Over-acidification: the symptoms attributed to it and what's behind them

October 21, 2026approx. 14 minutesby mybody®x Editorial & Expert Team

In this article

What symptoms are attributed to over-acidification?

According to the consumer advice center (2025), advertising for acid-base products links over-acidification with symptoms such as low energy or skin problems. The same source says there is no evidence that over-acidification causes these symptoms.

It starts not with a term, but with a feeling. You get enough sleep and are still exhausted, and your skin isn't cooperating either. So far, no examination has provided an explanation. Then the word “over-acidification” comes up in an ad or conversation, and for the first time, everything seems to fall into place.

These claims come with a range of products, from alkaline powder to an alkaline diet. They promise to correct an imbalance that supposedly lies behind the symptoms.

According to the consumer advice center (2025), claims include, among other things, that balancing acid and alkaline levels with these products has the following effects (paraphrased):

• more strength when you're low on energy
• balancing disruptions to the body's internal equilibrium
• a strengthened immune system
• Effect against pain and inflammation
• effect against skin problems and bone damage
• supposedly even prevention of serious diseases

This list consists of advertising claims, not symptoms of a disease. Verbraucherzentrale (2025) states, in essence: There is no evidence that “latent acidosis,” meaning chronic over-acidification of the body, even exists as a cause of health problems.

That doesn’t mean you’re imagining things. Fatigue is real, even if no lab result explains it, and skin problems are visible in the mirror. What’s missing is evidence for the explanation, not evidence for the symptoms. One single cause for a whole range of symptoms sounds convenient, and that’s exactly why it needs good evidence.

Why does the term still seem so convincing? Because it contains two real things. The acid-base balance exists, and there are diseases in which the body really does become too acidic (MedlinePlus, 2025; Verbraucherzentrale, 2025). The term “acidosis” borrows its credibility from both.

If your symptoms have lasted for weeks, your primary care practice is the right place to go. They can help establish what’s causing them, which will take you further than a label. You can prepare for the conversation with some notes:

• what symptoms you have and how long you’ve had them
• whether you have a known kidney condition or diabetes
• whether you’ve had severe diarrhea recently
• what you’ve already tried for suspected acidosis

The two middle points are there for a reason. According to Verbraucherzentrale (2025), kidney disease and uncontrolled diabetes can trigger chronic acidosis, which is then a medical finding. MedlinePlus (2025) lists severe diarrhea as a possible cause of acidosis (paraphrased). For more information, see the chapter on true acidosis.

Can diet make the body too acidic?

No. According to Verbraucherzentrale (2025), food cannot make the body too acidic, because excess acids are excreted through the kidneys and breathed out through the lungs (paraphrased).

The idea behind it is understandable. Anyone who wants to do something for themselves through food means business, and the plate is the lever they can control. The mistake lies in a single step: the idea that food affects the acid-base balance becomes the conclusion that food makes the body too acidic.

The first part is true in a narrow sense. Remer and Manz (1995) calculated the PRAL for selected foods, short for potential renal acid load, meaning a food’s estimated acid load for the kidneys. Their calculation model is based mainly on nutrient data and estimates the amount of acid the kidneys excrete overall (Remer and Manz, 1995, paraphrased).

So food does affect what the kidneys excrete. But according to Verbraucherzentrale (2025), it cannot make the body too acidic. That is the difference between a burden that is processed and a condition that becomes entrenched.

Healthy people have dedicated systems for this task. According to MedlinePlus (2025), the kidneys and lungs maintain the balance of acids and bases (paraphrased). One wrong meal does not throw this system off balance, according to Verbraucherzentrale (2025).

How you plan your food and drink in everyday life is a different question from what the term means. For that, see the article on the acid-base balance in everyday life; here, the question is what truth there is to the term “over-acidity.”

How does the body maintain its acid-base balance?

Regarding the kidneys and lungs: According to MedlinePlus (2025), they maintain the balance of acids and bases in the body, reflected in the appropriate pH level (paraphrased). Buffer systems also play a role, and according to Verbraucherzentrale (2025), they function smoothly in healthy people.

The acid-base balance is not a tank that fills with acid, but a balance the body maintains. You can think of the kidneys and lungs as two layers of a control center: Both monitor the same value and use different outlets. The kidneys excrete excess acids, while the lungs breathe them out (Verbraucherzentrale, 2025, paraphrased).

The kidneys’ output can be calculated. That is exactly the approach taken by Remer and Manz (1995): Their model estimates net acid excretion, meaning the amount of acid the kidneys release overall. The fact that foods change this amount therefore does not contradict balance; it is part of it.

The lungs work through breathing. How closely the two are connected is shown by MedlinePlus (2025) in the case of metabolic acidosis: The body then breathes rapidly and deeply to counteract it by releasing more carbon dioxide (paraphrased). What this means in an emergency is explained in the chapter on actual acidosis.

One term comes up frequently in discussions of acid-base balance: bicarbonate. MedlinePlus (2025) describes it as a base, meaning it counteracts acids; losing bicarbonate can lead to acidosis (paraphrased).

For you, this means that if you are healthy, you do not need to regulate your acid-base balance yourself. The kidneys and lungs take care of that (MedlinePlus, 2025, paraphrased), and the Consumer Advice Center (2025) says that food does not cause over-acidification.

The body maintains another kind of balance with electrolytes. The article how the body regulates electrolytes explains how it does so.

What is true acidosis, and how does it differ from “over-acidification”?

Acidosis occurs when acid builds up in the body or bicarbonate is lost (MedlinePlus, 2025, paraphrased). Unlike the “over-acidification” promoted in advertising, it is a medical finding with identifiable causes, such as kidney disease or uncontrolled diabetes (Consumer Advice Center, 2025).

“Over-acidification” and acidosis sound like the same thing. They are not. The “over-acidification” promoted in advertising is supposed to affect healthy people and be influenced by diet. True acidosis is the result of an illness or severe loss, and requires medical care.

The sources distinguish between two forms. In metabolic acidosis, the body produces too much acid, or the kidneys do not excrete enough acid (MedlinePlus, 2025, paraphrased). The Consumer Advice Center (2025) associates respiratory, or breathing-related, acidosis with lung diseases that cause shortness of breath.

MedlinePlus (2025) and the Consumer Advice Center (2025) list the following, among others, as causes of true acidosis:

• kidney diseases, including kidney failure (renal insufficiency)
• uncontrolled diabetes, which can lead to diabetic ketoacidosis, a form of metabolic acidosis according to MedlinePlus (2025)
• severe diarrhea, through which the body loses sodium bicarbonate
• lung diseases with shortness of breath
• a state of hunger

The Verbraucherzentrale (2025) writes: “Chronic over-acidification can occur in cases of kidney disease or uncontrolled diabetes […]” So the word over-acidification is not wrong here. According to the same source, what has not been established is that “latent acidosis” causes health problems in healthy people.

Terms compared

Since kidney disease is among the causes mentioned, it makes sense to ask about your own kidney test results. The article on kidney blood test results explains what these results show.

When immediate help is needed

If you have these signs, you need immediate medical help. In Germany, call the emergency number 112, because according to MedlinePlus (2025), severe forms of acidosis can lead to shock (paraphrased). This is not a situation for waiting or self-treatment.

How is over-acidification measured?

Doctors investigate actual acidosis using, among other things, a blood gas analysis, which examines blood from an artery or vein (paraphrased from MedlinePlus, 2025). According to the Verbraucherzentrale (2025), it has not even been established that the advertised over-acidification exists as a cause of symptoms.

That shifts the question. It is no longer whether you are over-acidified, but what is causing your symptoms and whether there are signs of actual acidosis.

MedlinePlus (2025) lists the following, among other tests, to clarify a case of acidosis:

• a blood gas analysis using arterial or venous blood
• a basic metabolic panel, or basic metabolic panel in the original
• ketones in the blood, which give diabetic ketoacidosis its name
• lactic acid (lactate) in the blood
• ketones in the urine
• the urine pH level

Which of these are needed in a particular case is decided by the medical practice. Urine pH is listed here as one of several tests used to identify the cause (MedlinePlus, 2025).

Two evidence-based statements can be made side by side about urine pH. Remer and Manz (1995) found a statistical association between net renal acid excretion and urine pH, a correlation of r = 0.83. According to MedlinePlus (2025), the kidneys and lungs work together to maintain the body’s acid-base balance (in essence).

The meaning of blood electrolyte levels is a separate topic; see the article Electrolytes in the Blood.

No test from mybody®x (MYBODY Lab GmbH) measures acidosis. The BalanceCheck uses capillary blood to measure electrolytes such as potassium and magnesium for €139.00 (as of October 20, 2026; subject to change); it does not measure pH or blood gases. The result is intended to help prepare for a discussion with a doctor and does not replace medical evaluation.

Alkaline diet for acidosis: What is proven?

Almost nothing is proven: a systematic review found little research on alkaline diets and no randomized studies (Fenton and Huang, 2016). The consumer advice center (2025) considers the assumption used to promote alkaline powders unproven.

A systematic review gathers the existing research on a question and evaluates it according to set rules. Fenton and Huang (2016) searched for studies on dietary acid load and alkaline water, in each case with cancer as the disease being studied. Of 8278 records and 252 abstracts reviewed, only one study was included (Fenton and Huang, 2016).

The authors found no randomized studies, meaning trials with groups assigned at random (Fenton and Huang, 2016). Their conclusion, in essence, is that despite promotion by the media and sellers, there is almost no research supporting or refuting the ideas behind alkaline diets and alkaline water (Fenton and Huang, 2016).

Lack of research is not evidence to the contrary, but neither is it confirmation. Anyone who eats an alkaline diet to correct acidosis is relying on an assumption that the consumer advice center (2025) considers unproven.

The same applies to alkaline powders. They are sold as dietary supplements to balance acid and base levels, but according to the consumer advice center (2025), the body’s own systems do this for healthy people (in essence). A powder intended to correct an unproven state of acidosis therefore has no proven target.

The desire to do something through food itself remains valid. It just deserves a better starting point than a concept for which evidence is lacking.

Two claims checked

Acidification: What are the limits of our knowledge?

The assessment is based on a consumer protection webpage and a U.S. consumer health encyclopedia, supplemented by two narrowly focused studies. That is enough to indicate the direction of the evidence, but not to explain your personal symptoms.

The consumer advice center (2025) provides an assessment from a consumer protection perspective and does not present its own study. Its literature search was current as of February 2023 (consumer advice center, 2025), so more recent studies are not included in this assessment.

The review by Fenton and Huang (2016) included only one study, a cohort study that followed a group of people over time, and its endpoint was cancer. It does not address the symptoms attributed to acidification (Fenton and Huang, 2016).

PRAL is a calculation model dating from 1995 (Remer and Manz, 1995). It estimates the acid load of a food on the kidneys; it does not measure it.

MedlinePlus (2025) is a consumer health encyclopedia from the U.S. National Library of Medicine. It describes acidosis in terms intended for the general public and lists urine pH as one of several tests used to find the cause (MedlinePlus, 2025).

One limitation applies directly to you: none of these sources can tell you what is causing your fatigue or skin problems. That can be clarified in a consultation at your doctor’s office.

Acidification: What you can do now

Take your symptoms seriously and have them checked at your primary care practice if they persist, rather than labeling them as acidification. Beforehand, write down how long you have had them and what you have already tried, from alkaline powder to dietary changes. Rapid, deep breathing accompanied by confusion or drowsiness, however, is an emergency requiring an ambulance. Healthy people do not need a course of treatment for their acid-base balance, but your symptoms do need an explanation.

Frequently asked questions

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Sources

1. Consumer Advice Center: Acid-base balance through dietary supplements—who benefits? (as of 2025) – verbraucherzentrale.de
2. U.S. National Library of Medicine, MedlinePlus: Acidosis (as of 2025) – medlineplus.gov
3. Fenton T. R., Huang T.: Systematic review of the association between dietary acid load, alkaline water and cancer, BMJ Open (2016) – europepmc.org
4. Remer T., Manz F.: Potential renal acid load of foods and its influence on urine pH, J Am Diet Assoc (1995) – europepmc.org

The advertised complaints and the discussion of diet are based on [1]. Regulation by the kidneys and lungs, as well as the forms of acidosis, come from [2], which also contains the list of tests. The statements about an alkaline diet are based on [3], and those about PRAL and urine pH on [4]. The listed product price is as of 20.10.2026 and may change; the sources were accessed on 21.10.2026.