Is Potato Starch Acidic or Alkaline?
Potato starch (raw) is neutral: PRAL close to zero: hardly shifts your acid-base balance.
Classification
Potato starch is neutral at −0.4. When the starch is washed out of the tuber, protein and almost all of the potassium are lost with the water, leaving nearly pure starch. In terms of minerals, it has little in common with the potato. A tablespoon to thicken a sauce is meaningless for your balance.
In the Grains, Bread & Pasta category, potato starch (raw) ranks #6 of 121, sorted from alkaline to acid-forming. More alkaline options include Sweet corn (−1.0), Muesli, classic (−1.6), Corn, whole kernel (−2.1). More acid-forming are Buckwheat bread (+0.2), Sweet corn (+0.7), Corn starch (+1.0).
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 potato starch 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 starch (raw) has a PRAL of −0.4 per 100 g, so it counts as neutral in your daily acid-base balance.
Does potato starch count in the acid-base balance at all?
Hardly. At −0.4 per 100 g, potato starch is in the neutral range between −0.5 and +0.5. You can eat it without shifting your balance.
Potato Starch 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 Grains, Bread & Pasta: Grains, Bread & Pasta 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.