Numerous illnesses and chronic diseases stem from a factor essential to our body’s well-being—its balance of acid/alkaline balance or pH level. The ideal pH for our human systems is slightly alkaline with a pH of 7.4—where our biological processes, such as digestion and metabolism, function best.

The body stays within the narrow window of ideal pH (7.35 to 7.45) only because of compensatory mechanisms that constantly regulate the crucial acid-base balance. Proper pH is essential, as all organ systems rely on pH equilibrium and can be negatively affected if the body is thrown into acidosis.

Part 1 of this two-part article series focused on the illnesses an imbalanced pH level can cause. After a short recap, the present article will focus on possible solutions, a self-test and treatments, and dietary and lifestyle suggestions to keep (or regain) the fundamental pH balance essential for our bodies—a path to more energy and increased health.

Levels of Acidosis

Acid-base homeostasis occurs when the body functions properly. At this stage, our systems can regulate the pH of our body’s extracellular fluids and are not negatively influenced by small amounts of excessive acid.

Continuous high dietary acid loads, however, can lead to several levels of acidosis in the body.

Latent Acidosis

Also called hidden acidosis, this form is characterized by elevated acidity levels in the body’s systems. However, the blood will most likely not show elevated pH levels yet, as the kidneys are still compensating and excreting acid through the urine.

An article in the Swiss Journal of Integrative Medicine pointed out the negative effects of latent acidosis in 2006.

Researchers Jurgen Vormann and Thomas Goedecke explain the causal effect of latent acidosis on chronic illnesses. “This compensation [of the kidneys and lungs], in the long term, inevitably leads to loss of bone substance and impairs the structure and function of the connective tissue,” leading to “the development and progression of chronic diseases such as osteoporosis and rheumatoid disorders.”

A 2023 review published in the American Journal of Medicinal Chemistry explains the importance of these buffers to compensate for high-dietary acid intake. Diet, lifestyle, age, stress, and genetic makeup affect these safeguard mechanisms.

Once depleted, different systems react in various ways.

“If the body’s temperature regulation system is not working properly, it can lead to fever or hypothermia,“ the researchers wrote. ”If the body’s blood sugar regulation system is not working properly, it can lead to diseases such as diabetes.”

Typically, people struggling with latent acidosis feel fine overall but might experience symptoms such as fatigue, indigestion, or constipation.

Acute Acidosis

Acute acidosis is reached when the blood and other buffer systems are thrown over the threshold and can no longer compensate for high acidity levels in the body. This means that the acid-base balance is disturbed, but only for a limited period of time.

This happens, for instance, when the person has an infection of some sort. The body’s defense mechanism reacts with possible inflammation, a fever, or eliminatory symptoms such as diarrhea. After the body has recovered from the pathogen onslaught, it can return to a normalized metabolism, including tending to the body’s pH balance. This would mark the end of acute acidosis.

Chronic Acidosis

Chronic acidosis means that the condition has continued for an extended period. In this case, patients often hear that the cause of their illness is unknown. This can include rheumatism or other serious disease patterns.

A 2024 review published in Pflugers Archiv: European Journal of Physiology suggests that metabolic acidosis in chronic kidney disease could not only be a mere consequence but also a culprit.

The authors wrote that acidosis is a driver of disease. They note the lack of studies and clinical trials, as the “multifaceted role of acid–base homeostasis on diverse bodily functions apart from the kidney should not be forgotten.”

A better understanding of the importance of acid-base homeostasis might “help in the future to detect earlier stages of acid retention” and lead to an earlier potential for therapeutic treatment before getting to the stage of chronic illness.

In addition, acidosis can manifest itself in localized systems, such as the cardiovascular system, the musculoskeletal system, the renal system, or the respiratory system. If untreated, and as reported in Part 1 of this article series, acidosis can lead to cancer, renal failure, heart attacks, or strokes—and be lethal.

Signs of Hyperacidity

In hyperacidity, the body tries to rid itself of excessive acids, which become toxic at this point. This can also lead to high levels of phosphate in the blood called hyperphosphatemia, which can cause symptoms such as brittle nails and thin hair, bad breath, excessive perspiration, a wan skin tone, or a white or brown coating of the tongue.  Hyperphosphatemia is caused by metabolic and respiratory acidosis.

Look at yourself in the mirror. What color does your skin have? What about the white areas in your eyes? Are they still white, or do they have a yellow stain, which would point to a disturbed metabolism of the liver? Or maybe your eyes have a reddish hue, which could stem from a possible inflammation in the body.

Learn to read your body’s signs.

Testing Your Body’s pH Levels

A primary care physician can test your blood acid levels. The serum uric acid blood test can be very insightful. Uric acid is produced when the body breaks down food. The test can show how well the kidneys filter this acid from the body, hence determining the body’s kidney function, which reveals the body’s capacity to buffer for dietary acid loads. Specific sensitive testing can be performed via the Liquid Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry Method, which can determine the levels of intracellular and extracellular uric acid.

In addition, simple home tests can provide insight into your body’s pH state. Acid-base test strips are widely available online and at local stores. Both saliva and urine can be tested. However, these tests can only function as an indicator. Please consult your doctor for appropriate lab work.

Tracking Your Urinary pH

Urine tests should be performed five times per day for multiple days. Keeping a food diary at the same time is helpful to link possible dietary culprits to a possibly raised pH level. Therefore, do not change your eating habits during the test period. Also, refrain from taking any supplements or detoxification products for two days before and during testing.

You should drink 1 to 1 1/2 liters of water per day.

Urine Test Schedule

It is important to eat only three meals on the days of testing, sticking with the following recommended timeframe. Ensure that you take a mid-stream-urine sample.

6 a.m.—Usually, the first urine in the morning will be the most acidic. At night, the liver tries to rid itself of accumulated acids. Also, the lack of food intake leads to missing alkaline input overnight.

9 a.m.—Perform this test 2 to 3 hours after breakfast, which you should have right after the first testing. At this time, the test will most likely be influenced by a flood of alkaline breakfast material. Therefore, in healthy people, this test’s results often show up as slightly alkaline.

Noon—This test should be conducted just before eating lunch. Now, the alkaline influence from breakfast has subsided.

3 p.m.—Normally, this test marks a deep dive into the alkaline zone because of the food eaten at lunch.

6 p.m.—This test is taken just before dinner. Being without food for six hours will make the curve go up and potentially dip into the acidic area of the measured value.

For your convenience, these times can also be moved one hour forward if this better fits your schedule.

Using Baking Soda

Sodium bicarbonate, also known as baking soda, is frequently used as a home remedy for heartburn or acid reflux. Be careful, however, since the “anti-acid” was shown to potentially increase blood pressure and harm the respiratory system. In a case review published in the Journal of Medical Toxicology, authors noted that by interfering with acid-base levels, baking soda can also harm the heart and respiratory systems.

Although such cases seem isolated and sodium bicarbonate is frequently used in clinical settings, as outlined by a 2023 clinical review published in the Journal of Emergency Medicine, the treatment remains controversial.

Researchers stated, “The processes underlying pH balance in human physiology are multifaceted, and an understanding of the mechanisms at play, as well as the methods of providing sodium bicarbonate supplementation, will serve an emergency physician well.”

This needed knowledge and understanding also refers to its use as a home remedy.

Dietary Choices Are Key

A 2024 systematic review and meta-analysis published in Nutrition, Metabolism, and Cardiovascular Disease highlights the risk factors of a highly acidic diet on the human cardiometabolic system.

The review showed that lower potential renal acid load and net endogenous acid production were significantly associated with reduced waist circumference and lower systolic and diastolic blood pressures.

The benefits of a plant-based diet to reduce one’s dietary acid load was the topic of a 2022 narrative review published in the Journal of Nutritional Science. A vegan diet was the focus of a 2021 “Post Hoc Analysis of a Randomized Controlled Trial in Healthy Individuals,” published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. Both papers speak to the advantages of plant-based diets for reducing high pH levels in the body.

Researchers of the first study present clinical and observational evidence suggesting that “vegetarian and vegan diets are an effective means to reduce dietary acid load or DAL.”

Storz MA, Ronco AL, Hannibal L. Observational and clinical evidence that plant-based nutrition reduces dietary acid load. J Nutr Sci. 2022 Oct 31;11:e93. doi: 10.1017/jns.2022.93. PMID: 36405093; PMCID: PMC9641522.

Authors of an analysis of the 2022 U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, published in Food Science & Nutrition, also emphasize the importance of acid-base homeostasis for overall health.

In this observational study, vegetarians exhibited more favorable DAL scores than nonvegetarians.

The Alkaline Diet

According to the alkaline diet, 80 percent of your daily food intake should be alkaline food. The remaining 20 percent can be healthy acidic foods, meaning products that are only mildly acidic and are rich in other important minerals and nutrients, such as legumes, whole grain carbohydrates, certain types of nuts and vegetables (artichokes, asparagus, and Brussel sprouts), as well as green and white tea.

Remember what you drink as well. Coffee and black tea are among the most acidic beverages, along with sodas, energy drinks, and alcohol.

Most Acidic Foods and Drinks

Here is a list of the 10 most acidic foods:

• Soda
• Sugar
• Processed meat
• Alcohol
• Cheese (and certain other dairy products)
• White flour
• Seafood
• Fried food
• Heavily processed food
• High-protein foods and supplements

Most Alkaline-Increasing Foods

When trying to incorporate alkaline foods into your diet, the preparation also needs attention. Fruits are ideally harvested ripe and only minimally processed at home, if needed. Vegetables should be gently steamed or cooked.

• Bananas
• Bitter lettuce varieties, such as radicchio or chicory
• Broccoli
• Carrots
• Cauliflower
• Celery root & stalks
• Fennel
• Garlic
• Grapefruit
• Green and white beans
• Herbs (a great variety)
• Kohlrabi
• Mushrooms
• Onions
• Potatoes
• Pumpkin
• Red beets
• Spinach
• Tomatoes
• Lentils

Alkaline Recipe for the Season

Pumpkin Soup

Ingredients:

• 1 onion
• 1 potato
• 1 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
• 250 gms pumpkin of your favorite variety
• 1/2 liter broth
• Ginger, salt, pepper, curry

Instructions:

1. Cut onion into small cubes and brown in pan with olive oil.
2. Clean and cut other vegetables and cook in the broth for about 10 minutes or until soft. Puree with immersion blender.
3. Add spices to taste.

Voices of Opposition

Many health professionals do not assign much value to an alkaline diet. First, they note a lack of research on the topic. Second, they claim that in a healthy person the lungs and kidneys continuously work to ensure a rightly regulated blood pH, no matter the dietary choices.

Alkalosis—Or too Much Alkalinity?

Alkalosis is contrary to acidosis. When the body’s pH level is more than 7.45, it is considered highly alkaline. This state can cause problems. Once again, the body employs its buffer mechanisms and the kidneys try to regulate.

“While metabolic alkalosis is frequently not dangerous, in certain settings, metabolic alkalosis may contribute to mortality and should be aggressively managed,” authors of a 2024 article published in Nephrology Dialysis Transplantation stated. “Metabolic alkalosis is the most common acid-base disturbance in hospitalized patients.”

In the end, a review published in the journal Seminars in Dialysis sums up the conundrum perfectly when mentioning the Latin aphorism “ne quid nimis” or “nothing in excess.” In other words, there shouldn’t be an excess of acid or base.

A well-balanced diet, combined with a well-balanced lifestyle, should lead to well-balanced health.