Nutritional Prevention and Acid Base Status

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue, “Nutritional Prevention and Acid Base Status”, of Nutrients invites manuscripts, both reviews and original research articles, in the field of preventive nutrition and nutritional behavior with a special research focus on the health-relevant impacts exerted by base forming minerals, physician-initiated alkalization, and reductions in dietary acid loads.

Dietary influences on acid-base balance have been, until recently, an esoteric branch of research. Over the last one to two decades however, scientists from different disciplines have shown increasing interest in understanding both the daily and the long term impact of one’s dietary intake of acid and base equivalents on health. These influences are present from childhood, and over a lifetime can potentially contribute to a variety of chronic disorders including hypertension, insulin resistance, progression of chronic kidney and cardiovascular diseases, kidney stones, gout, osteoporosis, and age-related decline in muscle mass.

Both observational and interventional studies have demonstrated positive health-related associations and beneficial metabolic effects on major biological outcomes through increases in dietary or supplemental alkali loads. Yet, not all corresponding studies have reported conclusive results. Numerous reasons may account for these discrepancies. Among them are the lack of appropriate accounting of:

- measurement validity, e.g., the inadequate measurement of free protons (urine-pH) or net acid excretion parameters in spot urine instead of 24-h urine samples    
- relevant anabolic effects of dietary protein intake  
- acid-base effects of many dietary supplements, e.g., the clear alkalizing potential of most calcium supplements used worldwide  
- important endocrine players (confounders) affecting the inner hormonal and metabolic milieu, e.g. corticosteroids or the insulin-like growth factor system
- methodologic weaknesses of many exposition measurements, e.g., only an onetime use of a less accurate diet questionnaire 
- methodologic weaknesses of outcome measurements e.g., the determination of “BMI-only” instead of fat mass indices or of areal bone mineral density instead of volumetric density, bone strength, and bone geometry 
- (patho)physiologically different subpopulations, e.g., the non-exclusion of subjects on medications with contrasting outcome effects 
- kidney function in studies with a broad variability in renal function parameters

Against this background, this Special Issue will include original research and scientific perspectives on how, and to what extent dietary intake of acid and base equivalents does affect the body’s acid base balance, with a clear focus on (patho)physiologic consequences of these interactions. 

Manuscripts covering all ages from young childhood to old adulthood are welcome that may include, but are not limited to, the following topics related to the influences of diet-, mineral-, or metabolism-dependent changes in endogenous net proton loads:

▪ Blood pressure, Hypertension    
▪ Insulin Resistance, Glucose Control, Diabetes  
▪ Chronic Kidney Disease    
▪ Kidney Stones    
▪ Cardiovascular Disease  
▪ Hyperuricemia, Gout    
▪ Bone Architecture, Bone Quality, Osteoporosis, Fracture Risk  
▪ Muscle Mass, Sarcopenia    
▪ Fat Mass, Obesity    
▪ Corticosteroids, Aldosterone, Cortisol, Cortisone   
▪ Insulin-like Growth Factor System, Growth

Prof. Dr. Thomas Remer
Prof. Dr. Lynda A. Frassetto
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Nutrients is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.