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Post by gerbilord on Oct 3, 2020 0:05:13 GMT -8
Rhubarb is quite sour compared to other vegetables and it leaves quite a bitter taste on the mouth. (I find) Everyone has their own personal taste, I am okay with rhubarb, but I prefer Apples and blackberries in my crumbles :)
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Post by Markpd on Oct 3, 2020 9:42:33 GMT -8
Yum!
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Post by betty on Oct 6, 2020 3:09:27 GMT -8
And that isn't very wise Mark to use something just because you have it right there - tut tut!
Anyway - the rhubarb plant is high in natural oxalate (an antinutrient (something that binds to other nutrients you eat and stops your body getting them - which can become dangerous or fatal)). Many foods contain antinutrients (like sweet potatoes and spinach) and their effects are most damaging/serious when eaten raw or in really high amounts.
Rhubarb can have both types depending on the part. (fresh firm) Rhubarb stalks are safer when cooked as cooking helps destroy/reduce the effectiveness of the oxalic acid - but you can eat them raw if you want apparently. Rhubarb leaves however contain so much of the stuff that eating them (even well cooked) can have disasterous accumulative effects - mainly on your kidneys - and can cause death in large volumes and/or continous consumption in unlucky people.
Mind you - saying that - most veg and plants we eat have a poisonous part - but we still eat them?
Now - back to gerbils - an article on egerbil (many years ago) said that gerbils probably have a gut bacteria that can help break down oxalates before they become harmful (mainly this MUST be the case as many foods in their habitat and burrows contained oxalates and there was no sign of specific kidney damage in wild-caught gerbils). Not sure though if this bacteria live on in the many generations later that we now have as pets though?
So, just like with anything unusual I suppose - I avoid it as I have a safer alternative, but if noone tries or researches these 'grey area' things - we can't find out if they are true. Just like the whole grape thing I commented on elsewhere - if people who HAVE tried these things long term all speak up - we can change our advice and get more factual answers.
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Post by Markpd on Oct 6, 2020 11:19:39 GMT -8
betty, you seemed to have missed my point (twice ) that it was only meant as a one off and a miniscule amount , that's not going to do any harm. Of course if didn't work for the one off, then it would be a useless tactic, but that's a different point. Interesting about Oxalate, not heard about that before, or anti-nutrients either, and I like sweet potatoes and spinach too! Lol, just my luck, although I don't have much of the latter at least. And interesting about Oxalates and Gerbils (I'm guessing this is the egerbil article you refer to?), it also mentions many other foods (some of which we eat and give to Gerbils to eat). No way am I giving up Strawberries! lol As for if the Gerbils still have that particular bacteria, perhaps they still do if Gerbils over the generations have been fed with the oxalate heavy foods?
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Post by betty on Oct 7, 2020 6:02:00 GMT -8
I know - I was just messing with you.
Yes, I read about raw sweet potato when I was researching safe foods for rats - and I like a bit of cross-species info: "Raw sweet potato forms a cyanide reaction in a rat's stomach; hence, mixing them with any of your food is a good natural rat repellent. ... It blocks the digestive system by aborting the necessary vitamin A and enzymes needed for the rats to digest the protein and starches..."
Yes, that is the egerbil article - and that is why you have to read WAY around a subject before you fall for a one liner.
Absolutely loads of food have 'bad' things in them (a reason why the phrase: 'it's natural' holds no sway with me). Usually however, they only has bad results for the wrong individual (genetic quirk or with an existing health condition) and if at the wrong time (uncooked, over-ripe, when ill/dehydrated/underweight/overweight/etc)). Like people on statins can't eat grapefruit, asthmatics should avoid dried fruit, gerbils should avoid onions, and male rats shouldn't eat citrus fruits???
So - unless you get an allergy to them - keep enjoying your strawberries!
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Post by Markpd on Oct 7, 2020 10:48:59 GMT -8
Heheh, I bit like a Gerbil then . Bit like the egerbil article on Dandelions, research saying caffaic (spelling??) acid (which is in Dandelions) was found to be carcongenic in rats and mice. What they failed to mention was that they were feeding some of them 2000-3000mg per day of it! To achieve that in Dandelions you would need to feed them kilos of the stuff!!
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Post by betty on Oct 8, 2020 15:21:36 GMT -8
Yes indeed - a lot of one-liners are 'in extreme circumstances only' and usually in either extreme volumes of the whole food or a molecular extraction which is super concentrated.
Also, a lot of foods don't work out too well to the body when in pieces - like juicing fruits really freaks out the body because you are taking a massive sugar hit with no bulk or fibres to go with it - like you would if you were slowly eating the whole fruit. I mean I had to juice 8 apples (when my tree was in fruit) to get one modest glass of apple juice. I could never eat 8 apples in a day even? I'd probably even be sick of them if I ate 8 apples in a week already???
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Post by yeti218 on Oct 8, 2020 16:34:49 GMT -8
Im pleased to report both gerbils are using a water bottle now.
I got a new one.
The first bottle I got them didn’t seem to work for them (despite my best attempts to bribe them), sometimes when I pressed on the ball bearings, I would need to press 2 or 3 times before getting any water on my finger. The new water bottle I have is a bit leaky, but I think the fact that there was often a drop of water on the end of the spout encouraged them to try it. I put a little dish under the bottle to catch any leaks. The new water bottle also seems to only have one ball bearing, the other one had 2, and the ball bearing moves with a much lighter touch, which may or may not contribute to ease of use.
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Post by Markpd on Oct 8, 2020 22:26:17 GMT -8
Good to know, what makes are those water bottles? Betty Lol, and with 8 apples a day you'd be going to the loo a lot too I think!
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Post by yeti218 on Oct 11, 2020 8:07:37 GMT -8
The first water bottle which they never used was called “all livings things small pet glass water bottle”
The second one is some brand I’d never heard of before. It’s called “m-pets glass drinking bottle”.
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Post by Markpd on Oct 12, 2020 14:39:18 GMT -8
Good to know :thumbsup:
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