"The more sour the fruit, the higher the vitamin C content?"
Vitamin C tablets taste sour, so fruits with high vitamin content are definitely high in vitamins.
Rumor analysis
This statement is very loose.
Vitamin C tablets are acidic, which does not mean that the taste of acid must be vitamin C. The sour taste of fruits mainly comes from organic acids, so some fruits that taste very sour are not actually high in vitamin C.
When it comes to vitamin supplementation, many people first think of fruits; And when it comes to vitamin C supplementation, many people think of sour-tasting fruits, such as lemons and sour oranges. Some people even think that the more acidic the taste of the fruit, the higher the vitamin C content, however, is this really the case?
Copyright stock image, no permission to reproduce
The more acidic the fruit, the richer the VC?
Vitamin C has nothing to do with taste.
First of all, let's take stock of the fruits that taste sour in our daily life: lemon, hawthorn, passion fruit, kiwi...... If the vitamin C content is judged by the sweet and sour taste, then the vitamin C content of the lemon with the highest acidity must be very high, and it is no wonder that many people soak the lemon slices in water and want to supplement vitamin C!
However, by consulting the latest version of the "Chinese Food Composition List", it can be seen that the vitamin C of lemon is 22mg/100g, which is not as high as the amount of vitamin C of Chinese cabbage, and is only 1/3 of the vitamin C content of Chinese cabbage (64mg/100g).
Copyright stock image, no permission to reproduce
Even when compared to fruits, lemons do not have much of an advantage in vitamin C, and they are not as high as the vitamin C of oranges that we usually eat (33mg/100g). In addition, they are more acceptable and convenient to eat than oranges, and it is easier to supplement with vitamin C.
And the lemon taste is so sour, at most it is used to make lemonade or seasoning, I believe no one will bite it directly! I've seen videos before, and some people challenge to eat whole lemons without expression, and most of them end up failing.
The vitamin C content of several other fruits with a sour taste: passion fruit, hawthorn, and kiwi fruit, respectively: 32mg/100g, 53mg/100g, and 62mg/100g. Among them, kiwifruit is still more suitable for vitamin C supplementation, eating two kiwi fruits a day can almost meet the vitamin C needs of a day.
Although hawthorn looks okay with vitamin C, it is high in calories, with 102kcal per 100g, which is 1.7 times that of kiwifruit (61kcal/100g). If you eat it to replenish vitamin C for a day, you have to eat 200g, so many hawthorns may gain weight!
The source of the sour taste of the fruit – organic acids
In fact, the sourness of the fruit does not come from vitamin C, but is determined by the organic acids in the fruit. If the organic acid content is high and the sugar content is still low, such a fruit will taste sour.
Copyright stock image, no permission to reproduce
Different organic acids in fruits also have different effects on the degree of acidity of fruits. Fruits with high citric acid content have a sour taste; Fruits with high tartaric acid content, sour and slightly astringent taste; The malic acid content is high, and it will also have a slightly bitter taste while being sour.
Which fruits are appropriate to eat for VC?
For vitamin C supplements, the following 5 kinds of fruits are recommended:
conclusion
It's unreliable to judge the vitamin C in a fruit by its sweet and sour taste, and a sour taste doesn't mean it's high. If you want to supplement vitamin C, you can choose the above 5 fruits.
According to the "rumor" mirror
We tend to trust our senses, but our senses are not as reliable as instruments and do not really determine the content of nutrients.
In addition to the unreliability of vitamin C by acidity, it is also unreliable to determine the sugar content by sweetness – there are fruits that taste sweet but are not high in calories, and knowing a little more about this can help us enjoy the taste and stay healthy at the same time.
bibliography
[1] Yang Yuexin. Chinese Food Composition Table, 6th Edition, Volume 1[M].Peking University Medical Press,2018
[2]. Zheng Lijing, Nie Jiyun, Yan Zhen. Research Progress on Sugar and Acid Components and Their Effects on Fruit Flavor[J]. Journal of Fruit Science, 2015, 32(2):304-312.
Planning and production
Author丨Xue Qingxin, member of Chinese Nutrition Society, registered dietitian, health manager, public nutritionist
Audit丨Gao Chao, Associate Researcher, Institute of Nutrition and Health, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention
Editor丨Ding Kun
Reviewer丨Xu Lai, Lin Lin