This bogus theory of pH levels in China has been making the rounds throughout the country, especially in WeChat Moment pages of the elderly. A typical example is the theory "acid in the body helps to give birth to a daughter, while alkaline a boy", which is believed by quite a few parents-to-be.
In April 2018, an advertisement appeared on the home page of an e-commerce website, with the tagline "Prefer a son to a daughter? Try the alkali pregnancy treatment".
A search on the e-commerce platform reveals there are many "alkaline" pregnancy products, including edible capsules, protein powder and external care products.
Buyers left comments after purchasing, sharing their experiences with "improved physical fitness and successfully giving birth to a son".
What's more, "pH" electrotherapy equipment has been on the market for some time. Purporting to serve as "bio-electric therapy", these ointments, capsules and other health care products carry high prices and assert they can cure all disease and improve longevity.
Some multi-level marketing organizations posed as health clubs by promoting "pH" biological therapy, tricking people into spending tens of thousands of yuan. According to reports, in some places these illegal organizations have already been stopped by the police.
A few years ago, there were news reports of other tragedies: a pH theory-based massager had leaks, and electrocuted the people who used it.
Merchants saw opportunities in this as well, launching alkaline drinking water, alkaline purifiers and more.
Fortunately, at the 2016 China Food Forum held on June 27, experts quashed three major food rumors, including the claim "Drinking pure water will give you internal acidity". The China Food and Drug Administration also announced the news at the same time, comprehensively debunking the rumor that water pH affects health.