Nectarines contain many different nutrients as well as a number of compounds that contribute to flavor but have no nutritional value. Citric acid is one of the latter. You can't use it to fuel your cells, but it helps to provide nectarines with their characteristic tangy flavor, and it doesn't do you any harm.
Nectarines
When you eat any fruit, nectarines included, you taste a complex blend of many different molecules. Some of these contribute to flavor. For instance, the sweetness of a nectarine comes from the sugars in the fruit, which you use to provide your cells with energy. The sourness of a nectarine comes from many different sources, explains Dr. Marco Esti and colleagues in a 1997 article published in the journal "Food Chemistry." These include citric acid.
Citric Acid
Citric acid is a very important biomolecule that isn't just found in fruits. Your own cells -- and those of most living organisms -- make citric acid in the process of generating energy from fats, carbohydrates and proteins. This doesn't mean, however, that the citric acid you consume when you eat a nectarine will make you feel energetic. Your body treats ingested citric acid differently from the citric acid you make.
Using Citric Acid
The citric acid in nectarines and other fruits gets absorbed into your bloodstream, explains Dr. A. Pajor in a 1999 article published in the scientific journal "Seminars in Nephrology." He explains that because citric acid is so water soluble, you eliminate most of what you absorb through the urine. You can, however, absorb a small amount of citric acid into your cells -- primarily liver cells -- and convert it into fat.
Considerations
The citric acid in nectarines is of virtually no biochemical consequence to you. This means you can eat nectarines and other citric acid-containing food without worrying that the acid is doing you any harm -- but it's not really doing you any good either. One common misconception is that citric acid, like vitamin C, helps you absorb iron from your food. While this is true of vitamin C, it's not true of citric acid.
References
- "Food Chemistry"; Quality Evaluation of Peaches and Nectarines by Electrochemical and Multivariate Analyses: Relationships Between Analytical Measurements and Sensory Attributes; Marco Esti, et al.; 1997
- "Seminars in Nephrology"; Citrate Transport by the Kidney and Intestine; A. Pajor; 1999
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