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.

  1. Tear off a small one to two inch piece of the pH paper from the dispenser.
  2. Place the pH strip under your tongue, briefly getting it wet (should only take one to two seconds).
  3. Lift it out of your mouth.  Notice that it is changing color.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.

  1. Tear off a small two to three inch piece of the pH paper from the dispenser.
  2. Place the pH strip into your flow of urine, briefly getting it wet (it should only take one to two seconds).
  3. Notice that it is changing color.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.