Is Lemon Soda Acidic or Alkaline?
Lemon soda (prepared) is neutral: PRAL close to zero: hardly shifts your acid-base balance.
Classification
Lemon soda sits at 0.0 per 100 ml and is neutral: the lemon content is so small that its potassium doesn't matter, and sugar, water and carbonation add nothing to the PRAL calculation. Pure lemon juice is at −2.3. The value tells you nothing about the 38 kcal per 100 ml from sugar.
In the Drinks category, lemon soda (prepared) ranks #67 of 80, sorted from alkaline to acid-forming. More alkaline options include Energy drink (sweetened) (0.0), Agave syrup (0.0), Tap water (−0.1). More acid-forming are Bubble tea (milk tea with tapioca) (+0.1), Gin (+0.1), Korn (grain spirit) (+0.1).
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 lemon soda 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: Lemon soda (prepared) has a PRAL of 0.0 per 100 ml, so it counts as neutral in your daily acid-base balance.
Does lemon soda count in the acid-base balance at all?
Hardly. At 0.0 per 100 ml, lemon soda is in the neutral range between −0.5 and +0.5. You can eat it without shifting your balance.
Lemon Soda 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.