Does An Alkaline Diet Protect You From Covid? No, Experts Rubbish Viral Advisory, Call Claims Unscientific

Amid the recent spurt in Covid cases across India, an “advisory” is going viral with the claim that consuming alkaline foods (those having a pH greater than 7) will help increase your body’s pH level and ultimately protect you from the coronavirus as it does not infect organisms with a pH greater than 5.5. The claim further goes on to list food items with a purportedly high pH level, including lemon, avocado, mango, and orange, among others.

We received multiple claims on our Whatsapp tipline (+91-9999499044), with users requesting us to fact-check it.

Fact Check

Newschecker first noticed that the pH levels attributed to the food items listed in the graphic are wildly inaccurate, considering all of them are acidic and not alkaline. For example: lemon’s pH level was stated as 9.9 when it is actually between 2 and 3.

Similarly, avocado’s actual pH range is 6.27 to 6.58, contradicting the viral figure of 15.6. Garlic’s pH level is 5.80, not 13.2, while mango’s pH level is 4.10-5.90 and not 8.7 as claimed. The pH levels of oranges, tangerines and pineapples reportedly range between 3.60 and 3.90, far from the 8.0-12.7 range specified in the viral graphic.

We reached out to Dr Pankaj Nand Choudhary, senior consultant at the department of internal medicine, Max Super Speciality Hospital, Vaishali, who said that the viral advisory claiming that alkaline foods raise body pH and prevent coronavirus infection is scientifically unfounded and misleading.

“The human body’s pH level is tightly regulated, as in that it is maintained between 7.35 and 7.45 by complex physiological mechanisms involving the lungs, kidneys, and buffer systems. Diet cannot significantly alter blood pH and any deviation outside this range is a medical emergency (acidosis or alkalosis), not something influenced by what we eat,” clarified Dr Choudhary, adding that there is no credible evidence that coronavirus infectivity is influenced by the host’s systemic pH. “The virus targets ACE2 receptors primarily in the respiratory tract, and its entry is facilitated by viral spike protein mechanisms — not modifiable by diet-based pH shifts,” Dr Choudhary said, stating that while a healthy diet supports general immunity, it cannot “alkalise” the body or directly prevent viral infections.

Dr Choudhary further said that the pH of foods (e.g. lemon, orange, mango) refers to their acidity or alkalinity before digestion. “Many so-called “alkaline foods” like lemon (pH ~2) and orange (pH ~3.5) are acidic in nature, not alkaline. However, some of them are classified as “alkaline-forming” because of the residue they leave post-metabolism — not because they increase body pH,” he said, adding that such advisories promote false security and may distract from evidence-based preventive measures like vaccination, masking, ventilation, and hygiene.

Newschecker learnt that the claim that alkaline foods will fight off Covid had gone viral during the pandemic in 2020 and resurfaced during every surge in cases across the world, even as experts have repeatedly dismissed the theory as unscientific. “Experts from University of California state that a virus itself cannot have a pH. According to medical science, pH is something that is applicable to a water-based solution, and virus is definitely not the one. And it is not possible that a diet can change the pH level of your blood cells or tissue. The body regulates pH levels, it’s not something that a person would want to change,” read this Times of India report, dated May 6, 2021, adding that it is suggested that one should have alkaline foods daily to keep the concept of balanced diet intact and prevent acidity and related digestion issues.  Some examples of alkaline foods are non-starchy vegetables, fruits, nuts such as apples, cherries, chestnuts or pumpkin seeds, and legumes like kidney beans or white beans

The same advisory was debunked last year by the Australian Associated Press (AAP) FactCheck, citing experts, who reiterated that Covid is not affected by bodily acidity and that eating alkaline foods will not provide any direct protection against the virus.  “Looking at the screenshot, it’s not even using scientific nomenclature: pH is written PH, and lemons, replete with citric acid, are definitely not alkaline as claimed,” Dr Chris Smith, a clinical virologist at Cambridge University and the founder of a UK-based group of science communicators called The Naked Scientists, told AAP, adding that while some viruses relied on exposure to stomach acid in order to infect the intestine, respiratory infections “are not seeing stomach contents”. “And while what you eat does affect overall health and therefore resilience and susceptibility to infection, it’s garbage to claim that it’s anything to do with pH,” he reportedly said.

Similarly, we came across this AFP Fact Check report, dated April 24, 2020, debunking a text variation of the viral graphic, where Professor Dr Lee Yeong Yeh, a gastroenterologist at the School of Medical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, said, “Eating alkaline foods does not alter pH in human cells or the virus. Alkaline diet, typically vegetables and fruits, provides potassium and magnesium in addition to fibres and prebiotic properties. However, the diet won’t affect cellular pH since pH is highly regulated by the cellular system. Viruses like SARS-CoV-2 that causes COVID19, depend on cellular pH to reproduce. Certain drugs may affect cellular pH and therefore help in killing the virus but diet does not.” 

Newschecker also came across this study published in the Clinical Oncology Journal, dated December 29, 2021, and headlined, “The Alkaline Foods and its Relation with Immunity and COVID-19 Virus during Quarantine Time”. “The British Dietetic Association (BDA) has stated no specific food or supplements can prevent a person from catching Covid-19. Alongside WHO advice, the BDA encourages people to consume a healthy, balanced diet to support the immune system,” read the study.

Also Read: Wayanad Congress Uses Rahul Gandhi’s Portrait To Observe Rajiv Gandhi’s Death Anniversary? No, Viral Photo Is From Old Onam Event

UPDATE ON 28/05/2025: Newschecker also reached out to one of India’s top virologists, Dr Gagandeep Kang, Director of Enteric, Diagnostics, Genomics, and Epidemiology, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, who, too, confirmed that the that the foods listed are mainly acidic and that the pH estimates are wrong.

“However, there is no evidence that a diet with foods of a particular pH prevents Covid-19 or any other infections. Two things to remember, one, the body’s systems require a certain pH to function so a stable pH is maintained in internal organs irrespective of pH of food eaten. Second, a balanced diet and avoidance of obesity are the best considerations to reduce the risk of any infectious disease,” Dr Kang told Newschecker.

Conclusion

The viral claim that eating alkaline foods can prevent or cure Covid-19 was deemed unscientific by experts who confirmed that eating such foods does not provide any direct protection against the virus.

Sources
Conversation with Dr Pankaj Nand Choudhary, senior consultant at the department of internal medicine, Max Super Speciality Hospital, Vaishali
Master List of Typical pH and Acid Content of Fruits and Vegetables
AAP report, February 1, 2024
AFP report, April 24, 2020
Times of India report, May 6, 2021
Clinical Oncology Journal study, December 29, 2021