Acid and Alkaline - Testing my pH

Lately I have been doing some testing of my pH with a view to testing the Endura product "Muscle Recovery". As I understand it, excercise can increase the acidity of your bodily fluids and tissues and because the body likes to stay neurtal, it will use minerals from other parts of the body to neutralise. To understand this whole thing, I had to do some research.

What is PH

pH (potential of hydrogen) is a measure of the acidity or alkalinity of a solution. It is measured on a scale of 0 to 14—the lower the pH the more acidic the solution, the higher the pH the more alkaline (or base) the solution. When a solution is neither acid nor alkaline it has a pH of 7 which is neutral. 

Water is the most abundant compound in the human body, comprising 70% of the body. The body has an acid-alkaline (or acid-base) ratio called the pH which is a balance between positively charges ions (acid-forming) and negatively charged ions (alkaline-forming.). The body continually strives to balance pH.

How did I test it?

Well Bindy gave me a whole stack of pH test strips. These strips allowed me to test my pH factor quickly and easily. From what I read, If your urinary pH fluctuates between 6.0 to 6.5 in the morning and between 6.5 and 7.0 in the evening, your body is functioning within a healthy range. As I understand you become more alkaline as the day goes by. The best time to test your pH is about one hour before a meal and two hours after a meal. I tested my pH each day for a week  just before bed. I found that my pH ranged around 6-6.5 at night which is slightly acidic.

What does this mean for me?

Apparently if you have an acidic pH your body will borrow minerals—including calcium, sodium, potassium and magnesium—from vital organs and bones to buffer (neutralize) the acid and safely remove it from the body.

There are a whole heap of things that mild acidosis can cause but the things that stuck out for me with my heavy training load were problems such as:

• Immune deficiency.
• Osteoporosis; weak, brittle bones, hip fractures and bone spurs.
• Joint pain, aching muscles and lactic acid buildup.
• Low energy and chronic fatigue.

Next step

The next step was to test out Endura Muscle Recovery. The product is intended to relive muscles after exercise and support alkalinity. It requires 5g twice a day in 200mls of water. I must add during the testing period I maintained my regular vitamin intake. 

I then tested my pH each day for a week while takeing the Muscle Recovery formula without altering any other aspects of my diet (as far as practical). My evening pH increased to between 6.5 and 7, a more neutral result. Based on these results I will be sticking to the muscle recovery formula. Because i work full time I need to do every little thing I can to help myself stay in the game. Next stop Mandurah in five days time.