Test your pH

What is a pH test and what does it reveal about your health?

Testing your pH is a common practice in early spring. It's a simple, non-invasive way to get a snapshot of our state of health.

pH tests tests raise a lot of questions and controversy. Here are some tips and advice on body pH and testing.

How to test your pH level

1. Get a pH test at the store. (Available at La Boite à Grains in the supplements section).
2. Decide which sample you will use*, and when you will perform the test. The test can be performed as soon as you wake up, before you've eaten or drunk, or at the end of the evening.
3. Place a small quantity of sample in a clean container.
4. Tear off a strip of pH paper about an inch long and dip it into the sample. As it comes into contact with the substance, the paper will change color.
5. Immediately compare this color with the manufacturer's legend.
6. Your test result will express your level of acidity or alkalinity.

*The saliva sample provides reactive data (based on recent habits and diet over the past few days), while the urine sample provides metabolic data (based on general state of health over the past 3 months).³

Testing your pH: interpreting the results

pH test data are expressed on a logarithmic scale, with values ranging from 0 to 14. pH values between 0 and 7 are acidic, and pH values between 7 and 14 are basic (or alkaline). A pH of 7 is perfectly neutral; neither acidic nor alkaline.

Ideally, your test result will be between 6 and 7.0 in the morning (since samples are naturally acidic in the morning) or between 7 and 7.4 in the evening. If your test result indicates that your saliva or urine is acidic, it's a sign that your body and its tissues are too.

Test your pH: when the body becomes too acidic

The body functions in a slightly alkaline environment. However, it can become more acidic as a result of a number of factors, including :

• Excess sugar and salt
• Consumption of alcohol, caffeine and soft drinks
• The presence of processed products and preservatives in the diet
• Overconsumption of animal products
• Use of unhealthy fats, including margarine and oxygenated fats
• Lack of sleep
• Stress
• Exposure to carbon monoxide

Since the body functions optimally in an alkaline environment, it's normal for health to be affected if it becomes more acidic.

Body acidity can manifest itself as :

• poor digestion accompanied by gastric reflux and/or constipation
• excessive, inexplicable fatigue
• difficulty losing weight and/or excess body fat
• thickened mucous membranes and chronic congestion
• Skin problems (eczema, psoriasis, acne, rosacea)
• Fragile nails and loss of luster in hair

Longer-term body acidity predisposes to more than 150 degenerative diseases² including :

• Osteoporosis
• Kidney disorders
• Cardiovascular disorders
• Arthritis
• Cancer

However, it is possible to reverse the situation by alkalizing the body.

Test your pH: alkalinize your body

When the body becomes acidic, it can be alkalized through dietary and lifestyle changes.

Start by drinking 8 glasses of water a day, to promote elimination via the kidneys. Avoid products that tax the liver, including alcohol, cigarettes, caffeine and processed foods. Then, promote the consumption of alkalizing foods.

Food digestion leaves the body with an acidic, neutral or alkaline residue. An optimal diet provides 75% neutral and alkalizing foods and 25% acidifying foods.¹

Foods are classified according to their impact on the body, not on the pH of the individual food. For example, lemon is an acidic food, but its effect on the body is alkaline because of the way it is metabolized. Dairy products, on the other hand, are alkaline foods, but have an acidifying effect on the body.

To further support the body towards a better acid-base balance, it may be useful to incorporate green food powderthe champions of alkalinity.

While the pH test does not represent a complete health check-up, it does provide an overall picture. Get a pH test test today and learn more about your body and your health!

We wish you good health!

About the author

Naturopaths of La Boite à Grains

Team of licensed and certified naturopaths (ND) in Gatineau, Outaouais.

Original article written by Véronique Cousineau, Naturopath

Sources

1: Staying healthy with nutrition: the complete guide to diet and nutritional medicine. Elson M. Haas - Buck Levin - Celestial Arts - 2006

2: Good and Chemical effects on acid/alkaline body chemical balance. A guide to Detoxification tools for the advanced nutrition students. Ashima Shuneja, BSc, ND

3: Ph Levels. Ask a Naturopath, Australian Traditional Medicine Society