Is Egg Acidic or Alkaline?
Egg (boiled) is acid-forming: Positive PRAL: acid-forming after digestion. Acid-forming, with a PRAL of +10.6 per 100 g, or about +6.4 for a single egg. The acid load sits in the yolk (+24.6), while the egg white is almost neutral at +2.1.
Classification
A boiled egg comes in at +10.6, practically the same as a raw one (+10.3). Boiling in the shell loses hardly anything except a little water. The acid load comes mainly from the yolk and its phosphorus. The white on its own is much milder. So two breakfast eggs pair well with a tomato, some cress or a piece of fruit.
In the Eggs category, egg (boiled) ranks #6 of 7, sorted from alkaline to acid-forming. More alkaline options include Fried egg (+10.6), Quail egg (+10.3), Scrambled eggs (+9.9). More acid-forming are Egg yolk (+24.6).
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.
Egg: boiled, raw
Same food, different state. All values per 100 g.
| State | PRAL |
|---|---|
| raw | +10.3 |
| boiled | +10.6 |
What balances egg
One egg (medium, 60 g) of egg adds +6.4 to your daily balance. These three bring it back; the grams shown offset exactly this serving.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is egg 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: Egg (boiled) has a PRAL of +10.6 per 100 g, so it counts as acid-forming in your daily acid-base balance.
How much spinach offsets one egg (medium, 60 g) of egg?
One egg (medium, 60 g) of egg adds +6.4 to your daily balance. Spinach (fresh) has −12.2 per 100 g, so about 50 g of spinach offset this serving.
Do I have to avoid egg on an alkaline diet?
No. What counts is the balance of the whole day, not a single food. Egg is acid-forming; with enough vegetables, potatoes and fruit on the same plate, the meal stays balanced.
Egg, boiled or raw: which is more alkaline?
Egg (boiled) is at +10.6, Egg (raw) at +10.3. So the "raw" version is more alkaline. Differences come from water content, cooking water or concentration during drying.
Egg 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.
Free for Android · iPhone coming soon
Compare all Eggs: Eggs 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.