Written on February 21, 2012 at 5:00 pm, by 2Health
Both wind turbines and birds rely on the power of air currents to move them. That means that as more wind turbines are built, the towers claim an increasing percentage of space once reserved only for avian flight. Some of the best sites for wind farms fall in the migratory paths of birds: The same wind currents attract both, and the birds end up killed. Those casualties are a particular problem when the species threatened are the same ones the government has decided to protect.
The federal government is in the process of debating how many eagles a wind farm in Oregon should be permitted to "take"—meaning disturb, injure, or kill. If the Fish and Wildlife Service grants a take permit to the West Butte Wind project, it will be the first ever awarded to a wind farm. In December, the agency published its preliminary assessment of the permit application, which would extend for five years, and the window for comments closed last week. West Butte Wind Power is asking for a permit covering one to two eagle takings over the 20-to-30-year lifespan of the project. In its draft assessment, the FWS estimates that anywhere between zero and 17 eagles could be significantly harmed.
Environmentalists and energy companies agree these permits are a positive step, although the wind industry would like the permits to cover longer stretches of time. Wind projects help circumvent drastic climate change, which do far greater harm to eagles and other birds than turbines do. A legal framework that deals with the danger to birds will hold wind power companies accountable for the damage they do. The Fish and Wildlife Service can require that companies improve eagle habitats elsewhere, or fund research on turbines that be less dangerous to birds. The agency can also require wind projects to install monitors that track bird movement in the area and to turn off the turbines if eagles approach.
In the mitigation plan the agency favored in its draft assessment, West Butte Wind Power would contribute $20,000 to an organization working toward golden eagle conservation. It would also help upgrade 11 electric power poles in the project area that pose a danger to eagles. If the wind farm kills any eagles, the company will make even more upgrades. It has also agreed to slow the speed of its turbines if research shows the change could help prevent eagles’ deaths. Environmental groups think even more should be done: The Oregon Natural Desert Association, a local organization that's been involved with the permit process, suggests that the company could help conserve an eagle habitat on nearby land to prevent it from being developed, for instance.
The West Butte project will be located east of Bend, Oregon, in a high desert area near the center of the state at the edge of a national forest. The project shouldn’t have more than 56 turbines, a relatively small projest. But if we're going to significantly decrease carbon emissions and successfully fight climate change, there will be many more of these projects to come. That expansion each come with a cost—it’s better that companies commit to mitigating it before they start building.
Photo via (cc) Flickr user gumdropgas
Written on February 21, 2012 at 5:00 pm, by 2Health
Welcome to The Rules, an illustrated guide to modern etiquette.
Written on February 21, 2012 at 5:00 pm, by 2Health
Music unites and transforms, makes us laugh, makes us think, or simply gets our toes tapping. So we thought we'd give the GOOD community a chance to kickstart a community music project of your own.
GOOD Maker is calling all music lovers to tell us how you would use $2,500 to share your passion and skills with others. Get creative! You can propose anything from a benefit concert to a scratch workshop for aspiring DJs, a lullaby-writing class to a community jam session at a local park. We want to help you bring your city or neighborhood to life through music. Apply here for a chance to win.
This challenge is open for submissions until March 15 at noon Pacific time. From March 15-29, we’ll open it up to a public vote. Rally your colleagues and friends to get behind your effort and join the GOOD community to decide which idea is most deserving of the cash to make it happen.
Be sure to visit maker.good.is to apply or vote for the current round of challenges, and click here to sign up for the GOOD Maker Challenge announcements email list.
Written on February 21, 2012 at 5:00 pm, by 2Health
Things are easier said than done, or so the old adage goes, and we couldn't agree more. That's why we do The GOOD 30-Day Challenge (#30DaysofGOOD), a monthly attempt to live better. Our challenge for February? GOOD citizenship.
Ask a foreign-born person to share their migration story.
So we're a nation of immigrants. But when was the last time you asked an immigrant why she or he came to this nation? What dreams compelled them? Have those dreams come to pass? If so, how? If not, why not?
The simple act of asking—of inviting a new American to share their story of how they came here and why—does a few things at once. It weaves the storyteller more powerfully into the American story. It awakens you to the stories all around us. It requires both of you to lean forward and connect with someone in a way that you can't in everyday polite conversation. The person you ask might be someone you see at work or in the neighborhood. Or you might go to a local organization that works with immigrants and refugees and spend a short amount of time listening. Either way, there are few better ways to remember what being a citizen is about.
Learn how to live like a citizen at The Guiding Lights Weekend conference on creative citizenship March 8-10 in Seattle.
Propose an idea to promote GOOD citizenship where you live for a chance to win $500 to make it happen.
Written on February 21, 2012 at 5:00 pm, by 2Health
In the past few weeks, we’ve been training the next Boba Guy and have finally added him to our ranks. Johan, like us, had no previous restaurant experience. But he does share our startup-friendly skillset—plus the flexibility we lacked due to our full-time jobs.
We consider Boba Guys a food startup and not a restaurant because of the iterative business model we have built. Like most startups, we are small (growing from two to now three!) and fast-paced. What we look for in an employee is very much what startups look for: a knack for problem solving, appetite for risk, and diversity.
Boba Guys is sailing in uncharted waters—there’s no role model out there that we can directly copy for success. We are essentially a popup business inside of another business, and still figuring out how to scale. Over the few months that we have been open, we’ve been able to start analyzing our run rate and plan for the days and weeks ahead. We are learning as we go along, and so experience was not something that we could easily seek in others.
A startup wouldn't be a startup if the problems it sought to solve had already been solved. This is why we placed little emphasis on experience but much more on problem solving. There were bottlenecks and efficiency problems in our first few months that we are continuing to solve. We want to establish a culture of thinkers and problem solvers as we continue to grow and enter new channels.
For instance, what would we do if we had to cater a big event? How do we transport that much liquid? Is there electricity? And why does Bin only have a bike?
Another quality we look for in an employee is someone who is not afraid to take risks, especially as a business that stands behind transparency and experimentation. We feel like if we are up front about our actions and intentions, than people are will understand and support us. We want employees that show that same willingness to take on new challenges and surprise us with their own ideas.
That’s exactly what Johan did, proposing and developing a new flavor for us his first week, even before he’d learned all there was to learn about the business. The mint tea boba he created was a huge success, winning over a lot of customers. It also that demonstrated that Johan could not only do what we asked of him, but also offer something we had not thought of.
Which brings us to diversity, an often-overlooked area when it comes to hiring the right employee. Companies often look for great cultural fits when it comes to hiring, but it’s easy to hire another employee in your likeness. Truly great hires are people who can bring a fresh perspective while enhancing the company as a whole. In the past, emphasizing workplace diversity was seen as a way to curb discrimination. In today’s era, especially in the startup world, diversity is also instrumental to keeping your focus from becoming too myopic. Hiring a crew of clones would only serve to widen our blind spots.
From the start, we've encouraged each other to call things out when we think they’re wrong or can be improved. This type of constructive criticism is what gives us our competitive edge as we grow and begin showing up on our competitor’s radars.
The Boba Guys share their adventures in food enterprise every Monday.
Written on February 21, 2012 at 5:00 pm, by 2Health
No matter how enticing the message or important the mission of a new nonprofit or startup, a website and logo that look like they've been slapped together for nothing will keep the idea from generating the buzz it needs to take off. Unfortunately, many social entrepreneurs who are just starting off can barely afford to pay rent on an office, let alone shell out thousands of dollars to branding strategists to coach them through their launch.
Brands For The People is a new business that connects social entrepreneurs with design and brand strategy on the cheap. The company charges less than $1,000 for an entry-level package, claiming that it's "trimmed the fat associated with branding agencies" by moving business entirely online. Using Brands For The People's online system, prospective clients submit a brand brief explaining their mission statement and summarize design preferences on a worksheet. The service suggests the best designers for the job—pulling from a database of 33 creatives (so far) from around the world—and allows the client to invite up to five of them to pitch ideas. The company argues that the result is a win for the client—who pays less money to access a competing marketplace of ideas—as well as the designer, who doesn't have to deal with sales or invoicing.
The company is the product of brand consultant Andrea Shillington, who abandoned a corporate career to found the company within Vancouver's startup community. "We will rest when businesses make a profit without being greedy," she declares on the Brands For The People website. "We will exhale when we've helped hundreds of thousands of startups become world famous brands."
Via Springwise
Written on February 21, 2012 at 5:00 pm, by 2Health
In our weekly Hustlin' series, we go beyond the pitying articles about recession-era youth and illuminate ways our generation is coping. The last few years may have been a rude awakening, but we're surviving. Here's how.
At 32 years old, I’ve never had a real job. Or more accurately, I’ve had a shitload of them, just never one at a time. I’ve never had a desk where I was expected to be sitting during work hours, never had a chat by the water cooler (does that really happen?). I’ve never even had a boss.
And no, I’m not a trust fund kid whose parents have been secretly slipping cash into my checking account all these years. I’m a serious freelance hustler, or to use my dad's preferred term, I have a 'portfolio career." I write books, pen op-eds, blog, speak at colleges and conferences, do communications and strategic consulting with a slew of awesome social justice organizations, ghostwrite, serve as an individual writing coach, and, occasionally teach. I’ve made enough money over the years to afford health insurance, splurge on books and vintage clothes, and even buy my own little home-sweet-home in Brooklyn.
Of course, not all of my peers have been so lucky to “choose” the freelance lifestyle—sometimes more accurately described as underemployed. Fast Company optimistically described the “Flux Generation”: "a mind-set that embraces instability, that tolerates—and even enjoys—recalibrating careers, business models, and assumptions." But often, this just means plain ol' unemployed and underutilized. Nearly half of Americans adults ages 18 to 25 are jobless. And worldwide, there are now 3.3 million unemployed workers between the ages of 25 and 34.
The fact is, freelance is becoming the new 9-to-5, whether we want it to or not. Tom Fisher, writing in the Huffington Post, reports that “contingent workforce,” meaning the self-employed, freelancers, or "accidental entrepreneurs" laid off from full-time positions, will make up between 40 and 45 percent of the workforce by 2020 and become a majority by 2030.
Early on, I realized this kind of "contingent" work was not going to come with an instruction manual, nor with any one-stop-shop mentor. I’ve had the support of a clown car’s worth of incredible people along the way—nonprofit directors, journalists, social media gurus, emotional intelligence experts, community organizers, grassroots activists, teachers, conflict mediators, and everyone in between. My friends, probably more than anyone else, have taught me wise lessons about surviving financially while doing work that matters to me in this strange economic time. Each of these people has given me insight into the kind of person—both personally and professionally—that I wanted to be, but none of them could advise me on all the various bells and whistles that animate my idiosyncratic career.
For that, I realized, I really needed to count on myself. So over the years, I’ve morphed into my own career coach.
What does that look like in practical terms? First, I have a strategic plan that I revisit once a month or so. Dorky, I know, but it helps me stay centered in the winds of career chaos. If I get job offers that I don’t have a gut instinct about, I can hold them up to the test of my strategic plan. Does this fit into what I said I wanted to be doing with my energy? Or will this be a distraction from the path I want to be on right now?
I balance these calculations with my projected income—also a feature of the plan—which helps me know when I need to be hustlin’ harder than usual, or when I can be a bit more choosy about the jobs I take on. There’s nothing like realizing you don’t have enough money in the bank for some basic expense—an experience every freelancer has from time to time—to teach you that keeping a chart on your projected income is totally worth the annoyance.
It also allows me to find that happy medium between reactive and proactive. Some opportunities have grown like beautiful little dandelions right in the cracks of an existing relationship. I didn’t have to tend or cultivate the projects; they just happened. But some things are a bit more elusive. Sometimes you have to go after a collaborator or a work gig. I’m not big on "networking"—at least the version of it talked about in women’s magazines and at some alienating conferences. But I do believe in "friend crushes." If someone does particularly awesome work, or has a way of looking at the world I find really unique, I will go out of my way to get to know them. It’s never with a set goal in mind, but more with the faith that putting a bunch of amazing people in my orbit will guarantee cool opportunities arising down the line.
To this end, my strategic plan features all kinds of useful lists: work that's in process, work I’d like to do in the near future, people I’d like to work with, kinds of work I realize I hate, kinds of work that really lights me up, skills I’d love to learn. Some of this may seem intuitive, but I’ve found that it can be hard to keep track of in a busy life.
There is something very powerful about putting things in writing. So much of what I’ve written down in my strategic plan has come to life not by some mystical force, but by the determination of my own intention. Once I’ve written something down—say, a new skill I want to learn—I start to walk around with a radar for opportunities to make it happen. It’s the organic byproduct of the seemingly inorganic practice of keeping the plan current.
The plan also contains my own personal mission statement (again, I wave my dork flag proudly). Theologian Fredrick Buchner says that you must find "where your deep gladness meets the world’s deep need." For me, that sweet spot is where true fulfillment lies, and it can be hard to find. When you’re a freelancer, it’s easy to feel like your life is being spent in a million different dribs and drabs, especially if you initially didn’t choose to make your living piecemeal. What does it all add up to? When you’ve got a mission statement, and you can check the different projects and jobs you’re doing against it, you have a greater sense of the whole.
I know I'm ridiculously blessed to have chosen freelancing and have it work for me. I also know it doesn’t come easy. Without the guidance of a supervisor or the wisdom of a mentor who understands the totality of my career, I have to be my own mentor, hold myself accountable, and give myself the space to dream.
Photo via (cc) Flickr user Matt Biddulph.
Written on February 21, 2012 at 5:00 pm, by 2Health
What do you love? This week in GOOD's video series, Burkhard Bauer—scientific advisor to Berlin's Institute of Parasitology and Tropical Vet Medicine, and an expert on tstetse fly disease transmission—talks about the little things in life.
Written on February 21, 2012 at 5:00 pm, by 2Health
Influence of bottled water on rehydration following a dehydrating bout of cycling exercise
Daniel Heil* and John Seifert
Author Affiliations
Movement Science/Human Performance Laboratory, Department of Health and Human Development, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT 59717, USA
For all author emails, please log on.
Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition 2009, 6(Suppl 1):P9 doi:10.1186/1550-2783-6-S1-P9
The electronic version of this article is the complete one and can be found online at:http://www.jissn.com/content/6/S1/P9
© 2009 Heil and Seifert; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.
Background
The purpose of this study was to compare the ability of two types of bottled water to rehydrate cyclists following a dehydrating bout of cycling exercise. It was hypothesized that rehydration would occur faster and/or more completely following the consumption of bottled glacier water supplemented with Alka-PlexLiquid™ (experimental condition) as compared to a filtered bottled water (placebo condition).
Methods
Ten male cyclists (Mean ± SD: 40 ± 5 years age, 51.3 ± 7.8 ml/kg/min maximal oxygen uptake) performed two trials (1-week apart) of stationary cycling in a warm room (27.5–28.5°C, ≥50% relative humidity) for 75–105 minutes at a power output that initially elicited 70–80% of maximal heart rate. Subjects exercised until dehydrating to -2.5% of pre-exercise nude body weight. Each cycling bout was followed immediately by the consumption of either the experimental (Akali; Glacier Water Company, LLC; Auburn, WA USA) or placebo (Aquafina; PepsiCo Inc., Purchase, NY USA) bottled waters (counterbalanced order, double-blind design) in a volume equivalent to body weight lost. Blood and urine samples, as well as nude body weight, were measured at fixed time points: Immediately pre- and post-exercise, and 30, 60, 90, 120, and 180 minutes post-exercise. Urine samples were analyzed for volume output and specific gravity, while changes in total serum protein were determined from the blood samples. Data were evaluated with paired t-tests and repeated measures ANOVA with planned contrasts at the 0.05 alpha level.
Results
Neither absolute (Mean ± SE; -2.00 ± 0.05 and -1.95 ± 0.07 kg) nor relative (-2.6 ± 0.1 and -2.5 ± 0.1%) amounts of body mass lost differed between placebo and experimental dehydration (P > 0.05), respectively. Urine output was significantly higher at time points ≥60 minutes post ingestion: 103.5 ± 24.4 versus 58.4 ± 14.0 mls, 183.1 ± 33.1 versus 125.2 ± 33.4 mls, 198.7 ± 35.9 versus 97.7 ± 25.5 mls, 234.5 ± 53.0 versus 107.6 ± 21.6 mls, for 60, 90, 120, and 180-min post ingestion, respectively (P < 0.05). At the same time points, urine specific gravity tended to be higher for the experimental (1.014–1.012) than placebo water (1.005–1.008;P = 0.02–0.08). Lastly, serum protein tended to be less concentrated in the blood for the experimental water trial than for the placebo water trial at 120-minutes (7.7 ± 0.03 versus 6.7 ± 0.2 g/L; P = 0.08) and 180-minutes (7.8 ± 0.3 versus 6.7 ± 0.2 g/L; P = 0.08) post ingestion. Water retention at the end of the 3-hour recovery period, calculated as 1 minus the ratio of total urine volume (TUV) to ingested water volume (IWV) as a percentage ([1-(TUV/IWV)] × 100)), was significantly higher for the experimental water trial (79.2 ± 3.9%) than for the placebo water trial (62.5 ± 5.4%; P < 0.05).
Conclusion
Consumption of the experimental water resulted in significantly less urine output, a tendency for more water to be retained in the blood, and a higher overall water retention rate over the placebo water. Collectively, these results indicate that consumption of the experimental bottled water following a dehydrating bout of exercise provided faster and more complete rehydration to cyclists than the highly-filtered bottled water. It is likely that the Alka-PlexLiquid™ supplement, the high pH of 10.0, or some other unidentified component of the experimental water, was responsible for these observations.
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Written on February 21, 2012 at 5:00 pm, by 2Health
The Alkaline Diet: Is There Evidence That an Alkaline pH Diet Benefits Health?
Gerry K. Schwalfenberg *
University of Alberta, Suite No. 301, 9509-156 Street, Edmonton, AB, Canada T5P 4J5
Academic Editor: Janette Hope
Received July 3, 2011; Accepted August 8, 2011.
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
This review looks at the role of an alkaline diet in health. Pubmed was searched looking for articles on pH, potential renal acid loads, bone health, muscle, growth hormone, back pain, vitamin D and chemotherapy. Many books written in the lay literature on the alkaline diet were also reviewed and evaluated in light of the published medical literature. There may be some value in considering an alkaline diet in reducing morbidity and mortality from chronic diseases and further studies are warranted in this area of medicine.
Life on earth depends on appropriate pH levels in and around living organisms and cells. Human life requires a tightly controlled pH level in the serum of about 7.4 (a slightly alkaline range of 7.35 to 7.45) to survive [
1].
As a comparison, in the past 100 years with increasing industrialization, the pH of the ocean has dropped from 8.2 to 8.1 because of increasing CO
2 deposition. This has a negative impact on life in the ocean [
1,
2] and may lead to the collapse of the coral reefs [
3]. Even the pH of the soil in which plants are grown can have considerable influence on the mineral content of the food we eat (as minerals are used as buffers to maintain pH). The ideal pH of soil for the best overall availability of essential nutrients is between 6 and 7. Acidic soils below pH of 6 may have reduced calcium and magnesium, and soil above pH 7 may result in chemically unavailable iron, manganese, copper and zinc. Adding dolomite and manure are ways of raising pH in an acid soil environment when the pH is below 6 [
4].
When it comes to the pH and net acid load in the human diet, there has been considerable change from the hunter gather civilization to the present [
5]. With the agricultural revolution (last 10,000 years) and even more recently with industrialization (last 200 years), there has been an decrease in potassium (K) compared to sodium (Na) and an increase in chloride compared to bicarbonate found in the diet [
6]. The ratio of potassium to sodium has reversed, K/Na previously was 10 to 1 whereas the modern diet has a ratio of 1 to 3 [
7]. It is generally accepted that agricultural humans today have a diet poor in magnesium and potassium as well as fiber and rich in saturated fat, simple sugars, sodium, and chloride as compared to the preagricultural period [
6]. This results in a diet that may induce metabolic acidosis which is mismatched to the genetically determined nutritional requirements [
8]. With aging, there is a gradual loss of renal acid-base regulatory function and a resultant increase in diet-induced metabolic acidosis while on the modern diet [
9]. A low-carbohydrate high-protein diet with its increased acid load results in very little change in blood chemistry, and pH, but results in many changes in urinary chemistry. Urinary magnesium levels, urinary citrate and pH are decreased, urinary calcium, undissociated uric acid, and phosphate are increased. All of these result in an increased risk for kidney stones [
10].
Much has been written in the lay literature as well as many online sites expounding on the benefits of the alkaline diet. This paper is an attempt to balance the evidence that is found in the scientific literature.
2. The Role of pH in Various Cells, Organs, and Membranes
The pH in our body may vary considerably from one area to another with the highest acidity in the stomach (pH of 1.35 to 3.5) to aid in digestion and protect against opportunistic microbial organisms. But even in the stomach, the layer just outside the epithelium is quite basic to prevent mucosal injury. It has been suggested that decreased gastric lining secretion of bicarbonates and a decrease in the alkaline/acid secretion in duodenal ulcer patients may play a significant role in duodenal ulcers [
11]. The skin is quite acidic (pH 4–6.5) to provide an acid mantle as a protective barrier to the environment against microbial overgrowth. There is a gradient from the outer horny layer (pH 4) to the basal layer (pH 6.9) [
12]. This is also seen in the vagina where a pH of less than 4.7 protects against microbial overgrowth [
13].
The urine may have a variable pH from acid to alkaline depending on the need for balancing the internal environment. Acid excretion in the urine can be estimated by a formula described by Remer (sulfate + chloride + 1.8x phosphate + organic acids) minus (sodium + potassium + 2x calcium + 2x magnesium) mEq [
14]. Foods can be categorized by the potential renal acid loads (PRALs) see
Table 2. Fruits, vegetables, fruit juices, potatoes, and alkali-rich and low phosphorus beverages (red and white wine, mineral soda waters) having a negative acid load. Whereas, grain products, meats, dairy products, fish, and alkali poor and low phosphorus beverages (e.g., pale beers, cocoa) have relatively high acid loads [
15]. Measurement of pH of the urine (reviewed in a recent study with two morning specimens done over a five-year span) did not predict bone fractures or loss of bone mineral density [
16]. However, this may not be reflective of being on an alkaline or acid diet throughout this time. For more details, see
Table 1.
|
|
Table 2
Potential renal acid loads (PRALs) of selected foods [20].
|
|
|
Table 1
Ph of selected fluids, organs, and membranes.
|
3. Chronic Acidosis and Bone Disease
Calcium in the form of phosphates and carbonates represents a large reservoir of base in our body. In response to an acid load such as the modern diet these salts are released into the systemic circulation to bring about pH homeostasis [
7]. It has been estimated that the quantity of calcium lost in the urine with the modern diet over time could be as high as almost 480
gm over 20 years or almost half the skeletal mass of calcium [
21]. However, urinary losses of calcium are not a direct measure of osteoporosis. There are many regulatory factors that may compensate for the urinary calcium loss. When the arterial pH is in the normal range, a mild reduction of plasma bicarbonate results in a negative calcium balance which could benefit from supplementing bicarbonate in the form of potassium bicarbonate [
22]. It has been found that bicarbonate, which increases the alkali content of a diet, but not potassium may attenuate bone loss in healthy older adults [
23]. The bone minerals that are wasted in the urine may not have complete compensation through intestinal absorption, which is thought to result in osteoporosis. However, adequate vitamin D with a 25(OH)D level of >80
nmol/L may allow for appropriate intestinal absorption of calcium and magnesium and phosphate when needed [
24]. Sadly, most populations are generally deficient in vitamin D especially in northern climates [
25]. In chronic renal failure, correction of metabolic acidosis with bicarbonate significantly improves parathyroid levels and levels of the active form of vitamin D 1,25(OH)2D
3 [
26]. Recently, a study has shown the importance of phosphate in Remer’s PRAL formula. According to the formula it would be expected that an increase in phosphate should result in an increase in urinary calcium loss and a negative calcium balance in bone [
27]. It should be noted that supplementation with phosphate in patients with bed rest reduced urinary calcium excretion but did not prevent bone loss [
28]. The most recent systematic review and meta-analysis has shown that calcium balance is maintained and improved with phosphate which is quite contrary to the acid-ash hypothesis [
29]. As well a recent study looking at soda intake (which has a significant amount of phosphate) and osteoporosis in postmenopausal American first nations women did not find a correlation [
30]. It is quite possible that the high acid content according to Remer’s classification needs to be looked at again in light of compensatory phosphate intake. There is online information promoting an alkaline diet for bone health as well as a number of books. However, a recent systematic review of the literature looking for evidence supporting the alkaline diet for bone health found no protective role of dietary acid load in osteoporosis [
31].
Another element of the modern diet is the excess of sodium in the diet. There is evidence that in healthy humans the increased sodium in the diet can predict the degree of hyperchloremic metabolic acidosis when consuming a net acid producing diet [
32]. As well, there is evidence that there are adverse effects of sodium chloride in the aging population. A high sodium diet will exacerbate disuse-induced bone and muscle loss during immobilization by increasing bone resorption and protein wasting [
33]. Excess dietary sodium has been shown to result in hypertension and osteoporosis in women [
34,
35]. As well, dietary potassium which is lacking in the modern diet would modulate pressor and hypercalciuric effects of excess of sodium chloride [
36].
Excess dietary protein with high acid renal load may decrease bone density if not buffered by ingestion of supplements or foods that are alkali rich [
37]. However, adequate protein is necessary for prevention of osteoporosis and sarcopenia; therefore, increasing the amount of fruit and vegetables may be necessary rather than reducing protein [
38].
4. Alkaline Diets and Muscle
As we age, there is a loss of muscle mass, which may predispose to falls and fractures. A three-year study looking at a diet rich in potassium, such as fruits and vegetables, as well as a reduced acid load, resulted in preservation of muscle mass in older men and women [
39]. Conditions such as chronic renal failure that result in chronic metabolic acidosis result in accelerated breakdown in skeletal muscle [
40]. Correction of acidosis may preserve muscle mass in conditions where muscle wasting is common such as diabetic ketosis, trauma, sepsis, chronic obstructive lung disease, and renal failure [
41]. In situations that result in acute acidosis, supplementing younger patients with sodium bicarbonate prior to exhaustive exercise resulted in significantly less acidosis in the blood than those that were not supplemented with sodium bicarbonate [
42].
5. Alkaline Supplementation and Growth Hormone
It has long been known that severe forms of metabolic acidosis in children, such as renal tubular acidosis, are associated with low levels of growth hormone with resultant short stature. Correction of the acidosis with bicarbonate [
7] or potassium citrate [
43] increases growth hormone significantly and improved growth. The use of enough potassium bicarbonate in the diet to neutralize the daily net acid load in postmenopausal women resulted in a significant increase in growth hormone and resultant osteocalcin [
44]. Improving growth hormone levels may improve quality of life, reduce cardiovascular risk factors, improve body composition, and even improve memory and cognition [
45]. As well this results in a reduction of urinary calcium loss equivalent to 5% of bone calcium content over a period of 3 years [
46].
6. Alkaline Diet and Back Pain
There is some evidence that chronic low back pain improves with the supplementation of alkaline minerals [
47]. With supplementation there was a slight but significant increase in blood pH and intracellular magnesium. Ensuring that there is enough intracellular magnesium allows for the proper function of enzyme systems and also allows for activation of vitamin D [
48]. This in turn has been shown to improve back pain [
49].
7. Alkalinity and Chemotherapy
The effectiveness of chemotherapeutic agents is markedly influenced by pH. Numerous agents such as epirubicin and adriamycin require an alkaline media to be more effective. Others, such as cisplatin, mitomycin C, and thiotepa, are more cytotoxic in an acid media [
50]. Cell death correlates with acidosis and intracellular pH shifts higher (more alkaline) after chemotherapy may reflect response to chemotherapy [
51]. It has been suggested that inducing metabolic alkalosis may be useful in enhancing some treatment regimes by using sodium bicarbonate, carbicab, and furosemide [
52]. Extracellular alkalinization by using bicarbonate may result in improvements in therapeutic effectiveness [
53]. There is no scientific literature establishing the benefit of an alkaline diet for the prevention of cancer at this time.
The human body has an amazing ability to maintain a steady pH in the blood with the main compensatory mechanisms being renal and respiratory. Many of the membranes in our body require an acid pH to protect us and to help us digest food. It has been suggested that an alkaline diet may prevent a number of diseases and result in significant health benefits. Looking at the above discussion on bone health alone, certain aspects have doubtful benefit. There does not seem to be enough evidence that milk or cheese may be as detrimental as Remer’s formula suggests since phosphate does benefit bone health and result in a positive calcium balance. However, another mechanism for the alkaline diet to benefit bone health may be the increase in growth hormone and resultant increase in osteocalcin. There is some evidence that the K/Na ratio does matter and that the significant amount of salt in our diet is detrimental. Even some governments are demanding that the food industry reduce the salt load in our diet. High-protein diets may also affect bone health but some protein is also needed for good bone health. Muscle wasting however seems to be reduced with an alkaline diet and back pain may benefit from this as well. An alkaline environment may improve the efficacy of some chemotherapy agents but not others.
Alkaline diets result in a more alkaline urine pH and may result in reduced calcium in the urine, however, as seen in some recent reports, this may not reflect total calcium balance because of other buffers such as phosphate. There is no substantial evidence that this improves bone health or protects from osteoporosis. However, alkaline diets may result in a number of health benefits as outlined below
- Increased fruits and vegetables in an alkaline diet would improve the K/Na ratio and may benefit bone health, reduce muscle wasting, as well as mitigate other chronic diseases such as hypertension and strokes.
- The resultant increase in growth hormone with an alkaline diet may improve many outcomes from cardiovascular health to memory and cognition.
- An increase in intracellular magnesium, which is required for the function of many enzyme systems, is another added benefit of the alkaline diet. Available magnesium, which is required to activate vitamin D, would result in numerous added benefits in the vitamin D apocrine/exocrine systems.
- Alkalinity may result in added benefit for some chemotherapeutic agents that require a higher pH.
From the evidence outlined above, it would be prudent to consider an alkaline diet to reduce morbidity and mortality of chronic disease that are plaguing our aging population. One of the first considerations in an alkaline diet, which includes more fruits and vegetables, is to know what type of soil they were grown in since this may significantly influence the mineral content. At this time, there are limited scientific studies in this area, and many more studies are indicated in regards to muscle effects, growth hormone, and interaction with vitamin D.
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Written on February 21, 2012 at 5:00 pm, by 2Health
Alkaline diets favor lean tissue mass in older adults
1,2,3,4Bess Dawson-Hughes, Susan S Harris, and Lisa Ceglia
1From the Jean Mayer US Department of Agriculture Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University, Boston, MA.
4Reprints not available. Address correspondence to B Dawson-Hughes, Jean Mayer USDA HNRCA at Tufts University, 711 Washington Street, Boston, MA 02111. E-mail:
bess.dawson-hughes@tufts.edu
The publisher’s final edited version of this article is available free at
Am J Clin Nutr See other articles in PMC that
cite the published article.
Background
Maintaining muscle mass while aging is important to prevent falls and fractures. Metabolic acidosis promotes muscle wasting, and the net acid load from diets that are rich in net acid–producing protein and cereal grains relative to their content of net alkali–producing fruit and vegetables may therefore contribute to a reduction in lean tissue mass in older adults.
Objective
We aimed to determine whether there was an association of 24-h urinary potassium and an index of fruit and vegetable content of the diet with the percentage lean body mass (%LBM) or change in %LBM in older subjects.
Design
Subjects were 384 men and women ≥65 y old who participated in a 3-y trial comparing calcium and vitamin D with placebo. Potassium was measured in 24-h urine collections at baseline. The %LBM, defined as total body nonfat, nonbone tissue weight ÷ weight × 100, was measured by using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry at baseline and at 3 y. Physical activity, height, and weight were assessed at baseline and at 3 y.
Results
At baseline, the mean urinary potassium excretion was 67.0 ± 21.1 mmol/d. Urinary potassium (mmol/d) was significantly positively associated with %LBM at baseline (β = 0.033, P = 0.006; adjusted for sex, weight, and nitrogen excretion) but not with 3-y change in %LBM. Over the 3-y study, %LBM increased by 2.6 ± 3.6%.
Conclusion
Higher intake of foods rich in potassium, such as fruit and vegetables, may favor the preservation of muscle mass in older men and women.
Keywords: Urinary potassium, percentage lean body mass, humans
Muscle mass gradually declines after age 50 y, and muscle loss leads to muscle weakness; greater risks of falls, fractures, and disability; and loss of independence (
1–
4). The cause of age-related muscle loss is multifactorial, but there is plausible evidence that the composition of diets with respect to acid-base balance is a contributing factor. Protein and cereal grains are metabolized to acidic residues, mainly sulfuric acid, and fruit and vegetables are metabolized to alkaline residues, mainly potassium bicarbonate. In general, American diets are acidogenic, generating 75–100 mEq acid/d (
5). With the decline in renal function that occurs with aging (
6), older persons are not able to excrete the excess hydrogen ions, and they develop mild but slowly increasing metabolic acidosis (
7).
Metabolic acidosis has been linked to muscle wasting in chronic renal failure (
8) and in obese subjects who were acidotic while following weight-loss diets (
9,
10); correction of the acidosis has been shown to reverse the muscle wasting in these 2 conditions (
11,
12). In a short-term metabolic study in 14 healthy postmenopausal women following isocaloric, acidogenic high-protein metabolic diets, the ingestion of a neutralizing dose of potassium bicarbonate significantly reduced nitrogen excretion over an 18-d period (
13). Muscle wasting appears to be an adaptive response to acidosis (
14–
17). With muscle breakdown, amino acids are released into the bloodstream. These amino acids provide a substrate for the hepatic synthesis of glutamine. Glutamine is used by the kidney to synthesize ammonia (
18). Ammonia molecules spontaneously accept protons and are excreted as ammonium ions; the excretion of ammonium thus removes protons and mitigates the acidosis. The objectives of the present study were to investigate associations of 24-h urinary potassium with percentage lean body mass (%LBM) and with the 3-y change in %LBM in 384 healthy men and women ≥65 y old who were consuming their usual diets.
Subjects and study design
The 384 subjects in this study (172 M, 212 F) were among the 389 subjects who completed the National Institute on Aging Sites Testing Osteoporosis Prevention/Intervention Treatment (STOP/IT) trial at Tufts University. In that 3-y study, subjects were randomly assigned to treatment with calcium (500 mg as citrate malate) plus vitamin D
3 (700 IU) or double placebo. Exclusion criteria were osteoporosis medications or hormone replacement in the past 2 y, glucocorticoid use in the past 6 mo, serum creatinine > 1.2 mg/dL (>106.1 µmol/L), liver disease, current cancer, and hyperparathyroidism. Exclusion criteria were published previously (
19).
In the cross-sectional analyses, 2 subjects were omitted for missing urinary potassium measurements, 2 for missing physical activity measurements, and one for missing a dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) scan. In the longitudinal analyses, 3 additional subjects were omitted for missing 3-y DXA measurements.
Written informed consent was obtained from all subjects. The study protocol was approved by the Investigational Review Board at Tufts University.
Measurements
Throughout the trial, subjects came to the center every 6 mo for follow-up visits. Data gathered on the baseline and final (3-y) visits are the subject of this analysis. Physical activity including leisure, household, and occupational activity was estimated at baseline and at 3 y by using the Physical Activity Scale for the Elderly questionnaire (
20). Weight was measured on a digital scale while subjects were wearing light clothing, and height was measured with the use of a stadiometer. Protein and potassium intake over the previous 6 mo was estimated at the 18-mo visit by using Willett’s food-frequency questionnaire (
21).
LBM was measured by using DXA on a Prodigy scanner (GE-Lunar, Madison, WI) and with the use of GE-LUNAR software (version 5.0; GE-Lunar). The CV of lean tissue mass measurements in our laboratory is 0.77% (
22). The %LBM was calculated as the weight of lean tissue ÷ weight × 100.
Fasting serum creatinine was measured by using colorimetry and plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D was measured by using a competitive protein-binding method as previously described (
19). All urine measurements were made on aliquots of 24-h urine collections. Urinary potassium and creatinine were measured by direct-current plasma emission spectroscopy with the use of a Spectraspan 6 (Beckman Instruments, Palo Alto, CA); intraassay and interassay CVs were 2.7% and 6.8%, respectively. Creatinine clearance was computed and adjusted for body surface area. Urinary nitrogen was measured with the use of a nitrogen-protein determinator (model FP-2000: LECO, St. Joseph, MI). This instrument uses a Dumas combustion method (
23) and performs detection with the use of a thermal conductivity cell. It measures nitrogen with a precision of 15 ppm.
Statistical analysis
Analyses were conducted with SPSS software (version 14.0; SPSS Inc, Chicago, IL). Two-tailed P values < 0.05 were considered to indicate significance. Data were reviewed graphically for evidence of outliers and nonnormality. Partial correlations and analysis of covariance were used to evaluate linear associations of nitrogen and potassium with %LBM and changes in %LBM after adjustment for covariates. In preliminary analyses, the possible influence of sex on these associations was investigated by including interaction terms in the analysis of covariance models; because these terms were not statistically significant (P > 0.26), subsequent analyses were conducted in the pooled sample.
The clinical and laboratory characteristics of the 384 subjects are shown in
Table 1. The group was of relatively high socioeconomic status, as indicated by their level of education. Over the 3-y study, 48.4% of the subjects were treated with calcium and vitamin D, and the remainder received placebo. Mean creatinine clearance was 86.5 ± 20.9 mL/min, but 28 subjects had clearance rates < 60 mL/min.
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TABLE 1
Baseline clinical and laboratory characteristics of study subjects1
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Protein intake was not assessed at baseline but, at the 18-mo visit, the mean ± SD value was 80.0 ± 29.4 g/d (n = 339). Also at the 18-mo visit, mean potassium intake was 3540 ± 1196 mg/d (range: 1062-10 698 mg/d). Fruit (25.9%) and vegetables (18.7%) were the 2 major sources, accounting for 44.6% of total potassium intake. Other components were grains and starches (16.5%), dairy (14.4%), meat and eggs (12.0%), beverages (7.4%), and sweets (5.0%). Urinary potassium was significantly correlated with LBM (r = 0.34, P < 0.001) but not with fat tissue mass (r = 0.00, P = 1.0).
Urinary potassium and percentage lean body mass at baseline
Variables associated with both potassium excretion and %LBM were considered as potential confounders of the association between potassium and %LBM. Continuous variables in this category were identified by computing their partial correlations, after adjustment for sex, with potassium and %LBM (
Table 2). Weight and nitrogen excretion clearly needed to be adjusted for because of a strong correlation with %LBM (weight) or potassium excretion (nitrogen) and at least a weak association with the other variable (ie, %LBM or nitrogen). Results of regression analyses in which only these 2 variables and sex are adjusted for, the “minimally adjusted” model, are shown in
Table 3 (model 2). In a third, “fully adjusted” model, we also adjusted for variables that were correlated (
r = ≥0.08) with potassium excretion only (ie, creatinine clearance and activity score) or %LBM only (ie, age and 25-hydrovitamin D), even if those correlations were not significant at the 0.05 level. Finally, we added the use of diuretics (yes or no) to this model because diuretic users had significantly
P = 0.045) lower %LBM than did nonusers (58.9 ± 7.2 and 61.6 ± 8.3, respectively). As expected from the way those factors were selected, adjustment for sex, body weight, and nitrogen excretion had an important effect on the regression coefficient for potassium excretion (change from model 1 to model 2), but further adjustments did not (change from model 2 to model 3).
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TABLE 2
Sex-adjusted correlations of potential confounders with potassium excretion and percentage lean body mass (%LBM)1
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TABLE 3
Regressions of percentage lean body mass on urinary potassium excretion1
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There was no significant interaction with nitrogen in the association of urinary potassium with %LBM (
P for interaction = 0.861). Urinary potassium and nitrogen were positively correlated (
r = 0.524,
P < 0.001). The association of potassium with %LBM in the men and the women, divided into quartiles of adjusted mean potassium (adjustments in model 2), is shown in
Figure 1. Although men had greater %LBM than the women, the association of potassium with %LBM did not differ significantly between the men and the women.
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FIGURE 1
Associations between quartile of potassium excretion and percentage lean body mass after adjustment for weight and nitrogen excretion in the 172 men (■) and 212 women (○). The quartile boundaries of potassium excretion were 52.3, 64.9, (more …)
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Urinary potassium and 3-y change in percentage lean body mass
The 24-h urinary potassium was not significantly associated with 3-y change in %LBM either before or after adjustment for sex, weight, baseline LBM, nitrogen excretion, and treatment group (β = 0.001, P = 0.910). Baseline urinary nitrogen also was not significantly associated with 3-y change in %LBM (β < 0.001, P = 0.987).
Over the 3-y study period, weight measured by digital scale decreased by 0.60 ± 3.93 kg, and the change did not differ significantly between the 2 treatment groups. Over the same period, DXA-measured total tissue weight increased by 0.47 ± 3.9 kg. Weights obtained by these 2 measurements were highly correlated (r = 0.933, P < 0.001). LBM increased by 1.38 ± 1.66 kg, and %LBM increased by 2.6 ± 3.6%.
This study indicates that higher excretion of potassium, a reflection of greater potassium intake, is associated with greater %LBM in healthy older men and women. The significant correlation of urinary potassium with lean mass but not with fat mass suggests that potassium is acting on lean rather than on fat tissue. The positive association of potassium with %LBM may be related to the neutralizing effect of increased ingestion of potassium salts on the mild metabolic acidosis resulting from habitual ingestion of a typical net acid–producing American diet. Several studies have shown that metabolic acidosis promotes nitrogen excretion, or muscle wasting. In rats, metabolic acidosis induced by the ingestion of 8 mmol hydrochloric acid·100 g wt
−1 · d
−1 significantly increased urinary total nitrogen excretion (
14). The nitrogen wasting increased significantly by day 10 and persisted over the 15-d study period. The acid load given was sufficient to lower serum bicarbonate from 27.19 to 18.97 mmol/L but not sufficient to cause any notable gastrointestinal disturbance or decrease in food intake. There is evidence from an 18-d study in humans that the administration of alkaline salts may have a favorable effect on muscle mass, at least acutely (
13). Frassetto et al (
13) found that oral administration of 90 mmol K/d promptly reduced nitrogen excretion from 14.0 ± 0.6 to 13.2 ± 0.5 g/d (
P < 0.001) in 14 healthy postmenopausal women who were following acidogenic (high-protein) metabolic diets. In these subjects who were studied on fixed protein intakes and under constant exercise conditions, the decline in nitrogen excretion was interpreted as conservation of skeletal muscle mass.
According to their urinary potassium and because 90% of the potassium in the diet is excreted by the kidneys (
24), the subjects in this study were consuming amounts of potassium that are typical for adults in the United States and that are approximately one-half of the amounts recommended by the Institute of Medicine (
25). Our findings from model 2 indicate that subjects with a potassium intake of 134 mmol/d can expect to have 1.64 kg more lean tissue mass than subjects with half that potassium intake. That measure is almost as great as the amount of lean tissue that is typically lost in a decade in an older population—ie, 2 kg. Extrapolating from their data, Frassetto et al (
13) calculated that treatment with 90 mmol KHCO
3/d theoretically could more than offset the chronic losses of muscle mass that occur over time and that result in sarcopenia. Our findings, using a very different approach, are consistent with the conclusion of Frassetto et al that much of the loss of lean tissue mass that occurs with aging can likely be prevented by increasing the intake of alkaline potassium salts to the recommended level.
The finding that total tissue weight measured by DXA increased by 0.5 kg over the 3-y study is unexpected, in view of the fact that, with the use of a digital scale, weight decreased by 0.6 kg. This difference suggests that there may have been some drift in absolute measurements of tissue weight by DXA, despite stable weekly phantom scans during the trial (
19), and this possibility may explain the measured increase in LBM in a population that would be expected to lose muscle mass over 3 y (
13). However, even if absolute measurements of LBM were affected in this way, we would expect the ranking of subjects with respect to their %LBM and changes in %LBM to be unaffected and, therefore, the estimated associations of urinary potassium with %LBM and changes in %LBM to be valid.
The present study had limitations. The diet data were collected at the 18-mo visit, not at baseline, and we have only one baseline measure of potassium excretion. We do not have verification (by using para-aminobenzoic acid or other means) that the 24-h urine collections are complete, but we have no reason to think that completeness of the collections would vary with %LBM. The positive findings linking potassium excretion and %LBM are restricted to the cross-sectional analyses. It will be important to determine prospectively the effect of the increasing intake of net alkali–producing foods on muscle mass and function.
In conclusion, our findings indicate that a higher potassium excretion, an index of alkaline potassium salt intake, is associated with a higher %LBM in healthy older men and women. This association is likely to result from the fact that the ingestion of potassium-rich alkaline foods such as fruit and vegetables relieves the mild metabolic acidosis that occurs with the ingestion of a typical American diet that is rich in protein, cereal grains, and other net acid–producing foods.
The author’s responsibilities were as follows—BDH: principal investigator and manuscript preparation; SSH: data analysis and manuscript preparation; and LC: data interpretation and manuscript preparation. None of the authors was affiliated in any way with any entity involved in the manufacture of products related to muscle mass or alkaline salts. BDH has served on scientific advisory boards for Lilly, Procter and Gamble, Merck, and Glaxo-SmithKline.
2This article does not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the US Department of Agriculture, nor does mention of trade names, commercial products, or organizations imply endorsement by the US government.
3Supported by contract 58-1950-7-707 with the Jean Mayer US Department of Agriculture Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University.
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11. Papadoyannakis NJ, Stefanidis CJ, McGeown M. The effect of the correction of metabolic acidosis on nitrogen and potassium balance of patients with chronic renal failure. Am J Clin Nutr.1984;40:623–627. [PubMed]
12. Gougeon-Reyburn R, Lariviere F, Marliss EB. Effects of bicarbonate supplementation on urinary mineral excretion during very low energy diets. Am J Med Sci. 1991;302:67–74. [PubMed]
13. Frassetto L, Morris RC, Jr, Sebastian A. Potassium bicarbonate reduces urinary nitrogen excretion in postmenopausal women. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 1997;82:254–259. [PubMed]
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15. May RC, Kelly RA, Mitch WE. Metabolic acidosis stimulates protein degradation in rat muscle by a glucocorticoid-dependent mechanism. J Clin Invest. 1986;77:614–621. [PMC free article] [PubMed]
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18. Owen EE, Robinson RR. Amino acid extraction and ammonia metabolism by the human kidney during the prolonged administration of ammonium chloride. J Clin Invest. 1963;42:263–276.[PMC free article] [PubMed]
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Written on February 21, 2012 at 5:00 pm, by 2Health
J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2009 January; 94(1): 96–102.
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PMCID: PMC2630872
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Treatment with Potassium Bicarbonate Lowers Calcium Excretion and Bone Resorption in Older Men and Women
Bess Dawson-Hughes, Susan S. Harris, Nancy J. Palermo, Carmen Castaneda-Sceppa, Helen M. Rasmussen, and Gerard E. Dallal
Jean Mayer United States Department of Agriculture Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University (B.D.-H., S.S.H., N.J.P., H.M.R., G.E.D.), Boston, Massachusetts 02111; and Bouve College of Health Sciences (C.C.-S.), Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts 02115
Address all correspondence to: Bess Dawson-Hughes, Jean Mayer United States Department of Agriculture Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University, Boston, Massachusetts 02111. E-mail:
Bess.Dawson-Hughes@Tufts.edu.
Received July 30, 2008; Accepted October 15, 2008.
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Written on February 21, 2012 at 5:00 pm, by 2Health
The high pH therapy for cancer tests on mice and humans.
Abstract
Mass spectrographic and isotope studies have shown that potassium, rubidium, and especially cesium are most efficiently taken up by cancer cells. This uptake was enhanced by Vitamins A and C as well as salts of zinc and selenium. The quantity of cesium taken up was sufficient to raise the cell to the 8 pH range. Where cell mitosis ceases and the life of the cell is short. Tests on mice fed cesium and rubidium showed marked shrinkage in the tumor masses within 2 weeks. In addition, the mice showed none of the side effects of cancer. Tests have been carried out on over 30 humans. In each case the tumor masses disappeared. Also all pains and effects associated with cancer disappeared within 12 to 36 hr; the more chemotherapy and morphine the patient had taken, the longer the withdrawal period. Studies of the food intake in areas where the incidences of cancer are very low showed that it met the requirements for the high pH therapy.
- PMID:
- 6522424
- [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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Written on February 21, 2012 at 5:00 pm, by 2Health
Dr. Young’s Alkaline Diet: A Cure and Prevention for Everything from Allergies to Cancer
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Airiel Green
One of the 3 golf ball sized lumps in my breast that disappeared after changing to an alkaline diet.
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2/20/2012 ~ by Airiel Green, Life University Nutrition Major & Pickens County Resident – Do you have a health condition you think is incurable? Do you want to lose weight and keep it off permanently? Do you want to reverse aging? Do you do everything you can to be healthy but still don’t feel quite right? The alkaline diet could cure all this and more; but is it too good to be true?
The alkaline diet is quickly becoming popular with backing of celebrates like Kate Moss, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jennifer Aniston, Linda Gray, Bill Clinton, Larry Hagman, and Kirsten Dunst. In 2003 Cris Carr, former Budweiser girl, made a move documentary on her battle with cancer and how she reversed the cancer with an alkaline diet. You may have heard about the alkaline diet on the news or in one of several interviews on the Oprah Winery show. You can find testimonies of people all over the internet that completely reversed every day illnesses as well as cancer, HIV MS, diabetes type1&2, and other chronic diseases.
How does it work? The alkaline diet works on the premise that our bodies are self healing. In order for the body to heal itself it needs the right tools one being the correct pH, others being sufficient nutrients, water, and exercise. The main thing that affects our pH is our diets. By eating alkalizing foods and minimizing acidic foods our bodies can begin to heal, prevent sickness, and help protect from external acid factors like stress and radiation. To maintain a good pH in our bodies we need to eat at least 70% alkaline foods and no more than 30% mildly acidic foods. Alkaline foods include most cooked and raw vegetables, some beans, and few fruits, grains, & nuts. Acidic foods include meat, dairy, sugar, processed foods, coffee, and most fruits, grains, and nuts.
Sound too hard? Well, you don’t have to jump right in. Most people have better results by making slow gradual changes to their diet. Some people only need to make a couple of small changes to start seeing results. There are also many tasty alkaline versions of acidic foods; so don’t worry about felling deprived.
So does it really work? Apparently it does from all the testimonies on the internet. I tried it myself in 2006 when I found out I had three breast tumors that my doctor told me had to be surgically removed. Within six months the tumors were gone, and so were my allergies, chronic knee & back pain, and a problem with vertigo that my doctors could not explain or treat. I also have more energy and I don’t get colds anymore. I have been on the alkaline diet since 2006 and continue to maintain excellent health. I have met many people that have completely reversed their health problems with the alkaline diet I also know a couple of people that it did not work completely for but it did drastically improve their health. Many people give up on alkalizing before it has a chance to work because they feel deprived. They think they can only eat salad; but this is not true. Supplementation is also important as there are some vitamins than can be hard to get on an alkaline diet. There are also many supplements that can make alkalizing quicker and easier. The alkaline diet can be hard and take a long time to get results if you don’t know enough about it. So it is best to read up on it and get a good coach. There is very little clinical research on the alkaline diet and its effects on specific diseases. However an article published in PubMed says there is much supporting research that shows the alkaline diet can support health and reverse disease but more research is needed http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22013455. It will be a very long time before clinical research can be done on the alkaline diet with every health problem. So it is best to consult a health professional before changing your diet especially if you have a chronic disease.
Some health problems with supporting clinical studies on the alkaline diet & treatments include cancer, low back pain, bone loss, and increased lean tissue mass in older adults:
In a study published in PubMed a high pH treatment was tested on over 30 humans with cancer. In each case the cancer disappeared.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?term=6522424
Supplementation with alkaline minerals reduces symptoms in patients with chronic low back pain.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3195546/?tool=pubmed
Increasing the alkali content of the diet may slow bone loss in healthy older adults.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2630872/
Alkaline diets favor lean tissue mass in older adultshttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2597402/
There are also many related clinical studies on how increasing vegetables in the diet can promote health; which is the foundation of the alkaline diet. Many studied can also be found on how eating lots of meat can cause health problems.
If you would like to learn more about the alkaline diet visit www.AlkalineLiving.info for free information and free coaching.
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Written on February 21, 2012 at 5:00 pm, by 2Health
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1) Smaller Cluster Size
Motility improves when the molecular cluster is smaller. Small clusters make it easier to dissolute and excrete waste matter within the body. This fact is important because excess waste matter is the reason for aging and disease. Alkaline ionized water has small clusters with high motility and dissolute, so you excrete waste matter from the body rapidly.
2) Abundant active mineral
Minerals are also called inorganic matter or mineral matter. There are many kinds of minerals. They are found in animals and vegetables, food and water. These minerals smoothen our living activities and maintain a balance.
- Mineral absorption – Activated form of minerals are much better absorbed in the body.
3) Good restoration
- Controls saprogenic bacteria in organs and increases beneficial bacteria.
Tto prevent dis-ease. Alkaline ionized water is the only water that can restore health to the intestinal villi and prevent the build-up of so-called beneficial bacteria in the gut.
- Eliminates active oxygen
Active oxygen is oxygen that easily bonds or combines with surrounding substances. Active oxygen is unstable and therefore has with fewer electrons. The active oxygen possesses higher oxidizing power, and is related directly to aging and disease.
4) Abundant hexagonal water
Water molecules consist of 13 ~ 15 molecules. Hexagonal water, water clustered with 6 water molecules, is the most stable and natural to the human body. One human body cell molecule is connected to about 70,000, 60~65% of them are hexagonal water molecules. The body favors this kind of water. The cell that suffers with diseases has less hexagonal water.
- Lower the temperature of water like iced water.
- Electrolyze water with abundant mineral.
- Go through magnetic treatment.
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Written on February 21, 2012 at 5:00 pm, by 2Health
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Fluid fluctuations affect blood volume and intracellular hydration levels. This can be life threatening. When the amount of fluid within various cellular compartments is relatively constant, there is an exchange of solutes and water between compartments to maintain unique compositions. Individuals with more body fat have proportionately less total body water and are more susceptible to fluid imbalances that cause dehydration.
 Total body water percentage decreases with age, resulting in inadequate cellular hydration. Most critical is the decrease in the ratio of intracellular hydration. The normal ratio is 60% intracellular, 40% extracellular. The reason for change in this ratio is due in part to an increase in fat along with a decrease in muscle, and a decreased ability of the body to regulate sodium and water balance. With age, kidney function becomes less efficient in producing urine, and responses for conserving sodium weaken.
The body must continuously be in a proper state of hydration. Because three liters of water is lost each day through normal bodily functions, this must be replaced. There are two major issues that emphasize the need to keep the body adequately hydrated with water of the best quality, content, and structure so it can maintain homeostasis. First, the water we put in our body must be able to prevent acidic toxins and chemical substances from accumulating and creating destructive influences on cells. Water must bring all minerals and nutrients required for cell metabolism, and remove any acidic substances that can damage the cell. It must also be able to protect cell walls from damage and invasion. Second, since water is involved in every function of the body, it must act as a conductor of electrochemical activity, such as neurotransmission, by moving water from one nerve cell to another smoothly and effectively.
Movement of water in the body between cells (extracellular fluid) is caused by osmosis. This is created by magnetic forces in the body, which keep the movement in balance. As water flows, changes in pressure create movement across the cell membranes. Any changes in pressure will allow proteins, minerals and other nutrients being carried by the blood to escape into spaces between vessels and deprive the cells of their vital needs to sustain life. When the alkaline water in the blood is contaminated with acidic chemicals, it enters the cells and changes their structure, which in turn can lead to changes in DNA (pleomorphism). This is the start of the dis-ease process, which is very similar to the aging process.
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Written on February 21, 2012 at 5:00 pm, by 2Health
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Biochemist and Nobel Prize winner Otto Heinrich Warburg, one of the twentieth century’s leading cell biologists, discovered that the root cause of cancer is too much acidity in the body, meaning that the pH, potential hydrogen, in the body is below the normal level of 7.365, which constitutes an “acidic” state. Warburg investigated the metabolism of tumors and the respiration of cells and discovered that cancer cells maintain and thrive in a lower pH, as low as 6.0, due to lactic acid production and elevated C02. He firmly believed that there was a direct relationship between pH and oxygen. Higher pH, which is Alkaline, means higher concentration of oxygen molecules, while lower pH, which is acidic, means lower concentrations of oxygen…the same oxygen that is needed to maintain healthy cells.
In 1931 he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine for this important discovery. Dr. Warburg was director of the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute (now Max Planck Institute) for cell physiology at Berlin. He investigated the metabolism of tumors and the respiration of cells, particularly cancer cells. Below are some direct quotes by Dr. Warburg during medical lectures where he was the keynote speaker:
“Cancerous tissues are acidic, whereas healthy tissues are alkaline. Water splits into H+ and OH- ions, if there is an excess of H+, it is acidic; if there is an excess of OH- ions, then it is alkaline.”
In his work The Metabolism of Tumours Warburg demonstrated that all forms of cancer are characterized by two basic conditions: acidosis and hypoxia (lack of oxygen).
“Lack of oxygen and acidosis are two sides of the same coin: where you have one, you have the other.
“All normal cells have an absolute requirement for oxygen, but cancer cells can live without oxygen – a rule without exception.”
“Deprive a cell 35% of its oxygen for 48 hours and it may become cancerous.”
Dr. Warburg has made it clear that the root cause of cancer is oxygen deficiency, which creates an acidic state in the human body. Dr. Warburg also discovered that cancer cells are anaerobic (do not breathe oxygen) and cannot survive in the presence of high levels of oxygen, as found in an alkaline state.
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Written on February 21, 2012 at 5:00 pm, by 2Health
Have you even thought you were being sincere about your Recovery? Sincerity means simply being genuine or without deceit. When people are genuine they are true or real about themselves and of others, they are honest in a sense without being under handed or deceitful. This positivity is respected and keeps people together as friends and neighbors as well as family; being sincere lets others know you can be respected in many ways.
I began my Recovery program with a negative attitude. I couldn’t see the reason for sitting and talking and filling out papers in regards to my mental stability. I made promises to attend groups; I slouched in meetings, spoke negatively about other people, and denied the real truth about myself. I didn’t have respect for clinicians and my thinking that they “thought they knew it all and knew nothing” and I was not being positive about others helping me nor was I positive about my will being nor honest about my real feelings.
When you are sincere about your Recovery you want to recover from the woes you have been suffering from. You need and want to understand how to change from a negative beat to the more positive and stay on track with the respect you want to achieve; not only respect for yourself, yet to gain respect and give such to others. We don’t go around corners seeking sincerity, we live it, being real to be true to ourselves and others, without be deceitful, or procrastinating our lives.
When we take our first step to Recovery we are already at the lowest point of our lives, we feel we have become abandoned and are without trust of others. A part of us are seeking belief in another to help us overcome our predicament, and we want someone to believe in us. With sincere belief, without jeopardizing ourselves any further, our way to Recovery becomes our life and we begin to relish the hope we gain in our improving through our treatment. If you are sincere you will believe there are no boundaries to overcoming mental illness.
Written by Donald Sammons
Written on February 21, 2012 at 9:00 am, by 2Health
Do you ever start questioning everything you’re creating, everything you’re working on and everything you’re working toward?
Do you sometimes wish you could just pull the covers over your head and stay in bed all day long?
Gurrrl, I feel you. Now before we go any further, I want you to know that you’re not alone.
Millions of highly successful people go through periods of questioning what the heck they’re doing and crave a few days off the grid and under the sheets. I know I do!
I’ve talked about it before — knowing your “why” is key to both success and longevity in any endeavor.
But once you’ve got that handled, you also need to proactively build in “NNT” time if you want to stay consistently engaged and on track. “What’s that crazy acronym?” you say.
Press play and I’ll explain how this simple concept will give you massive results, fast.
Warning: you’re about to hear me rap, so crank up your volume and get ready for some high-quality entertainment.
Since I shared my core daily NNT activities above, I also want to share my weekly NNT activities with you, too. It’s made a huge difference in my productivity and happiness.
I take at least one full day each week to completely disconnect from email, cell phone and the computer. No business advice or self-help books allowed; just pure non-work-related activities.
I can’t even begin to describe the massive impact this small change has made in my creativity, well-being, and most importantly, in my relationship. I strongly recommend you give this a try, too.
Take Action Now
Take five minutes right now and create your own list of NNT daily activities. Ready to go buck wild? Then outline your weekly, monthly and yearly NNT activities, too.
As you know, insight without action is a waste! So turn your insight into action right now.
In the comments below, share your exact list of daily NNT activities, and what type of impact gettin’ down with NNT will have your health, happiness and productivity.
And if you found this post useful, go ahead and share it with your friends. They’ll thank you for it!
For more information on how to optimize your life, visit marieforleo.com.
Photo credit: Luc de Leeuw
Written on February 21, 2012 at 9:00 am, by 2Health
Good old fashioned leg day, without squats, back finally starting to feel loser but still very tight and sore.
Lunges – 5, 5, 5, 5, 5………..115, 135, 145, 155, 165
Leg Press – 12, 12, 12, 12…….180, 270, 320, 360
Goblet Squats – 10, 10, 10, 10……..45, 55, 65, 75
Long time doing any of these movements. The lunges were tough but even without checking my notes I am pretty sure 165 is heavier for regular lunges for 5 reps a leg. I dislike the leg press on most days, but it can’t hurt, I felt the burn it wasn’t too bad. I do like goblet squats though, the picture challenge would mean I’d be doing this with a 90 lb dumbbell, I bet I could maybe I’ll try next time, solid leg workout.
