Vitamin C

            Vitamin C promotes healthy teeth and gums, helps absorption of iron, aids in maintenance of normal connective tissue, promotes wound healing, and helps boost the immune system. With vitamin C being such a useful substance to our bodies, finding good sources of vitamin C is important. Many people today rely on vitamin supplement tablets. But fruit juices, vitamin-supplemented drinks, or vitamin-supplemented foods may contain just as much vitamin C as a supplement tablet. Which one is better though, commercially sold drinks or fresh fruit juices? This was the research question: Are commercially sold and popularly consumed juices a good substitute for fresh fruits in terms of dietary vitamin C? What this experiment sought to find out was exactly what kind of drink was better in terms of vitamin C. The juices were titrated into a set amount of DCPIP and measuring how many milliliters it took for the DCPIP to turn from blue to clear. The hypothesis was that fresh fruit juices should contain more vitamin C since they had not been heat treated and probably had spent less time on a shelf or being transported than commercially sold drinks. This is important since vitamin C is heat liable. This means that vitamin C is susceptible to change and unstable or that the vitamin C can break down easily if exposed to high temperatures or is kept for a long time on a shelf. The experiment and results showed that vitamin C is more abundant in fresh fruit juices. Therefore, it is safe to say that fresh fruit juices tend to contain more vitamin C than commercially bought juices. The body needs a good balance of foods, which must contain carbohydrates, proteins, and fats along with mineral salts, water, fiber, and vitamins. All of these are required in different amounts according to different people. However, there are recommended daily allowances. For example, the recommended daily allowance for vitamin C is 60mg.