Boning Up on Osteoporosis

When we eat beef, pork, lamb, chicken, or other foods from animals, our bodies take in proteins that may be rich in sulfur. That's unlike the proteins in plant foods—fruits, veggies, nuts, grains, or legumes like peas or dry beans. As we digest animal proteins, the sulfur in them forms acid. A slight, temporary acid overload—called acidosis—may result.

To regain our natural balance of acidity to alkalinity, or pH, in the bloodstream, our bodies must buffer the influx of acid. One possible buffer is calcium phosphate, which the body canborrow from our bones—the body's main storage depot for this essential mineral.
Though calcium phosphate is an effective buffer and neutralizer, taking it from bones might increase our risk of osteoporosis. This unhealthy increase in the porosity of bones, and resultant thinning, leaves those afflicted with this disease especially vulnerable to fractures of the spine, hips, and wrists.

Estimates from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) indicate that 10 million Americans, mainly women, already suffer from this disease. Another 28 million Americans are at risk. Other NIH analyses suggest that one in every two women and one in every eight men over age 50 in this country will have an osteoporosis-related fracture in their lifetime. Continue to full article