Effect of juice fasting on urine pH: A controlled study

Pages: 71-74
Prashanth Shetty, Achyuthan Eswar, Rajkumari Roshni Raj Lakshmi, Balakrishna Shetty and Nithin (Sri Dharmasthala Manjunatheswara College of Naturopathy and Yogic Sciences, Ujire, Karnataka, India)
H.R. Nagendra and Suhas Vinchurkar (Swami Vivekananda Yoga Anusandhana Samsthana, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India)
H.R. Nagendra and Suhas Vinchurkar (Swami Vivekananda Yoga Anusandhana Samsthana, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India)

Naturopathic fasting (NF) therapy is the cornerstone of most naturopathic therapy protocols. It has been claimed to reduce the acidity of the body, but this has not been conclusively proven. The present study was designed to assess the effect of NF therapy on urine pH young healthy volunteers. Seventy participants with ages ranging from 19 to 21 years (group mean age±standard deviation; 20±0.8 years) were assigned to either a fasting group (n=35) or a vegetarian diet group (n=35). The two groups were matched for age, education and routines. Fasting was conducted for a period of 5 days under supervision by project coordinators. We executed a matched controlled design with urine pH assessed by testing first-void midstream urine using pH meter at baseline and every day subsequently until the period of fasting ended. Data were analyzed using IBM SPSS 20. The data were checked for normality. The data was checked for normality, and then a paired samples t-test was performed to investigate statistically significant difference within-group in urine pH of fasting group and control group. Urine pH increased by 0.24±0.49 pH units (p<0.05) after 5 days’ NF therapy. NF therapy significantly increases urine pH. This signifies that acidity of the plasma is reduced, which can be linked to many health benefits.