Vitamin C also goes by the following names: antiscorbutic vitamin, antiscorbutic vitamin.
Vitamin C is a water-soluble substance that does not accumulate in the body. It must be ingested with food daily, otherwise you will not see high spirits all day, as it has access to the emotional environment of a person. Vitamin C helps maintain vitality for many years.
The value and role of vitamin C
What else is vitamin C useful for: it has a strengthening effect on bone tissue, skin, tendons, teeth, blood vessels, especially microscopic capillaries, increases the elasticity and strength of blood vessels, accelerates the healing of wounds, burns, bleeding gums. Taking a sufficient amount of ascorbic acid has a positive effect on regulating metabolic processes. Also, vitamin C improves the functioning and condition of the endocrine glands, digestive organs, adrenal glands and liver, lowers blood cholesterol levels, has anti-allergic and anti-cancer effects, prevents the formation of ulcers in the stomach, has a beneficial effect on the eyes, removes toxins from alcoholics and drug addicts, and helps with varicose veins. dilated veins, hemorrhoids, slows down the aging process of the body, eliminates wrinkles and folds, takes care of the harmony of our figure and beauty. Ascorbic acid is involved in the production of a number of hormones, including anti-stress ones. Calcium and vitamin C are natural dentists, according to modern biochemists, because: Vitamin C fights bacteria that cause dental caries and strengthens the gums, while calcium gives strength to teeth and jaw bones.
Daily requirement of vitamin C
The recommended daily allowance for vitamin C is:- for adults 45.0 - 70.0 mg;
- for pregnant women 70.0 - 90.0 mg;
- for nursing mothers 70.0 - 100.0 mg;
- for children, depending on age and gender 40.0 - 50.0 mg;
- for infants 30.0 - 35.0 mg.
With changes in climatic conditions, large muscle loads, illnesses, stressful situations, and for older people, it is necessary to increase the intake of vitamin C.
What foods contain vitamin C (sources)
Plant foods containing vitamin C:
Dried rose hips, barberry, fresh rose hips, sea buckthorn, black currant, parsley, pepper, Brussels sprouts, dill, wild garlic, hawthorn, broccoli, cauliflower, kiwi, garden ash, orange, grapefruit, strawberries, horseradish (root), white cabbage cabbage, lemon, tangerine, pineapple, sorrel, green onion, green peas, tomatoes, radish, potatoes, domestic apples, garlic, cucumbers, beets, carrots.
Vitamin C is found in animal products:
Horse milk.
The name of the products is written in descending order by the amount of vitamin C in it. (the data is rather arbitrary, the content of vitamins and minerals may differ depending on the soil where the product grew)
Vitamin C Interactions and Compatibility
Vitamin C promotes the absorption of aluminum, which can be toxic to you, so you should not take preparations containing aluminum along with ascorbic acid. Contraceptives and aspirin can reduce blood levels of vitamin C. Vitamin C takes part in the absorption of iron and the neutralization of toxins, interacts with vitamins B2, B5. Ascorbic acid is necessary for the formation of folic acid and the protection of hemoglobin iron, as well as for stabilization, which in turn enhances the antioxidant properties of vitamin C.
Vitamin C deficiency symptoms
Possible symptoms of vitamin C deficiency:- frequent colds;
- bleeding gums;
- inflammation of the mucous membranes;
- phlebeurysm;
- joint pain;
- dry skin;
- haemorrhoids;
- overweight;
- lethargy;
- increased fatigue;
- weak nerves;
- poor concentration;
- irritability;
- depression;
- insomnia;
- early formation of wrinkles;
- hair loss;
- blurred vision;
- scurvy.
Symptoms of an overdose of vitamin C
It must be remembered that the symptoms of an overdose are not as terrible as with a lack of vitamin C. But still, large doses can change the absorption of vitamin B12 and lead to its deficiency. With prolonged abuse of vitamin C, itching, irritation of the urinary tract, and diarrhea may occur. Also, ascorbic acid should not be abused by pregnant women, with increased blood clotting and diabetes.
The diet of a modern person, as a rule, is excessive in calories. At the same time, ongoing epidemiological studies indicate almost year-round hypovitaminosis in adults and children.
A person who was engaged in hard physical labor (a peasant who plowed the land), 3 or more centuries ago, consumed a diet with an energy value of 5000 kcal per day and such a diet ensured the supply of all essential micronutrients in sufficient quantities. Including vitamins.
The physiological needs of a person for vitamins and minerals remained the same, and the amount of food consumed was significantly reduced. So, for an office employee, the calorie content of a daily diet of more than 2200 kcal is, as a rule, excessive and not optimal.
As a result, in order to ensure the intake of all essential micronutrients in the amount of physiological needs, a modern person needs to take them as part of balanced VMCs.
Of great importance in reducing the intake of vitamins in the body is the use of highly refined foods, from which all vitamins are removed during processing. These include sifted white flour, white rice, sugar, etc. Another problem of people's nutrition, especially in cities, is the consumption of canned foods.
The methods of cultivation of vegetables and fruits currently used in commercial agriculture have led to the fact that the amount of vitamins in many fruit and vegetable crops has decreased by 30-50%. Thus, even a well-balanced diet can hardly meet the body's need for vitamins.
The reasons for the decrease in the content of micronutrients in products:
Widespread impoverishment of cultivated land
Modern non-saving food preparation technologies and micronutrient reduction
On average, 9 months a year, Europeans eat vegetables after long-term storage or grown in greenhouses. Such products have a lower level of vitamins compared to vegetables from the open field.
During heat treatment of food, from 25% to 90-100% of vitamins are lost.
After three days of storing food in the refrigerator, 30% of vitamin C is lost, at room temperature - 50%
Vitamins are destroyed in the light
Vegetables without skins contain significantly less vitamins than unpeeled vegetables. Therefore, when choosing a method of preparing food for maximum preservation of vitamins, it must be taken into account that the content of nutrients can vary significantly depending on the situation.
- When milk is boiled, the amount of vitamins contained in it is significantly reduced.
- In the light, many vitamins are destroyed.
- Drying, freezing, mechanical processing, storage in metal containers, pasteurization reduce the content of vitamins in the original food products.
- The content of vitamins in vegetables and fruits varies widely depending on the season, variety, climatic conditions and locality.
Vitamins in food and how to save them
| Vitamin | Herbal products | Animal Products |
| BUT | Carrots, citrus | Butter, cheese, eggs, liver, fish oil |
| Beta Carotene | Carrots, parsley, spinach, spring greens, melon, tomatoes, asparagus, cabbage, broccoli, apricots | |
| D | Milk, eggs, fish oil, cod liver oil, fatty fish | |
| E | Corn, sunflower, olive oils, peas, sea buckthorn | |
| K | Green leafy vegetables, spinach, Brussels sprouts, cabbage and cauliflower, whole grain cereals | |
| IN 1 | Dried brewer's yeast, pork, wheat germ, oats, nuts (hazelnuts) | |
| IN 2 | Yeast extract, wheat germ, wheat bran, soybeans, broccoli | Liver, egg yolk, cheese |
| RR | Green vegetables, nuts, whole grains, yeast | Meat, including chicken, liver, fish, milk, cheese |
| AT 5 | Yeast, legumes, mushrooms, rice | Liver, organ meats |
| AT 6 | Wheat germ and bran, green leafy vegetables | Meat, liver, fish, milk, eggs |
| AT 9 | Nuts, green leafy vegetables, beans, wheat germ, bananas, oranges | Eggs, organ meats |
| AT 12 | Yeast, seaweed | Liver, kidneys, caviar, eggs, cheese, milk, cottage cheese, meat, fish |
| H | Egg yolk, liver, kidneys |
Sources of vitamins of plant and animal origin
The main source of vitamins for humans is food (see table). The content of vitamins in the diet can vary and depends on various reasons: on the variety and type of products, methods and terms of their storage, the nature of the technological processing of food, the choice of dishes and eating habits. The composition of food plays an important role.
With the predominance of carbohydrates in the diet, the body needs more vitamins B 1, B 2 and C. With a lack of protein in food, the absorption of vitamin B2, nicotinic acid, vitamin C decreases, the conversion of carotene to vitamin A is disrupted. In addition, it is of great importance in reducing the intake of vitamins the body has the use of highly refined products (sifted white flour, white rice, sugar, etc.), from which all vitamins are removed during processing. Another problem of people's nutrition, especially in cities, is the consumption of canned food.
The cultivation methods currently used in commercial agriculture for vegetables and fruits have reduced the amount of vitamins A, B 1 , B 2 and C in many vegetable crops by 30%. For example, vitamin E has almost completely disappeared from lettuce, peas, apples, parsley. The amount of vitamins in spinach of one crop can be 30 times less than in the greens of another crop. In other words, even a strictly balanced diet cannot always provide the body's need for vitamins.
The content of vitamins in foods can vary significantly:
- When milk is boiled, the amount of vitamins contained in it is significantly reduced.
- On average, 9 months a year, Europeans eat vegetables grown in greenhouses or after long-term storage. Such products have a lower level of vitamin content compared to vegetables from the open field.
- After three days of storing food in the refrigerator, 30% of vitamin C is lost (at room temperature this figure is 50%). - During the heat treatment of food, from 25% to 90-100% of vitamins are lost.
- In the light, vitamins are destroyed (vitamin B 2 is very active), vitamin A is exposed to ultraviolet rays.
- Peeled vegetables contain significantly less vitamins.
- Drying, freezing, mechanical processing, storage in metal containers, pasteurization reduce the content of vitamins in the original products.
- The content of vitamins in vegetables and fruits varies widely in different seasons.
Vitamin C is an indispensable substance that is necessary for the health of the whole organism. The main route of its entry into the human body is with food. Vitamin C foods should be included in your daily diet. When compiling a balanced menu, it is important to consider the level of vitamin C in foods.
What is vitamin C and why does the body need it
This is a biologically active compound that dissolves in water, which ensures the normal course of most biochemical reactions in the body. This substance, related to glucose, in the form of a powder has a white color and a sour taste.
It received its second name "ascorbic acid" from the Latin "scorbutus" (scurvy). Back in the 18th century, scientists noticed that citrus fruits contain a certain substance that prevents the development of scurvy in sailors. Only later it was discovered that just ascorbic acid, which is found in large quantities in lemons, tangerines, and oranges, protects against scurvy.
Ascorbic acid plays one of the main roles in creating body defenses and stimulating the human immune system. It helps to restore strength after physical exertion and cleanses the body of carcinogens.
You need to know which foods have the most vitamin C. First of all, these are vegetables, fruits, berries and herbs. Heat treatment significantly reduces its content in food, so it is more useful to use such products in their raw, unprocessed form. Vitamin C in food increases the overall resistance of the body, improves the state of all its functions.
Description and functions
In the process of evolution, the body has lost the ability to produce ascorbic acid on its own, and food has become its main source for humans. Foods high in vitamin C have many health benefits:
- normalize blood cholesterol levels;
- strengthen blood vessels;
- regulate metabolic processes;
- fight inflammatory processes;
- help to remove toxins;
- prevent oxygen starvation;
- improve skin condition;
- slow down the aging process;
- prevent the development of cancer;
- strengthen immunity;
- reduce the risk of developing atherosclerosis and the appearance of atherosclerotic plaques;
- are a powerful antioxidant;
- maintain blood clotting at the desired level;
- participate in the production of collagen;
- prevent the development of allergic reactions;
- improve the absorption of iron.
Read also What vitamins are effective against hair loss
You need to have an idea of what foods contain vitamin C in order to regularly include them in your daily menu.
Foods rich in vitamin c
Most of the foods containing vitamin C come from plant foods. In food of animal origin, its amount is negligible. There are many tables that detail the amount of vitamin C in food.
It should be remembered that freezing, salting, drying, cooking and even cutting reduce the level of ascorbic acid in foods. Heat treatment reduces its content by almost 2 times. Therefore, herbal products are best consumed fresh. And vegetables for salads are cut just before serving, until the level of nutrients has decreased. It is harmful to store food in metal utensils.
An exception to the food processing rules is sauerkraut. It contains no less ascorbic acid than fresh. In winter, sauerkraut is a great alternative to missing fresh vegetables and fruits. You can use it every day.
Animal Products
The highest level of ascorbic acid in offal: in beef lungs, pork liver, kidneys and adrenal glands. A small amount of ascorbic acid is found in products such as beaver and horse meat. There is no vitamin C in beef, pork, chicken, although this meat has enough other useful substances and trace elements.
Milk products
Most of all ascorbic acid is in koumiss. Goat's milk follows. In cow's milk and fermented milk products such as kefir, sour cream, cottage cheese, etc., the vitamin content is low. In cheese, cheeses, both cow and goat, sheep, there is no ascorbic acid.
Fish and seafood
Cod caviar is extremely rich in useful substances. You should choose the one that was made from freshly caught unfrozen fish right on the ship on the high seas. Also a large amount of ascorbic acid in nori seaweed, mussels, squid, crab meat and shellfish.
Cereals and legumes
Here the first place is at the peas. The second is in fresh soybeans. Sprouted grains, which are in demand among adherents of a healthy diet, have a high level of ascorbic acid. When sprouting, the amount of nutrients in grains increases hundreds of times.
Seeds and nuts
Nuts are a nutritious and healthy product, they contain many necessary substances, including vitamin C. Hazelnuts, walnuts and pine nuts, cashews must be present in the diet. Of the seeds, the highest content of ascorbic acid in pumpkin seeds. In addition to ascorbic acid, they contain substances that have anti-inflammatory, antioxidant effects.
Read also A complete description and instructions for the use of vitamin D3 for men and women
Fruits, vegetables and greens
Contrary to popular belief, lemon is not the richest product in ascorbic acid. The undisputed leader is the wild rose. You can use it fresh, it is recommended to make decoctions of dried berries. Kiwi is also rich in ascorbic acid. 1-2 pcs. kiwi a day will cover the daily need for vitamins.
In the top three is blackcurrant. In addition to vitamin C, it contains essential oils, provitamins, potassium, phosphorus and iron salts.
Apples, broccoli, sweet peppers, white cabbage, spinach contain a large amount of ascorbic acid. Although not in the first, but not in the last place, all citrus fruits - tangerines, oranges, grapefruits, lemons, pomelo.
Foods with the highest content: table
The table provides a list of foods richest in ascorbic acid. By reading it, you can find out which food has the highest content of vitamin C.
| Product name | Vitamin C content, mg/100 g | Percent Daily Need |
| Rose hip | 650 | 930 |
| Black currant | 200 | 286 |
| Kiwi | 180 | 260 |
| Brussels sprouts | 100 | 140 |
| dill greens | 100 | 140 |
| Broccoli | 90 | 127 |
| Orange | 60 | 86 |
| Spinach | 55 | 79 |
| Grapefruit | 45 | 64 |
| White cabbage | 45 | 64 |
| Lemon | 40 | 57 |
| Mandarin | 38 | 54 |
| Beef liver | 33 | 47 |
| Green peas | 25 | 36 |
| Tomato | 25 | 36 |
| Persimmon | 15 | 21 |
| Cherries | 15 | 21 |
| Beef kidneys | 10 | 14 |
| Apples | 10 | 14 |
| Kumys | 9 | 13 |
| Watermelon | 7 | 10 |
| Champignon | 7 | 10 |
The level of ascorbic acid in all products depends on the conditions, how and where they were grown. Its concentration decreases if chemical fertilizers were used during cultivation and the storage conditions of products were violated. In addition to the fact that there is a lot of vitamin in rose hips, they are also useful because they contain bioflavonoids that improve the absorption of ascorbic acid.
The diet of a modern person, as a rule, is excessive in calories. At the same time, ongoing epidemiological studies indicate almost year-round hypovitaminosis in adults and children.
A person who was engaged in hard physical labor (a peasant who plowed the land), 3 or more centuries ago, consumed a diet with an energy value of 5000 kcal per day and such a diet ensured the supply of all essential micronutrients in sufficient quantities. Including vitamins.
The physiological needs of a person for vitamins and minerals remained the same, and the amount of food consumed was significantly reduced. So, for an office employee, the calorie content of a daily diet of more than 2200 kcal is, as a rule, excessive and not optimal.
As a result, in order to ensure the intake of all essential micronutrients in the amount of physiological needs, a modern person needs to take them as part of balanced VMCs.
Of great importance in reducing the intake of vitamins in the body is the use of highly refined foods, from which all vitamins are removed during processing. These include sifted white flour, white rice, sugar, etc. Another problem of people's nutrition, especially in cities, is the consumption of canned foods.
The methods of cultivation of vegetables and fruits currently used in commercial agriculture have led to the fact that the amount of vitamins in many fruit and vegetable crops has decreased by 30-50%. Thus, even a well-balanced diet can hardly meet the body's need for vitamins.
The reasons for the decrease in the content of micronutrients in products:
Widespread impoverishment of cultivated land
Modern non-saving food preparation technologies and micronutrient reduction
On average, 9 months a year, Europeans eat vegetables after long-term storage or grown in greenhouses. Such products have a lower level of vitamins compared to vegetables from the open field.
During heat treatment of food, from 25% to 90-100% of vitamins are lost.
After three days of storing food in the refrigerator, 30% of vitamin C is lost, at room temperature - 50%
Vitamins are destroyed in the light
Vegetables without skins contain significantly less vitamins than unpeeled vegetables. Therefore, when choosing a method of preparing food for maximum preservation of vitamins, it must be taken into account that the content of nutrients can vary significantly depending on the situation.
- When milk is boiled, the amount of vitamins contained in it is significantly reduced.
- In the light, many vitamins are destroyed.
- Drying, freezing, mechanical processing, storage in metal containers, pasteurization reduce the content of vitamins in the original food products.
- The content of vitamins in vegetables and fruits varies widely depending on the season, variety, climatic conditions and locality.
