Is Meatball (German Style) Acidic or Alkaline?
Meatball (German style) (prepared) is acid-forming: Positive PRAL: acid-forming after digestion.
Classification
German-style meatballs are made mostly from ground meat with egg and a soaked bread roll, so protein and phosphorus come from three sources. That's why they sit in the acid-forming range at +8.4. The onion in them changes little. With potato salad instead of a roll, you offset a good part of it, while a roll adds more. The value says nothing about the fat or the 269 kcal per 100 g.
In the Meals & Fast Food category, meatball (German style) (prepared) ranks #109 of 118, sorted from alkaline to acid-forming. More alkaline options include Toast Hawaii (+8.2), Chicken nuggets (+8.0), Königsberger Klopse (meatballs in caper sauce) (+8.0). More acid-forming are Double cheeseburger (McDonald´s) (+8.9), Wiener schnitzel (veal) (+8.9), Sauerbraten (with gravy) (+9.4).
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.
What balances meatball (German style)
A meal (300 g) of meatball (German style) adds +25.1 to your daily balance. These three bring it back; the grams shown offset exactly this serving.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is meatball (German style) 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: Meatball (German style) (prepared) has a PRAL of +8.4 per 100 g, so it counts as acid-forming in your daily acid-base balance.
How much lamb's lettuce offsets a meal (300 g) of meatball (German style)?
A meal (300 g) of meatball (German style) adds +25.1 to your daily balance. Lamb's lettuce (fresh) has −8.3 per 100 g, so about 300 g of lamb's lettuce offset this serving.
Do I have to avoid meatball (German style) on an alkaline diet?
No. What counts is the balance of the whole day, not a single food. Meatball (German style) is acid-forming; with enough vegetables, potatoes and fruit on the same plate, the meal stays balanced.
Meatball (German Style) logged, balance checked.
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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.