You may have seen some information while searching for healthy food choices, natural cures, and even beauty treatments discussing the pH balance of these.
An imbalance of pH can cause problems in gardening, animals, water sources, and in our bodies.
So what is the importance of pH balancing and how do pH levels affect your health?
The truth is, pH levels are EXTREMELY important in all aspects of health.
It’s so important that it is tested in your blood and urine everytime you get a checkup from your doctor.
Why is pH tested in your body?
Your blood pH needs to maintain a level between 7.35 and 7.45 for optimal health. If these levels move out of the normal range, your body kicks into overdrive to try to get the pH back to where it needs to be.
pH in your urine is tested to help identify a variety of diseases. There really is no normal pH range for urine but the average of individuals have a pH of 6.0. What you consume and how your body processes what it consumes, will affect your urine pH. Most importantly, levels of pH in urine can be a clue leading to chronic renal failure if too alkaline or uncontrolled diabetes if too acidic.
There are many diseases in the body linked to pH fluctuations, too many to list! However, one recent discovery is the link between lower levels of pH in the body or too acidic and cancer risk.
The effectiveness of chemotherapeutic agents is markedly influenced by pH. Numerous agents such as epirubicin and adriamycin require an alkaline media to be more effective. – Gerry K. Schwalfenberg
How do you balance the pH in your body?
Research suggests an alkaline food diet can greatly reduce morbidity and mortality from chronic illness.
There are foods that increase acidity in your body and foods have been measured for potential renal acid loads (PRALs). These PRALs increase as the pH in your body becomes acidic. Continuing to eat foods high in PRALs increase your risk of developing:
- Bone disease
- Loss of muscle mass
- Cardiovascular disease
- Kidney disease
Acid Forming Foods
- Dairy products
- Pale Beers
- Red and White Wine
- Fruit Juice
Reducing acid-forming foods and increasing alkaline foods will balance your bodies pH to optimal levels reducing the risk of disease.
Although foods are not the only culprit for pH imbalance. Medications, poor metabolism, genetic disease, environmental factors, etc. can contribute to pH imbalance but diet-induced acidosis is the leading cause of acidosis and is in our control to remedy.
How do you know if your body is currently in acidosis?
Chronic acidosis is what can cause disease over time. Your body might slowly exhibit symptoms of acidosis adding more symptoms if the problem is not corrected. Common symptoms to watch out for are:
- Long and deep breaths
- Fast heartbeat
- Headache and/or confusion
- Feeling very tired
- Vomiting and/or feeling sick to your stomach (nausea)
- Loss of appetite
What can you do to regulate your pH?
Diet is your best remedy to regulate your pH. A balanced diet is best. You don’t want to eliminate acid-forming foods completely but rather balance between acid-forming and alkaline foods.
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You can monitor your bodies pH throughout the day to see what your body needs to stay in a healthy pH range. To do this, there are pH strips to test your urine.
Testing your own pH throughout the day is the only way to truly know if your body is too acidic or too alkaline.
You can also use pH test strips to test your water, juices, soups, anything liquid before you consume it.
If you’re truly concerned about your health and want to evaluate your food for optimal health, analyzing your food consumption and your body pH is a highly recommended step in the right direction towards a healthy lifestyle.
Here are 2 recommended pH strips to try:
The Nurse Hatty® test strips include educational PDFs that includes a pH chart for food which is extremely helpful.
Leave a comment below with your pH results and let us know what you learn from analyzing your own pH throughout the day!
If you’re concerned about your risk for cancer, read about our Cancer Prevention Guide.