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Usage Note

• Foods are color coded: Green for alkaline or low-acid foods and Red for acidic foods.
• The larger the PRAL magnitude, the more alkaline or acidic the food is.
• This database contains the PRAL values and acidity ratings for 6,941 foods.
• Abbreviations: Pro = Protein, Pho = Phosphorus, Pot = Potassium, Mag = Magnesium, Cal = Calcium.
• Phosphorus, potassium, magnesium and calcium values are in mg and calculated per 100g of food weight.
• Protein value is in grams and calculated per 100g of food weight.
• Pie chart shows relative contributions to total calories from carbohydrate, protein and fat (and alcohol, if exists).
• The mineral and vitamin charts show the relative contents of minerals and vitamins of each food. The higher the bubble, the higher mineral or vitamin content a food has relative to other foods. The larger the bubble, the greater the mineral or vitamin content relative to the Recommended Daily Allowances.

Low Acid Diet

excerpts from The New York Times

Tired of Feeling the Burn? Low-Acid Diet May Help

Stomach acid has long been blamed for acid reflux, heartburn and other ills. But now some experts are starting to think that the problems may lie not just in the acid coming up from the stomach but in the food going down.

Recent studies have shown a link between bone health and a low-acid diet, while some reports suggest that the acidity of the Western diet increases the risk of diabetes and heart disease.

This year, a small study found that restricting dietary acid could relieve reflux symptoms like coughing and hoarseness in patients who had not been helped by drug therapy, according to the journal Annals of Otology, Rhinology & Laryngology.

Read full article: New York Times: Tired of Feeling the Burn? Low-Acid Diet May Help

Exploring a Low-Acid Diet for Bone Health

Why are osteoporotic fractures relatively rare in Asian countries like Japan, where people live as long or longer than Americans and consume almost no calcium-rich dairy products? Why, in Western countries that consume the most dairy foods, are rates of osteoporotic fractures among the highest in the world? And why has no consistent link been found between the amount of calcium people consume and protection against osteoporosis?

An alternative theory of bone health is the theory of low-acid eating, a diet laden with fruits and vegetables but relatively low in acid-producing protein and moderate in cereal grains.

Studies by Dr. Bess Dawson-Hughes, at the Jean Mayer U.S.D.A. Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University, and collaborators have demonstrated the acid-neutralizing ability of fruits and vegetables and the crucial role they can play in maintaining healthy bones.

Read full article: New York Times: Exploring a Low-Acid Diet for Bone Health

What is PRAL: Potential Renal Acid Load?

PRAL value is calculated from a formula developed by Thomas Remer and other researchers at the Department of Nutrition and Health, the Research Institute of Child Nutrition, Dortmund, Germany, to assess the acidity of foods and diets.

PRAL formula:

PRAL = 0.49 x protein + 0.037 x phosphorus - 0.021 x potassium - 0.026 x magnesium - 0.013 x calcium

Detailed information about PRAL at The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition: PRAL Research

Today, there is a general consensus that diet can markedly affect acid-base status and that a person’s acid load can be specifically manipulated by dietary means. An established method of estimating acid loads of foods or diets is by calculating the potential renal acid load (PRAL). PRAL provides an estimate of the production of endogenous acid that exceeds the level of alkali produced for given amounts of foods ingested daily. The concept of PRAL calculation is physiologically based and takes into account different intestinal absorption rates of individual minerals and of sulfurcontaining protein, as well as the amount of sulfate produced from metabolized proteins. This method of calculation was experimentally validated in healthy adults, and it showed that, under controlled conditions, acid loads and renal net acid excretion (NAE) can be reliably estimated from diet composition.

Alkaline Diet Research

at the Jean Mayer US Department of Agriculture Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University, Boston, MA

Muscle mass gradually declines after age 50, and muscle loss leads to muscle weakness; greater risks of falls, fractures, and disability; and loss of independence.There is plausible evidence that the composition of diets with respect to acid-base balance is a contributing factor.
Protein and cereal grains are metabolized to acidic residues, and fruit and vegetables are metabolized to alkaline residues. In general, American diets are acidic, generating 75–100 mEq acid/d. With the decline in renal function that occurs with aging, older persons are not able to excrete the excess hydrogen ions, and they develop mild but slowly increasing metabolic acidosis. Metabolic acidosis has been linked to muscle wasting in chronic renal failure and in obese subjects who were acidotic while following weight-loss diets; correction of the acidosis has been shown to reverse the muscle wasting in these 2 conditions.

Additional PRAL Calculator

The PRAL database at this site is for the What We Eat in America survey database. We have another PRAL calculator for the National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference at: Potential Renal Acid Load Calculator. If you can't find a certain foods in our database, please try the PRAL calculator at our partner website.

Partner Websites

Please bookmark our partner websites to use when any of our nutrition calculators is not available or overloaded.

Fruits Low in Acidity

List of fruits lowest in acidity based on PRAL values.

Low-Acid Fruits based on PRAL values

PRAL value

Apricots, dehydrated (low-moisture), sulfured, uncooked

-33

Bananas, dehydrated, or banana powder

-30

Apricots, dried, sulfured, uncooked

-22

Peaches, dehydrated (low-moisture), sulfured, uncooked

-22

Prunes, dehydrated (low-moisture), uncooked

-19

Peaches, dried, sulfured, uncooked

-16

Litchis, dried

-16

Figs, dried, uncooked

-14

Dates, medjool

-14

Raisins, seeded

-14

Fruit, mixed, (prune and apricot and pear), dried

-14

Persimmons, japanese, dried

-14

Currants, zante, dried

-14

Plums, dried (prunes), uncooked

-13

Apricots, dehydrated (low-moisture), sulfured, stewed

-13

Dates, deglet noor

-12

Raisins, seedless

-12

Apples, dehydrated (low moisture), sulfured, uncooked

-12

Orange juice, frozen concentrate, unsweetened, undiluted

-12

Tamarinds, raw

-11

Raisins, golden seedless

-11

Plantains, yellow, fried, Latino restaurant

-10

Breadfruit, raw

-10

Pineapple juice, frozen concentrate, unsweetened, undiluted

-10

Plantains, raw

-10

Pears, dried, sulfured, uncooked

-9

Jackfruit, raw

-9

Grapefruit juice, white, frozen concentrate, unsweetened, undiluted

-9

Apple juice, frozen concentrate, unsweetened, undiluted, with added ascorbic acid

-9

Low-Acid Fruits based on PRAL values

PRAL value

Apple juice, frozen concentrate, unsweetened, undiluted, without added ascorbic acid

-9

Avocados, raw, California

-9

Peaches, dehydrated (low-moisture), sulfured, stewed

-9

Plantains, green, fried

-9

Plantains, cooked

-9

Tangerine juice, frozen concentrate, sweetened, undiluted

-8

Sapote, mamey, raw

-8

Avocados, raw, all commercial varieties

-8

Apricots, dried, sulfured, stewed, without added sugar

-8

Apples, dried, sulfured, uncooked

-8

Apricots, dried, sulfured, stewed, with added sugar

-8

Jujube, dried

-8

Durian, raw or frozen

-8

Roselle, raw

-7

Custard-apple, (bullock's-heart), raw

-7

Rhubarb, raw

-7

Guavas, common, raw

-7

Bananas, raw

-7

Carissa, (natal-plum), raw

-6

Orange peel, raw

-6

Plums, dried (prunes), stewed, with added sugar

-6

Plums, dried (prunes), stewed, without added sugar

-6

Prunes, dehydrated (low-moisture), stewed

-6

Prickly pears, raw

-6

Figs, dried, stewed

-6

Kiwifruit, gold, raw

-6

Kiwifruit, green, raw

-6

Longans, dried

-6

Guavas, strawberry, raw

-6

Nance, frozen, unsweetened

-6

Passion-fruit juice, purple, raw

-6

Low-Acid Fruits based on PRAL values

PRAL value

Avocados, raw, Florida

-6

Melon balls, frozen

-6

Peaches, dried, sulfured, stewed, with added sugar

-5

Figs, raw

-5

Orange juice, chilled, includes from concentrate, fortified with calcium

-5

Cherimoya, raw

-5

Abiyuch, raw

-5

Currants, european black, raw

-5

Passion-fruit juice, yellow, raw

-5

Prune juice, canned

-5

Peaches, dried, sulfured, stewed, without added sugar

-5

Elderberries, raw

-5

Loquats, raw

-5

Melons, cantaloupe, raw

-5

Soursop, raw

-5

Pears, dried, sulfured, stewed, without added sugar

-5

Nance, canned, syrup, drained

-5

Orange juice, chilled, includes from concentrate, fortified with calcium and vitamin D

-5

Passion-fruit, (granadilla), purple, raw

-5

Rhubarb, frozen, uncooked

-5

Grapes, muscadine, raw

-4

Jujube, raw

-4

Papayas, raw

-4

Grapes, american type (slip skin), raw

-4

Pears, dried, sulfured, stewed, with added sugar

-4

Apricots, frozen, sweetened

-4

Sapodilla, raw

-4

Melons, casaba, raw

-4

Apricots, raw

-4

Oranges, raw, Florida

-4

Currants, red and white, raw

-4

Low-Acid Fruits based on PRAL values

PRAL value

Oranges, raw, all commercial varieties

-4

Longans, raw

-4

Melons, honeydew, raw

-4

Lemon peel, raw

-4

Sugar-apples, (sweetsop), raw

-4

Guava sauce, cooked

-4

Kumquats, raw

-4

Pomegranate juice, bottled

-4

Rhubarb, frozen, cooked, with sugar

-4

Oranges, raw, with peel

-4

Orange juice, raw

-4

Cherries, sweet, raw

-4

Quinces, raw

-4

Pummelo, raw

-4

Prunes, canned, heavy syrup pack, solids and liquids

-4

Naranjilla (lulo) pulp, frozen, unsweetened

-4

Crabapples, raw

-4

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