The right pH is extremely important for health. The pH scale ranges from 1 to 14, with a value of 7 being neutral. All values below 7 are acidic and all values above 7 are alkaline. Consequently, being healthy or getting healthy always includes regulating the pH values. Therefore, measure your pH value first! It’s easy to do at home!

The pH value in saliva and urine

The pH value is the measured value for the degree of acidic or alkaline reaction of an aqueous solution. The concentration of hydrogen ions contained in this solution is measured.

Since the human body consists of 70% water and all metabolic reactions therefore take place in an aqueous environment, it is possible to measure the pH value of these liquids, especially those liquids that are excreted, such as saliva and urine.

Lime is neutralized with acid

We all know the aggressive effect of acids from our own experience. Vinegar, for example, is so acidic that it can be used to remove limescale deposits in coffee machines, kettles and glass jars. However, sensitive surfaces can also be attacked by the acid, e.g. enamel.

What does pH mean?

The abbreviation pH comes from the Latin “potentia hydrogenii”, which means “concentration of hydrogen ions”. The pH scale of acidity ranges from 0 to 14, with 0 being the strongest acidity and 14 being the highest alkaline value. 7 is the neutral point that pure water, for example, has.

* This pH test stix allows you to measure your urine pH.

Different degrees of acidity in the body

In humans, very different degrees of acidity are measured in different areas of the body (by the way, they are still called acidity levels even if they are above a pH level of 7 in the alkaline range):

• The secretion of the pancreas is far in the alkaline range with pH 8.0. It serves to neutralize the food acidified in the stomach in the duodenum so that the nutrients in the small intestine can be absorbed by the organism.
• The small intestine is partly located in the alkaline range with pH values of 8.0. The large intestine, on the other hand, requires an acidic environment between pH 5.5 and 6.5. Numerous lactic acid bacteria help to create the acidic environment with their lactic acid.
• With a pH value of 7.35 – 7.45, the blood is clearly in the alkaline range.
• Secretions from the liver and gallbladder are slightly alkaline with a pH of 7.1.
• The saliva is slightly alkaline or neutral with a pH of 7.1 – 7.0. In hyperacidity conditions, it can get into the acidic area, which can lead to tooth damage, such as if someone is constantly snacking or constantly sipping on sweet drinks, which prevents saliva from recovering after a meal and becoming alkaline again.
• The connective tissue may be slightly more acidic than the blood. Basic pH values of 7.08 and 7.29 were measured here.
• With a pH value of 6.9, the muscles and cells of the organs have a value in the very slightly acidic range. This is because the energy factory of our body’s cells works around the clock. And when our nutrients are processed or burned, acid is produced, in this case carbonic acid. However, it is important for the cells to be constantly deacidified. When the cells of our most important muscle, the heart, drop to pH 6.2, the heart stops.
• The urine is between distinctly acidic (pH 4.8) and basic (up to a pH value of 8.0). In this case, the acid makes perfect sense, because it is removed from the body with the urine.
• Gastric juice is the most acidic component of the human body, it is between pH 1.2 and 3.0. The hydrochloric acid formed in the stomach has important tasks: Together with the enzyme pepsin, which is active in the stomach, it is needed for the digestion of protein, for the breakdown of very solid food components (e.g. minerals) and for the killing of pathogens that penetrate with the air we breathe or are swallowed with food.

The ideal pH

The pH value, which enables our body to function in the best possible way, i.e. normally, is 7.4 measured in the blood. However, the values measured their vary depending on the point in time.

A healthy environment therefore has a slightly alkaline pH value. Therefore, for a smooth metabolism both inside and outside the cells, the slightly alkaline pH range, in which most metabolic reactions take place optimally, must be maintained.

Even minor deviations lead to massive metabolic disorders, which can be life-threatening. However, there are several endogenous protective devices, the so-called buffer systems, which compensate for pH derailments in the body fluids and in the cells upwards or downwards, i.e. into the alkaline or acidic range.

How can the pH value be determined?

There are several methods to determine the pH level in the body. From elaborate clinical-chemical laboratory tests to the acid-base test according to Sander to tests with pH indicator test strips.

The measurement with the pH test strips can be carried out at home.
* Here you can find pH test strips

Also read our PH measuring instruction if you plan on doing a fast

pH measurement with pH test strips

In online shops or pharmacies, there are special test strips made of a so-called indicator paper. If you hold the strips in the urine stream, they change color depending on the acidity of the urine – from light yellow to dark blue. Then compare the colour obtained with the enclosed colour scale and thus find out the pH value of the urine.

It is important that the strip is held in the so-called central stream of the urine. This means that you first allow a small part of the urine to drain before holding the strip in the stream.

In order to obtain meaningful urine pH values that provide reliable conclusions about the acidity of the body, the measurement should be carried out over several days (e.g. 3 days) and repeated at 6 different times of the day. Post-meal measurements should be taken no earlier than 2 hours after the meal.

So, make a note of 6 times when you have time to check your pH in the following 3 days and make a note of the values (e.g. at 7 am, 11 am, 3 pm, 6 pm, 10 pm). Also make a note of the times of your meals (e.g. 7.15 am breakfast, 12 noon lunch, 6.30 pm dinner).

You can also draw a curve to better visualize your values.

The pH depends on these factors

The acidity of urine fluctuates depending on food, psyche and time of day. Parallel to liver activity, more acids are excreted in the second half of the night. Therefore, the first morning urine should show a slightly acidic pH value. This confirms that the acids that have formed in the metabolism during the night are actually excreted ( 1 ).

Why fluctuations in pH are so important

Your measurements should show an upward and downward movement or a curve. It is not necessarily a matter of how high the fluctuations are, but that there are fluctuations at all.

This dynamic indicates that the body has a natural regulation of the acid-base balance. Because not only a constantly acidic urine, but also a constantly alkaline urine can indicate a disorder in the body, namely that it can no longer be regulated.

Healthy pH values for orientation

Healthy urinary pH levels can be within this range:

• in the morning between pH value 6.2 – 6.8 (or even lower)
• in the evening between pH value 6.8 – 7.4 (or above)