Is Orange Juice Acidic or Alkaline?
Orange juice (raw) is alkaline: Negative PRAL: alkalizing after digestion.
Classification
Orange juice is alkaline at −2.4 per 100 ml, almost as low as the whole fruit, because the potassium goes into the juice during pressing. What you lose is mainly fiber. A 200 ml glass adds about −5 and 82 kcal, as much as a large orange, just without the feeling of fullness.
In the Drinks category, orange juice (raw) ranks #7 of 80, sorted from alkaline to acid-forming. More alkaline options include Pineapple juice (−2.6), Smoothie, purple (fruits) (−3.1), Carrot juice (−3.8). More acid-forming are Coffee, decaffeinated (−2.3), Coffee, black (−2.3), Lemon juice (−2.3).
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 orange juice 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: Orange juice (raw) has a PRAL of −2.4 per 100 ml, so it counts as alkaline in your daily acid-base balance.
How much orange juice do I need for a noticeable effect?
A glass (200 ml) of orange juice adds −4.9 to your daily balance. For comparison: an egg is around +5.4, a slice of cheese around +6. So one serving of orange juice roughly offsets one of them.
Why is orange juice 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. Orange juice provides more potassium, magnesium and calcium than phosphorus and protein, so the balance is negative (−2.4).
Orange Juice 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 Drinks: Drinks 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.