Elle Macpherson carries a urine tester everywhere she goes. What, don't you?

Image: Getty.

Admit it: there’s something a little bit pervy about discovering what famous women carry around in their handbag.

It was recently revealed Kate Hudson always carries a skipping rope with her; meanwhile, supermodel Barbara Palvin told The Glow last month she always has Chanel Chance perfume and hand sanitiser somewhere in her bag.

RELATED: The magic green powder that will turn you into Elle Macpherson

However, the award for the most surprising handbag content has been well and truly claimed by Elle Macpherson. During an interview with the London Evening Standard, the Aussie model casually mentioned she carries around a pH balance urine tester kit. (Post continues after gallery.)

Well, that certainly puts the 13 rusty bobby pins and rogue sticks of chewy lurking in our bags to shame.

“[I use it] to check that I’m in an alkaline state. I believe that most ailments come from having an acidic body,” the 51-year-old mum of two said. That’s dedication. Remind us never to stand in line for a nightclub toilet behind Elle Macpherson.

RELATED: What the colour of your urine says about your body.

This might strike you as unusual, but the women formerly known as ‘The Body’ is not alone in these pH-related concerns — she swears by the Alkaline Diet, which has also found a fan in Victoria Beckham.

The diet, which promises benefits including weight loss, improved energy and reduced risk of chronic illnesses, advocates increasing one’s intake of alkaline-promoting foods like fruit and vegetables. (Post continues after gallery.)

“The theory is that the typical modern Western diet is affecting the acid load on the body, with knock-on negative health effects,” nutritionist Dr Joanna McMillan explained in a post for The Glow last year.

“Foods that we eat are either acid forming or alkaline forming, with some being more or less neutral. The diet advises limiting the consumption of acid-forming foods, including meat, dairy, highly processed foods, alcohol, grain products and refined sugar.”

RELATED: The only two diets that really work. According to science.

Less alcohol, more veggies — when you put it like that, the alkaline diet sounds pretty legitimate. However, McMillan says it’s yet another example of the diet world oversimplifying matters by labelling foods as good or bad based on just one criteria, regardless of the fact many of these foods are known to yield other great health benefits.

“The acid-forming potential of a food is not a sole criteria for judgment as good or bad. It is the balance of foods in our diet that is important, and there are other characteristics of the food that have to be taken into account,” McMillan explains. (Post continues after gallery.)

As with other popular eating regimens like the Paleo diet, there’s no reason why you can’t adopt some of the principles of alkalising if you’re really keen on it. Upping the number of alkaline-promoting foods in your diet, like veggies, leafy greens, fruit and nuts, will do your body a lot of good, as will drinking more water and keeping an eye on your salt intake.

RELATED: This is the easiest way to save money on your veggie shop.

Yet Dr Millan says you can be perfectly healthy without taking expensive “alkaline supplements”, completely cutting dairy and meat out of your life, or whipping out a pH balance tester during every visit to a public toilet.

“The bottom line is that yes, acid-base balance is important, but put it alongside everything else we know about nutrition and healthy eating. If you’re eating a whole food diet with plenty of plant food, you can rest assured you are on the right track,” McMillan says.

Have you ever tried the alkaline diet?