Salivary and urinary pH are not a reflection of blood pH.
We supply a handy free pH test kit here in Australia and it’s a good ‘indicator’ of our general pH levels. However here are some important things to consider when looking at your results.
Saliva pH actually tells us very little.
[sociallocker id=”16709″] Saliva pH is affected by the amount of bacteria in the mouth so if you’ve just brushed your teeth, your saliva will be more alkaline. So will drinking water, thinking of certain foods, etc.
Dry mouth increases acidity as alkaline saliva normally washes away acid forming bacteria in the mouth.
Urinary pH is also affected by hydration levels, certain supplements, medications and by bacteria in the urine. Urinary tract infections lead to highly alkaline urine as the bacteria use the enzyme urease to split urea in to highly alkaline ammonia. The alkalinity helps the bacteria, as with most pathogens, to survive.
Ingesting baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) doesn’t really alkalize the blood in most cases and even if it does, it’s very temporary.
Ingesting baking soda can actually cause acidosis. As it reacts with our stomach acid, it forms carbonic acid and sodium chloride. Carbonic acid can cause acidosis as well as excess sodium chloride, which can cause hyperchloremic acidosis.
Another common myth many water ionizer vendors propagate through their own ignorance is that most pathogens cannot survive in an alkaline environment. Actually most pathogens cannot survive in an acidic environment. They often thrive in an alkaline environment.
Foe example, H. pylori bacteria, secretes highly alkaline and highly toxic ammonia to neutralize stomach acid and protect themselves. In addition, roles of both stomach acid and the acids produced by the beneficial bacteria that inhabit our bodies is to destroy pathogens. For the same reason, people exposed to food poisoning pathogens are more prone to pathogens when they have low stomach acid and acid producing flora.
Candida: The ‘Hippy Disease’
Our acid producing flora also keeps Candida under control. These acids turn off the Candida growth gene and keep the Candida in its benign yeast form. When the flora numbers are decreased, the environment becomes alkaline, thus turning on the Candida growth gene and morphing the Candida into its pathogenic fungal form (candidiasis). It is in this fungal form that the Candida forms finger-like projections known as hyphae that allow the Candida to dig in to tissues causing damage and inflammation.[/sociallocker]