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How to Raise Urine pH With Supplements
Your kidneys filter through your blood and remove any waste products as well as excess acids and bases through the urine. The pH of your urine is an indicator of the mix between acidic and basic or alkaline chemicals; the higher the pH, the more alkaline your urine is. Raising the pH of your urine can help improve your health and may also make it easier for you to treat infections of the urinary tract.
Take magnesium and calcium citrate supplements. Many people take magnesium and calcium supplements, and the citrate forms of these supplements can help alkalize the urine, the Urology Channel notes. Follow the instructions on the packaging to know how much to take, as the dose may vary in tablets from different companies.
How to Raise the Urine PH Level
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Consume sodium bicarbonate 12. Sodium bicarbonate, also known as baking soda, can also increase the pH of your urine 12. To alkalize your urine, Drugs.com explains that you should consume between 325 mg and 2,000 mg of sodium bicarbonate one to three times per day 12. If you use powdered sodium bicarbonate, dissolve it in at least 4 oz 12. of water, MedlinePlus notes, and then drink the resulting solution.
Measure your urine pH. The simplest way of doing this is to use strips of pH paper, which has been treated with chemicals that will change color depending on the pH of a solution. Collect a urine sample and dip the pH paper and use the key that comes with the paper to determine your urine pH. Alkalized urine should have a pH between 7.5 and 8, FPNotebook states 3.
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References
- Drugs.com: Sodium Bicarbonate
- MedlinePlus: Sodium Bicarbonate
- FPNotebook: Urine Alkalization
- Perrier ET, Johnson EC, McKenzie AL, Ellis LA, Armstrong LE. Urine colour change as an indicator of change in daily water intake: a quantitative analysis. Eur J Nutr. 2016;55(5):1943–1949. doi:10.1007/s00394-015-1010-2
- Cortes-Penfield NW, Trautner BW, Jump RLP. Urinary Tract Infection and Asymptomatic Bacteriuria in Older Adults. Infect Dis Clin North Am. 2017;31(4):673–688. doi:10.1016/j.idc.2017.07.002
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- Kang KK, Choi JR, Song JY, et al. Clinical significance of subjective foamy urine. Chonnam Med J. 2012;48(3):164–168. doi:10.4068/cmj.2012.48.3.164
- Blackburn PR, Gass JM, Vairo FPE, et al. Maple syrup urine disease: mechanisms and management. Appl Clin Genet. 2017;10:57–66. Published 2017 Sep 6. doi:10.2147/TACG.S125962
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- Rehfuss A, Mahon J, Sorokin I, Smith C, Stein BS. Phenazopyridine: A Preoperative Way to Identify Ureteral Orifices. Urology. 2018;115:36-38. doi:10.1016/j.urology.2018.02.023
- American Urological Association. Diagnosis, Evaluation and Follow-up of Asymptomatic Microhematuria (AMH) in Adults. 2016.
- Worku DA. Purple urine bag syndrome: An unusual but important manifestation of urinary tract infection. Case report and literature review. SAGE Open Med Case Rep. 2019;7:2050313X18823105. Published 2019 Jan 12. doi:10.1177/2050313X18823105
- Alkaptonuria. National Institutes of Health. Genetic and Rare Diseases Information Center. 3/18/2016
- Seo JW, Lee JH, Son IS, et al. Acute oxalate nephropathy caused by ethylene glycol poisoning. Kidney Res Clin Pract. 2012;31(4):249–252. doi:10.1016/j.krcp.2012.09.007
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Writer Bio
Adam Cloe has been published in various scientific journals, including the "Journal of Biochemistry." He is currently a pathology resident at the University of Chicago. Cloe holds a Bachelor of Arts in biochemistry from Boston University, a M.D. from the University of Chicago and a Ph.D. in pathology from the University of Chicago.