What is pH and what does it mean to be acidic, neutral or alkaline?

You may remember the concept of pH from high school biology classes or have heard it countless times in cosmetic advertising, but do you really know what is pH and because keep it at proper levels is it so important for health?

What is pH

He pH is a measure of how acidic or alkaline is a substance.

The initials pH means potential or weight of hydrogen and indicates the concentration of hydrogen ions: the more hydrogen ion activity there is, the more acidity there will be.

Acid pH, Neutral pH or Alkaline pH

The pH is expressed in a range that goes from 0 to 14:

A pH of 7 is considered neutral.. That is, neither acid nor alkaline.A pH less than 7 indicates that there is acidity.A pH greater than 7 indicates alkalinity.

pH is a logarithmic factor, and each figure indicates a 10-fold difference in the acidity or alkalinity of the substance. Thus, a pH of 5 is ten times more acidic than a pH of 6.

What is the pH of water?

Hepure water is neutral (i.e., it is neither acidic nor alkaline), which corresponds to a pH of 7. However, a pH between 6.5 to 8.5.

The pH is an important parameter to evaluate the water quality: excessively acidic waters, when ingested, can negatively affect health.

What is pH in the human body?

The human body does not have a unique pH, but it varies greatly between the different organs and fluids so that each one can fulfill its function. For example:

He blood pH (which is what is usually considered when talking about body pH) is of between 7.35 and 7.45, slightly alkaline. This level is ideal for many biological processes, such as oxygenation of the blood. stomach pH is between 1.35 and 3.5. It is very acidic so that it can digest food and kill any germs that get into the stomach. In this video you can see a trick to check the acidity of your stomach.

He Urine pH can range between 4.6 and 8.He Saliva pH is between 6.5 and 7.5.

Maintaining the proper pH in each of the organs and fluids is important for the body works well and our body has systems for regulate pH levels through the kidneys, lungs, certain molecules, etc.

The blood pH abnormalities They can be a sign of various diseases such as asthma, diabetes, heart, lung or kidney problems, infections or poisoning. They can be of two types:

The acidosis occurs when the blood pH is below 7.35 (too acidic) alkalosisInstead, it is when the blood pH is higher than 7.45 (too alkaline).

What is the pH of the skin?

keep a proper skin pH protects the skin from infections and external aggressions. The advertising of many gels and cosmetics speaks of a neutral pH as the most suitable for the skin, but this is far from true.

As we have said, the neutral pH is 7, but our skin is more acidic: has a pH of 4.7.

This is so because the skin is covered in an acid mantle (mixture of water and lipids), which gives it the necessary acidity so that it can exercise its barrier function against infections and external aggressors. Use products with a pH greater than 4.7 it can alter the skin microbiome and affect its protective function.

It must also be taken into account that external factors such as pollution or water increase the pH of the skin.

What is vaginal pH?

He Normal vaginal pH ranges from 3.8 to 5.0which means that it’s acid. However, it depends on the age: while in the women of childbearing age the pH ranges between 4 and 4.5this value can be greater than 4.5 before puberty and after menopause.

when we have the ruledecreases the acidity of the vaginal pH, which can become between 6.8 and 7.2.

The vaginal microbiota is made up of different types of healthy acid-producing bacteria. Furthermore, vaginal fluid, which prevents dryness and maintains the chemical balance of the vagina, also contains acids.

He Vaginal pH has many health implications of women and can be a useful tool for the diagnosis and prevention of diseases. Additionally, maintaining vaginal pH balance is important for healthy pregnancies.

There are many factors that can cause changes or imbalances in vaginal pHsuch as infections, vaginal moisture level, sexual activity, or douching.