HEALTHPLAN MAGAZINE

What Is The pH Balance?

One of the most essential conditions to enjoying excellent health and sound well being is to have an effective immune system. Without an immune system functioning at the top of its game, you will become susceptible to many illnesses and diseases, from the common cold, to cancer.

So how can you be sure that your own immune system is firing on all cylinders? Well, the answer is that you must first generate the right environment throughout your body – an environment that gives it everything that it requires to thrive.

Our bodies are incredibly sophisticated organisms, and during their natural day to day functioning manufacture lots of various chemicals in order to assist the major life functions. But if we consume an unhealthy diet, then our body chemical make up will become too acidic, and this kind of environment helps promote a whole host of unwanted illnesses.

The pH balance refers to the acidic state of your body, somewhat like a swimming pool. Given that our bodies are made of 80% water, it’s quite a good analogy to use. To have a well balanced or neutral pH, your body’s pH level should register around 7.4 pH; if you pH level is lower than this, your bodies environment will be too acidic. Anything above 7.4 and it will be too alkaline. When you bodies environment is too acidic, it is referred to as Acidosis.

The main reason that Acidosis is bad for you is that your body will then search for particular minerals from your organs. These minerals are then pulled from those organs weakening them. This leads an overall mineral deficiency within the body which is quite common. This can go unnoticed for many years.

How Can I Test My pH Levels?

Testing your pH levels is very easy. One of the best ways is to go to your local pharmacy and purchase a pH testing kit. Another good way is to purchase pH testing strips online via websites such as Ebay. These are normally very cheap and cost just a few pounds/dollars/euros.

You can test your pH level using either saliva or urine. The best method is to use saliva as this gives you a more accurate reading. If you do test using urine, please bear in mind that your urine is normally a little more acidic in the morning. It is generally best to wait a couple of hours after waking to test using urine.

If you are using the saliva test, make sure that you wait two hours after eating before doing the test so that you get an accurate reading.

Simply take the test strip, place it on your tongue for a few seconds and then leave for 30 seconds before recording your results. It is also recommended that you carry out around three tests throughout the day to get a more accurate view of your pH levels.

How Can I Maintain The Perfect pH Level?

It's very easy to keep your body alkalised. Firstly you need to make sure that you drink plenty of water throughout the day. Ideally, you should be drinking around two litres or more per day. This will also mean that you will avoid dehydration.

Secondly, you need to make sure that you are eating plenty of green vegetables and other natural alkaline foods. There are hundreds that you can eat as a part of your daily diet. See our other post here for a list of alkaline foods.

So, no excuses. Make sure you body has the ideal pH balance of around 7.4 and you should ward off many of life's unwanted illnesses.