Is Sea Buckthorn Berry Acidic or Alkaline?
Sea buckthorn berry (fresh) is alkaline: Negative PRAL: alkalizing after digestion.
Classification
Sea buckthorn berries come in at −2.5, which makes them alkaline, even though they taste distinctly sour: the fruit acids are metabolized, and the berries' potassium remains. Hardly anyone eats them raw. They usually end up as juice, purée or syrup. Sweetened with sugar, the value per 100 g is diluted, but the direction stays alkaline.
In the Fruit category, sea buckthorn berry (fresh) ranks #64 of 80, sorted from alkaline to acid-forming. More alkaline options include Lime (−2.5), Grapefruit (−2.6), Pineapple (−2.6). More acid-forming are Blackberry (−2.4), Mandarin (−2.3), Pear (−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.
Goes well with
Frequently Asked Questions
Is sea buckthorn berry 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: Sea buckthorn berry (fresh) has a PRAL of −2.5 per 100 g, so it counts as alkaline in your daily acid-base balance.
How much sea buckthorn berry do I need for a noticeable effect?
One piece or a handful (120 g) of sea buckthorn berry adds −3.0 to your daily balance. For comparison: an egg is around +5.4, a slice of cheese around +6. So one serving of sea buckthorn berry roughly offsets one of them.
Why is sea buckthorn berry alkaline even though it tastes sour?
The PRAL depends on the minerals left over after digestion, not on taste or pH. Sea buckthorn berry provides more potassium, magnesium and calcium than phosphorus and protein, so the balance is negative (−2.5).
Sea Buckthorn Berry 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.
Free for Android · iPhone coming soon
Compare all Fruit: Fruit 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.