Vitamin C in a parrot's diet

[Pajarita]

We all know about vitamin C and that it's good for cols but it's MUCH more than that:

- immune system booster
- lowers blood pressure
- keeps cardio vascular health (cleans plaque from blood vessels and keeps cholesterol from oxidizing)
- helps in healing (from wounds to internal surgery to knitting of broken bones)
- washes heavy metals out of system
- prevents cataracts
- natural antihistamine and anti-inflammatory (great help for respiratory issues)
- cancer preventive and protector of cells and DNA
- regulates blood sugar
- preventive of kidney malfunction

Wonderful thing, vitamin C, isn't it? But the kicker is that the body utilizes large amounts of it, it does not store it and it also does not absorb/utilize the artificial man-made vit C efficiently so, in order for our birds to be getting a goodly amount of it, they need to eat foods rich in it regularly, at the very least, and daily, if at all possible (easier than it sounds). Below, sources that are actually higher in vitamin C than oranges and which parrots enjoy:

- chili peppers, red and green peppers (organic)
- kale (organic), broccoli, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts
- papaya, strawberries (organic), kiwis, mango and pineapple

[Wolf]

But just like many other highly beneficial vitamins, it does not operate alone and requires other vitamins and minerals in order for the body to properly utilize it, so you must also eat foods that have adequate amounts of these as well.

[Pajarita]

Correct! But that's the wonder of Nature versus man-made! Fruits, veggies' nutritional elements are in perfect balance and work synergistically for the highest benefit so the only thing you actually need to pay attention to is the combination of colors because different colors mean different vitamins and minerals so, as long as you serve, say, a blue fruit (blueberries) with a yellow veggie (squash) and a leafy green (kale) or any other combination of colors (oranges with red pepper and blue kale - or bananas with orange peppers and chicory - etc), you know you are pretty much rounding up a good diet.

[Fidget]

... so the only thing you actually need to pay attention to is the combination of colors because different colors mean different vitamins and minerals so, as long as you serve, say, a blue fruit (blueberries) with a yellow veggie (squash) and a leafy green (kale) or any other combination of colors (oranges with red pepper and blue kale - or bananas with orange peppers and chicory - etc), you know you are pretty much rounding up a good diet.

So any different color combo of fruits and veggies is fine? It doesn't have to be blue, red, and green pairings specifically? Just mix up the colors? Also, are yellow fruits/veggies similar to orange fruits/veggies? Can they be served together (i.e. yellow bell pepper and a tangello)?

[Wolf]

Personally I would try to mix veggies of different colors as well as types to insure a larger variety of vitamins and minerals. If I had a specific vitamin/ mineral that I wanted to increase in their diet I would add more of that type and color of veggie.

[mls475]

What is best thing to put in a parrot "salad"? I"m pretty new to all this and read 50 different things that contradict each other a day. I have a 3 month old sun conure. Thanks.

[Pajarita]

A salad meaning greens? Or a salad like a fruit salad kind of thing? I give my birds gloop (which has veggies and two kinds of greens), a piece of fruit, a veggie and a leafy green for breakfast and, what I do is always try to make it so they are all different colors but, when it comes to produce, the dark red, blue and purple are the overall most nutritious (blueberries, blackberries, black cherries, pomegranate seeds, purple kale, beets, currants, plums, elderberries, grapes, blue corn, purple potatoes/carrots/cabbage/figs, etc), followed by red/orange/yellow (sweet potatoes, strawberries, red/orange/yellow peppers, carrots, yellow corn, mangoes, papaya, peaches, cantaloupe, ruby grapefruit, butternut, pumpkin, summer squash, yellow zucchini, etc) and last is white (but the 'white' -like apples, pears, white nectarines, etc- are OK when you serve them with the skin because that's where all the vitamins are - and you have potatoes, bananas, white corn and hominy, parsnips, turnips, yucca, white sweet potato, cauliflower, etc).

As to greens, I give them broccoli, butter/redleaf/Greenleaf/boston lettuce, chicory, escarole, regular/blue and dino kale, regular/red/rainbow Swiss chard, endive, celery, carrot tops, dandelion, savoy/red/green cabbage as well as nappa (aka Chinese cabbage), arugula, Brussels sprouts, etc but you also have the green veggies like sweet peas, pigeon peas, sugar snaps, snow peas, French and regular green beans, green zucchini, etc.

[mls475]

Thanks for the info