Are Wheat Sprouts Acidic or Alkaline?
Wheat sprouts (fresh) are acid-forming: Positive PRAL: acid-forming after digestion.
Classification
Wheat sprouts come in at +5.0 and are acid-forming, unlike many sprouts. The grain keeps its phosphorus and protein as it sprouts and still takes up little water, so the value stays not far below that of raw wheat berries (+7.1). Soybean sprouts, for comparison, are at 0.0. A 10 g tablespoon sprinkled over your salad adds just +0.5.
In the Vegetables & Salad category, wheat sprouts (fresh) rank #109 of 110, sorted from alkaline to acid-forming. More alkaline options include Lentil sprouts (+2.7), Mushrooms (+2.5), Daikon radish sprouts (+2.4). More acid-forming are Spirulina powder (+15.4).
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.
What balances wheat sprouts
A serving (150 g) of wheat sprouts adds +7.5 to your daily balance. These three bring it back; the grams shown offset exactly this serving.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are wheat sprouts 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: Wheat sprouts (fresh) have a PRAL of +5.0 per 100 g, so they count as acid-forming in your daily acid-base balance.
How much banana offsets a serving (150 g) of wheat sprouts?
A serving (150 g) of wheat sprouts adds +7.5 to your daily balance. Banana (ripe) has −6.4 per 100 g, so about 120 g of banana offset this serving.
Do I have to avoid wheat sprouts on an alkaline diet?
No. What counts is the balance of the whole day, not a single food. Wheat sprouts are acid-forming; with enough vegetables, potatoes and fruit on the same plate, the meal stays balanced.
Wheat Sprouts 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.