Sacropenia can be treated only by vegetarian or low meat diet

Published on August 4, 2008 1:48 AM

The key to good health are fruits and vegetables because they contain essential vitamins, minerals and fiber. Scientists in a study reported that plant foods also may help preserve muscle mass in older men and women. The slow of muscle mass is also named sarcopenia. Sacropenia is a disease that occurs over time, primarily after the age of 50.

The study was led by physician and nutrition specialist Bess Dawson-Hughes, a Professor of Medicine at Tufts University and Director of the Bone Metabolism Laboratory at the Jean Mayer United States Department of Agriculture Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University.

According to the researchers the typical American diet is rich in protein, cereal grains and other acid-producing foods. In general, such diets generate tiny amounts of acid each day. Acidosis can be dangerous if untreated.

Over acidity can become a dangerous condition that weakens all body systems. Modern science has revealed that the cause of aging may be far simpler than previously thought.

Almost 99% of the components of food that we consume every day are composed of carbon, nitrogen, hydrogen, and oxygen with only 1% been minerals.

The wastes produced from food are highly acidic and acidosis is one of the main contributors that lead to the aging process and various illnesses.

Health researchers found also that acidosis appears to trigger a muscle-wasting response. So they looked at links between measures of lean body mass and diets relatively high in potassium-rich, alkaline-residue producing fruits and vegetables. Such diets could help neutralize acidosis. Foods can be considered alkaline or acidic based on the residues they produce in the body, rather than whether they are alkaline or acidic themselves. For example, acidic grapefruits are metabolized to alkaline residues.

The researchers conducted analysis on a subset of nearly 400 male and female volunteers aged 65 or older who had completed a three-year osteoporosis intervention trial. At the start of the study were measured the volunteers' physical activity, height and weight, and percentage of lean body mass. Was measured also their urinary potassium and their dietary data.

Researchers found that volunteers whose diets were rich in potassium could expect to have 3.6 more pounds of lean tissue mass than volunteers with half the higher potassium intake.

That’s why many doctors recommend a vegetarian or low meat diet as alkaline minerals and vegetables help neutralize acidic waste. But vegetables only contain a very small amount of alkaline minerals and that is why a very large quantity of vegetables needs to be consumed in order to neutralize these wastes in the body.

Scientist found also that drinking alkaline water is an easy and efficient way to help neutralize an acidic human body. Water, the origin of Life, contains 2 parts hydrogen and one part oxygen. Alkaline water is water that contains a larger amount of oxygen as compared to hydrogen. By drinking alkaline water, the old people increase their intake of oxygen compared to drinking plain water. The advantage of drinking alkaline water is that while being absorbed by the body, it helps neutralize acidic wastes, making them more soluble in the blood vessels. Thus, acidic wastes will be easily drained out of the body in the form of urine or sweat.