Is Agave Syrup Acidic or Alkaline?
Agave syrup (raw) is neutral: PRAL close to zero: hardly shifts your acid-base balance.
Classification
Agave syrup is almost nothing but sugar and water, with hardly any minerals, so at 0.0 per 100 ml it sits right in the neutral range. The PRAL says nothing about its 310 kcal or its high fructose content. If you want to sweeten something and care about the mineral balance, maple syrup is the better pick, since it is clearly alkaline.
In the Drinks category, agave syrup (raw) ranks #62 of 80, sorted from alkaline to acid-forming. More alkaline options include Tap water (−0.1), Gin and tonic (−0.1), Rooibos tea (−0.1). More acid-forming are Energy drink (sweetened) (0.0), Ginger ale (0.0), Lemonade, clear (0.0).
Acidic or alkaline: PRAL, not pH
On this site, acidic and alkaline refer to the PRAL (potential renal acid load). It estimates what a food leaves behind once it has been digested: a positive value is acid-forming, a negative value is alkalizing. That is different from the pH of the food itself: a lemon tastes sour, yet its PRAL is −4.0, so it is alkalizing. Your diet does not change your blood pH. It does change how much acid your kidneys have to deal with.
Goes well with
Frequently Asked Questions
Is agave syrup acidic?
It depends on what you mean by acidic. The pH describes the food itself, for example how sour it tastes. The PRAL describes what it leaves behind after digestion: Agave syrup (raw) has a PRAL of 0.0 per 100 ml, so it counts as neutral in your daily acid-base balance.
Does agave syrup count in the acid-base balance at all?
Hardly. At 0.0 per 100 ml, agave syrup is in the neutral range between −0.5 and +0.5. You can eat it without shifting your balance.
Agave Syrup logged, balance checked.
Basentracker adds up every meal automatically and shows whether your day is in the alkaline range. The same values as on this page, all 977 foods, photo scan, recipes.
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Compare all Drinks: Drinks table. Common questions are answered in Acidic or Alkaline?, and the PRAL calculator adds up a whole meal.
Source: Basentracker food database (PRAL according to Remer & Manz, calculated from protein, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium and calcium per 100 g). This information does not replace medical advice.