Q. Does vitamin C cure the common cold?
A. Vitamin C may help to alleviate the severity of the common cold symptoms such as body aches and chills and fever, but it will not cure or prevent colds.
Q. How much vitamin C do adults need daily?
A. A 4-ounce serving of orange juice provides roughly 60 milligrams of vitamin C—the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for people over 15 years old. The same amount of vitamin C is supplied by 1/2 cup of green pepper or cooked broccoli.
Q. Will smoking cause vitamin C loss?
A. Although this has not been proved, a study done in Canada suggested that those who smoked more than a pack of cigarettes a day had approximately 40 percent less vitamin C in their blood than nonsmokers.
Q. Are massive doses of vitamin C harmful? A. It has been shown that in susceptible peoplemegadoses of vitamin C (10 times the RDA) can lead to the formation of kidney stones. In addition, excessive intake of vitamin C can increase the body’s need for this nutrient.
Q. Why is vitamin C added to foods?
A. Vitamin C, or ascorbic acid, is an antioxidant, an agent that prevents foods from becoming rancid or turning brown. Since it is also a nutrient, it can be used to enrich or fortify foods.
Q. Is vitamin C effective in treating cancer?
A. This matter is still under study and no generally accepted conclusion can be drawn.
Q. Can vitamin C be destroyed in cooking?
A. This water-soluble vitamin is one of the most fragile of all nutrients. Foods rich in vitamin C should be cooked in as little water as possible in a stainless steel, aluminum, or enamel pan rather than a glass pan because vitamin C is susceptible to light.