Are Soup Greens Acidic or Alkaline?
Soup greens (fresh) are strongly alkaline: Negative PRAL: alkalizing after digestion.
Classification
Soup greens come in at −6.5 because carrot, celery, leek and parsley together supply a lot of potassium with little protein. As a base for broth, they release some of their minerals into the water, and the soup benefits as long as you eat it too. 300 g of soup greens in a stew add about −20 to the whole pot.
In the Vegetables & Salad category, soup greens (fresh) rank #20 of 110, sorted from alkaline to acid-forming. More alkaline options include Potato (−6.5), Potato (−6.6), Rhubarb (−6.8). More acid-forming are Carrot (−6.3), Lettuce (−6.2), Broccoli (−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 soup greens 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: Soup greens (fresh) have a PRAL of −6.5 per 100 g, so they count as strongly alkaline in your daily acid-base balance.
How much soup greens do I need for a noticeable effect?
A serving (150 g) of soup greens adds −9.8 to your daily balance. For comparison: an egg is around +5.4, a slice of cheese around +6. So one serving of soup greens roughly offsets one of them.
Why are soup greens alkaline even though they are not typical alkaline foods?
The PRAL depends on the minerals left over after digestion, not on taste or pH. Soup greens provide more potassium, magnesium and calcium than phosphorus and protein, so the balance is negative (−6.5).
Soup Greens 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 Vegetables & Salad: Vegetables & Salad 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.