What causes urine ph to be acidic?

Urine is the primary method by which metabolic waste products are discarded from the body. It is produced in the kidneys, collected in tubes called ureters and finally released through the urethra. A crucial aspect of urine analysis is determining its pH level. This metric measures how acidic or alkaline your urine is on a scale of 0-14 with seven being neutral. An acidic urine pH below 6 may cause discomfort during urination and other mild symptoms, while extremely low levels (below five) can signal underlying health issues.

So why might someone have an unusually acidic pee? In this article, we’ll take a closer look at some possible causes.

Understanding Urinary Acidity

Before diving into what leads to acidity in our pee tanks let’s shed light on urinary acidification.
The distinction between plasma acidosis and renal tubular acidosis lies mainly in whether there exists an excess of proton load relative to bicarbonate ion (HCO3-) reabsorbed within Kidneys(also termed HCO3- threshold – typically ~26 mEq/Litre eGFR >45mL/min/1.73m2).

The main player here belting out most amount of hydrogen ions(H+) among acids that making body suffer…drum role please!!! Lactic Acid 🥁 , originating mostly from anaerobic respiration during times when muscular activity exceeds Oxygen availability(which liberates lactic acid instead)…Oops! Oh my bad😬 , actually it’s Carbon dioxide🤭 via cellular Aerobic metabolism that accounts for highest amount of daily net production accounting about 13,000 mmole/day(https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/4057645/)

To regulate security against increased hydrogen ions discharging each day via urine-conveying tract towards bladder after filtration; kidney composed with two mechanisms known as Ammoniagenesis which primarily reabsorbs bicarbonate and creates ammonium ion production & Titration of filtered load within distal tubule(late DCT- Collecting duct) via sodium-hydrogen exchanger(SF1NHE3Δ4/13M polymorphism causing Gitelman’s syndrome is reported with acidic urine pH<<6.0 due to impaired Na+/H+ exchange(NHX)-type pathways in these regions).

Causes of Low Urine pH

High-Protein Diets

No one knows what started the protein craze, but it’s not going away anytime soon. Unfortunately, consuming too much protein can have unwanted side-effects such as increasing acid levels in your pee factory tank. The high consumption of food high in animal proteins — meat, fish and poultry may cause an excessive amount of breakdown products called sulfates and phosphates are dumped into our kidneys(elevated serum Hcy also leads to Hypomagnesemia thus contributing renal Ato T defective NHXs) , subsequently lowering the PH balance(https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/3419838/).

Dehydration

Everyone wants their body parts moistened (wink wink)! Water makes up about 95% of urine(🤓 It only appears yellowish or clearer color marginally based on concentration altering solute loads; distilled water intake >10L/d has been shown to increase uric acid clearance rate from human kidney more than usual upper limit values over varied regimen protocolshttps://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/1148286)
If you’re dehydrated (reduced total body water compared to intracellular content resulting in higher permeability for easily diffusing acids); it changes the supply-demand aspects fundamentally making actual physical numbers look-funny!(less frequent visits equals concentrated uroscopy contents!!). So they end up producing a higher concentration of waste products, including acidic ones.

Kidney Disease

Issues with kidney functionality could also cause a dip in urine pH levels . One specific illness that can cause low urinary acidity is renal tubular acidosis. This disorder renders the body not able to reabsorb bicarbonate ions adequately, which helps counterbalance the secretion of hydrogen ions produced during metabolism(https://www.researchgate.net/publication/14212583_Distal_renal_tubular_acidosis_analyzing_the_interface_between_molecular_and_clinical_data). An impairment on this ends up directing proton load towards urination tract unopposed!

Medications/ Supplements

Certain pharmaceutical drugs and supplements are known to lower urine pH levels as an unexpected side-effect (Take note! They usually come prescribed by doctor:D) Including but not limited to Methenamin mandelate( Urex M), Ammonium chloride (Demospray.DemoTussin.Sarma), Phenazopyridine (Pyridium) etc… These medications work in various ways (from creating more acidic surroundings for bacteria-fighting antibiotics within bladder or cystitis situations , some even act directly on your kidneys cells responsible for regulating H+-ion gradient balance i.e., Na+/K+-ATPase.

Conclusion

In conclusion, several different factors may contribute to acidic urine PH(well few mentioned here due lesser length restrictions; we all know anyways ‘if one doesn’t encounter body discussions -are you really hanging out with humans😂!). These include high-protein diets(Please don’t blame your gym’s Nutrition consultant next time!!) dehydration and issues with kidney function. And when it comes to medication or supplement usage it takes consulting physician who prescribes these meds(relax nurses!! :)) so make sure you have a chat before downing those coloured pills like they’re tic-tacs passing off “pellets” as weird variable range abbreviations!

Live long ,stay hydrated

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