Acidity of Foods

All foods can be classified as either acidic, alkaline or neutral. Acidity is measured in terms of pH of the food, which can range anywhere from 0 to 14. A pH of 0 implies high acidity and a pH of 14 implies that the food is basic or alkaline. pH of 7 which is the pH of distilled water implies that it is neutral, i.e. neither acidic nor alkaline. However an important thing to remember is that when we talk about acidity of any particular food, we refer to the effect that food has on our body. If, after consuming and digesting it, our body's pH levels turn acidic, then it is an acidic food. So the acidity of food refers to the effect the food has on the body, and not how it tastes to us.

Before we give you a list of acidic foods and their acidic content, let us discuss how acidity of foods affect the body. As we know the acidity or alkalinity of any food or drink is measured in pH. pH stands for potential of hydrogen. A food that leads to formation of acid in the body, contributes hydrogen ions to the body, making the body more acidic. An alkalizing food, on the other hand, removes hydrogen ions from the body, making the body more alkaline. For a healthy body, we need to regulate the acidity and alkalinity balance in our body.

List of Acidic Food

Given below is a chart of foods that are acidic.

Food	pH
Apple	3.9
Apple Sauce	3.6
Apricots	3.40
Apricot nectar	3.78
Artichoke canned	4.3
Bamboo shoots, preserved	3.5
Bananas	4.5
Basil pesto	4.9
Beets, canned	4.3
Blackberries	3.85
Blueberries	3.12
Buttermilk	4.41
Cabbage	5.3
Carrots	4.55
Cheese, mild	4.98
Cream cheese	4.10
Cherries	4.54
Cherries, Maraschino	3.47
Chili sauce	2.77
Crabapple jelly	2.93
Cranberry juice	2.52
Curry paste	4.60
Dill pickles	3.20
Figs, canned	4.9
Gelatin	2.6
Grapes	3.5
Grapefruit	3
Grenadine syrup	2.31
Guava jelly	3.73
Jackfruit	4.8
Tomato ketchup	3.89
Kumquat	3.64
Lemon juice	2.6
Mango	3.4
Maple syrup	4.6
Mint jelly	3.01
Muscadine	3.20
Mustard paste	3.55
Nectarines	3.92
Onions, pickled	3.70
Organ meat	3.0
Orange	3.6
Oysters	5.68
Peaches	3.30
Pears	3.5
Persimmons	4.42
Pineapple	3.20
Plum nectar	3.45
Prunes	3.63
Pumpkin	4.90
Quince jelly	3.7
Raisins	3.8
Raspberries	3.22
Red pepper relish	3.1
Rhubarb	3.4
Rice, white	2.5
Satay sauce	5
Sherry wine	3.37
Soy sauce	4.4
Strawberries	3.4
Straw mushroom	4.9
Tamarind	3.0
Tangerine	3.32
Tomatillo	3.83
Tomato	4.3
Tomato soup	4.62
Vegetable juice	3.9
Vegetable soup, clean	4.99
Veal	3.5
Vinegar	2.4

Foods that are highly acidic include pickled vegetables like pickled beet, onions, cucumbers and carrots. Processed food like processed cheese and meats are also high acid foods. Protein components like beef, pork, veal, shellfish as well as canned tuna and sardines are also highly acidic foods. In addition to these, beverages like coffee, black tea, red and white wine and beer raises the acid levels in your body. For a healthy body, diet should consist of 60 percent alkaline forming food and 40 percent acid forming food.

A very common misconception that most people have is that foods that tastes sour like citrus fruits are acidic. But this is quite wrong, because the taste of any food is not an indication of how it would react once it is digested. A sour fruit may become an alkaline forming product once it is digested. Corn syrup is sweet to taste, but when it is digested in the stomach it forms acid due to the high concentration of sugar.

Many people follow an alkaline diet because when the pH of the body becomes too acidic, the body becomes more susceptible to diseases. Fatigue, weight gain, cardiovascular diseases, nerve problems and muscle degeneration might take place when an optimal level of pH in the body is not maintained. Consuming non acidic foods or low acidic foods is one of the best ways to maintain ideal pH levels in the body.