Is Tonic Water Acidic or Alkaline?
Tonic water (prepared) is neutral: PRAL close to zero: hardly shifts your acid-base balance.
Classification
In the glass, tonic water is neutral at −0.2 per 100 ml. It is made of water, sugar, carbonation and a little quinine, so it has almost nothing that counts in the PRAL formula. Its bitterness has nothing to do with acid in the PRAL sense. In a gin and tonic it leaves the balance untouched, but the 41 kcal per 100 ml from sugar add up over several glasses.
In the Drinks category, tonic water (prepared) ranks #55 of 80, sorted from alkaline to acid-forming. More alkaline options include Wheat beer (−0.2), Green tea (−0.2), Radler (beer with lemonade) (−0.2). More acid-forming are Iced tea (lemon, sweetened) (−0.2), Orange soda (−0.2), Kombucha (plain) (−0.1).
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.
Goes well with
Frequently Asked Questions
Is tonic water 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: Tonic water (prepared) has a PRAL of −0.2 per 100 ml, so it counts as neutral in your daily acid-base balance.
Does tonic water count in the acid-base balance at all?
Hardly. At −0.2 per 100 ml, tonic water is in the neutral range between −0.5 and +0.5. You can eat it without shifting your balance.
Tonic Water 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 Drinks: Drinks 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.