On Saturday, the Happy Herbivore meetup ladies got together for what was certainly our strangest party to date: The pH party.

While it’s common knowledge in the vegan community that most vegans are naturally more alkaline than acidic, we wanted some concrete evidence. We also wanted to see if eating certain foods—very healthy or very unhealthy—could quickly move our pH balances in one direction or another. (Okay, so maybe we really just wanted an excuse to eat some sugar.) So, without changing our diets in preparation, we each used a pH test strip to test the pH balance of our saliva. As it turned out, the majority of us were slightly alkaline. (Being slightly alkaline is what the body strives for, as an alkaline environment can discourage the development of cancer and diseases. Click here for more information on pH balance.)

After the initial test, we munched on some fruits and vegetables, and headed down the block to Siggy’s to pick up wheat grass shots. (Fun fact: If your body is slightly alkaline, wheat grass will taste sweeter and better than if your body is slightly acidic. We hear tell that the same is true of greens like kale and spinach.)

When we tested again half an hour or so after the wheat grass shots, we all saw very slight improvements in our pH balances.

Tasting success, we followed up the wheat grass with a ton of vegan junk food to see if our pH balances would become more acidic with the sugar as quickly as they had improved after our shots of wheat grass. (Lindsay of Happy Herbivore made the amazing deli-sized black & white cookies above.)

We also had cupcakes. (Baked by me!)

And vegan Creme de Menthe Bars. (Also made by me.)

The conculsion: It seems harder to ruin the pH balance of a vegan body than it is to improve it. Most of our balances held pretty steadily at slightly alkaline, even after hours of junk food gorging. (And the wine. We can’t forget the wine!) So, in my humble opinion, go team vegan!

**If you click through a link to Amazon.com in this post, I will make a little money if you make a purchase. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.**