Is Lime Acidic or Alkaline?
Lime (fresh) is alkaline: Negative PRAL: alkalizing after digestion.
Classification
Limes are alkaline at −2.5, even though they taste sour. The citric acid is fully broken down in metabolism, leaving potassium and some magnesium behind. Because you only use small amounts, the contribution stays modest. The juice of half a lime in water or over a curry weighs barely 20 g and comes to about −0.5.
In the Fruit category, lime (fresh) ranks #63 of 80, sorted from alkaline to acid-forming. More alkaline options include Grapefruit (−2.6), Pineapple (−2.6), Kumquat (−2.7). More acid-forming are Sea buckthorn berry (−2.5), Blackberry (−2.4), Mandarin (−2.3).
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 lime 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: Lime (fresh) has a PRAL of −2.5 per 100 g, so it counts as alkaline in your daily acid-base balance.
How much lime do I need for a noticeable effect?
One piece or a handful (120 g) of lime adds −3.0 to your daily balance. For comparison: an egg is around +5.4, a slice of cheese around +6. So one serving of lime roughly offsets one of them.
Why is lime alkaline even though it tastes sour?
The PRAL depends on the minerals left over after digestion, not on taste or pH. Lime provides more potassium, magnesium and calcium than phosphorus and protein, so the balance is negative (−2.5).
Lime 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 Fruit: Fruit 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.