Now that we’ve discovered that living on the alkaline side of life has serious “benies” (benefits), how do we discover where we are in the pH scale of things?  Since we can’t readily check our blood plasma, we’ll have to settle for checking the waking state of our first and second most popular body fluids: saliva and urine.

First, you’ll need perHydron strips to test for acidity/alkalinity.  We have been fortunate to locate an affordable source for pH test strips and will be offering them for those interested.   See details at the end of the next article.  Saliva must be tested first thing after rising, after sleeping 5-6 hours and before anything at all is put into the mouth and the urine is tested twice and must be from the very first and second “tinkles” after waking.

If you wake up with cotton mouth like I often do, a couple of tongue trips around the mouth might be required to get enough saliva to test.  Take one strip and wet a dime sized portion of the paper with your tongue, comparing it with the color chart on the bottle.  The saliva should range between 6.8 and 7.2.  Next, take another strip and get a couple drops of urine on it.  The urine should also range between 6.8 and 7.2.  If the results are above 7.2, you had sufficient alkaline buffers.  If it is between 6.9 to 6.8, it is mildly acidic indicating that a bit too much acid-producing food was eaten than there were alkaline buffers to neutralize.   If it’s below 6.8, the body is in a state of acidosis and there is a sizable alkaline buffer deficiency which must be purposefully addressed by reducing acid-producing foodstuffs and adding more alkaline-producing foods in the diet.  You may now a large glass of water.  Later in the next article, we’ll address the benefit of lemon water for other times during the day.

Since we were “fasting” while sleeping, the remaining digested nutrients were taken into circulation and the net result between their pH and that of our body was reached.  The second urine of the morning will tell the rest of the story. It should show the current state of our system pH.  The difference between the two urines gives us an idea of the effect of our previous meal or two on our body’s pH.  Ideally, the second urine pH shoud be at least 7.2 or above for the body to have sufficiently neutralized the previous day’s acidic food intake and still be at a healthy pH.

Why is all this effort important?  As it was implied in the previous article, balance really is everything.  “it has been determined that the human body functions best at a mildly alkaline pH range of 7.35 to 7.45  for blood plasma.  To be above this range (alkalosis) or below it (acidosis) can put the body in a predisposed state for disease and may result in irreversible cellular damage, however gradual or minimal.  We want to give our bodies every practical advantage.

The following charts will aid in keeping track of your general pH and alkaline buffer levels.

In the first chart, I use the last column to record the change between urine #2 values of the current and previous days.  This give a graphic record of your progress. Download them from the links below for your own use, if you like.

http://www.veganfamilyliving.com/Daily-pH-Chart.pdf

http://www.veganfamilyliving.com/Alkaline-Buffer-Chart.pdf

The second chart is for part three of the series (which will follow in a matter of hours) but is included here for ease of copying.

Part three of the series will address how to begin taking steps to get your pH at a healthy level and keep it that way by being aware of what you eat and what effects various foods have on the body.  See you then!

Note: No claims are made regarding the therapeutic use of this advice or products mentioned.  These statements have not been evaluated by the Food & Drug Administration.  These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

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