Is Olive Oil Acidic or Alkaline?
Olive oil (raw) is neutral: PRAL close to zero: hardly shifts your acid-base balance.
Classification
Olive oil is almost pure fat without protein, phosphorus or notable minerals, so it lands at 0.0. For your acid-base balance it makes no difference whether you dress your salad with oil or not. What the oil does do: it makes vegetables tastier, and then you usually eat more of them.
In the Oils & Fats category, olive oil (raw) ranks #18 of 22, sorted from alkaline to acid-forming. More alkaline options include Grapeseed oil (0.0), Rapeseed oil (0.0), Palm oil (0.0). More acid-forming are Lard (+0.1), Clarified butter (+0.1), Butter (+0.9).
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 olive oil 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: Olive oil (raw) has a PRAL of 0.0 per 100 ml, so it counts as neutral in your daily acid-base balance.
Does olive oil count in the acid-base balance at all?
Hardly. At 0.0 per 100 ml, olive oil is in the neutral range between −0.5 and +0.5. You can eat it without shifting your balance.
Olive Oil 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 Oils & Fats: Oils & Fats 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.