This does exactly what it says. Measuring your pH (saliva is more indicative than urine) is important since most people are acidic and this is an unhealthy condition. It is difficult to recover from an illness or chronic condition if your body is acidic. I found it incredibly interesting that raising your pH (to alkaline) is an effective cancer fighter! If you're curious (and for your sake, I hope you are) read Sodium Bicarbonate: Nature's Unique First Aid Remedy by Mark Sircus. You'll be amazed at how cheap and easy it is to make a significant positive impact on your health.By the way, I tried the paper with a 5.5-8.0 test range as well, thinking the narrower range would make the readings more accurate. But I found the 5.0-9.0 paper easier to read. I've read that the 6.0-8.0 might be better and I'm going to try that next. Good luck!