FRUITS AND VITAMIN C NOTES

What are Vitamins? Chemicals that help the body function properly.

B. Water Soluble B C Remember – The Bee (B) goes into the Sea (C) and the sea is water. Kinds of Vitamins A. Fat soluble A D E K Remember – “A deck” without the C.

Where are they? Large amounts of B vitamins are found in grains and in animal foods Fruits and Vegetables are good sources of Vitamins A and C Your body manufactures vitamin D Vitamin E can be found in nuts and seeds and green leafy vegetables Vitamin K is in fruits and vegetables, dairy products, eggs, and wheat

Vitamin C 1. Sometimes called ascorbic acid 2. Unstable – destroyed by air and heat and it is dissolved in water (Water soluble) air heat water

What Does it Do? 1. Helps to form collagen which gives structure to bones, teeth, connective tissue, and blood vessels 2. Helps in healing wounds 3. Helps skin to resist infection 4. Aids in the absorption of iron 5. Works as an antioxidant

Discovery of Vitamin C Scurvy is a disease caused by a deficiency of Vit. C that has been around even in Bible days. It causes bleeding gums, loss of teeth, liver spots on the skin and many other terrible symptoms. Untreated it leads to death. In olden days many sailors got scurvy. It was a real problem for the seamen but no one knew what was causing it. In the 1500’s one ship’s captain found a witchdoctor in Newfoundland that had a magic potion of pine needles that cured his sailors.

Discovery of Vitamin C Scurvy is a disease caused by a deficiency of Vit. C that has been around even in Bible days. It causes bleeding gums, loss of teeth, liver spots on the skin and many other terrible symptoms. Untreated it leads to death. In olden days many sailors got scurvy. It was a real problem for the seamen but no one knew what was causing it. In the 1500’s one ship’s captain found a witchdoctor in Newfoundland that had a magic potion of pine needles that cured his sailors.

In 1747 a Doctor James Lind thought that the disease might be caused by the poor diet the sailors were eating so he tried an experiment. He divided some of the sailors into pairs and added the following things to each pairs diet. 2 had cider 2 had vinegar 2 had acid, alcohol ginger and cinnamon 2 had garlic, mustard and herbs 2 had seawater 2 had oranges and lemons

Which sailors were cured? The 2 sailors that ate the oranges and lemons were cured of their scurvy. This proved that something in these fruits was the cure but they still didn’t know exactly what it was. From then on the sailors were fed citrus fruit and in England became known as “Limeys”.

How Often Do I Need Vit. C? Because Vitamin C is water soluble it is not stored in the body. Any extra that you eat is discarded from the body. Therefore, you should eat a Vitamin C rich food every day!

Good Sources of Vit. C Mother’s milk Strawberries Oranges (citrus fruits) Broccoli Cantaloupe Grapefruit Cauliflower Potatoes

Learning About Fruit There are 6 different categories of fruits.

Melons Hard outer surface that is smooth or netted; juicy flesh.

Examples Cantaloupe Honeydew Watermelon Casaba Crenshaw Muskmelon

Berries Fragile cell structure; pulpy and juicy; tiny seeds embedded in flesh

Examples Blackberries Cranberries Strawberries Grapes

Citrus Grow in warm regions, firm rind and pulpy flesh

Examples Oranges Grapefruit Tangerines Lemons Limes Kumquats Citrons Tangelos Ugli fruit

Tropical Fruits Grow in very warm climates; differ in skin composition and seed characteristics.

Examples Bananas Pineapple Avocados Dates Figs Mangos Papayas

Pomes Smooth skin and an enlarged fleshy area that surrounds the core

Examples Apple Pear Kiwi

Drupes Contain a single seed, or pit, surrounded by juicy flesh.

Examples Peach Cherry Plum Nectarines Apricot

Just for Fun How many of these fruits from around the world have you tried?

Fruits Around The World Atemoya – sweet tropical fruit from Florida

Casaba

Kumquats

Citrons

Tangelos

Dates

Pomegranates

Papaya

Blood Oranges

Lychees

Guava

Gold Watermelon Gold Watermelon

Mangosteens

13. Persimmons

14. Asian Pears

Plantains Plantains

Passion Fruit Passion Fruit

Prickly Pears Prickly Pears

Currants Currants

Damson Plums Damson Plums

Rambutans Rambutans

Star Fruit (Carambola) Star Fruit (Carambola)

Longan

Pluots Pluots

Ugli Fruit Ugli Fruit

Dragon Fruit Dragon Fruit

28. Cherimoya

Feijoa Feijoa

Durian Durian

Genip Genip

Quince Quince

Pomelo Pomelo

Sapodilla

Gooseberries

Figs Figs

Ackee

Mango – warm climate fruit that resembles a red-orange pear.

Square Watermelons For those of us who struggle to handle a watermelon because of its size and shape, help is at hand. Tesco has developed a new square version which can be sliced like a loaf of bread. The supermarket says many people are put off the refreshing and healthy fruit because it rolls around in the fridge, or it is difficult to slice and eat; so they have adopted growing techniques, which originated in Japan, to offer the square versions. There is no weird science or genetic modification involved in the process. They are grown in wooden boxes with clear sides which are placed around the growing fruit which naturally swells to fill the surrounding shape. The melons, which feature distinctive dark green and yellow stripes, are being grown in Brazil by one of Tesco’s regular suppliers and take 60 days to reach maturity. Square melons are already available in Japan where they are sold for about 10,000 yen or roughly a sky high £46 [$92USD] appealing only to the better off as show piece food. These melons are grown to the exact size so that they fit easily onto the shelves of 'fridges in Japan.

Fruit Pizza