Vitamin C, perhaps the main national assistant in the fight against ARVI and the common cold, disappeared from sale in many pharmacies in the first days of the coronavirus panic. We tell you what its strength is and how to get it from food.
Ascorbic acid – and this is the second name of vitamin C – is one of the most important trace elements in our metabolism. This is a powerful antioxidant that not only actively fights free radicals responsible for cell aging, but also helps to cope with the consequences of their effects in the past.
Vitamin C is involved in the synthesis of collagen – one of the most important proteins in the body, insufficient production of which leads to weakening of connective tissue, bones, poor wound healing, bleeding gums and other unpleasant consequences. It also takes part in the production of carnitine, is important for the absorption of a number of trace elements and for the restoration of oxidized vitamin E.
Finally, without enough of it, the immune system begins to falter. A number of studies have shown that ascorbic acid is also necessary to protect the respiratory system and help prevent complications in the case of SARS – this is especially true for people who are at an increased risk of developing pneumonia (for example, for allergy sufferers, asthmatics and the elderly).
Thanks to vitamin C, the symptoms of the disease are significantly alleviated, and the duration is reduced by 20%
There is a lot of controversy around the benefits of vitamin C in the fight against colds – from experts you can also hear rather skeptical reviews regarding the use of ascorbic acid as a therapy or prevention of acute respiratory viral infections. The roots of this skepticism go back to the 1970s, when Professor Thomas Chalmers conducted a study, the results of which showed that the power of vitamin C was exaggerated.
Chalmers took two groups of people with a cold: one gave “pacifiers”, and the other – vitamin C. The second overtook the first in recovery by only 0,11 days. For many years this study has become a cornerstone in relation to ascorbic acid and its ability to help us heal.
However, it later turned out that the dose used by Thomas Chalmers was very low, only 25-50 mg. In addition, the professor was smart with the data – he did not take into account all the indicators and results, and published even less. More thoughtful studies, during which people were given 1-6 grams of the vitamin, showed that the symptoms of the disease were significantly alleviated, and the duration was reduced by 20%.
Vitamin C on our table
From food products, all types of cabbage are especially rich in ascorbic acid, including cauliflower and broccoli, citrus fruits, berries (especially more acidic species), rose hips, herbs and dark green leafy, bell peppers, tomatoes and kiwi. Adding these foods to your diet is a great idea, even outside of the cold season.
But you need to do it wisely. For all its merits, vitamin C has the unfortunate disadvantage of being very fragile and poorly tolerated by light, collision with oxygen, and extreme heat. The pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries have learned how to develop stable forms of this substance, but in wildlife it continues to require very gentle treatment. In other words, you have to know how to cook it.
Of course, the best option for eating foods rich in ascorbic acid is raw. Moreover, the less time passes between the violation of the natural shell of a vegetable, fruit or berry, the better. But in the conditions of seasonality, pampering yourself with fresh berries or even cauliflower is an opportunity far from being generally available.
Freezing enters the arena, especially shock, – vitamin C survives best under this. For comparison, with this type of preservation, about 85% of ascorbic acid is preserved, while, for example, during drying, only a third of its original amount.
Simple Recipes
However, it should be borne in mind that defrosting vitamin C is also not good, so it’s better not to simmer food for a long time after freezing, but to put it into action as soon as possible. For example, just before a meal, berries can be crushed and mixed with any sweetener that suits you, making something like a fruit sorbet. And you can cook a fruit drink loved by many – the main thing is to do it right.
To preserve as much ascorbic acid as possible in this drink, it cannot be boiled – crushed berries should be poured with warm water, mixed well and filtered if you want a fruit drink without pulp.
The cooking algorithm is quite simple: you need to boil water and let it cool to a pleasantly warming temperature. When the water is ready, mash the berries with a sweetener – sugar, honey or any other – to the state of gruel and combine with water. By the way, in boiled water, you can infuse spices – cinnamon, star anise, cardamom – for the aroma of fruit drink, as well as ginger root for greater usefulness.
It’s not worth storing such a fruit drink for a long time – after a few hours, the concentration of vitamin C in it, alas, will be very small, so it’s worth cooking in small portions, and not in pans for future use.
Both for cooking and for eating it is better to use ceramic, glass or enameled dishes.
The same, by the way, applies to tea with lemon, with which we used to solder ourselves when we caught a cold. From the point of view of preserving the beneficial properties of lemon, this makes little sense. But warm water or half-cooled tea with fresh lemon juice added immediately before drinking is another matter.
Since vitamin C does not like serious heat treatment, salads made from fresh cabbage, greens and leaves become the main helpers, but not the only ones. A great way to preserve the maximum “ascorbic acid” is fermentation. Good old sauerkraut here will become a real friend of the immune system. The main thing is that it be fermented according to all the rules – with a little salt, without additives like vinegar and other unnecessary ingredients.
You can cook this yourself – for a kilogram of cabbage you will need a small carrot and a tablespoon of non-iodized sea salt. Vegetables need to be chopped, covered with salt, mashed until juice is formed and left under pressure at room temperature for three days, periodically piercing with a stick to the bottom. On the fourth day, you can eat it, but you can hold it longer by putting it in the refrigerator.
No matter how you prepare foods rich in vitamin C, it is always better than nothing. But it is worth remembering that the vitamin is sensitive to copper and iron – these elements destroy it, and therefore it is better to use ceramic, glass or enameled dishes for cooking and eating.
It should also be noted that most experts say that even a perfectly balanced diet of a modern person is often not able to fully cover the need for this trace element, unless we are talking about the summer months, when we can eat almost literally from the garden. However, it is worth talking to your doctor about whether it is time to start taking this vitamin in the form of a supplement.