Are Potato Chips (Sour Cream & Onion) Acidic or Alkaline?
Potato chips (sour cream & onion) (prepared) are strongly alkaline: Negative PRAL: alkalizing after digestion.
Classification
Sour cream and onion chips come in at −17.0, level with plain chips. The potassium comes from the potato, which loses its water during frying. The seasoning powder of milk powder, onion and herbs is too small in quantity to change that. At 526 kcal per 100 g, the snack stays energy-dense, and by design the PRAL doesn't see fat or salt.
In the Sweets & Snacks category, potato chips (sour cream & onion) (prepared) rank #5 of 91, sorted from alkaline to acid-forming. More alkaline options include Cocoa powder (alkalized) (−31.7), Cocoa powder, baking (−35.7). More acid-forming are Sweet potato chips (−15.0), Banana chips (−10.2), Dark chocolate (−6.1).
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.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Are potato chips (sour cream & onion) 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: Potato chips (sour cream & onion) (prepared) have a PRAL of −17.0 per 100 g, so they count as strongly alkaline in your daily acid-base balance.
How much potato chips (sour cream & onion) do I need for a noticeable effect?
A small serving (40 g) of potato chips (sour cream & onion) adds −6.8 to your daily balance. For comparison: an egg is around +5.4, a slice of cheese around +6. So one serving of potato chips (sour cream & onion) roughly offsets one of them.
Why are potato chips (sour cream & onion) alkaline even though they are not typical alkaline foods?
The PRAL depends on the minerals left over after digestion, not on taste or pH. Potato chips (sour cream & onion) provide more potassium, magnesium and calcium than phosphorus and protein, so the balance is negative (−17.0).
Potato Chips (Sour Cream & Onion) logged, balance checked.
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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.