Is Milk (3.7% Fat) Acidic or Alkaline?
Milk (3.7% fat) (raw) is neutral: PRAL close to zero: hardly shifts your acid-base balance.
Classification
Milk's protein and phosphorus are almost fully offset by its calcium and potassium, so whole milk is neutral at +0.1 per 100 ml. The common belief that milk is strongly acid-forming only applies, by PRAL, to cheese, where the protein is concentrated and the potassium drains off with the whey. In muesli or coffee, milk barely registers.
In the Dairy category, milk (3.7% fat) (raw) ranks #13 of 25, sorted from alkaline to acid-forming. More alkaline options include Milk, low-fat (+0.1), Cream (35% fat) (+0.1), Goat milk (+0.1). More acid-forming are Skim milk (+0.1), Greek yogurt (+0.2), Sour cream (+0.2).
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.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Is milk (3.7% fat) 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: Milk (3.7% fat) (raw) has a PRAL of +0.1 per 100 ml, so it counts as neutral in your daily acid-base balance.
Does milk (3.7% fat) count in the acid-base balance at all?
Hardly. At +0.1 per 100 ml, milk (3.7% fat) is in the neutral range between −0.5 and +0.5. You can eat it without shifting your balance.
Milk (3.7% Fat) 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 Dairy: Dairy 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.