We should be looking to get our pH to neutral (7) or even more alkaline. Focusing on foods on the right side of the chart rather than those on the left is the key. You can pick up pH Test Strips (Litmus paper) at your local pharmacy. There are two readings to take, saliva and urine. Never put litmus paper in your mouth, place saliva on the strip.
Urine and saliva samples will give you different readings. The reason that there is a difference in the readings is that a) your mouth is more likely to contain acidic bacteria throughout the day (if you brush your teeth it will show a very high alkaline reading due to the toothpaste so there is not much of a way around this) and b) because your urine is more of a reflection of the processes the body is undertaking to remove acid from the body.
It is best to either test 1 hour before or 2 hours after eating. If testing your saliva, it is a good idea to try to fill your mouth with saliva and then swallow. This helps remove any acidic bacteria that might be lurking. Do not try to wash your mouth out with anything else as this will simply record the alkalinity of the water/liquid you have just used.
For testing urine, let some urine flow before testing as this will give more of an average reading.
Testing 2-3 times in a day is best in order to get an average, as first thing in the morning the body has retained fluids over a long period of time and it will engage in different processes to remove acid wastes from the body throughout the day (depending on activity and diet).
Testing your own pH is only going to give you a general trend. Unfortunately, there is no way of determining the EXACT pH of the blood without undergoing a live blood analysis. However, they can give a good indication – so test, test, test and take the average and then follow this trend over time noticing the difference any changes in your diet can make.
pH Spectrum of Foods Chart