Is Vegetable Broth Powder Acidic or Alkaline?
Vegetable broth, powder (dried) is strongly alkaline: Negative PRAL: alkalizing after digestion.
Classification
Vegetable broth powder is made of salt, dried vegetables, yeast extract and spices, and the dried vegetables bring concentrated potassium: −14.1 per 100 g. All that salt doesn't count in the PRAL, because sodium is not part of the formula. In practice you dissolve just a spoonful in a whole pot of water, so the finished broth is only mildly alkaline.
In the Herbs, Spices & Sauces category, vegetable broth powder (dried) ranks #19 of 75, sorted from alkaline to acid-forming. More alkaline options include Bay leaf (−17.2), Curry powder (−17.3), Anise (−18.2). More acid-forming are Dill (−13.1), Miso (soybean paste) (−13.0), Agar-agar (−9.8).
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 vegetable broth powder 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: Vegetable broth, powder (dried) has a PRAL of −14.1 per 100 g, so it counts as strongly alkaline in your daily acid-base balance.
How much vegetable broth powder do I need for a noticeable effect?
A teaspoon (5 g) of vegetable broth powder adds −0.7 to your daily balance. For comparison: an egg is around +5.4, a slice of cheese around +6. So one serving of vegetable broth powder roughly offsets one of them.
Why is vegetable broth powder 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. Vegetable broth, powder provides more potassium, magnesium and calcium than phosphorus and protein, so the balance is negative (−14.1).
Vegetable Broth, Powder 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.