pH Testing
pH is the measure of acidity or alkalinity on a scale of 0 to 14. Zero is extremely acidic, while 14 is extremely alkaline (or basic, as it is also known). In the middle, at 7, the pH is neutral, meaning there is complete balance between acid and base.
Our blood and most of our tissues need to remain balanced in the neutral to slightly alkaline zone for optimum health. Our bowels should be slightly acidic. Urine needs to be between neutral and slightly acidic. Saliva tends to fluctuate more between acid, alkaline, and neutral. But overall, keeping your blood slightly alkaline is the primary goal, since blood nourishes your tissues, organs, and organ systems. This acid–base balancing act occurs within a very small range at the cellular level. Every single cell has a small optimum range within which it performs its many functions.
Different cell types have different ranges, but regardless of the range, the pH of our bodies is tightly controlled near the middle of the scale. Ideally, your blood needs to be maintained around pH 7.365, which is slightly alkaline. A change from pH 7.0 to pH 6.0 indicates a tenfold increase in acidity, since each point along the spectrum is measured to one decimal place. In other words, as your saliva pH drops from 7.0 (acidic) to 6.0 (even more acidic), it first drops to 6.9, then 6.8, then 6.7, and so on until it reaches 6.0, at which point it becomes 10 times more acidic in the body. Even worse than that, in the blood, it takes approximately 20 times as much of an alkaline substance to neutralize one part of an acidic substance! That’s why it takes so many cups of water to neutralize one cup of cola. What you eat and drink changes your pH. If you measure your pH two hours after a meal you may find the urine going acid as it is a reflection of the meals acid components pushing the pH. When body pH drops below 6.4, enzymes are deactivated, digestion does not work properly; vitamins, minerals and food supplements cannot effectively assimilate.
Testing Your Body’s pH
There are various tests that can help you determine whether your body is acidic, including saliva, urine, and blood tests.
Saliva Testing
Saliva testing gives a general range of the saliva’s pH and should be used only as a rough guide. Over time, it can provide a broad picture of a person’s overall state of acid–alkaline balance. The best time to test your saliva is first thing in the morning, before you eat or drink anything. If your pH level routinely tests acidic but you have an occasional alkaline reading, you are likely quite acidic; your body may be dumping alkaline minerals from your muscles, bones, or organs to compensate which may give a false sense of alkalinity.
Urine Testing
Urine testing is more accurate than saliva testing. As with saliva testing, this is best done first thing in the morning, when you first urinate after waking up. Urine usually tests slightly more acidic than saliva, which is to be expected.
Blood Testing
Blood testing is the most accurate way to evaluate your pH level, but gives you only a snapshot of your blood’s acid–alkaline balance at a particular time on a particular day, which is of little value when you are trying to determine whether your blood pH levels show a trend towards acidity.
Normally your salivary pH should be between 6.8 - 7.3 and the urinary pH is between 6.1- 6.5. This means that your salivary pH has to be more than your urinary pH. Ideally urinary pH is 6.4 and salivary is ideally 7.4. If you are not well, higher standard of getting urinary pH to near 7 would be preferred such as 6.9 to 7.5 because it is the pH that causes the body to heal and rest.
Sometimes physical work results in muscular pains all over the body due to lactic acid buildup. Taking just 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda plus 1/2 teaspoon of citric acid will help ease the pain rapidly as it neutralizes the lactic acid buildup in the muscle from undue strenous work. Sodium bicarbonate is highly alkaline and using sodium bicarbonate as a diet aid can help regulate the body’s ph. In nature, it occurs as a mineral called nahcolite and is usually found in the water of springs. Synthetically it is manufactured by reacting ammonia and carbon dioxide with cold and concentrated sodium chloride. Baking soda should not be confused with Baking powder. They are not the same. Baking powder is the combination of baking soda that acts as a base, and a dry acid, like sodium aluminum sulfate or cream of tartar along with a buffer like cornstarch that helps in safe storage of this compound.