Are Your Favorite Foods Too Acidic?

You may think you need to load up on calcium, but the real secret to preventing osteoporosis is a diet packed with foods that help alkalize the body and low in foods that are acidic. A high-protein diet makes your body more acidic (doctors measure this by testing your urine), whereas lots of fruits and veggies help maintain more alkalinity in your body.
This table shows how some common foods affect urinary acidity—expressed in milliequivalents (mEq), a standard chemical measure. Positive numbers indicate that the food makes urine acidic: The higher the number, the higher the acidity. Negative numbers indicate that the food makes urine more alkaline.

Fruits & Juices
Apple juice................................................ 0.1............................. -2.2
Apple........................................................ 0.4............................. -2.2
Apricots.................................................... 0.9............................. -4.8
Apricots, dried.......................................... 3.4............................ -21.7
Avocados.................................................. 2.0............................. -8.2
Bananas..................................................... 1.2............................. -5.5
Cherries..................................................... 0.9............................. -3.6
Figs, dried................................................. 3.3........................... -14.0
Grape juice................................................ 0.3............................. -1.0
Kiwi.......................................................... 1.1............................. -4.1
Lemon juice............................................... 0.3............................. -2.5
Orange juice.............................................. 0.5............................. -2.9
Oranges..................................................... 1.1............................. -2.7
Peaches..................................................... 1.0............................. -2.4
Pears.......................................................... 0.3............................ -2.9
Plums, dried (prunes).................................. 2.2........................... -13.4
Pineapple................................................... 0.4............................. -2.7
Raisins....................................................... 2.1........................... -21.0
Strawberries.............................................. 0.8............................. -2.2
Watermelon............................................... 0.5............................. -1.9

Vegetables
Artichokes, boiled..................................... 2.9............................. -4.7
Asparagus................................................. 2.9............................. -0.4
Broccoli..................................................... 4.4............................. -1.2
Cabbage.................................................... 1.2............................. -4.7
Carrots...................................................... 0.7............................. -4.9
Cauliflower................................................ 3.6............................. -4.0
Celery........................................................ 0.5............................ -5.2
Chard, cooked.......................................... 1.9........................... -12.4
Corn (sweet)............................................. 3.2............................. -1.8
Cucumber.................................................. 0.7............................. -0.8
Eggplant.................................................... 0.9............................. -3.4
Kale.......................................................... 3.3............................. -8.3
Leeks........................................................ 1.6............................. -1.8
Lettuce (leaf)............................................. 0.8............................. -2.5
Lettuce (iceberg)....................................... 0.7............................. -1.6
Mushrooms (white)................................... 1.8............................. -1.4
Mushrooms (Portobello)............................ 4.3............................. -3.7
Onions...................................................... 1.2............................. -1.5
Pepper (green).......................................... 0.8............................. -1.4
Pepper (red)............................................. 1.0............................. -3.4
Potatoes (russet)........................................ 2.1............................ -4.0
Potatoes (red with skin)............................ 2.3............................. -7.1
Radish....................................................... 0.7............................ -3.7
Snap peas.................................................. 2.8............................ -2.0
Spinach..................................................... 2.8........................... -14.0
Sweet potato (baked with skin)................ 2.0............................. -8.2
Tomato juice............................................. 0.8............................. -2.8
Tomatoes................................................... 0.7............................ -3.1
Zucchini.................................................... 1.8............................. -4.6

Beans
Baked beans, canned, vegetarian............... 4.8............................ -0.8
Black beans, cooked................................. 8.2............................ -1.5
Chickpeas (garbanzo)................................ 8.9............................. 2.6
Green beans.............................................. 1.9............................ -3.1
Kidney beans............................................ 8.7............................ -0.7
Lentils (green & brown)............................ 24.3............................ 3.5
Peas.......................................................... 6.9............................. 1.2
Pinto beans, cooked.................................. 9.0............................ -1.2
Soybeans, cooked................................... 16.6............................. 2.8
Tempeh, cooked...................................... 18.2............................. 6.6
Tofu, firm.................................................. 8.2............................ -0.3
Veggie burger (soy-based)...................... 15.7.............................. 5.1

Nuts
Cashews................................................. 18.2............................. 6.4
Coconut (raw)......................................... 3.3............................. -2.7
Hazelnuts................................................ 14.1............................ -2.8
Peanuts................................................... 25.6............................. 8.3
Pecans..................................................... 9.2.............................. 2.2
Pistachios................................................ 21.4............................. 2.0
Walnuts................................................... 14.7............................. 6.8

Beverages
Beer........................................................... 0.3............................ -0.2
Coca-Cola................................................. 0.0.............................. 0.4
Cocoa (low-fat milk)................................. 3.5............................. -0.4
Coffee....................................................... 0.2............................. -1.4
Mineral water............................................ 0.0............................. -0.1
Red wine................................................... 0.2............................. -2.4
Soymilk, with calcium................................ 2.9.............................. 0.0
Tea............................................................ 0.1............................. -0.3
White wine................................................ 0.1............................. -1.2

Flesh Foods
Beef (lean).............................................. 20.3.............................. 7.8
Chicken (no skin).................................... 20.5.............................. 8.7
Cod......................................................... 17.4.............................. 7.1
Corned beef............................................ 26.9........................... .13.2
Haddock................................................. 16.8.............................. 6.8
Herring.................................................... 16.8.............................. 7.0
Hot dogs................................................... 9.5.............................. 6.7
Pork (lean)............................................... 20.7............................. 7.9
Salami..................................................... 19.3............................ 11.6
Trout....................................................... 23.5............................ 10.8
Turkey (no skin)...................................... 21.9.............................. 9.9
Veal......................................................... 21.1.............................. 9.0

Cheese
American cheese (processed).................. 20.8............................ 28.7
Camembert cheese.................................. 20.9............................ 14.6
Cheddar cheese....................................... 31.5............................ 26.4
Cheese (average of several)..................... 24.7............................ 19.2
Cottage cheese........................................ 13.8.............................. 8.7
Gouda cheese.......................................... 24.0............................ 18.6
Parmesan cheese..................................... 39.4............................ 34.2

Milk and Other Dairy Foods
Buttermilk................................................. 3.5.............................. 0.5
Cream (fresh, sour)................................... 2.9.............................. 1.2
Ice cream (vanilla)..................................... 3.6.............................. 0.6
Milk (whole, evaporated).......................... 8.4.............................. 1.1
Milk (whole)............................................. 3.2.............................. 0.7
Yogurt (whole milk, fruit).......................... 5.1.............................. 1.2
Yogurt (whole milk, plain)......................... 5.7.............................. 1.5

Eggs
Eggs (whole)........................................... 12.5.............................. 8.2
Egg whites................................................ 9.0.............................. 1.1
Egg yolks................................................ 16.1............................ 23.4

Grains
Bread, mixed flours.................................. 6.2.............................. 3.8
Bread, rye................................................. 6.8.............................. 4.1
Bread, whole wheat.................................. 7.0.............................. 1.8
Bread, white............................................. 8.4.............................. 3.7
Cornflakes................................................ 7.9.............................. 6.0
Crackers (rye).......................................... 9.4.............................. 3.3
Egg noodles............................................. 12.1............................ 16.4
Flour, white............................................... 9.4.............................. 6.9
Flour, whole wheat.................................. 12.7.............................. 8.2
Oats (rolled, dry)..................................... 12.5............................ 10.7
Quinoa, cooked........................................ 4.4.............................. 0.2
Rice, brown (dry)..................................... 6.7............................ 12.5
Rice, white (dry)...................................... 7.3.............................. 4.6
Spaghetti, white....................................... 12.0............................. 6.5
Spaghetti, whole wheat............................ 13.4............................. 7.3

Note: Some foods that seem acidic make the urine (and blood) more alkaline. For example, oranges are rich in vitamin C, ascorbic acid. But as oranges are metabolized, their net effect is alkaline (-2.7).

Source: Remer, T. and F. Manz. “Potential Renal Acid Loads of Foods and Its Influence on Urine pH,” Journal of the American Dietetic Association (1995) 95:791.

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