Dietary Acid Load and Body Weight in Type 1 Diabetes: A Randomized Clinical Trial

The purpose of this secondary analysis was to assess the potential role of dietary acid load in people with type 1 diabetes. Participants were randomly assigned to either a vegan or a portion-controlled diet group for 12 weeks, and 3-day dietary records were analyzed. Potential renal acid load and net endogenous acid production—both markers of dietary acid load—decreased significantly in the vegan group, but not in the portion-controlled group. Body weight decreased by 5.2 kg in the vegan group, compared with a nonsignificant change in weight in the portion-controlled group. Changes in dietary acid load correlated positively with changes in body weight. The reduction in dietary acid load may partly explain the observed weight loss on a vegan diet.