Acidic Foods & Calcium Loss

Kathy Pollard, MS In terms of the pH balance of acid to alkaline in the blood, all meats are acidic, as there is an acid-forming nature to protein. The sulfur-containing amino acids in animal foods produce the acid-forming sulfate ion.1 Meats and eggs have two to five times the amount of sulfur-containing amino acids than plant protein. According to researcher Amy Lanou, PhD, protein is predominantly responsible for making the blood acidic. As protein increases in the diet, more calcium is excreted in the urine. This has been well established, but the mechanisms as to why calcium ends up in the urine upon eating acidic foods are not perfectly clear.  Calcium can be leeched from bones.2 Calcium absorption can increase as well. Milk, beans, soy foods and grains are acid-forming, but less so than fish, eggs, meats and cheeses.2 Most vegetables are alkaline in nature, though grains, predominantly from gluten, are considered somewhat acid-forming, and