PRAL score of pea protein isolate

[Al O’Purinol]

Hi,

does anyone know the PRAL score / mineral content of a pea protein powder product?

I recently came over this offer, the Komplete Protein Pea Protein Isolate

[GoutPal edit:Link Removed]

which claims:

“Unlike other protein powders, Komplete Protein™ is the only protein tested alkaline. It is important to consume food that balances the acid / alkaline environment in our body to maintain our general well-being. […] Hence is it wiser to choose food that are alkaline in order to reduce the stress on your body.

Thanks , ss09

[Keith Taylor (GoutPal Admin)]

It is a garbage product marketed by peole who haven't got the first clue about nutrition.

Anyone wasting their money on this type of stuff deserves the gout attack from hell.

[trev]

I hope that wasn't just cos they used a K for complete,GP! I know you're a traditionalist..

You may be right to opine on this product and remove the link- but I'm always on the lookout for alternative to meat protein [esp. Alkaline] and a word or two about your objections would be appreciated.

I'm aware of the conversion process of assimilation of food in the body producing a reversal of ph absorbed- this has always struck me as strange- but the body is a marvellous ( forget BP and Gout)  and perplexing construct.

[zip2play]

It's just a marketing gimmick.

For example one could take isolate soy protein, isolated whey protein, or even isolated beef protein and add a couple tablespoons sodium bicarbonate per pricey cannister and call it ALKALINIZING.

In fact you could take your OWN cheap bicarb right after your protein shake.

In fact, from the very first website I pulled up on the subject:

http://www.pureliquidgold.com/…..-foods.htm

it indicates that WHEY PROTEIN POWDER is alkalinizing. Personally I think that this fake alkaline/acid rating is complete “new-age” nonsense: a lemon is ACID and anyone who says otherwise has never had a a chemistry course (or eaten a lemon.)

[trev]

Not wishing to appear gullible- but I thought food contents had to be listed by law?

I wouldn't want Soda BiCarb anyway due to BP issues ,as you know on the sodium content- but the acidity thing with lemon is connected with enzyme behaviour, which assists in chemical processing.

That was my broad understanding of the mechanism, but how it does it is still a mystery.

Lemon in water is often recommended for Gout.

I've tried it and not noticed any effect.

[Keith Taylor (GoutPal Admin)]

I knew I should have just deleted that first post!

The first post is bollocks for the same reason that the page that zip2play mentions is bollocks – they completely misunderstand the issue and use false science to promote products.

I should have added a link to my PRAL page to help clarify the truth, though I note that even that page doesn't do the subject justice – another one for the to do list.

The key is POTENTIAL in Potential Renal Acid Load. Some substances, when digested, will put a potentially acid load on the kidneys and for others the effect is alkaline. The PRAL calculation simplifies the effect – it has some shortcomings, but is a fair approximation. Net Endogenous Acid Production is a better measure, but more complicated and it relies on measuring daily food intake, not individual foods (another project which I hope to do before I'm 60). Anyway, irrespective of how you measure it, or if you simply test the pH of urine a few hours after eating, it is all about how the body reacts to certain minerals, bicarbonates, and amino acids from proteins.

I have not set my mind yet to fully understand how eating a lemon can make your piss less acid (it's to do with the citric acid bit being quite weak and outweighed by other nutrients like tasty calcium, magnesium, and potassium), but I've seen enough believable evidence to accept that it is true. Some of the health claims then become outlandish, but that part of human nature remains ever strong.

Protein produces an acid load. Nothing can change that, though if you eat sensibly, the alkaline producing minerals will balance it.

It has absolutely nothing to do with the pH test of the item in question, which is where the garbage pea protein product comes in. It has absolutely nothing to do with burning the item in question and testing the pH of the resulting ash, which is what I suspect is the source of the data in the garbage page linked to by zip2play, though I doubt the authors know that or understand it.

So whether it's new-age or not, 95% is nonsense. The clue is always in stupid lists, with no explanation, that list protein as alkalizing. It makes as much sense as doctors prescribing allopurinol without testing uric acid levels.

Of course, it is not the only subject that has fueled Internet myths, but it does seem that the acid/alkali issue is one of the worst offenders. 

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