ABSTRACT
Nutritional strategies for optimizing bone health throughout the life cycle are vital because prevention of osteoporosis rather than its treatment is the preferred approach. As an exogenous factor, nutrition is amenable to change and has relevant public health implications and hence deserves special attention. With the growing increase in the age of life expectancy, that is, 1:4 in the adult population will be aged 65 years and over by 2030, hip fractures are predicted to rise exponentially in the next decade and hence an urgent need for the implementation of public health strategies to target prevention of poor skeletal health on a population-wide basis. The role that the skeleton plays in acid-base homeostasis has been gaining increasing prominence in the literature over the last few decades. Theoretical considerations of the role alkaline bone mineral may play in the defense against acidosis date as far back as the late 19th century. Natural, pathological, and experimental states of acid loading/acidosis have long been associated with hypercalciuria and negative calcium balance. More recently, the detrimental effects of acid from the diet on bone mineral have been demonstrated.
