Skip to content
Connect with our experts: 800.494.7782
  • FAQs
  • Renew Your Certification
  • Contact Us
  • Sign In/Create Account
AFPA
  • Why AFPA
    Benefits of Choosing AFPA Our Educational Approach Career Change Guide AFPA’s Featured Graduate Stories
  • Certification Programs
    • Program Selection & How it Works
    • Health Coach Certifications
    • Nutrition Certifications
    • Personal Trainer Certifications
    • Fitness Certifications
    • Bundled Certifications
    • Continuing Education
    • All Certifications
    Program Selection & How it Works thumbnail

    Program Selection & How it Works

    • Learn More About Program Selection
    Health Coach Certifications thumbnail

    Health Coach Certifications

    • Learn About Health Coach Programs
    • View All Health Coach Certifications
    • Health & Wellness Coach Certification
    • Holistic Health Coach Certification
    Nutrition Certifications thumbnail

    Nutrition Certifications

    • Learn About Nutrition Programs
    • View All Nutrition Certifications
    • Holistic Nutritionist Certification
    • Nutrition & Wellness Consultant Certification
    • Autoimmune Holistic Nutrition Specialist
    • Gut Health Nutrition Specialist
    • Plant-Based Nutrition Specialist Certification
    • Sports Nutrition Certification
    • Weight Management Specialist Certification
    • Youth Nutrition Specialist Certificate
    • Senior Nutrition Specialist Certification
    Personal Trainer Certifications thumbnail

    Personal Trainer Certifications

    • Learn About Personal Trainer Programs
    • View All Personal Trainer Certifications
    • Personal Trainer Certification
    • Master Personal Trainer Certification
    • Advanced Personal Training Certification
    • Senior Fitness Specialist Certification
    • Youth Fitness Specialist Certification
    • Youth Strength Conditioning Specialist Certificate
    Fitness Certifications thumbnail

    Fitness Certifications

    • Learn About Fitness Programs
    • View All Fitness Certifications
    • Prenatal and Postpartum Fitness Specialist Certification
    • Pilates Fitness Instructor Certification
    • Yoga Instructor Certification
    Bundled Certifications thumbnail

    Bundled Certifications

    • Learn About Bundled Certifications
    • View All Bundled Certifications
    • Holistic Nutrition & Autoimmune Nutrition Bundle
    • Personal Trainer and Health & Wellness Coach Bundle
    • Pregnancy Health Coach Bundle
    • Personal Trainer and Nutrition & Wellness Consultant Bundle
    • Senior Health Coach Bundle
    • Weight Loss Coach Bundle
    Continuing Education thumbnail

    Continuing Education

    • Learn About Continuing Education
    • View All CEC Courses
    • Business & Marketing
    • Chronic Disease & Functional Foods
    • CEC Bundles
    • Fitness & Exercise
    • Functional & Core Training
    • Mind-Body Wellness & Flexibility
    • Nutrition & Lifestyle
    • Special Populations
    • Sports & Athletic Conditioning
    • Sport Injuries & Rehabilitation
    • Women's Health & Wellness
    • Youth Health & Fitness
    All Certifications thumbnail

    All Certifications

    • View All Certifications
  • Testimonials
  • About AFPA
  • Free Resources
  • Blog
  • Cart
(0)
Menu
Enroll Now
  • Why AFPA
    • Benefits of Choosing AFPA
    • Our Educational Approach
    • Career Change Guide
    • AFPA’s Featured Graduate Stories
  • Certification Programs
    • Program Selection & How It Works
    • Nutrition Certification Programs
    • Health Coach Certifications
    • Personal Trainer Certifications
    • Fitness Certification Programs
    • Bundle Certifications
    • Health and Fitness Continuing Education
  • Testimonials
  • About AFPA
  • Free Resources
  • Blog
  • FAQs
  • Renew Your Health Fitness Certification
  • Contact Us
  • Cart
800.494.7782
Sign in/Create Account
Enroll Now

Alkaline Diets, Meat & Calcium Loss

February 26, 2014
By AFPA Fitness

Dr. Michael Greger, MD 

Experiments dating back to 1920 showed over and over that if we had a acid forming diet rich in meat that we would get a big spike in the amount of calcium being lost in our urine. We have known since 1912 that meat was acid-forming within the body.

Meat and eggs have a lot of sulphur-containing amino acids

Meat and eggs have 2 to 5 times more sulpher containing amino acids than grains and beans that are metabolized into sulphuric acid, which the body buffers with calcium compounds. And where is calcium stored in the body? The skeleton. So the thinking was that every time we ate a steak, our body would pull calcium from our bones, bit by bit, and over time this could lead to osteoporosis. Based on 26 such studies, for every 40 grams of protein we add to our daily diet, we pee out an extra 50 mg of calcium. We only have about 2 pounds of calcium in our skeleton, so the loss of 50 grams a day would mean losing close to 2% of our bone calcium every year. By the end of the 20th century, there was little doubt that acid-forming diets would dissolve our bones away.

But if we actually look at the studies done on protein intake and bone health, that’s not what we find. So, where’s the flaw in the logic? Meat leads to acid, which leads to calcium loss, which leads to bone loss, right?

Well, it’s uncontroversial that protein results in greater calcium excretion, but we’ve just been assuming it’s coming from the bone—where else could the extra calcium dumped in our urine be coming from but our bones?

This is the study that appeared to solve the mystery. An intrepid group of researchers tried feeding a group of volunteers radioactive calcium and then put them on a high protein diet. What happens when you put people on a high protein diet? The amount of calcium in their urine shoots up, and indeed that’s just what happened. But here’s the big question, was that extra calcium in their urine radioactive or not? To everyone’s surprise, it was radioactive. This meant that the excess calcium in their urine was coming from their diet, not from their bones.

What seemed to be happening is that the excess protein consumption boosted calcium absorption, from down around 19% up to 26%. All of a sudden there was all this extra calcium in the blood, so presumably the kidneys are like “whoa, what are we going to do with it all?” So they dump it into the urine. 90% of the extra calcium in the urine after eating a steak doesn’t appear to be coming from our bones but from our diet. We’re not sure why protein boosts calcium absorption. Maybe protein increases the solubility of calcium by stimulating stomach acid production? Whatever the reason, there was indeed more calcium lost, but also more calcium gained such that in the end, most of that extra calcium is accounted for. In effect, more calcium is lost in the urine stream, but it may be compensated by less loss of calcium through the fecal stream.

This was repeated with even more extreme diets—an acid-forming five-burgers-a-day-worth-of-animal protein diet that limited fruits and vegetables versus an alkaline diet emphasizing fruits and vegetables. More calcium in the urine on burgers, but significantly greater calcium absorption, such that at the end it was pretty much a wash.

Other studies have also since supported this interpretation. Here’s an ingenious one: Feed people a high animal protein diet but add in an alkali salt to neutralize the acid. The old thinking would predict that there would be no calcium loss since there is no excess acid to buffer, but no, even though the acid load was neutralized, there was still the excess urinary calcium, consistent with the radioactive isotope study, challenging the “long-standing dogma that animal protein consumption results in a mild acidosis promoting the increased excretion of calcium.”

So if our body isn’t buffering the acid formed from our diet with our bones, how is it neutralizing the acid? Maybe with our muscles. Alkaline diets may protect our muscle mass! I cover that in my video Testing Your Diet with Pee and Purple Cabbage.

Now the boost in calcium absorption can only compensate if you’re taking enough in. For example, dietary acid load may be associated with lower bone mineral density in those getting under 800mg a day. Plant Protein is Preferable to animal protein for a variety of reasons (tends to have less methionine, is less IGF-1 promoting, etc.), but it’s not clear how much of an advantage it has when it comes to bone health.

I previously touched on this topic in my video Is Protein Bad to the Bone? But I promised I’d take a deeper dive, hence the above video. If there are other topics you’d like me to cover in greater depth please note them below in the comment section.

Share this article

TURN YOUR DREAM CAREER INTO REALITY

In just six months or less, you can start working in the industry of your dreams with an AFPA certification. For questions or to get started, call us today at 800.494.7782.

Choose Your Program
Contact Us

Stay Connected

Get immediate access to AFPA’s most recent health and wellness insights, exclusive offers and groundbreaking tips to help you become the trusted health, fitness or nutrition professional.

AFPA
  • Column 1
    • Contact Us
    • About AFPA
    • Renew Your Certification
    • FAQs
    • Explore All Certifications
  • Column 2
    • Accreditation and Associations
    • Code of Ethics
    • Professional Insurance
    • Affiliate Partners
GeoTrust Logo
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • ©2023 AFPA.
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Privacy Policy