Vitamins in Fruits
All mothers teach their children that fruits are very healthy and that they contain many vitamins, while practically all who have a cold are recommended to add lemon to their tea. But how many vitamins fruits contain in reality?
All yellow fruits such as apricots, apples, pears, etc. contain vitamin A which is essential for normal skeletal growth and reproduction functions as well as for healthy skin and vision. Vitamin B3 which is important as pellagra preventive can be obtained from avocado, figs, dates, dried plums and roasted peanuts. Nuts are the source of vitamin B5, while peanuts, walnuts and melon contain vitamin B6, and apricot, melon and avocado vitamin B9 or folic acid.
Besides vitamin A and some of vitamin B Complex fruits are probably best known for being source of vitamin C. Next to lemon which is often a synonym for vitamin C, sources of vitamin C are also other citrus fruits (orange, lime, grapefruit) as well as all berry fruits: gooseberry, raspberry, blackberry, strawberry, redcurrant, bilberry, cowberry, cranberry, common medlar, grapes, etc.
Fruits might be healthy and an important source of vitamins, however, fruits alone do not provide adequate amount neither all necessary vitamins. The amount of vitamins in fruits also greatly varies from the quality of the fruit itself. It is probably not necessary to emphasis that freshly picked fruits are much better source of vitamins than for example canned fruits or fruits which were picked or harvested before they were ripened.