Is Red Chili Pepper Acidic or Alkaline?
Chili pepper, red (fresh) is strongly alkaline: Negative PRAL: alkalizing after digestion.
Classification
Fresh red chili peppers are high in water and, for their size, bring plenty of potassium and hardly any protein. That gives them their alkaline value of −5.0. The heat from capsaicin has nothing to do with it. You usually slice just one pepper into a pan or a curry, so its contribution to your daily balance stays small. Dried and ground, the same effect is concentrated many times over.
In the Vegetables & Salad category, red chili pepper (fresh) ranks #31 of 110, sorted from alkaline to acid-forming. More alkaline options include Celery stalk (−5.2), Sweet potato (−5.3), Pumpkin (Butternut) (−5.4). More acid-forming are Swede (rutabaga) (−5.0), Parsnip (−4.9), Brussels sprouts (−4.8).
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 red chili pepper 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: Chili pepper, red (fresh) has a PRAL of −5.0 per 100 g, so it counts as strongly alkaline in your daily acid-base balance.
How much red chili pepper do I need for a noticeable effect?
A serving (150 g) of red chili pepper adds −7.5 to your daily balance. For comparison: an egg is around +5.4, a slice of cheese around +6. So one serving of red chili pepper roughly offsets one of them.
Why is red chili pepper alkaline even though it is not a typical alkaline food?
The PRAL depends on the minerals left over after digestion, not on taste or pH. Chili pepper, red provides more potassium, magnesium and calcium than phosphorus and protein, so the balance is negative (−5.0).
Chili Pepper, Red 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 Vegetables & Salad: Vegetables & Salad 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.