Test Your Body's Acidity Or Alkalinity With pH Strips!
Have you ever wondered if the diseases in our society have a common cause? Many doctors, herbalists, and nutritionists believe that the explanation may come down to two small words:Acid / Alkaline
Have you ever wondered if the diseases in our society have a common cause? Many doctors, herbalists, and nutritionists believe that the explanation may come down to two small words: Acid & Alkaline.High acidity can become a dangerous condition that weakens all major body systems. It makes your internal environment conducive to disease. A pH-balanced environment, on the other hand, allows proper metabolic functioning and gives your body resistance to disease. A healthy body maintains alkaline reserves that are used to meet emergency demands. pH measures the balance between positively and negatively charged ions in the body fluids, i.e. blood, urine and saliva. A low pH number (below 7) indicates that your body fluid is on the acidic side. A high pH number (above 7) indicates you have alkalinity. A pH of 7.0 is considered neutral; this is the pH of distilled water. This delicate balance can be an important indicator of overall health.
Researchers find that most people are at least slightly "acidic"; their pH is low. If your pH is too acidic, your body borrows minerals - such as calcium, magnesium, potassium and sodium from vital organs and bones to neutralize and remove the acid. Although high acidity may not be outwardly noticeable, it can severely affect overall health in a negative way. Alkalinity in the body is much more rare, but just as potentially serious. It often takes longer for a person who is "alkaline" to achieve balance than one who is "acidic." The concept of acid alkaline imbalance as the cause of disease is not new. In 1933 a New York doctor named William Howard Hay published a ground-breaking book, "A New Health Era" in which he maintains that all disease is cause by autointoxication (or "self-poisoning") due to acid accumulation in the body: "Now we depart from health in just the proportion to which we have allowed our alkalies to be dissipated by introduction of acid-forming food in too great amount... It may seem strange to say that all disease is the same thing, no matter what its myriad modes of expression, but it is verily so." William Howard Hay, M.D. More recently, in his remarkable book Alkalize or Die (see recommended reading), Dr. Theodore A. Baroody says essentially the same thing:
The countless names of illnesses do not really matter. What does matter is that they all come from the same root cause...too much tissue acid waste in the body!
Theodore A. Baroody, N.D., D.C., Ph.D.
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Understanding pH
The pH scale goes from 0 to14, where 0 is very acidic (think battery acid) and 14 is very alkaline (think lye). In general, the pH of the human body should be slightly alkaline about 7.4. A pH reading in the Optimal Zone tells you that your insides are happy, while a pH reading in the Danger Zone may mean you’re putting yourself at risk for serious disorders. Even a slight pH imbalance can make you feel tired, cause you to gain weight, give you trouble digesting food, and create aches and pains in your body. Most parts of the body have a pH range that is tolerated. The skin can vary from 4.5 to 7.0, for example. Stomach acid ranges from 1.0 to 3.0, and pancreatic secretions can range from 8.0 to 8.3. Blood on the other hand is not so flexible. It has a very narrow pH range: 7.365 to 7.45. If the pH of your blood goes outside that range even just a little,the functioning of your organs may be compromised. If the pH of your blood strays too far from that acceptable range for too long however, it is possible for you body to go into shock… coma…or even worse. This kind of severe metabolic acidosis is very rare, however mild acidosis is now thought to be strikingly common; affecting at least half of the population.top ⤴
Foods: Are They Acid Or Alkaline-Forming?
Note that a food's acid or alkaline-forming tendency in the body has nothing to do with the actual pH of the food itself. For example, lemons are very acidic, however the end products they produce after digestion and assimilation are alkaline, so lemons are alkaline-forming within the body. Likewise, meat will test alkaline before digestion but it leaves acidic residue in the body, as is the case with nearly all animal products, meat is classified as acid-forming.It is important that your daily dietary intake of food naturally acts to balance your body pH. To maintain health, the diet should consist of at least 60% alkaline forming foods and at most 40% acid forming foods. To restore health, the diet should consist of 80% alkaline forming foods and 20% acid forming foods.
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Click here to view pH Scale
| Concentration of Hydrogen ions compared to distilled water | 1/10,000,000 | 14 | Liquid drain cleaner, Caustic soda | Examples of solutions and their respective pH |
| 1/1,000,000 | 13 | Bleaches, oven cleaner | ||
| 1/100,000 | 12 | Soapy water | ||
| 1/10,000 | 11 | Household Ammonia (11.9) | ||
| 1/1,000 | 10 | Milk of magnesium (10.5) | ||
| 1/100 | 9 | Toothpaste (9.9) | ||
| 1/10 | 8 | Baking soda (8.4) Seawater, Eggs | ||
| 0 | 7 | "Pure" water (7) | ||
| 10 | 6 | Urine (6) Milk (6.6) | ||
| 100 | 5 | Acid rain (5.6) Black coffee (5) | ||
| 1,000 | 4 | Tomato juice (4.1) | ||
| 10,000 | 3 | Grapefruit & Orange juice, Soft drink | ||
| 100,000 | 2 | Lemon juice (2.3) Vinegar (2.9) | ||
| 1,000,000 | 1 | Hydrochloric acid secreted from the stomach lining (1) | ||
| 10,000,000 | 0 | Battery Acid |
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Test Your Body's Acidity or Alkalinity with pH Strips
It is recommended that you test your pH levels to determine if your body's pH needs immediate attention. By using pH test strips, you can determine your pH factor quickly and easily in the privacy of your own home. If your urinary pH fluctuates between 6.0 to 6.5 in the morning and between 6.5 and 7.0 in the evening, then your body is functioning within a healthy range. If you saliva stays between 6.5 and 7.5 all day, your body is functioning within a healthy range. The best time to test your pH is about one hour before a meal and two hours after a meal. Test your pH two days a week. Most people who suffer from unbalanced pH are acidic. This condition forces the body to borrow minerals – including calcium, sodium, potassium and magnesium -- from vital organs and bones to buffer (neutralize) the acid and safely remove it from the body. Because of this strain, the body can suffer severe and prolonged damage due to high acidity -- a condition that may go undetected for years.top ⤴
Even Mild Acidosis Can Cause Such Problems As:
- Cardiovascular damage, including the constriction of
- blood vessels and the reduction of oxygen.
- Weight Gain, Obesity & Diabetes.
- Bladder & Kidney Conditions, Including Kidney
- Stones.
- Immune Deficiency.
- Acceleration Of Free Radical Damage, Possibly
- Contributing To Cancerous Mutations.
- Premature Aging.
- Weak, Brittle Bones, Hip Fractures & Bone Spurs.
- Joint Pain, Aching Muscles & Lactic Acid Buildup.
- Low Energy & Chronic Fatigue.
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New Study Proves That Minerals Buffer Acids
University Of California-San Francisco
A recent study conducted at the University of California-San Francisco on 9,704 postmenopausal women showed that those who have higher acidity levels (also called chronic acidosis) from a diet rich in animal foods are at greater risk for lower bone density levels than those who have "normal" pH levels. The researchers who carried out this study hypothesized that many of the hip fractures prevalent among older women correlated to higher acidity from a diet rich in animal foods and low in vegetables.
The body apparently borrows calcium from the bones in order to balance pH, and this calcium borrowing may result in a decrease in bone density .
-American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Jan. 2001, Vol. 73, No.1, pp. 118-122.
A recent study conducted at the University of California-San Francisco on 9,704 postmenopausal women showed that those who have higher acidity levels (also called chronic acidosis) from a diet rich in animal foods are at greater risk for lower bone density levels than those who have "normal" pH levels. The researchers who carried out this study hypothesized that many of the hip fractures prevalent among older women correlated to higher acidity from a diet rich in animal foods and low in vegetables.
The body apparently borrows calcium from the bones in order to balance pH, and this calcium borrowing may result in a decrease in bone density .
-American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Jan. 2001, Vol. 73, No.1, pp. 118-122.
Urine pH
Why Test The pH Of Urine
Urinary pH levels can indicate how well your body is assimilating minerals, especially calcium, magnesium, sodium and potassium. These are called the "acid buffers" because they are used by the body to control acid levels. When acid levels begin to increase, the body becomes less capable of excreting acid. It must either store the acid in body tissues, or buffer it-that is, borrow minerals from organs, bones, etc., in order to neutralize the increase in acidity. Urinary pH should fluctuate between 6.0-6.4 in the morning and 6.4-7.0 in the evening.
Urinary pH levels can indicate how well your body is assimilating minerals, especially calcium, magnesium, sodium and potassium. These are called the "acid buffers" because they are used by the body to control acid levels. When acid levels begin to increase, the body becomes less capable of excreting acid. It must either store the acid in body tissues, or buffer it-that is, borrow minerals from organs, bones, etc., in order to neutralize the increase in acidity. Urinary pH should fluctuate between 6.0-6.4 in the morning and 6.4-7.0 in the evening.
Saliva pH
Why Test The pH Of Saliva?
You'll also want to test the pH of your saliva. The results of saliva testing can indicate the activity of digestive enzymes in your body, especially the activity of the liver and the stomach. This reveals the flow of enzymes running through your body and shows their effect on all the body systems and your tissues. Some people will have acidic pH readings from both urine and saliva-this is referred to as "double acid." Salivary pH should stay between 6.4 and 6.8.
You'll also want to test the pH of your saliva. The results of saliva testing can indicate the activity of digestive enzymes in your body, especially the activity of the liver and the stomach. This reveals the flow of enzymes running through your body and shows their effect on all the body systems and your tissues. Some people will have acidic pH readings from both urine and saliva-this is referred to as "double acid." Salivary pH should stay between 6.4 and 6.8.