Is Spinach Acidic or Alkaline?
Spinach (fresh) is strongly alkaline: Negative PRAL: alkalizing after digestion. Alkaline. Spinach is the most alkaline common vegetable in the database, with a PRAL of −12.2 per 100 g fresh and −12.9 cooked, and one serving nearly offsets a complete meat dish.
Classification
Fresh spinach is strongly alkaline at −12.2, driven by lots of potassium and magnesium with hardly any protein. Cooked, it's even a bit more alkaline at −12.9, because the leaves collapse and more of them end up on your plate per 100 g. Canned spinach keeps only −5.0. A 50 g handful of raw leaves in a salad adds about −6.
In the Vegetables & Salad category, spinach (fresh) ranks #5 of 110, sorted from alkaline to acid-forming. More alkaline options include Stinging nettle (−12.6), Seaweed (−18.6), Sun-dried tomato (−53.8). More acid-forming are Kale (−11.7), Purslane (−10.3), Dandelion greens (−9.7).
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.
Spinach: fresh, cooked, canned
Same food, different state. All values per 100 g.
Goes well with
Frequently Asked Questions
Is spinach 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: Spinach (fresh) has a PRAL of −12.2 per 100 g, so it counts as strongly alkaline in your daily acid-base balance.
How much spinach do I need for a noticeable effect?
One serving of leaf spinach (150 g) of spinach adds −18.2 to your daily balance. For comparison: an egg is around +5.4, a slice of cheese around +6. So one serving of spinach roughly offsets one of them.
Why is spinach alkaline even though it is not a typical alkaline food?
The PRAL depends on the minerals left over after digestion, not on taste or pH. Spinach provides more potassium, magnesium and calcium than phosphorus and protein, so the balance is negative (−12.2).
Spinach, fresh or cooked: which is more alkaline?
Spinach (fresh) is at −12.2, Spinach (cooked) at −12.9. So the "cooked" version is more alkaline. Differences come from water content, cooking water or concentration during drying.
Spinach 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.