Ascorbic Acid in Lemons
Ascorbic acid, or vitamin C as a food additives, is an essential vitamin, which means that your body needs it but lacks the metabolic machinery to produce it on its own. Ascorbic acid functions in a variety of roles including collagen synthesis and neurotransmitter synthesis; it's also an antioxidant. You can obtain ascorbic acid from many different foods, but citrus fruits are an excellent source. Lemons in particular provide ascorbic acid with relatively few calories. Ascorbic acid is an antioxidant, a substance that helps fight off free radical damage in your cells, and it plays a role in collagen and tissue formation in the teeth, bones and blood vessels.
Ascorbic acid is most commonly associated with citrus fruits, such as oranges and grapefruit, but it is also plentiful in other fruits and vegetables. One cup of cooked, boiled cabbage provides 56.3 mg of vitamin C, while 1 cup of cooked, boiled Chinese cabbage has 44.2 mg. Raw cabbage's vitamin C content differs from the cooked variety; 1 cup of raw cabbage provides 25.6 mg of vitamin C. Comparatively, 1 cup of raw oranges contains 95.8 mg of vitamin C.
Flesh of Lemons
Ascorbic acid is not entirely contained in the juice portion of lemons. You also obtain ascorbic acid from the entire lemon. According to the USDA Nutrient Database, a lemon without the peel or seeds contains about 31 mg ascorbic acid and 17 calories. This means that you get an additional 12 mg ascorbic acid by consuming the flesh and juice of a lemon compared with just drinking the juice.
Lemon Peel
The last source of Foodchem ascorbic acid in lemons comes from the peel. Since you do not generally consume the peel of the lemon with the juice and flesh, this does not account for a lot of dietary ascorbic acid. According to the USDA Nutrient Database, one tablespoon of the peel of a lemon contains 8 mg ascorbic acid and 3 calories. You will commonly consume lemon peel, or lemon zest, in baked goods, such as lemon meringue pie.
Other Sources of Vitamin C
Other sources of ascorbic acid are peaches, food additives strawberries and red sweet peppers. One large peach contains 12 mg ascorbic acid. One cup of whole strawberries contains 85 mg ascorbic acid. One large sweet red pepper contains a whopping 210 mg ascorbic acid and only 51 calories.
Ascorbic acid is most commonly associated with citrus fruits, such as oranges and grapefruit, but it is also plentiful in other fruits and vegetables. One cup of cooked, boiled cabbage provides 56.3 mg of vitamin C, while 1 cup of cooked, boiled Chinese cabbage has 44.2 mg. Raw cabbage's vitamin C content differs from the cooked variety; 1 cup of raw cabbage provides 25.6 mg of vitamin C. Comparatively, 1 cup of raw oranges contains 95.8 mg of vitamin C.
Flesh of Lemons
Ascorbic acid is not entirely contained in the juice portion of lemons. You also obtain ascorbic acid from the entire lemon. According to the USDA Nutrient Database, a lemon without the peel or seeds contains about 31 mg ascorbic acid and 17 calories. This means that you get an additional 12 mg ascorbic acid by consuming the flesh and juice of a lemon compared with just drinking the juice.
Lemon Peel
The last source of Foodchem ascorbic acid in lemons comes from the peel. Since you do not generally consume the peel of the lemon with the juice and flesh, this does not account for a lot of dietary ascorbic acid. According to the USDA Nutrient Database, one tablespoon of the peel of a lemon contains 8 mg ascorbic acid and 3 calories. You will commonly consume lemon peel, or lemon zest, in baked goods, such as lemon meringue pie.
Other Sources of Vitamin C
Other sources of ascorbic acid are peaches, food additives strawberries and red sweet peppers. One large peach contains 12 mg ascorbic acid. One cup of whole strawberries contains 85 mg ascorbic acid. One large sweet red pepper contains a whopping 210 mg ascorbic acid and only 51 calories.
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