Guest guest Posted April 27, 2005 Report Share Posted April 27, 2005 Hey all, just wanted some thoughts, ideas, opinions, anecdotes, suggestions, etc. in regards to this. For the last three days I've been measuring my pH levels (with the stix from pH-ion.com), and my saliva levels have been normal (about 7.0-7.5), however my urine levels have been higher (about 8.0-9.0). I test about three times throughout each day. According to their little color-coded gauge on the box, this is too alkaline and " unhealthy " over the long-term. In regards to what I'm eating, it's been bananas in the morning (3-6, depending upon hunger), two oranges or two apples followed by celery or mixed greens for lunch, then a banana or two for an afternoon snack, then romaine, celery, or mixed greens for dinner. I may eat another banana or two in the evening if I get munchy. I'm aware it hasn't been long-term yet, and am wondering if I should continue to be concerned about it. I know acid-alkaline balance is important for body functioning, however, I don't KNOW what the " proper number " is for urine, and everything I've read online states that urine and saliva should be about the same at slightly above 7.0. What do you guys think? Should I start to add in a bit more acid- forming foods to balance it out? Should I wait it out to see if it balances itself? Should I not be concerned at all because the whole pH number theory is ridiculous? I'm obviously trying to be open- minded about this. I will be patient, if that's all I need to do. If this is cause for any concern, then I can be concerned also. Thanks, and I hope everyone is doin' what they're doin' with style today... ) Jeannie Rose Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 27, 2005 Report Share Posted April 27, 2005 rawfood , " jeannie_rose_13 " <jeannie_rose_13> wrote: > > Hey all, just wanted some thoughts, ideas, opinions, anecdotes, > suggestions, etc. in regards to this. For the last three days I've > been measuring my pH levels (with the stix from pH-ion.com), and my > saliva levels have been normal (about 7.0-7.5), however my urine > levels have been higher (about 8.0-9.0). I test about three times > throughout each day. According to their little color-coded gauge on > the box, this is too alkaline and " unhealthy " over the long-term. > > In regards to what I'm eating, it's been bananas in the morning (3- 6, > depending upon hunger), two oranges or two apples followed by celery > or mixed greens for lunch, then a banana or two for an afternoon > snack, then romaine, celery, or mixed greens for dinner. I may eat > another banana or two in the evening if I get munchy. > > I'm aware it hasn't been long-term yet, and am wondering if I should > continue to be concerned about it. I know acid-alkaline balance is > important for body functioning, however, I don't KNOW what > the " proper number " is for urine, and everything I've read online > states that urine and saliva should be about the same at slightly > above 7.0. > > What do you guys think? Should I start to add in a bit more acid- > forming foods to balance it out? Should I wait it out to see if it > balances itself? Should I not be concerned at all because the whole > pH number theory is ridiculous? I'm obviously trying to be open- > minded about this. I will be patient, if that's all I need to do. > If this is cause for any concern, then I can be concerned also. > > Thanks, and I hope everyone is doin' what they're doin' with style > today... ) > > Jeannie Rose ------------ Hi Jeannie Rose! I guess I've got two answers for you, one short, and one long. the short one: Bobo doesn't know what the pH of anything is. ---- that said, a better/longer/more complete answer follows: Looking at the role of acid and alkaline substance within the body, we find that: " The human body must continuosly deal with many different sustances in the bloodstream. Each substance has a range of concentration which can vary within certain limits without creating an imbalance of narmal bodily functions. Certains sustances, such as bloood glucose, can vary up to 200%, whild certain other substances, such as blood calcium, are constricted to a much narrower range of deviation. " " The balance in the *BLOOD* (emphasis mine) of acidic and alkaline components can be only moderatley altered without creating a very serious physiological instability. therefore, it is crucial that the body, while controlling degrees of pH in organs, glands and other areas of the body, simultaneously maintain this strict range of balance in the pH of the *BLOOD* (again, emphasis, mine). " A chart shows some of the pH ranges of different areas of the body: Body Area pH Value Gastric Juice 0.9 Gallbladder Bile 5.4-6.9 Urine 6.0 (note that this is different) Saliva 6.3-6.8 (also different) Feces 7.0-7.5 Intestinal juices 7.0-8.0 Pancreatic juices 8.0 The blood is slightly alkaline, with a pH of 7.35 to 7.4. If there's a deviation from this range in the *blood* (emphasis mine), it can lead to either alkalosis, if higher, and acidosis, if lower. Note that these refer to the pH of the blood. That said, the body has 3 major physiological control systems to maintain proper pH in the bodily fluids, namely a buffer system for the hydrogen ion fluctations, wherein all bodily fluids are supplied with acid-base buffers which combine with any acid or alkaline sustance and prevent excessive change in the hydrogen ion concentration. the 2nd is the respiratory system. This controls how much CO2 combines with water, creating carbonic acid, increasing the concentration f hydrogen ions, and thus the acidity of the blood. The 3rd control system is the kidneys (who knew? lol!) When the (H+) (hydrogen concentration) deviates from a normal value, the kidneys excrete " either an acid or alkaline urine " . (again, quotes mine for emphasis.) This serves to help readjust the (H+) of the bodily fluid back toward the normal value. As long as both your lungs and kidneys are ok, you probably are also. You didn't mention if you'd been feeling ok...if yes, then I'd say it's interesting. If not, what's not working?? Your diet as described is alkaline-forming in general, and also is a good foundation for health (assuming appropriate quantities are being consumed to meet body's energy needs.) the pH balance is maintained by the lungs, kidneys, and buffer salts. Quoting TC Fry some more: " A diet of fresh ripe fruits, along with raw vegetabels and nuts and seeds, is optimum. " Having said all of that, why are you/were you measuring the pH levels to start with? Hope this helps.... all the best, Bob source for most of the commentary: Life Science Health System, copyright 1986, Life Science Institute, pp. 297-301, from Lesson 12: The Role of Acid and Alkaline Substances Within the Body Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 27, 2005 Report Share Posted April 27, 2005 * Jeannie Rose, * Are you only eating fruits and vegetables? Sounds unbalanced to me. How about adding a few nuts/seeds/oils? -Poppy > In regards to what I'm eating, it's been bananas in the morning (3- 6, > depending upon hunger), two oranges or two apples followed by celery > or mixed greens for lunch, then a banana or two for an afternoon > snack, then romaine, celery, or mixed greens for dinner. I may eat > another banana or two in the evening if I get munchy. .. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 27, 2005 Report Share Posted April 27, 2005 Hi Bob! ) Thanks for your information! Responses are interspersed below... >Bobo doesn't know what the pH of anything is. Yeah, kinda figured that! (:-o) <cute, little monkey face> > " The balance in the *BLOOD* (emphasis mine) of acidic and alkaline >components can be only moderatley altered without creating a very >serious physiological instability. therefore, it is crucial that the >body, while controlling degrees of pH in organs, glands and other >areas of the body, simultaneously maintain this strict range of >balance in the pH of the *BLOOD* (again, emphasis, mine). " Yes, it's the balance that I'm going for here, or rather the current lack of balance that concerns me at present. >The blood is slightly alkaline, with a pH of 7.35 to 7.4. If there's >a deviation from this range in the *blood* (emphasis mine), it can >lead to either alkalosis, if higher, and acidosis, if lower. Note >that these refer to the pH of the blood. Yes, and I would imagine that the proper balance of blood pH is more " important " than urine pH as far as any immediate health issues are concerned. I haven't measured my blood pH - guess I'd have to intentially prod my finger or something to get that. Hmmm... >That said, the body has 3 major physiological control systems to >maintain proper pH in the bodily fluids, namely a buffer system for >the hydrogen ion fluctations, wherein all bodily fluids are supplied >with acid-base buffers which combine with any acid or alkaline >sustance and prevent excessive change in the hydrogen ion >concentration. the 2nd is the respiratory system. This controls how >much CO2 combines with water, creating carbonic acid, increasing the >concentration f hydrogen ions, and thus the acidity of the blood. >The 3rd control system is the kidneys (who knew? lol!) When the >(H+) (hydrogen concentration) deviates from a normal value, the >kidneys excrete " either an acid or alkaline urine " . (again, quotes >mine for emphasis.) This serves to help readjust the (H+) of the >bodily fluid back toward the normal value. So from this brief but wonderful explanation, I might consider that my kidneys are releasing alkaline urine in order to readjust my bodily fluids back to normal - which is, I guess, why I thought of waiting (x number of days) to see if the pH value normalizes - less probable, perhaps, is that the buffer system in my urine might be malfunctioning (I have a history of bladder/kidney infections, but haven't had one for about six or seven years), so is not able to properly balance pH for that fluid, but this idea did cross my mind. >As long as both your lungs and kidneys are ok, you probably are also. As far as I know, they are both generally okay. I have chronic, but very slight wheezing/congestion from years and years of diet stuff (dairy, etc.) and a few less years of smoking. The wheezing sounds appear and congestions come up most often after finishing a run. As I mentioned, I had very bad bladder infections which spread to my kidneys once, all throughout a period of about two years - at the onset of my kidney infection, the doc gave me injections of antibiotics on each side of my bum, and said that if it happens again, I was to have dye injected into my urinary tract for further testing. Never had one after that, thank goodness! >You didn't mention if you'd been feeling ok...if yes, then I'd say >it's interesting. If not, what's not working?? I'd say I'm feeling fine, energetically. I guess today I am starting to feel this tingly, weird pressure sensation in my bladder and I am urinating a bit more often with maybe smaller volume each time - cleansing perhaps?? I guess there's only one way to find out - wait and see. >Your diet as described is alkaline-forming in general, and also is >a good foundation for health (assuming appropriate quantities are >being consumed to meet body's energy needs.) Yes, I realize that it's all pretty much alkaline forming, which is why I'm wondering if I might need to throw some acid forming foods in there to balance. I'm still kind of playing with the quantities. I'm noticing that six bananas for breakfast is my limit right now (by eating them straight - haven't tried blending a smoothie yet - am too lazy to want to clean/rinse my blender, hah!) and it REALLY gets me going for a few hours. AND, I'm noticing that if I wait longer than about three hours to eat my next meal, it's too late and I get tired and lethargic pretty quickly thereafter, so I'm having to eat very often, which I'm not used to right now. Plus, I'm focusing on adding a bit of greens after each fruit meal to help try and take care of these poor teeth 'o mine. But I'm getting it! Yeeee!! >Having said all of that, why are you/were you measuring the pH levels >to start with? Well... about a month or two ago, I found all this information online about how important the whole pH balance/alkaline/acid/blah, blah, blah levels are in the body and so I ordered some stix and started monitoring, mostly because I was interested. Well, my levels came out to be really acidic for a while, so I went overboard and ate lots of alkaline forming foods (pretty much all green foods, cuz the websites state that a lot of fruits are acid forming, ya know). Well, I was able to do that for about two weeks before falling back into the old habits of breads and sweets and meats and things (it's curious that eating all green foods every day didn't raise my pH so rapidly or as high as my fruit/green diet has now - interesting...). So, I've just been monitoring it as I've been eating progressively better and shifting the quantities of fruits vs. greens. It's just interesting to me - but I have noticed that my urine got to about 9.0 (according to this test thingy), so I got concerned. That's all! >Hope this helps.... Absitively, posolutely!!! Thanks! Jeannie Rose Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 27, 2005 Report Share Posted April 27, 2005 Hi Poppy - thanks for responding! Yes, I'm pretty much just eating fruits and veggies. I think, depending on what else I discover about all this, that I may wait it out a few days and see if the levels normalize and all that. If not, I may add some acid forming foods to my diet, but I don't know about nuts and seeds and oils. Those would be great for acidity purposes, but I like my current fat intake being low for now as I'm trying to increase the distance and speed of my morning jogs - I wonder if there are other not-so-fat-heavy foods that are slightly acid forming? Thanks for your suggestions! Jeannie Rose Poppy Davis <poppy wrote: * Jeannie Rose, * Are you only eating fruits and vegetables? Sounds unbalanced to me. How about adding a few nuts/seeds/oils? -Poppy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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