Many conventional physicians refer to chronic and diet-related hyperacidity as hocus-pocus. They believe that acidification has not been scientifically proven. Therefore, if a patient wants to deacidify, he can rarely count on the support of his doctor. However, if you are lucky, you will meet a doctor who is no stranger to the scientific literature on the subject of hyperacidity and deacidification. For years, studies on this topic have been published again and again – studies that are consistently ignored by the majority of conventional medicine.

Hyperacidity (acute acidosis) in medicine

Most conventional physicians and adherents of conventional medicine only know the term hyperacidity in connection with the so-called respiratory or metabolic acidosis, an acute lowering of the pH value of the blood that must be treated immediately. It can develop as a life-threatening complication because of lung diseases, diabetes, alcoholism or kidney disease.

Chronic hyperacidity in naturopathy

The chronic or latent and diet-related hyperacidity described in naturopathy due to too many animal products, too many isolated carbohydrates and, in particular, too many highly processed foods low in vital substances does not have much in common with the acute acidosis described.

It is an acidity that can persist for decades, that is not acutely life-threatening, but can contribute to chronic diseases of all kinds in the long term, and that cannot be remedied in the intensive care unit, but with the help of an alkaline diet, alkaline minerals and other alkaline food supplements (e.g. powder of alkaline herbs, roots and vegetables) within a few weeks or months.

Studies on hyperacidity: Anything but pseudo medicine

When the concept of hyperacidity was examined more closely, the representatives of conventional medicine came to the conclusion: The latent form of hyperacidity is a “pseudo-diagnosis from the environment of pseudo medicine, in this form is not scientifically recognized”. So chronic hyperacidity is considered “a form of disease invention”. Of course, at the same time, deacidifying measures – above all the alkaline diet – are dismissed as pointless. Alkaline products are referred to as money-making.

However, not all conventional physicians do this. And certainly not all scientists. In recent years, several studies by renowned universities have been published in renowned journals that are dedicated to the harmful health effects of diet-related latent hyperacidity and the helpful effects of deacidification.

In the following, we present (chronologically) those studies that have dealt with latent hyperacidity in recent years. None of them came to the conclusion that the hyperacidity could not exist. On the contrary. Time and again, it has been found how harmful chronic hyperacidity is and how well deacidifying measures can improve health.

2006: Deacidification increases bone density

Partial neutralization of the acidogenic Western diet with potassium citrate increases bone mass in postmenopausal women with osteopenia, which means: Neutralization of the acid-forming Western diet with potassium citrate increases bone density in women (postmenopausal) with osteopenia (1), where potassium citrate is an alkaline mineral compound.

The summary of the study reads:

Chronic acid loads are the inevitable consequence of a Western diet high in animal and grain proteins.”

In this study, the effect of deacidifying measures on bone density was examined: The participants were given 1170 mg of potassium citrate per day, divided into three doses, or the same amount of another (non-basic) potassium compound (potassium chloride) in order to rule out the possibility that it was only the potassium that would ultimately work. Both sets of participants were also given a daily dosage of 500 mg of calcium and 400 IU of vitamin D.

In the potassium citrate group, an increase in bone density, e.g. in the femoral neck bone and hip, could be observed after one year. In the potassium chloride group, on the other hand, bone density continued to decline. A significant reduction in urinary calcium excretion was observed in the potassium citrate group, while citrate excretion increased, which is a sign of alkalization of the body. Alkalizing means becoming more alkaline. The researchers’ conclusion was:

Bone density can […] be significantly increased by daily base intake in the form of potassium citrate […].”

As early as 10 years ago, the Swiss scientists assumed diet-related hyperacidity, which can be neutralized with the help of deacidification (by taking alkaline mineral supplements), which leads to improved bone health.

2007: Hyperacidity leads to chronic disease

A year later, a detailed article in Alternative Therapies explained how diet-related hyperacidity leads to a disturbance of the acid-base balance in various areas of the body and ultimately leads to chronic disease, because the organism must always plunder its alkaline reserves in order to be able to neutralize the permanent flood of acids ( 4 ).

Deacidification is recommended with a diet rich in vegetables and alkaline supplements, such as potassium citrate, in order to resupply the body with alkaline reserves. The article was written by at least four scientists, including cardiologist Dr. med. Robert Lerman and labeled as suitable for publication.

2007: Hyperacidity harms bone health

Also in 2007, Dr. oec. troph. Ute Alexy and Prof. Dr. Remer from the Research Institute for Child Nutrition in Dortmund in the journal Pediatric Practice on the “nutrition-related acid load”, which influences bone stability in children and adolescents.

The text begins like this:

Nutrition has an influence on the acid-base balance through the intake of minerals and protein. In addition to the lungs and kidneys, the skeleton also plays an important role in regulating the acid-base balance when there is a high level of nutritional acidity, as minerals from the bone act as additional buffers.”

And after describing the results of the so-called DONALD study, it ends like this:

Obviously, potential negative protein effects on the bones caused by an increased acid load can be significantly compensated for by an adequate intake of alkaline-forming nutrients or foods, especially fruit and vegetables. The results of the DONALD study thus provide a further argument for the abundant consumption of these foods in children and adolescents as well.”

2011: Diet-related acidity

In August 2011, Spanish researchers from the Hospital General Juan Cardona (La Coruña/Galicia) wrote in Clinical Nutrition that the modern Western diet contains too few fruits and vegetables and instead far too many animal products (14). This unfavorable combination leads to an excessive accumulation of non-metabolizable anions (negatively charged particles) and a permanent, but unfortunately often overlooked, acidosis. This would continue to intensify over the course of life, as kidney functions weaken with increasing age and the kidneys are less and less able to drain the acids that accumulate.

According to the researchers, a high level of diet-related acidity can lead to diabetes, high blood pressure and cardiovascular diseases. Other studies have also long since confirmed the connection between insulin resistance and the markers of hyperacidity. Markers of hyperacidity include low serum bicarbonate levels, low citrate levels, and low urine pH levels.

2012: Alkaline diet has many health benefits

Dr. Gerry K. Schwalfenberg published a study in 2012 titled The Alkaline Diet: Is There Evidence That an Alkaline pH Diet Benefits Health? ( 13 ) to find out whether there is already scientific evidence of a health benefit of an alkaline diet.

After reviewing the data available at the time, Schwalfenberg found that an alkaline diet always had the following health benefits:

• Increased consumption of fruits and vegetables, which is common in the alkaline diet, improves the potassium/sodium ratio and can thus benefit bone health, reduce muscle wear and reduce other chronic diseases such as high blood pressure and the risk of stroke.
• The increase in growth hormone levels on an alkaline diet improves the health of many areas of the body – from cardiovascular health to memory and cognitive abilities.
• The level of magnesium in the cell increases over the course of an alkaline diet, which improves the functions of many enzyme systems in the body. Since magnesium is also required to activate vitamin D, the optimized magnesium supply also improves all parameters associated with a suitable vitamin D supply.
• Even some chemotherapy drugs work better when you eat alkaline, as they work best in an alkaline environment.

Schwalfenberg then concluded that it would be very sensible and forward-looking to consider an alkaline diet, as it could reduce the risk of chronic diseases and the resulting early mortality

2013: Hyperacidity damages bones and muscles

In 2013, Scialla et al. of the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine School of Medicine in Miami, Florida, wrote that a high acid load from diet can lead to low-grade, subclinical acidosis, which in turn can result in bone and muscle loss. At the beginning of the article, it is described how this form of hyperacidity can form from an acid-rich diet ( 6 ).

2014: Hyperacidity accelerates kidney disease

A year later (2014), eight scientists from different universities wrote for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control in BMC Nephrology (a journal for kidney specialists) that diet could have an extraordinary effect on acid-base balance and therefore accelerate chronic kidney disease ( 7 ).

After analyzing data from more than 12,000 participants, the researchers concluded that dietary acid load is an important consideration to consider in future therapies for patients at high risk of chronic kidney disease.

2015: Alkaline diet promotes bone health

In January 2015, English scientists from the University of Surrey published a meta-analysis in the journal Osteoporosis International, in which they refer to 14 studies in which the effect of basic potassium compounds on calcium metabolism was investigated ( 8 ).

Overall, it could be summarized that supplementation with alkaline potassium compounds (which are taken during deacidification, for example) leads to a significant reduction in calcium excretion via the kidneys and therefore automatically leads to improved bone health.

Excessive accumulation of acid in the body, which is the result of a typical Western diet of abundant animal proteins and cereal products, favors the development of weak and brittle bones”

according to the researchers led by Dr. Helen Lambert from the Faculty of Nutrition in Surrey.

Our research showed that potassium compounds can prevent osteoporosis, and eating more fruits and vegetables is also a very good way to improve bone strength and prevent bone fragility.”

2016: Hyperacidity increases risk of cardiovascular disease

In a Korean study, the scientists involved report in the journal Cardiovascular Diabetology on the connection between diet-related hyperacidity and the resulting increased risk of cardiovascular diseases. Other risk factors such as obesity, lack of exercise or insulin resistance had previously been ruled out ( 3 ).

2016: Hyperacidity damages the kidneys

In Korea they did a study of 123,000 participants that found that diet-induced hyperacidity stresses the kidneys by leading to increased renal hyperfiltration (RHF) of the kidneys – an early but possibly reversible symptom of chronic kidney disease.

The diet-related acid load was determined using the so-called eNEAP (estimated net endogenous acid production). The higher the acidity values, the stronger the RHRF – regardless of gender and age. It was also found that animal proteins increased RHF, while vegetable proteins reduced it.

Hyperacidity has also been scientifically proven

So you can see that there has long been convincing scientific evidence on diet-related acidosis, which has been so strongly doubted. This means that chronic hyperacidity does not only exist in naturopathic or alternative medicine circles, but also in the scientific world of conventional medicine and is therefore also taken into account by some doctors in the therapy of chronic diseases.

Of course, you can now continue to believe those who still want to remain of the opinion that there is no nutritional acidity and that the type of diet has almost no influence on health.

However, you could also just give it a try and see how you feel if you eat a healthy diet with a high proportion of alkaline foods from now on. You could also take alkaline minerals or start a deacidification program. In the case of chronic illnesses, the latter is best done in the company of a doctor or alternative practitioner, so that the type and dose of the preparations can be precisely tailored to you.

And when you suddenly feel much better than before, you will find it hard to believe that people who should actually have our health in mind are so vehemently opposed to measures that bring convincing results – namely health improvements – with little effort, low cost and in a short time.

Information on the alkaline diet can be found here: The alkaline diet