pH - A Mini Guide

In this write-up we are going to show you how to test a body's state of pH and use this knowledge to guide your actions in creating wellness for yourself and others.

First, what is pH? Body pH refers to the degree of acidity (sourness) or alkalinity (bitterness) of the body's blood or other fluids. Acidity is expressed on the pH scale, in which 1.0 is a very low pH and strongly acid, 7.0 is neutral, and above 7.0 is alkaline, with a high pH limit of 14. Blood is normally slightly alkaline, with a pH range of 7.35 to 7.45. The blood's acid-alkalinity balance is controlled precisely because even a minor deviation from the normal range can severely affect many organs.

All cells, organs and fluids in the body have their own preferred pH values in order to operate at peak performance. These ranges are usually found in the slightly alkaline level. When the pH is pushed higher or lower than the level preferred, the ability of the fluid or cell to do its job is "stressed." It cannot utilize the nutrients it needs, eliminate the wastes collected, etc., until the proper pH is restored. This is where you, the master operator of your body, can make things right using pH testing on a regular basis.

The key to the door that opens up to full control of one's health is called pH testing. This is how it is done and used:

The pH papers register pH values from moderately strong acid pH 5.5 to mildly alkaline pH of 8.0. The thin strip of orange-yellow turns color when it comes into contact with moist or wet acid or alkaline substances. A color guide comes with the pH paper. The pH value is shown by the number above each color.

There are two body fluids that can be fairly conveniently tested to give an accurate indication of the pH of your intestinal environment. One is saliva and the other is urine. This write-up will concern only the saliva test in order to get you going soonest. The urine pH test will be the subject of a forthcoming writeup.

Saliva pH Testing

The pH of your saliva moves from high to low according to what you eat in your diet over a period of time. Tear off a strip of pH test paper 1-2" long and hold it below your mouth so that you can spit a small amount of saliva onto an end of the strip. Shake the extra spittle off of the end of the strip and compare the change in color of the moistened end to the color chart. Note on a piece of paper that you can record on from day to day the number of the pH value. Do this at the very beginning of each day before you have put anything whatsoever in your mouth. This will be your "normal" saliva pH before being changed by things going into your mouth or the events of the day. Keep this record in a secure and convenient location so that you can record the values in successive days. This is the simplest, most bare-bones pH test routine. You just look at the one reading at the start of the day and compare it to the prior day's readings. If the change is towered a slightly alkaline reading 7.0 - 7.4, as the days progress, then you are on the right track. If there is no change or the readings are moving away from the proper range, then you are not doing enough correct actions to improve your health. These values, by the way, can be much affected by emotional and mental states of the individual. Take note if this seems to apply when you evaluate the pH values.

What do the numbers mean?

5.5-6.0 State of health is mildly poor or very poor. Anxiety or chronic stress could also be dominating the physiology. If mental/emotional factors are not the cause, improving diet, detoxification and exercise will move the values up to the correct range.

6.2-7.0 Usually indicates that emotions are not getting the best of physiology. This range improves more easily with improvement in diet, a detoxification program and some exercise where there was not enough before. "Improving diet" for those with a pH below 7.0 means eating 70% or more foods from the alkaline-ash* list of foods daily.

7.2-8.0 Diet isn't a major problem unless stably above 7.4 Vegetarians commonly fall in this high pH range and can be headed toward exhaustion. Worry and anxiety can be overriding the positive benefits they get from their good diets. When worry and too much stress is not the case, the physical handling is to include more rice cereals and other acid-ash in their diets to tone down the pH. (See acid-ash and alkaline-ash foods list, attached.) Also, mild detoxification and exercise may be of benefit to improve conditions.

Here, in a quick glance, is how you can test and evaluate your body's pH. Monitoring your saliva pH can help you improve your diet and other lifestyle characteristics so that your health can be under your control.

There are two other types of pH tests that can be done. The first is called the "saliva stress test" and the second tests one's urine. Both tests are more complicated to do than the one given here and will be the subject of a later writeup.

Acid-ash / alkaline ash: The ash factor means when food is burned or metabolized by the body, what is it's pH value - acid or alkaline. Some foods, oranges or apple cider vinegar, for instance, are acid before metabolizing and alkalizing afterwards.

Some Common Acid Ash Foods
(Leave strong acid in your internal environment)