|  | Diet Nutrition | Nutrition

Which Fruits Contains the Largest Quantity of Acid?

A crucial component to eating a healthy and balanced diet involves monitoring your acid intake. Foods that are very acidic can upset your stomach and irritate your digestive system, and it is important to be aware of certain foods that contain high amounts of acid. Although fruits are mostly acidic, they have a great range of acidity.

  1. Measurement

    • The acidity of fruits can be measured in a variety of ways. The standard form of measurement for fruits is pH, which operates on a scale of 1 to 14. A pH of 7 is neutral; anything below 7 is considered acidic. Fruits, for the most part, fall below 7 on the scale, although some exceptions of non-acidic fruits include avocados, pears, tomatoes, grapes and figs.

    Highly Acidic Fruits

    • Fruits with the most acid include cranberries, olives, bananas (if they have green tips), grapefruits, limes, oranges, lemons, tangerines, kumquats and kiwifruit. Most of these fruits fall under the citrus fruit category. In addition to oranges, many orange derivates, such as tangerines, clementines, mandarin and tangelo, are highly acidic citrus fruits. These fruits typically also contain the highest amounts of vitamin C and vitamin B, which provides the body with energy.

    Health Effects of Acidic Fruits

    • Consuming acidic fruits, in moderation, has numerous health benefits. Acidic fruits contribute to healthy skin, hair and eyes.

      These fruits can play a good role in the body's natural recovery process, in which the body uses certain chemical compounds in the fruit to repair itself. Although these fruits are good for the natural repairing process, they should not be consumed when a person has a cold or the flu, because they may also dehydrate the body.

    Other Acidic Fruit Concoctions

    • In addition to the list of fruits that contain a lot of acid, certain fruits, when preserved or prepared, can be highly acidic. Almost all preserved fruit and jellies are highly acidic. In addition, canned, sugared, sulphered, dried, glazed and fruits with added sugar have higher pH than other fruits. If you do wish to consume some of these more acidic fruits, then you can always put them on bread, crackers or rice cakes in order to reduce the acidity of the snack.

Nutrition - Related Articles