Is Thousand Island Dressing Acidic or Alkaline?
Thousand island dressing (prepared) is alkaline: Negative PRAL: alkalizing after digestion.
Classification
Thousand Island dressing sits at −1.7 per 100 ml and is slightly alkaline because tomato paste and pickles bring potassium, and the oil base adds no acid load. At 210 kcal per 100 ml, it's still often the richest part of the salad, which the PRAL value doesn't tell you. Two tablespoons, about 30 ml, add roughly −0.5.
In the Herbs, Spices & Sauces category, thousand island dressing (prepared) ranks #47 of 75, sorted from alkaline to acid-forming. More alkaline options include Mushroom gravy (−1.8), Apple cider vinegar (−2.0), Sea salt (−2.0). More acid-forming are Sauce Tabasco (−1.7), Honey mustard dressing (−1.3), Italian dressing (−1.3).
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 thousand island dressing 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: Thousand island dressing (prepared) has a PRAL of −1.7 per 100 ml, so it counts as alkaline in your daily acid-base balance.
How much thousand island dressing do I need for a noticeable effect?
A teaspoon (5 g) of thousand island dressing adds −0.1 to your daily balance. For comparison: an egg is around +5.4, a slice of cheese around +6. So one serving of thousand island dressing roughly offsets one of them.
Why is thousand island dressing 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. Thousand island dressing provides more potassium, magnesium and calcium than phosphorus and protein, so the balance is negative (−1.7).
Thousand Island Dressing 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 Herbs, Spices & Sauces: Herbs, Spices & Sauces 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.