Last Updated on March 9, 2023 by Ellen Christian
It seems like there is a lot to understand about healthy living. It’s not always enough to just eat healthy food and keep active. There are a lot of other variables that impact how healthy we are. Understanding pH levels in the body is something that I’ve been researching.
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Understanding pH Levels in the Body
The pH levels in your body refer to the level of both acids and alkalines. The pH level in your body will be a number from 1 to 14. The scientific research I’ve seen indicates that healthy people will have a system that is alkaline versus acidic.
What happens if your pH balance is off?
Having a pH value that isn’t balanced can result in some illnesses and diseases including indigestion, depression, weight gain, arthritis, low energy, chronic fatigue, and candida overgrowth. Since I’ve had some of these issues in the past – and currently deal with several – understanding pH levels in the body is something I’m working on improving.
Your body’s goal is to keep a stable pH to prevent cells from eroding. When your pH is unstable, your body will attempt to adjust the level itself in any way it needs to. When the level is acidic, your body will steal calcium and magnesium from your bones and teeth to help correct the deficiency. Unless your pH level is slightly alkaline, it cannot heal itself properly. This can help with restoring pH levels in the body.
Research and understanding pH levels in body
Research shows that people with acidic pH values tend to be unhealthy or suffer from chronic diseases. An acidic pH value decreases your body’s ability to absorb minerals and other nutrients, heal cells, and detox heavy metals. It will also make you more tired and susceptible to illness.
How do you know if your body is alkaline or acidic?
So, how do you get an acidic pH value? It can be caused by stress, poor diet, disease, or problems with your immune system. The best way to test your body’s pH value is with pH test paper that you can find at stores like Walmart.
This one can be used for saliva and urine. Just follow the directions on the package for a body pH test.
Alkaline diet plan
Eating an alkaline diet can help improve your pH level. Try to eat more of these foods:
- Sweet potatoes, yams, radishes, beets, carrots, turnip, and other root crops
- Cooked greens like kale, collard greens, beet greens, Swiss chard, and spinach
- Cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, and Brussels sprouts
- Garlic and cayenne peppers
- Lemons
- Ginger (the root), apple cider vinegar (try my Blueberry Apple Cider Vinegar Detox drink) and herbal teas
- Fresh herbs including basil, oregano, lemongrass, and coriander. Check out these ways to use fresh basil in your diet.
Now that you have a better understanding of what the pH levels mean in your body, which step will you take first?
Ellen is a busy mom of a 24-year-old son and 29-year-old daughter. She owns six blogs and is addicted to social media. She believes that it doesn’t have to be difficult to lead a healthy life. She shares simple healthy living tips to show busy women how to lead fulfilling lives. If you’d like to work together, email info@confessionsofanover-workedmom.com to chat.
It’s good to know the food that will help balance the ph levels. Thanks for sharing this.
Always glad to share!
What with lemon is the only drink besides coffee that I drink regularly. I actually cannot drink water without lemon and ice nowadays. I also love sweet potatoes and plan on making some for dinner.
I love lemon or lime in my water. I generally add fruit of some sort.
I could totally eat Sweet Potatoes all the time so I could get on board with that for regulating PH. I especially like them in chips and fry form.
I love sweet potato chips!
I never knew my phl level, but this is interesting to know. I know I could use some more sweet potatoes and kale and the like in my diet. I could easily start to add lemon to my water, that would be a small change that would help.
It’s definitely an easy change to make!
I have never thought about the PH Levels in my body before! This is great information, totally makes sense why you should be aware of it.
It really does, Tammilee!
I had no idea that it was important to pay attention to our ph levels! I do eat a lot of sweet potatoes (mainly roasted in the oven!), but I should try adding some of these other suggestions.
Definitely a great idea!