Is Fructose Acidic or Alkaline?
Fructose (raw) is neutral: PRAL close to zero: hardly shifts your acid-base balance.
Classification
Chemically, fructose is pure sugar without minerals, so it sits at 0.0 and is neutral. It contains no potassium, phosphorus or protein, so there's simply nothing for the PRAL calculation to work with. Being found in fruit doesn't make fruit sugar alkaline. Fruit is alkaline because of its potassium, and the 399 kcal per 100 g remain pure sugar energy.
In the Sugar & Sweeteners category, fructose (raw) ranks #8 of 12, sorted from alkaline to acid-forming. More alkaline options include Powdered sugar (0.0), Table sugar (0.0), Glucose (dextrose) (−0.1). More acid-forming are Stevia (steviol glycosides) (+0.1), Corn syrup (+0.2), Sweetened cornflakes (+2.5).
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 fructose 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: Fructose (raw) has a PRAL of 0.0 per 100 g, so it counts as neutral in your daily acid-base balance.
Does fructose count in the acid-base balance at all?
Hardly. At 0.0 per 100 g, fructose is in the neutral range between −0.5 and +0.5. You can eat it without shifting your balance.
Fructose 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 Sugar & Sweeteners: Sugar & Sweeteners 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.