Posted by cirsisue on August 27, 2000 at 09:40:47:
In Reply to: The 411 on citrus fruits posted by BabyHerp on August 25, 2000 at 11:02:06:
: According to my nutrition book, and various websites....the citric acid in citrus fruits like oranges have an alkaline (acid-neutralizing) affect NOT acid!! MK has reported that grapefruit is caustic to the mouth...NOT so! Citric acid does NOT cause mouth problems for humans OR reptile. Acetic acid (a true acid) found in numerous plants like parnsips, okra, grapes, strawberries,tomatoes etc. do have acidic properties. I think we just get confused because we read citric acid and immediately think "ooh its an acid"....citric acid is alkaline forming!! Iguanas need an alkaline gut...it would be more harmful feeding our iguanas a staple of asparagus than it would be to feed em oranges for instance. Does this mean we should never let our iguanas eat strawberries or parsnips, or other acidic foods ...no ...but variety, moderation, you know the routine...lolol Here's a link to Dr. Dukes Phytochemical & Ethnobotanical Database to see what foods produce acid reactions/types of true ACIDS. Click on the blue highlighted area to see examples of plant foods that are TRUE acidic foods
: Gina