It has become one of our missions to educate and answer this question for as many people as possible. It was so confusing when we first started out and it frustrates us that there are still millions of people worldwide confused by this – or worse – following bad advice and are eating the wrong things!

Firstly – here is our Avocado Ninja list of alkaline foods and acid foods. Our list is based upon the research and theories by researchers in the alkaline diet field.

We know it is quite confusing to see such differences in the charts. This amount of conflicting information is the main reason we set up Avocado Ninja and we believe our chart (based on over 40,000 live blood tests) is the most accurate.

The reason that other charts show such disparity is because they base their classifications on the readings for the Potential Renal Acid Load research (PRAL). This is not an accurate source for this purpose. The reason for this is, to test for PRAL they basically burn the food at an extreme temperature and then take a read of the ‘ash’ that is left behind and what it’s pH is.

While this does give a read of its alkalinity from the mineral content of the food, this is only half the picture. By burning it at such a high temperature they also burn away all of the most acid-causing content of the food, namely sugar. That is why on some charts high sugar fruits are listed as alkaline. Bananas for instance are high in the alkaline mineral potassium, BUT they are also 25% sugar which makes them very acidifying when we consume them.

Through testing the blood with live blood analysis of over 40,000 people and seeing first hand the effect different foods have on the body, this classification of acid/alkaline foods is really the most accurate and the most relevant to the effect foods have on our pH levels. (by the way, the blog post is answering the top 10 alkaline diet questions – so feel free to have a read)

So, basically, the main difference between the alkaline food charts comes down to one simple thing:

Some charts determine acidity or alkalinity on the food before it is consumed & others (like ours) are more interested in the effect the food has on the body after it has been consumed.

Some stand out examples include fruit, such as banana – but another great example is the low sugar fruits such as tomato and lemon. These are listed under the PRAL charts as acidic, and in their natural state they are – but they are very, very alkalising once consumed and are a really integral part of the alkaline diet – featuring in hundreds and hundreds of recipes.

Click here for our list of alkaline foods and acid foods – it is a full online resource with explanations, a printer-friendly, stick-on-the-fridge cheat sheet and a super-large list of acid and alkaline foods. It’s awesome.