Posts tagged pH levels
How Accurate Is pH Testing?
Jan 28th
“My husband and I recently adopted the mostly raw Hallelujah Diet due to my husband’s recent diagnosis of prostate cancer. We adopted the diet rather than submitting to the surgery and radiation therapy route the doctor prescribed. After being on the diet a short time we both did a litmus test to check on whether our bodies were too acidic or not. My test showed I was fairly normal but my husband’s revealed that he was highly alkaline. Is this bad?”
Shirley L.
Editor Responds
Random testing of urine or saliva really tells us very little; these tests are not a very good guide as to the acidity or alkalinity of the body fluids.
The body will automatically maintain a stable blood pH of 7.35 to 7.40 as this is critical to sustaining life. Other body fluids have different pH levels.
Ideally, the first morning urine pH will be 5.8 to 6.2; that is if the liver is detoxifying the toxins throughout the night. The pH testing values will vary if one has to get up during the night to urinate.
Saliva pH also varies but is often slightly acidic (under a pH of 7.0). When checked about 15 to 30 minutes after eating or drinking, it should move into the alkaline range.
Because there are so many variables, we discourage people putting too much stock in pH testing of their saliva and urine.
I never check my pH. The Hallelujah Diet, after one has been on it for a period of time, should automatically keep the pH levels of the blood, urine, and saliva just right.
Eat right, exercise right, and pH will be right almost 100% of the time!
Acid/Alkaline (pH) Levels Determine Your Health
Feb 23rd
Last week, we learned a little about pH, the acid/alkalinity of the body. Following are a few of last-weeks highlights:
The pH scale runs from “0” (extremely acid) to “14” (extremely alkaline). A pH of 0 to 6.9 is acid; 7 is neutral, 7.1 to 14 is alkaline. Each unit increases by a factor of 10. To neutralize 1 part of acid requires 10 parts of alkalinity. The blood must maintain a pH between 7.35 and 7.45 in order to properly support life.
If the pH of the blood drops below 7:0, and into the acid zone, cells stop functioning and we die! Likewise, if the blood becomes too alkaline (above 7.8) we die, thus the imperative of keeping the blood pH properly balanced and slightly alkaline.
Everything we place into our mouth in the form of food or drink or drug, has either an acidifying or alkalizing effect upon the body’s pH. Most plant foods are alkaline and all animal source foods are acid, as is sugar, most processed foods, and most grains.
Since all substances placed into the mouth have a pH value, it is easy to see how what we eat or drink affects the acidity or alkalinity of the body, and thus the health, and longevity of the individual.
Finally, in last week’s Health Tip, we took a long look at the diet God gave mankind in Genesis 1:29 and saw that it was predominantly an alkalizing diet, designed by God to keep most body fluids in the alkaline zone.
When Body pH Turns Acidic Symptoms Of Disease Manifest
The Standard American Diet (SAD) is predominantly acidic and thus not of proper pH for the human physical body, which was designed by God to maintain in most instances an alkaline environment, not only for survival, but also for health.
What Foods Are Acidic?
The list of acid foods is long and this list is far from complete: Coffee, most teas, sport drinks, all candy, white bread, donuts, cookies, cakes, crackers, most pastas, rolls and breakfast cereals (both hot and cold); all dairy products, including milk, ice cream, yogurt, and cheese (even cottage cheese); all animal flesh foods, including beef, chicken, pork, and lamb; chocolate is extremely acidic, with soft drinks being the most acidic substance we can place into our body.
Since all the substances we place into our mouth have a pH value, it is not difficult to see how greatly the acid/alkalinity of the body fluids, including the blood, is affected by what we eat and drink.
While most body fluids should maintain an alkaline pH, the colon is an exception, as it is designed by God to maintain an acid pH (5.5 to 6.9) and is host to the vast majority of our bacteria, both friendly and unfriendly. Friendly bacteria must predominate in the colon, but antibiotics and chlorinated water destroy friendly bacteria, causing damage to the colon wall, allowing bacteria and parasites to seep into the blood. An insufficient amount of friendly bacterium in the colon leads to yeast overgrowth (Candida).
Too Much Acid In the Diet Causes Physical Breakdown
An incredibly large number of physical problems and diseases can be initiated by consuming large amounts of acidifying substances. Sadly, as we have already learned, most of the foods being consumed today, especially those found in the Standard American Diet (SAD) are acidic.
The SAD is composed primarily of acid-forming foods – animal proteins, sugars, grains, and processed foods, while greatly lacking in alkalizing vegetable foods, which are high in alkalizing minerals. In addition to all the acid-forming food being consumed on the SAD, many people increase their acid intake by consuming such stimulants as tobacco, coffee, tea, and alcohol, which are all highly acidifying.
The body is comprised of approximately 70% water, containing a wide range of solutions, which are primarily alkaline. The potential of Hydrogen (pH) is a measure of the acidity or alkalinity of a solution – the ratio between positively charged ions (acid-forming) and negatively charged ions (alkaline forming). The pH of any solution is the measure of its Hydrogen-ion concentration.
A diet high in acidifying substances puts pressure on the body’s regulatory systems which were designed by God to maintain proper pH in all body fluids. When an excess of acid forming food and drink is taken into the body, it causes the body to begin stripping the body of its alkalizing minerals – calcium, potassium, magnesium, etc., in an effort to neutralize all of that acidity, leading to chronic and degenerative diseases.
As the body robs these alkalizing minerals from vital organs, especially from the bones, in an effort to neutralize the acidity, it causes osteoporosis, along with “acidosis”, which leads to a long list of physical problems and breakdowns.
Health Problems Caused By Acidosis
Following is a partial listing of problems caused by acidosis:
- Cardiovascular damage
- Weight gain
- Diabetes
- Bladder problems
- Kidney & Gall stones
- Free radical damage
- Premature aging
- Osteoporosis
- Low energy & chronic fatigue
- Slow digestion & elimination
- Low energy & fatigue
- Infections
- Depression
- Stress
- Headaches
- Loose teeth
- Mouth & stomach ulcers
- Excess stomach acid
- Gastritis
- Thin & splitting nails
- Dull hair, splitting ends, & falling out
- Dry skin
- Cramps and spasms
Alkaline pH Necessary for Healing
No matter what means a person chooses in an attempt to bring healing to their body, it will not be effective until the pH level of the body’s fluids are brought into proper pH range. When a person adopts the Hallelujah Diet, an alkalizing diet, they usually see rapid improvement in their health because they are creating an internal environment conducive to healing.
Acidosis makes it difficult for the body to effectively assimilate vitamins, minerals and food supplements, decreases the body’s ability to absorb minerals and other nutrients, decreases energy production in the cells, decreases the body’s ability to repair damaged cells, decreases its ability to detoxify heavy metals, makes tumors grow, and makes the body more susceptible to fatigue and illness.
In Review
The higher the pH of any solution, the more alkaline and oxygen rich the fluid, while the lower the pH reading, the more acid and oxygen deprived the fluid. In the understanding of pH, it is important that we remember the pH range is from 0 to 14, with 7.0 being neutral, and anything above 7.0 being alkaline and any reading below 7.0 being acid.
It is also important to remember that the pH of the blood must remain slightly alkaline (7.35 – 7.45) in order to sustain life. A pH below 7.35 cause’s physical breakdown to begin to manifest though not causing death till it drops below 7.0. Physical breakdown can also begin to manifest if the pH becomes overly alkaline, above 7.45 pH. If the blood pH moves below 7.0 or above 7.8, cells cease functioning and the body dies.
Clearly, as the Psalmist proclaimed in Psalm 139:14, we are: “…Fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.”
Most vegetables leave an alkaline ash after digestion, while most berries and grains leave an acid ash after digestion. The Genesis 1:29 diet, which was designed by God, automatically maintains proper pH within all body systems. When a person consumes the Hallelujah Acres Diet, which is patterned after God’s Genesis 1:29 diet, there is no need for concern regarding the body maintaining proper pH in all body systems.
Using pH strips to determine acidity or alkalinity of saliva and/or urine are a waste of time and often cause unnecessarily concern. These strips do not give an accurate evaluation of the true pH of these fluids as the readings are greatly skewed by what food or drink has been consumed prior to the reading.
We must remember that when a person consumes the Standard American Diet (SAD), a diet containing excessive amounts of acid substances, there is potential for great harm. And on the flip side, when a person puts excessively alkaline substances into the body, such as in antacids as well as water from those alkalizing machines recently on the market, they have the potential of creating problems by overly alkalizing body fluids.
The Dangers of Antacids
The stomach needs to maintain an acid pH (below 7.0) in order to properly digest food. When a person takes an antacid (i.e. Zantac, Nexium [the purple pill], Pepsid AC, Tums, etc.), it alkalizes stomach fluids, making it impossible for the stomach to properly digest foods, and this can lead to major physical problems.
Problems caused by insufficient acidity in the stomach include ulcers, colon problems including cancer, leaky gut syndrome, food allergies, autoimmune diseases, and a polluted colon and liver. The longer a person remains on an antacid, the greater the risk of physical breakdown.
We need to be very careful not to go overboard with alkalinity, especially when it pertains to the stomach, which must maintain an acid pH in order to properly digest foods.
I have become increasingly concerned about the popularity of the alkalizing machines recently being made available to the public (at great cost might I add), because of their potential for neutralizing stomach acid, making it difficult to impossible for the stomach to properly digest food.
Remember, proper pH balance in all organs is imperative for good health, digestion, and longevity.
Acid/Alkaline (pH) Levels Determine Whether You Live Or Die
Feb 16th

In every God’s Way to Ultimate Health seminar I conduct, I ask the following questions of those attending:
- How many know something about pH – The acid/alkalinity of the body? Amazingly, and without fail, almost everyone attending the seminar raises their hand to indicate that they do know something about pH. Next Question:
- Should the body be in an acid or alkaline state? This question always brings a resounding response of “ALKALINE.” Next Question:
- If the body should have an alkaline pH, why do you eat a diet that is predominantly ACID? Silence fills the room!
Let’s See What We Can Learn About pH:
The information you are about to read could be some of the most valuable information regarding your health and longevity you have ever read. This information can make the difference between a long healthy life and a sickness filled life along with an early and untimely death. Following is some valuable information to help us better understand the importance of maintaining proper pH balance within the body:
The pH scale runs from “0” (extremely acid) to “14” (extremely alkaline). A pH of 0-6.9 is acid; 7 is neutral, 7.1 to 14, is alkaline. Each unit increases by a factor of 10. To neutralize 1 part of acid requires 10 parts of alkalinity.
The pH of the blood is 7.35 to 7.45 (slightly alkaline)
If the pH of the blood drops below 7:0, and into the acid zone, YOU DIE! Likewise if the blood becomes too alkaline you die.
Your Body Is Your Best Friend
Your body was designed by God – “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him: male and female created he them” (Genesis 1:27)
And your body is wonderfully made – “I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.” (Psalm 139:14)
When God created those first two humans, Adam and Eve, he placed within their genetic coding, survival instincts and self-healing abilities. And this survival instinct and self-healing ability has passed, in the genes, from generation to generation, ultimately to you and me.
Our body’s greatest responsibility is “survival”, that is, keeping us alive and keeping us well. However, in order for our bodies to have the ability to keep us alive and well, it needs our help and cooperation. To better understand this statement and how we can cooperate with our body in keeping it alive and well, the following is imperative:
Keep Your Bloods pH in the Alkaline Zone
Few people realize that if the pH (the acid/alkaline balance) of the blood drops below 7.0 and (into the acid range), the body becomes first catatonic, then comatose, and then the person dies. Interestingly, if the body’s pH rises above 7.45 it can lead to excessive alkalosis and even death if not quickly corrected. Maintaining proper blood pH is essential for keeping us alive and well on planet earth.
Some body fluids must be acid for proper digestion i.e. stomach acids (we will learn more about the importance of maintaining stomach acidity next week, along with the dangers of antacids). Thus it is important that all body fluids maintain proper pH. This isn’t difficult if we eat what God intended us to eat. (We will look at God’s intentions further along in this article.)
What We Eat and Drink Determines Body pH
Everything we place into our mouth in the form of food or drink or drug, has either an acidifying or alkalizing effect upon the body’s pH (acid/alkaline balance).
Acidifying Foods & Drugs
- All flesh foods are highly acidic – beef, pork, chicken, and fish (including salmon)
- All dairy foods are highly acidic, with cheese being the most acidic)
- Refined sugar is highly acidic
- Beer has a pH of 3.9 – 4.2 pH) and coffee a pH of 4.7 (both extremely acidic)
- Chocolate has a pH of 3.7, one of the most acidic things one can consume next to:
- Soft drinks have a pH ranging from 2.3 to 3.5, so acidic it eats away tooth enamel.
- Almost all drugs are acidic
- Most grains are acidic – especially wheat and wheat flour products
Alkalizing Foods
Almost all plant sourced foods leave an alkaline ash and thus have an ALKALIZING effect on the body. Barley Grass is one of the most alkalizing foods. Other alkalizing foods would include avocados, beets, carrots, all greens, almonds, and sunflower seeds, and even flax oil. A few plant foods leave an acid ash – blueberries, cranberries, plums, prunes, some nuts, seeds, and legumes.
Mother’s colostrum and breast milk have a pH of 7.4, which is alkaline, the same pH as the blood flowing through the human body. Cow milk has a pH below 7.0, thus making it an acid food. Placing acid cow milk into the human baby or adult has a negative effect upon the body’s pH and is just one more reason babies as well as adults should never consume cow milk or anything made from it (cheese, yogurt, etc.).
Since all substances placed into the mouth have a pH value, it is easy to see how foods and drinks either acidify or alkalize the body and thus have an effect upon our health, blood, life, and longevity.
To prevent the blood from becoming even slightly acidic, which would cause death, the body will use the following means to get rid of or neutralize the excess acid:
- The body will store excess acid in the muscles, one of the primary causes of fibromyalgia.
- Acid helps facilitate the creation of plaque and cholesterol on arterial walls.
- Creates adipose fat cells causing weight gain.
- Cause blood to clot.
- Store extra water to help neutralize the acid (edema).
- Induce hot flashes, sweating, and rashes in an effort to expel the acid.
- Cause colds, and other immune responses to get rid of the excess acid.
- Draw alkaline minerals like calcium from tissues, bones and teeth in an effort to neutralize the acidity (causing osteoporosis).
When the body is unable to get rid of sufficient acid, decay begins to literally decompose the body as it begins the process of returning the body back to the dust from which it came:
“In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.” (Genesis 3:19)
Yeast overgrowth, bacteria and parasites are not something a person catches, but something a person creates and invites into their body when they fail to maintain proper pH within the colon.
The pH of the colon is 5.5 to 7.0 and is host to the vast majority of our bacteria, both friendly and unfriendly. Friendly bacteria must predominate, but antibiotics and chlorinated water destroy friendly bacteria, allowing unfriendly bacteria to thrive and damage the colon wall. The damaged colon wall allows bacteria and parasites to seep into the blood. An insufficient amount of friendly bacterium in the colon leads to yeast overgrowth (Candida).
“My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge.” (Hosea 4:6)
What We Eat and Drink Greatly Affects Our Health
There has never been a nation or generation in history that has ever put into their body the amount of acid people on the Standard American Diet are placing within it on a daily basis. As a result, there has never been a generation of people experiencing greater physical breakdown.
God did not design the human physical body to be acidic or sick. The physical body He designed was designed in perfection. Our God would not and could not do anything less, for that would be against his very nature. And of course let’s remember he is omniscient (having complete knowledge). We see that omniscience in man’s creation:
“And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. And the Lord God panted a garden eastward of Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed. And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food.” (Genesis 2:7-9)
“And God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good.” Genesis 1:31)
Yes, it is clear from the reading of the Scriptures, God’s book, the Bible, that God created man and placed him in a garden called Eden. And after placing that first human, Adam, in that garden, God told Adam what he should eat so as to properly nourishment the physical body He, God, had just created:
“And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb (vegetable) bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat (food).” (Genesis 1:29)
Who would know better what would provide proper nourishment for the human physical body then the creator of that body? Yes, God said that proper nourishment of the physical body would be provided by the foods coming from the plants found in the garden, almost all of which had an alkaline pH.
Biblical history reveals that as long as man remained on that 100% plant based, predominantly alkaline diet, man remained free of sickness (there is not a recorded instance of sickness prior to the flood) and man lived to an average age of 912 from the time man was expelled from the garden until the flood (a period of 1,700 year). But then in Genesis 9:3, I believe because flood waters had destroyed all the garden foods, God allowed man to consume the flesh of the clean animals on the ark for survival purposes.
This was the first time since creation man had placed animal flesh, a highly acid food into his body, and the result was the introduction of sickness into the human race. And it is also interesting to note that not only did sickness first enter the human race after the introduction of the acid animal source foods, but the lifespan of man also drops from an average age of 912 years before the introduction of flesh and while on that 100% plant based diet, to 110 years in just ten generations after the introduction of acidic animal flesh.
While in Egypt, the Israelites became heavy consumers of acidic flesh foods, and when God was bringing the Israelites out of Egypt, He tried to get them back on a plant based alkaline diet by providing them with manna, an alkaline food, but they had become so addicted to that highly acid animal flesh that rather than appreciating the alkaline plant based diet (manna) God was providing them, they complained bitterly:
“And the children of Israel said unto them, Would to God we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh pots.” (Exodus 16:3)
And further along in their 40 years of wilderness wandering, when God was still the dietitian, and still trying to get them to appreciate the alkaline manna God was providing them, the people murmured and demanded flesh. Following is Moses prayer to God and God’s response to that prayer:
“Whence should I have flesh to give unto all this people? For they weep unto me, saying, Give us flesh, that we may eat.”(Numbers 11:13)
And God responded:
“The Lord will give you flesh, and ye shall eat. Ye shall not eat one day, nor two days, nor five days, neither ten days, nor twenty days; But even a whole month, until it comes out at your nostrils, and it (the flesh) is loathsome unto you.” (Numbers 11:18-20)
Thus God, instead of providing the Israelites with the alkaline manna He had been providing them daily, gave them nothing but acidic quail for a whole month and the Scriptures tell us: “And while the flesh was yet between their teeth, ere it was chewed, the wrath of the Lord was kindled against the people and the Lord smote the people with a very great plague.” (Numbers 11:33)
Yes my friends, man had developed a taste for animal flesh, an extremely acid food while in Egypt, and had literally become addicted to it, and demanded God provide them with flesh. But notice what happened after a month of consuming nothing but animal flesh: a “very great plague” came upon the people.
The cause or contributing cause of the majority of the physical problems being experienced today are the highly acidic animal foods people consume daily! Don’t you think it is high time to consider the alkaline foods God told Adam he was to eat in Genesis 1:29 and stop placing into the body all those acid foods that are creating the majority of the physical problems man is experiencing today?
“I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live.” (Deuteronomy 20:19)
(In next week’s Hallelujah Health Tip, the good Lord willing, we will share some of the physical problems being experienced today because a person consumes an acid diet. The list is long and will come as a huge surprise to most who tune in next week. We will also talk about the dangers of taking antacids and such prescription drugs as Nexium.)

“My husband and I recently adopted the mostly raw Hallelujah Diet due to my husband’s recent diagnosis of prostate cancer. We adopted the diet rather than submitting to the surgery and radiation therapy route the doctor prescribed. After being on the diet a short time we both did a litmus test to check on whether our bodies were too acidic or not. My test showed I was fairly normal but my husband’s revealed that he was highly alkaline. Is this bad?”