoholism, a lack of exercise, smoking, estrogen deficiency, and nutrition are all linked to poor bone health. According to previous studies, maintaining an optimal nutritional status and consuming adequate calcium is crucial for preventing osteoporosis and its disastrous effects. A balanced diet and individual dietary components are essential for enhancing musculoskeletal health.

What Is Acid-Base Balance in the Body?

Human blood pH levels represent the body's total amount of acids and bases and their net generation, buffering, and excretion. Additionally, a spectrum of pH values falls within the range that is regarded as normal. Blood pH is closely maintained in the range of 7.35 to 7.45 in the arteries and 7.31 to 7.41 in the veins. The pH of the blood and bicarbonate levels in young adults with fully functional kidneys remain on the higher side of the range. Their kidneys can thus eliminate the extra acid in the urine, even with large dietary acid intakes.

The body becomes less capable of regulating blood pH levels with aging. The most probable reason is that kidney function declines with age because renal net acid excretion contributes the most to non-carbonic acid elimination by creating fresh bicarbonate supplied to the circulatory system. In terms of the acid-base balance, this means that the total acid content of the body has increased and that the net acid-excretory capacity has decreased, assuming that the acid-base intake remains constant. Similarly, increased acid production or ingestion will elevate systemic acid levels if excretory ability stays the same.

What Are Dietary Acids and Bases?

The net acid generation resulted from the following three processes:

1. Process of organic sulfur to sulfate oxidation.

2. Endogenous production of unmetabolized organic acids.

3. Process of the liberation of protons from organic phosphate compounds.

The dietary base is formed by ingesting organic anions like citrate or malate, converted to bicarbonate. The lungs expel a significant amount of bicarbonate as carbon dioxide.

To calculate the amount of "fixed" or non-carbonic acids produced from a given diet, knowledge of both the constituents of the dietary precursors and the end products of metabolism excreted in the feces and urine was necessary. “Net endogenous acid production = urinary organic acids + sulfates-bicarbonate and net renal acid excretion = urinary ammonium plus titratable acids minus bicarbonate.”

Biochemical investigations show that practically all foods have acid precursors, whereas vegetables and fruits have base precursors. Dietary formulae for calculating the acidic or basic effects of various foods have been created using this information. But these formulations call for quantitative studies of dietary anions (phosphate, chloride, sulfate, and potassium) and cations (calcium, magnesium, sodium, and potassium). A factor for intestinal ion absorption and an estimate of organic anion generation may also be included in the calculations. About 50 mmol of acid per day, or 1 milliequivalent of dietary acid per kilogram (2.20 lbs) of body weight, is produced by typical Western diets.

How Does PH Balance Influence Bone Health?

PH is naturally regulated by a number of systems in the body, including the kidneys, lungs, and skin. However, the body must draw on the alkaline mineral reserves found in the bones if the kidneys are subjected to high acidity or a lack of buffering minerals in the blood and tissues; otherwise, the acids would burn the sensitive kidney tissue. The great bulk of bodies' alkalizing mineral complexes are kept in the bones, where they are primarily used for two purposes:

1. They provide strength for the bones.

2. They keep a reserve for balancing the blood's pH and that of other body fluids.

The effects of mild blood acidity are counteracted by alkalizing, or "basic," mineral complexes. The body takes alkalizing minerals from the blood initially, then, if needed, from tissues like muscle, and finally from bone storage in response to even slight changes in acidity. Thus, an alkaline diet has the following advantages: Eating alkaline foods provides the body with the minerals it needs to counteract the acids and deal with an acid-forming stressor such as an illness or an accident.

What Are the Signs of an Acidic Diet?

• Weight gain.

• Generalized aches and pains, particularly in the joints and bones.

• Heartburn or acid reflux.

• Intestinal cramps, irritable bowel syndrome, and poor digestion.

• Fatigue is a sense of being "run-down".

• Loss of muscle mass or weakness.

• Urine tract issues.

• Gum recession.

• Urinary stones.

• Loss of bone.

• Skin issues.

• Low energy.

What Are the Guidelines for an Alkaline Diet?

Eighty percent of the foods in the alkaline-forming group should be consumed if there are three or more signs of an acid imbalance. Acid-forming meals and high-protein goods might comprise 20 percent of the diet. Afterward, one can reduce the amount of food that is alkaline-forming to about 65 percent of the diet once the pH balance becomes better, which can be determined by urine tests or the resolution of the symptoms.

The following are some broad recommendations for following an alkaline diet:

• Eat as many whole foods as possible, such as fruits, vegetables, grains, nuts, seeds, spices, and beans (particularly lentils).

• Consume alkalizing drinks, including water with whole lime or lemon juice, ginger root, or green tea.

• Reduce the consumption of meat, fish, pasta, other grains, and vital fats.

• Cut off coffee, white sugar, wheat, processed foods, and artificial meals.

• Use real butter, ghee, and full-fat milk without hesitation.

• Use premium fats like cold-pressed virgin coconut, olive, and avocado oil to sauté or dress salads.

Conclusion:

The numerically more significant elements that determine bone mass and bone degradation are age, gender, race, and immobility. However, a significant loss of bone mineral occurs from retaining only 1 or 2 mEq of acid every day, which is hardly noticeable by today's testing methods, buffered by the kidney and muscle, and titrated by the skeletal basis over decades. Therefore, older adults whose diets include high net acid loads and who have reduced renal function, reduced renal acid-excretory ability, and decreased buffering capacity due to lower muscle and bone density may benefit most from alkali therapy.