Are Oatmeal Cookies Acidic or Alkaline?
Oatmeal cookies (baked) are acid-forming: Positive PRAL: acid-forming after digestion.
Classification
Oatmeal cookies come in at +7.8, even higher than plain rolled oats. Besides oats, the dough contains wheat flour and often dairy ingredients, which add protein and phosphorus. So the healthy reputation of oats doesn't carry over to the cookie. Two with your coffee barely show up in your daily balance. The 448 kcal per 100 g do show up if you eat half a pack.
In the Sweets & Snacks category, oatmeal cookies (baked) rank #85 of 91, sorted from alkaline to acid-forming. More alkaline options include Marble cake (+7.4), Cream puff (+6.6), Rusk / Twice-baked bread (+6.3). More acid-forming are Peanut flips (+8.0), Cupcake (+8.1), Pound cake (+8.1).
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 oatmeal cookies
A small serving (40 g) of oatmeal cookies adds +3.1 to your daily balance. These three bring it back; the grams shown offset exactly this serving.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are oatmeal cookies 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: Oatmeal cookies (baked) have a PRAL of +7.8 per 100 g, so they count as acid-forming in your daily acid-base balance.
How much kale offsets a small serving (40 g) of oatmeal cookies?
A small serving (40 g) of oatmeal cookies adds +3.1 to your daily balance. Kale (fresh) has −11.7 per 100 g, so about 30 g of kale offset this serving.
Do I have to avoid oatmeal cookies on an alkaline diet?
No. What counts is the balance of the whole day, not a single food. Oatmeal cookies are acid-forming; with enough vegetables, potatoes and fruit on the same plate, the meal stays balanced.
Oatmeal Cookies 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 Sweets & Snacks: Sweets & Snacks 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.