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Importance of pH in everyday life 

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In chemistry, pH, denotes "potential of hydrogen" or "power of hydrogen" is a scale used to specify the acidity or basicity of an aqueous solution.  The pH has a scale of 0 to 14, with 0 being very strong acids and 14 being very strong bases.  Pure water has a pH of 7.0.  

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  • In the human body, all the physiological reactions take place in the pH of 7-7.8. pH is very important in our digestive system.  Our blood has pH of 7.4.

  • In the stomach, hydrochloric acid is secreted as food enters the stomach. It turns the pH of the stomach between 1 and 3.

  • This pH is important for the activation of the enzyme pepsin, which helps in the digestion of protein in food.

  • When the pH of the mouth falls below 5.5. Our tooth starts decaying.

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​The following are the pH levels tolerated by HUMAN, PLANT, and FISH.  We have also included pH level of acid rain, bad bacterias, and corona virus.  Basically, we all can not survive lower than pH4 and higher than pH11.  PLANT can survive up to pH12.5. 

ACID RAIN
pH0.5〜pH4

HUMAN 
pH4〜pH11

Covid-19 survives well
pH6 〜pH 8

 

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​Covid-19

​Viruses 
need host

​Most Bad Bacteria grow best pH4.4〜pH7

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​FISH DIE
​pH0〜pH4

PLANT
pH6〜pH12.5

FISH
pH4〜pH10

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FISH DIE
​pH10〜pH14



 

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​Bacteria exists between pH1- pH11.5.  Acidophile (pH1-pH5.5), Neutrophile (pH5.5-pH8.5, & Alkaliphile (pH7.5-11.5) 

SOME BAD NEWS:  COVID-19 virus was able to survive pH2.2 for at least 1 hour.  W2

HUMANS (including our beloved cats and dogs) have high tolerance on pH levels between 4 to 11 with minimal gastrointestinal irritation.  However, pH level higher than 11 can cause skin and eye irritations, as does pH lower than 4.  A pH below 2.5 will cause irreversible damage to skin and organ linings.  Lower pH levels increase the risk of mobilised toxic metals that can be absorbed, even by HUMANS.  

 

In general, at pH levels outside 6.5 - 9.5 can damage and corrode pipes and increase heavy metal toxicity.

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If you test your body's acidity or alkalinity with a pH strips, you will probably have the following results.  Your urinary pH should fluctuate between 6.0 to 6.5 in the morning and between 6.5 and 7.0 in the evening.  If your saliva stays between 6.5 and 7.5 all day, your body is functioning within a healthy range.  The best time to test your pH is about one hour before and/or two hours after the meal.

Bacterias exit between pH1.0 to pH11.5.  They are separated into three types: a) audiophile, which dwells in the range of pH 1 to pH 5.5, b) neutrophile, in the range of ph5.5 to pH8.5 and c) alkaliphile, in the range of pH.5 to pH11.5. W2

Viruses are microscopic parasites, generally much smaller than bacteria.  They do not have the capability to thrive and reproduce outside a host body.  Viruses therefore can survive so long as the host survives.   

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Coronavirus does not have own pH, but it survives well in an environment with a pH of about 6 and was unable to survive at a pH of 8 and above.  W3

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Bad news is that Covid-19 was able to survive under pH = 2.2 acidity for more than one hour.

 

Knowing that Covid-19 likes to dwell between pH of 6 and 8, and bad bacteria grows fast between 4.4 to 7, meaning, if virus such as Covid-19 or bad bacteria such O-157 gets on you, it will not die easy and could slips into your body through the respiratory system and you may be infected.  

PLANT can survive between 6 and 12.5, but are extremely fragile below level of 6.  Severe acid rain can completely wipe out the forest.  

 

Ideal pH levels for FISH are 7 to 8.  Believe it or not fish blood has same pH as HUMAN which is 7.4. W2  FISH can survive between pH level of 4 to 10.  

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