Can You Change The pH Of Your Urine - And Does It Matter?

Watermelon makes your urine alkaline.

You may have heard about ways of changing the pH - the acidity or alkalinity - of your body. Let me state from the beginning: You can not do that. But you can change the pH of your urine. And that actually matters if you have gout.

SPECIAL PH METER

To start with, if you want to determine the pH of your urine, you need either a specialized electronic meter or a paper strip that changes color when the pH changes. You can not see the pH of your urine by color, for instance. When your urine is darker, you are more dehydrated. When your urine is colorless you are well hydrated. When it is red, you have been eating beetroots.
Beetroots and purple cabbage actually change color with changing pH, but not when the color is expelled from the body.

FOOD CHANGES PH

Urine is normally close to pH neutral (neither acid nor alkaline), but just as beetroots can change its color, eating different foods can change the pH of your urine. That is after they are processed in the body. Drinking alkaline water does not change your body pH, nor the pH of your urine, as it is neutralized when it hits your stomach acid. For those who did not take chemistry in school, an acid an an alkaline neutralize each other, often with a powerful energy release (think Mentos meet Coca-Cola). There is no such release when you drink alkaline water, as the alkaline concentration is too low. What comes out of your stomach continues to be acidic (so it is ironic that your body releases a strong alkaline into the intestine to neutralize it). 
You can read more about how the chemistry of your body works, explained as simple as I could make it, in my little book "Gout Simply Explained", which is available from a number of retailers directly into your computer if you click on the image or the link in this paragraph. 

BACTERIA-UNFRIENDLY URINE

You may have heard about the old folk remedy to eat cranberries to fight urine tract infection. It works, by making your urine more acidic, and so makes your urinary tract less friendly for bacteria. However, if you have gout, you do not want acidic urine. Uric acid, which causes gout attacks when crystals form in your joints, is an acid. And acids dissolve badly in other acids. Acids dissolve well in alkaline fluids, and there is a simple way to make your urine more alkaline: eating vegetables.

ALL VEGETABLES BUT BEANS

Eating vegetables is of course an excellent way of reducing your purine intake, and also lose weight. And they are the best concievable source of dietary fibers. Plus they are tasty. And alkaline urine is also a way of discouraging bacteria from growing in the urinary tract. The exception is beans, which make your urine acidic. Since they are also the vegetables richest in purines (some beans contain almost as much purines as meat), it makes sense to avoid them as well, if you want alcalic urine and avoid gout.

COLOR DOES NOT MATTER

It is tempting to look at the color of your urine and think that it has something to do with the acidity or alkalinity of your urine. But even though uric acid is an acid, it has no color. If your urine is dark brown or dark yellow, it is because you are dehydrated. The normal color is yellow or light green, but the more water you drink, the lighter the urine will be in color. But the amount of uric acid in the urine has nothing to do with the color. Nor does the pH.
That is not to say that the appearance of your urine does not matter. If it is cloudy, you may have a urinary tract infection or kidney problems. If it is frothy, it may contain proteins which may imply a kidney problem. And if you have blood in the urine, then you should see a doctor right away.

Soft drinks are acidifying, but they are something you should avoid anyway. Unfortunately, milk and coffee also acidify the urine. You have to balance your consumption, or use supplements.
So a healthy diet not only helps by decreasing purines, it also makes it easier to get rid of uric acid.

Read more here:
* Why you should go on a diet - and how.
​* The forbidden gout foods
​* How to make your new diet taste better than the old one.
* Great foods for gout beaters
​* What to do when the diet gets boring

And a few links to warn about potential dangers:
* The danger of being fat
​* Your heart and gout
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