Balance Your pH
Our society is plagued with many health concerns. Some natural health professionals now believe the explanation for this may be because of the body’s pH.
Some people may have seen Dr. Barefoot’s television commercials many years ago on Coral Calcium and how it is recommended to alkalize the body. This is only one small piece of the puzzle. Below is some information to help inform you of things you can do to assist your body in having optimal pH.
What is pH?
First, what is pH? When an acid is poured into water, it gives up an H (hydrogen) molecule to the water. The acidity or alkalinity of a solution refers to the concentration of hydrogen ions (H) in the solution. The concentration of hydrogen ions is more conveniently expressed in terms of pH or “potential of Hydrogen”. So, the lower the pH number, the more acidic the solution.
For example, pure water has a pH of 10-7, therefore its pH is 7. This represents neutrality, which means that it is neither acid nor alkaline. Vinegar has an H 10-3, it is, therefore, acidic with a pH of 3. Milk of Magnesia has an H of 10 –10 or a pH of 10, so it is very alkaline.
For practical purposes, the pH scale extends from 0 to 14. It is important to understand that this scale is a logarithmic scale. What that means is that pH 5 represents 10 times greater acidity than pH 6; pH 4 is 100 times more acidic than pH 6.
For those of you that have hot tubs, pools, ponds, or fish tanks; you understand the importance of pH. If the pH is not correct, the water will attract organisms in the water – requiring you to clean your pool more often, and improper pH will kill your fish if it isn’t correct.
Testing Kits
Now that you understand pH, how do you find out what your pH is and if you are acidic or alkaline? Some stores carry pH-testing kits. Because the scale is the same, it doesn’t matter whether you are testing your pool water or your fish tank – these pH kits can be used to test your body as well. However most recently, the pH strips you will find will be “idiot proofed”, meaning that the pH strips are labeled with specific pool/hot tub products, which makes it easy to use for your leisure activities, but not for testing your body pH. You can purchase general pH kits off of many websites now. Here is one we recommend often.
Taking your pH
It is important to look at your pH readings for both your urine and your saliva to confirm that you are digesting your food properly and eliminating acid as well. The most accurate time to test is first thing in the morning when you wake up, before you consume any fluid or food, and before brushing your teeth. We recommend people take their pH once a week and record it on a calendar. If you are paying attention, you will see it change one way or the other before any illness starts, guiding you to make better choices to stay healthier.
Healthy pH
What is Normal? Your urinary pH should fluctuate throughout the day. Your saliva should also fluctuate during the day, your body is probably functioning within the normal range if these levels are between 6.0-7.0. It is also important that your urine is more acidic than your saliva. This lets us know that your body is excreting excess acid correctly and not holding it within your body’s organs and blood. If your saliva is more acidic than your urine – we call this “switched”.
If your body is too acidic it will borrow minerals including calcium, potassium, sodium, and magnesium from your organs and bones to buffer the acid and help to maintain a state of “homeostasis” or balance within the body.
The results of saliva testing also help to indicate the activity of digestive enzymes in the body. The stomach, liver, and pancreas primarily create enzymes. If the pH is too low (below 6.5), the body may be producing too many acids or may be overwhelmed by acids because it has lost the ability to adequately remove them through the urine.
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A study conducted at the University of California – San Francisco on 9,704 post-menopausal women showed that those who have a higher acidity level 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.
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Many people are acidic more than alkaline because of the foods we eat – which are mostly acidic such as coffee, artificial sweeteners, alcohol, soft drinks, white flour, and dairy products.
Although meat is considered in some studies to make the body acidic, I have not seen this play out with my clients. In fact, I have seen many clients who eat carnivore diets with perfect pH. My experience has seen more of the foods listed above as the culprit, as well as emotions which is the largest acid producer in the body.
However, some people are too alkaline which may be a result of the liver overproduction of ammonia, external exposure to alkaline chemicals such as fertilizers and cleaning solutions that often contain ammonia, or also from organisms within the body that produce ammonia as a by-product. If the pH is too high (over 7.0), the body may suffer greatly from excess gas, constipation, and the production of yeast, mold, and fungus.
There are many products on the market, which can assist you in balancing your pH, and coral calcium is not always the best choice. Obviously, there are other factors as well; in fact, we have found that coral calcium works best if you do not have O-type blood. For people who have O-type blood we have found taking the Omega EPA fish oils and herbs to flush the kidney can help to balance your pH. We also have several recipes for un-”switching” people that are stuck and can’t seem to switch their pH back with just their diet.
We have found pH to be the missing link for many people that don’t seem to respond to normal diet changes or herbal programs. For additional information on pH to give you an alternative view, you can read here and here.
If you are interested in learning more or checking your pH we are happy to email you a free brochure, which talks more about pH, what foods are acidic and alkaline, and information on products that can help you balance, your body correctly and easily.
