Is Button Mushroom Acidic or Alkaline?
Mushroom, button (fresh) is alkaline: Negative PRAL: alkalizing after digestion.
Classification
Button mushrooms are just barely alkaline at −0.5: they contain a lot of water and potassium, but for a vegetable also quite a bit of protein and phosphorus, so the two almost cancel out. Chanterelles are much lower. You can use them generously in the pan. The cream, cheese or meat alongside determines the balance of the dish.
In the Vegetables & Salad category, button mushroom (fresh) ranks #99 of 110, sorted from alkaline to acid-forming. More alkaline options include Mung bean sprouts (−0.7), Garlic (−0.8), Black olive (−0.9). More acid-forming are Soybean sprouts (0.0), Pumpkin, sweet and sour pickled (+0.2), Artichoke (+0.8).
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 button mushroom 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: Mushroom, button (fresh) has a PRAL of −0.5 per 100 g, so it counts as alkaline in your daily acid-base balance.
How much button mushroom do I need for a noticeable effect?
A serving (150 g) of button mushroom adds −0.8 to your daily balance. For comparison: an egg is around +5.4, a slice of cheese around +6. So one serving of button mushroom roughly offsets one of them.
Why is button mushroom 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. Mushroom, button provides more potassium, magnesium and calcium than phosphorus and protein, so the balance is negative (−0.5).
Mushroom, Button 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 Vegetables & Salad: Vegetables & Salad 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.