Is Puffed Rice Cereal Acidic or Alkaline?
Puffed rice cereal (raw) is acid-forming: Positive PRAL: acid-forming after digestion.
Classification
Puffed rice comes in at +6.0, because puffing removes the water and leaves the grain's protein and phosphorus concentrated per 100 g. A 30 g bowl, however, comes to only about +1.8. The milk you add counts at least as much, and banana or berries on top push your breakfast back a bit toward neutral.
In the Grains, Bread & Pasta category, puffed rice cereal (raw) ranks #81 of 121, sorted from alkaline to acid-forming. More alkaline options include Couscous (durum) (+5.9), Amaranth (+5.9), Spaghetti (+5.8). More acid-forming are Spelt bread (+6.1), Green spelt (+6.1), Durum wheat semolina (+6.2).
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 puffed rice cereal
A dry serving (50 g) of puffed rice cereal adds +3.0 to your daily balance. These three bring it back; the grams shown offset exactly this serving.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is puffed rice cereal 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: Puffed rice cereal (raw) has a PRAL of +6.0 per 100 g, so it counts as acid-forming in your daily acid-base balance.
How much kale offsets a dry serving (50 g) of puffed rice cereal?
A dry serving (50 g) of puffed rice cereal adds +3.0 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 puffed rice cereal on an alkaline diet?
No. What counts is the balance of the whole day, not a single food. Puffed rice cereal is acid-forming; with enough vegetables, potatoes and fruit on the same plate, the meal stays balanced.
Puffed Rice Cereal logged, balance checked.
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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.