The New Complete Book of Food
refrigerator may lose only 2 percent of its vitamin C in three months. Prepared, pasteurized
“fresh” juices lose vitamin C because they are sold in plastic bottles or waxed-paper cartons
that let oxygen in.
Commercially prepared juices are pasteurized to stop the natural enzyme action that
would otherwise turn sugars to alcohols. Pasteurization also protects juices from potentially
harmful bacterial and mold contamination. Following several deaths attributed to unpas-
teurized apple juices containing E. coli O157:H7, the FDA ruled that all fruit and vegetable
juices must carry a warning label telling you whether the juice has been pasteurized. Around
the year 2000, all juices must be processed to remove or inactivate harmful bacteria.Medical Uses and/or Benefits
Antiscorbutic. All citrus fruits are superb sources of vitamin C, the vitamin that prevents or
cures scurvy, the vitamin C-deficiency disease.
Increased absorption of supplemental or dietary iron. If you eat foods rich in vitamin C along
with iron supplements or foods rich in iron, the vitamin C will enhance your body’s ability
to absorb the iron.
Wound healing. Your body needs vitamin C in order to convert the amino acid proline into
hydroxyproline, an essential ingredient in collagen, the protein needed to form skin, ten-
dons, and bones. As a result people with scurvy do not heal quickly, a condition that can be
remedied with vitamin C, which cures the scurvy and speeds healing. Whether taking extra
vitamin C speeds healing in healthy people remains to be proved.
Possible inhibition of virus that causes chronic hepatitis C infection. In January 2008, research-
ers at Massachusetts General Hospital Center for Engineering in Medicine (Boston)
published a report in the medical journal Hepatology detailing the effect of naringenin, a
compound in grapefruit, on the behavior of hepatitis viruses in liver cells. In laboratory
studies, naringenin appeared to inhibit the ability of the virus to multiply and/or pass out
from the liver cells. To date, there are no studies detailing the effect of naringenin in human
beings with hepatitis C.Adverse Effects Associated with This Food
Contact dermatitis. The essential oils in the peel of citrus fruits may cause skin irritation in
sensitive people.Food/Drug Interactions
Aspirin and other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as ibuprofen, naproxen
and others. Taking aspirin or NSAIDs with acidic foods such as grapefruit may intensify the
drug’s ability to irritate your stomach and cause gastric bleeding.