How To Use pH Strips
The typical way to painlessly monitor the
body’s pH is by using pH strips to test the saliva and urine. The
pH strips with a range of 4.5-7.5 work best for testing urine, which
generally tends to be in the more acidic ranges. The pH strips with
a range of 6.0-8.0 pH are best for people who to test their saliva.
This range is where most healthy people, who are working at becoming
alkaline, will find their salivary pH.
The pH of venous blood is around 7.2 and the pH
of arterial blood is around 7.4. Blood pH must be maintained in a
very tight window if a person is to stay alive.
The pH of the urine can vary widely. The pH of
urine is a measure of the biochemicals that the body is
eliminating. These include biochemicals such as excess minerals,
vitamins, and products of metabolism. These biochemicals also
include drugs and toxins being eliminated by the body. Most people
believe you should have an early morning urine pH of above 6.2.
They say if this is the case, your body is probably alkaline. More
radical health care professionals may say your pH needs to be above
6.8.
The pH of saliva can also give an
indication of cellular pH. Though it does not give you the blood
pH, it is definitely a reflection on what is going on inside the
body. Most healthy people will find their salivary pH to be above
6.4. If the early morning salivary pH is above 6.8, people usually
see many of their problems disappear. A person with cancer is
usually below 6.0 and if the cancer is considered terminal it will
usually be below 5.5.
Salivary pH
The pH of saliva is affected by
digestive activity. A salivary pH is only “useful” when taken first
thing in the morning before you take a drink or eat anything. It
must also be taken before exercise and before brushing your teeth.
In my opinion, this is the best way of knowing what the pH in your
cells is. I know many people may disagree with me, but there are
lots of problems with urinary pH as well.
How to Take
the pH of Your Saliva
Note: this
will only be accurate if done on your first morning saliva.
- Tear off a
small one to two inch piece of the pH paper from the dispenser.
- Place the
pH strip under your tongue, briefly getting it wet (should only
take one to two seconds).
- Lift it
out of your mouth. Notice that it is changing color.
- Compare
the color to the chart located on the side of the dispenser.
Find the color on the chart that most closely matches the color
of the pH paper. Disregard any color changes that continue
after 30 seconds.
- Note the
pH number on the chart that corresponds with the color of your
pH strip. That is your saliva’s pH.
The only time
this reading may not be giving you an accurate assessment of your
cellular pH is if you lack normal flora and digestive enzymes. My
findings have been that it is the normal flora and digestive enzymes
that keep people from becoming too alkaline (Incidentally, if a
person becomes too alkaline they can actually be worse off than if
they are too acidic.).
Urinary pH
The pH of the
urine is not as affected by digestive enzymes as salivary pH.
However, the pH of the urine can be affected by:
-
preservatives you eat
-
pollutants
you breathe
-
stress you
encounter
-
the food
you eat
-
how much
water you drink
-
the amount
of pathogens in your system
-
how much
rest you receive
-
all the
biochemical activities
Typically the
first morning urine is the most acidic of all the urine your body
will produce. It will not be affected by drinking a lot of water
because you have been sleeping, nor will it be as affected by things
such as stress or what you have just eaten. A urinary pH taken
first thing in the morning will give you the best assessment as far
as the “excesses” and contaminants that your body is eliminating.
If your urine has a pH of 6.8 or above, you can rest assured that
your cells are probably quite alkaline, and that your body is
healthy. If your urine has a pH between 6.2 and 6.8, you are
probably relatively healthy.
How to
Take the pH of Your Urine
Note: this will
only be accurate if done on your first morning urine.
- Tear off a
small two to three inch piece of the pH paper from the
dispenser.
- Place the
pH strip into your flow of urine, briefly getting it wet (it
should only take one to two seconds).
- Notice
that it is changing color.
- Compare
its color to the color in the chart located on the back of the
pH tape dispenser. Find the color on the chart that most
closely matches the color of the piece of pH paper. Disregard
any color changes that continue after 30 seconds.
- Note the pH number on
the chart that corresponds with the color of your pH strip.
That is your urine’s pH.
How to Interpret the Results
The pH scale
runs from 1 to 14. On the pH scale, an acid pH is a pH below 7.0;
7.0 is considered neutral; an alkaline pH is a pH above 7.0.
Salivary
pH
- A healthy American should
find they have a salivary pH above 6.0.
- People with cancer always
have a pH below 6.0, and when they are terminal their pH is
usually below 5.5.
- A health conscious American
will have a salivary pH above 6.6 and never above 7.2. If their
salivary pH is higher than that they lack good flora and
digestive enzymes.
If you find you have a good salivary pH of 6.8
and you begin taking digestive enzymes or adding normal flora to
your diet, you may find that your pH may plummet under 6.0. Do not
panic. Your original reading was not accurate, and your current
reading may not be accurate, as well. Work on increasing your
consumption of alkaline foods, take coral calcium as a supplement if
you need to, and do lots of juicing with fresh fruits and
vegetables. Also, breathe deeply on a regular basis. Check your pH
several days later and see how you body is adjusting.
Urine pH
Ideally you
would like to see a urine pH above 6.0. The closer it is to 7.0 the
better.
Many people will find that they have a fairly
alkaline pH saliva reading and an acidic pH urinary reading. This
means they are not eliminating any alkaline minerals. The body can
be pulling minerals out of stores in the body to maintain the
current body pH, or you may be just barely maintaining the balance.
But you can be sure that you are probably not getting enough
alkalinizing minerals and you are probably slowly becoming acidic.
That is why many of the people who talk about acid and alkaline
balance in the body always talk about urine pH. It is the best
indicator that you have arrived at an alkaline state. However, I
must qualify this statement by saying that if you are under stress,
for some reason the kidneys will eliminate magnesium and calcium
along with other minerals into the urine. This could possibly give
you a false alkaline reading.
If a person has an alkaline urine
reading and an acidic salivary reading it is either being caused by
a drug (drugs can do this), or they are under stress and eliminating
important alkalinizing minerals.
We recommend Wilderness Family Naturals products because of their integrity and quality.
However, other online retailers and natural food stores may also carry similar goods.
Whenever, possible we have tried to give you information on how to recognize superior products.
Wilderness Family Naturals products can be found at: www.wildernessfamilynaturals.com
or by calling (800) 945-3801.
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