Date: 20 Aug 1994 07:44:24 -0700
From: taltar@vertigo.helix.net (Ted Altar)
Subject: Vit C from Fruit (repost)
Newsgroups: rec.food.veg
Organization: Helix Internet
Lines: 82

VITAMIN C: WHAT ABOUT FRESH FRUIT AND WHAT ABOUT MEGA-DOSES?
                              Ted Altar

In general, fresh fruit is better than, say, orange juice made from
oranges.  The reason is that vitamin C in fruit deteriorates when
exposed to air and when heated or frozen (which producers of juice
will do in order to kill or suspend the action of mold).

In fact, during the freezing or canning processes of any
fruit or vegetable (and this includes packaging fruit juice
in cartons), 50% or more of the vitamin in fruits or
vegetables may be lost!

Of course, if they add synthetic vitamin C to the juice at
the processing plant, then all bets are off. ;-)

Irrespective of vitamin C, the taste and orange tang freshly
squeezed orange juice, especially from organic oranges,
simply can't be beaten by any carton juice that I know of.
Delicious!   :)

Incidentally, other factors regarding vitamin C absorption
are worth noting.  For instance, normally 80% to 90% of
vitamin C intakes up to 100mg/day are absorbed, while
amounts greater than that are less well absorbed.  Intakes
of 60 mg is sufficient to replace the 3% of the 1,500 mg
body pool of vitamin C.  If the body pool drops below 300
mg, then scurvy can develop.  The maxium amount that the
body pool can contain may be as high as 5,000 mg.  Assuming
that 3% is used up daily, then 120 mg will maintain
"tissue saturation",.  It is not clear if this is
desireable, but some nutritionists think so.  Still,
it is worth noting the words of Dr. Robert Hodges:

     No one pretends that the mere avoidance of deficiency
     diseas represents an optimal nutrient intake for
     humans.  But the term "tissue saturation", when
     referring to vitamin C allowances, suggests that there
     is somthing healthful about "full saturation" with this
     nutrient.  This same philosophy has never been used
     with regard to any other nutrient, with the possible
     exception of protein.  For example, we make no effort
     to try to attain the highest possible tissue
     concentration of thiamin, riboflavin, pantothenic acid
     or, indeed, even of iron.

Diets high in zinc, copper, iron or pectin are thought to
decrease absorption or affect vitamin C's nutritional status
in some other way (e.g., possible oxidization).  That is why
taking mineral supplements if you don't really need them can
affect your vitamin status of such things like vitamin C,
and therefore make for nutritional imbalances although one
might have thought that he or she was helping to prevent
nutritional imbalances by taking the supplement in the first
place.  And of course, there are some toxicity problems with
taking too much of certain nutrients.

The best place to get your daily nutrients is from whole
foods, not supplements, unless you have to for medical
reasons or due to special circumstances as properly assessed
by a nutritionist or doctor.  In any case, people should be
far more careful then they are about self-medicating
themselves with vitamins and minerals.  Besides, why waste
your money on needless supplements, the only benefit maybe
to turn your urine a brilliant yellow.  ;-(   Some benefit.

                         Cheers,

                              Ted

References:
     Howerde Sauberlich, PhD.  "Vitamins -- How Much is For
        Keeps?"   NUTRITION TODAY, 1987, 21:20

     Charles Marshall, PhD.  VITAMINS AND MINERALS: HELP OR
        HARM, 1985.

     Robert Hodges, MODERN NUTRITION IN HEALTH AND DISEASE,
         1980.