More Vitamin C Than You Think
October 5, 2009 by Peggy Rowland
Filed under Women's Health
How much vitamin C does that fruit juice or soft drink really contain?
Spanish researchers want to determine the content of vitamin C in foods with far more accuracy. A recent study by pharmacists from the University of Santiago de Compostela (USC) found that many fruit juices and soft drinks contain much higher amounts of vitamin C than their labels indicate.
Apple juice had the highest vitamin C content of the 17 samples analyzed.
The pharmacists were able to detect vitamin C levels more accurately due the new chromatographic technique they developed. Of the 17 fruit juices and drinks tested, only two had accurate amounts of vitamin C (or ascorbic acid) listed on their labels.
Vitamin C is good for you, right? Yes, it’s a natural antioxidant with several health benefits. However, getting too much vitamin C may cause gastrointestinal problems.
One member of the research team explained that the labels of many fruit drinks probably only indicate the amount of added ascorbic acid. The labels may not take into account the fruit’s natural vitamin C content.
(Photo: Leonid Mamchenkow)
