Is Your Body Acid Or Alkaline?

October 30, 2013

Your body stays in balance by a variety of factors, including your pH. Simply put, pH is the measure of acid and/or alkaline in your body (think of acid as vinegar and alkaline like baking soda). Traditionally, pH has been been measured in the blood or serum, with 7.4 as a target number. Technology and at-home testing with pH strips has increased the body fluids which can be assessed, including one’s saliva and urine. The measure of pH is impacted by many body functions including breathing, metabolic activity, exercise, water and food consumption, stress, and even your thoughts.

I typically focus our pH protocols by assessing a variety of markers, including the level of a protein in the serum called globulin. Globulin is one of the building blocks used to create the antibodies used in your immune system. When globulin levels are low, I suspect deficient protein intake. Elevated globulin levels may indicate enough protein is being consumed, but not absorbed because the pH in the digestive system may be diluted or alkaline, and up to standard with the ability to utilize proteins.

Taking one’s saliva pH first thing in the morning before any other activity, from my experience, is the best way to determine your pH. Foods and beverages consumed through the day impact your pH assessment, either increasing or decreasing the level. Patients with low acidic levels of pH have diets that tend to be devoid of any green-based food (kale, broccoli, spinach).  Green foods help promote an alkaline level. Individuals who have more challenges with chronic colds, chronic joint and digestive conditions often have their pH on the acid end of the spectrum.

There is actually a process in your body, where the food you eat ends up in metabolism as either and alkaline or acid ash. As a social group, we have been programmed to think citrus, for example, is acid. In reality, the final product of citrus processing in your body is alkaline. Citrus, unbeknown to most women, is one of the leading causes of fibromyalgia (a painful soft tissue pain syndrome). An alkaline pH could be a factor creating pain, but does not promote chronic disease. Also, you may reduce your potential to have cancer, but may have pain syndromes which linger with an alkaline or elevated pH.

The pH range on the typical testing paper (we use a product called Nitrazine™ testing strips) is from 4.0 to 7.5. I like to see a number in the 6.5-7.0 range-when the pH color is purple. On the other end, when the saliva pH paper is green or below 6.5, the patient tends to have mineral deficiency symptoms or body signals including sore muscles after exercise, cold sores, and leg cramps.

I encourage you to begin monitoring your saliva pH. Your goal would be to have a saliva pH of 6.5. If your pH is on the higher end of the spectrum we need to assess your diet choices, on the other hand, if your pH is on the lower end of the spectrum, 6.5 we need to also assess your diet choices and make the right shifts to create an optimal pH number that is the best for you.