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The importance of vitamin c
Jenny Chew, Careline Advisor

Growing children have growing needs, this section will guide you through your children’s cognitive, emotional and physical development.  It is also full of useful nutrition advice for your child’s ever increasing energy and nutritional requirements and growth. This is a great stage in your child’s life as they become more interactive and engaging, but with their increased language and curiosity there may be some questions you can’t answer;  remember we’re always here to support you.

Jenny Chew, Careline Advisor
1800 265 3188

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Vitamin C, also known as Ascorbic Acid, is one of the many vitamins essential for our health. It is a water-soluble vitamin and excess is not stored in the liver but excreted in the urine. We must therefore obtain our supply of vitamin C from our daily diet.
 
Vitamin C plays multiple roles in the body, many of which have been well documented while others remain unclear. They are: Promotes wound healing

• Promotes wound healing
• Promotes development of bones and teeth
• Helps make hormones that regulate nerve function
• Builds resistance to infections
• Enhances absorption of non-heme iron (i.e. iron present in eggs and in non-meat sources such as beans, eggs, vegetables and dried fruits)
• Acts as an antioxidant to protect body cells and tissue from destruction by free radicals

*Free Radicals: Potentially damaging compounds which are formed during normal body processing such as cell respiration and from oxidative reactions involving certain medications, tobacco smoke, environmental pollutants and other chemicals.
 
Deficiency of Vitamin C
 
Deficiency of vitamin C results in scurvy, a disease with symptoms such as poor wound healing, bleeding gums, loosening of teeth, weakening of bones and skin heamorrhages.

Vitamin C: How Much is Enough?
 
The US Adequate Intake (AI) and Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDA) - 2000 for Infants and young children are as follows:



The Vitamin C Counter

Fruits and vegetables are the main sources of vitamin C. The amount increases with the freshness of the products and decreases with length of cooking time.

Vitamin C content of some foods


 
Maximizing Your Child's Vitamin C Intake

• Ensure adequate intake of vitamin C by offering at least 2 to 4 servings of fruits and vegetables every day.
• Choose from a wide variety of fruits and vegetables
• Minimize loss during preparation and cooking
• Vitamin C is easily lost in processing and cooking. It is unstable when it comes in contact with heat and air and because it is water-soluble, it leaches out of food into water. To minimize loss:


Did you know?

Recent studies showed that while oranges are an excellent source of vitamin C, the content of orange juices varies greatly, depending on the storage time. For instance, ready-to-drink juices average at 27 to 65 mg per cup at opening reduce to 0 to 25 mg per cup at expiration about 4 weeks later. It is therefore prudent to purchase ready-to-drink orange juices 3 to 4 weeks before expiration date and consume them within 1 week of opening. 
 
An intake of a serving or two a day of the good sources (*) will easily meet your child's daily vitamin C requirements.

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