Is Lentil Soup Acidic or Alkaline?
Lentil soup (prepared) is alkaline: Negative PRAL: alkalizing after digestion.
Classification
At −0.6 per 100 ml, lentil soup is just in the alkaline range. Potatoes and soup vegetables bring enough potassium to slightly outweigh the lentils' protein. A 400 ml bowl comes to about −2. Add a piece of flatbread, and the meal is back at roughly zero.
In the Meals & Fast Food category, lentil soup (prepared) ranks #30 of 118, sorted from alkaline to acid-forming. More alkaline options include Lentil stew (−0.6), Spring rolls (−0.6), Mushroom soup (−0.7). More acid-forming are Minestrone (−0.5), Frozen potato dumplings (half and half) (−0.5), Frozen potato croquettes (−0.4).
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 lentil soup 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: Lentil soup (prepared) has a PRAL of −0.6 per 100 ml, so it counts as alkaline in your daily acid-base balance.
How much lentil soup do I need for a noticeable effect?
A meal (300 g) of lentil soup adds −1.7 to your daily balance. For comparison: an egg is around +5.4, a slice of cheese around +6. So one serving of lentil soup roughly offsets one of them.
Why is lentil soup 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. Lentil soup provides more potassium, magnesium and calcium than phosphorus and protein, so the balance is negative (−0.6).
Lentil Soup 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 Meals & Fast Food: Meals & Fast Food 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.