During a cold, taking supplements of Vitamin C while taking medications to control cold symptoms can significantly shorten the duration of the cold! Vitamin C as an adjuvant treatment for early viral colds can rapidly improve patients' clinical symptoms (such as nasal congestion, runny nose, cough, poor appetite, vomiting, diarrhea, and other viral cold symptoms), and significantly improve the clinical efficacy for patients.
When a cold appears, many people will self-administer medications like Baijiahei, Xinkangtaikang, Gankang, Kuaike... Some even take several different drugs at the same time. However, all the aforementioned medications contain paracetamol and cannot be taken simultaneously. Moreover, compound medications are not as effective as single-ingredient drugs. Wei Wenshu, Chief Pharmacist of Fuzhou General Hospital of the Nanjing Military Region, points out that when you catch a cold, don't rush to take medication immediately. Especially when mild symptoms appear, you can first supplement your body with some Vitamin C, which can also help alleviate cold discomfort.
The King of Vitamin C
Which fruit is the true king of Vitamin C? It's not kiwi, not orange, and certainly not apple. The top three are actually rose hips, sour jujube, and fresh jujube.
Rose hip is a small berry, a specialty of the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau. Every 100 grams of its edible part can contain up to 2585 mg of Vitamin C, which is about 78 times that of an orange, making it the true king of Vitamin C. However, rose hips are too niche; people in the northern regions rarely get to eat the fresh fruit, usually only seeing processed rose hip juice, dried fruits, or drinking rose hip wine.
Since rose hips are too niche, when it comes to commonly eaten "common fruits," many believe that kiwi must have the highest Vitamin C content. But in fact, kiwi cannot compare to fresh jujube. Fresh jujube (including winter jujube) contains 243 mg of Vitamin C per 100 grams of edible part, while Chinese kiwi contains only 62 mg per 100 grams. Even the New Zealand-imported "kiwifruit" has nearly 60 mg less than fresh jujube.
In the competition for Vitamin C content in fruits, does kiwi get the bronze medal? Unfortunately, not. There is another fruit that is often heard of but not often eaten—sour jujube, which has a higher Vitamin C content per 100 grams than fresh jujube. However, sour jujubes are small and very tart, so you can't eat many. A small handful of fresh jujubes daily can provide you with abundant Vitamin C.
In addition, kiwis, hawthorns, strawberries, longans, lychees, etc., can also provide rich Vitamin C during their respective seasons. However, fruits with the highest consumption, such as apples, pears, and peaches, play a limited role in providing Vitamin C.
How to Preserve Vitamin C Nutrients?
[Eat as soon as possible]
Fruits do not need to be cooked. Eat them soon after cutting to reduce the loss of nutrients. Vegetables should also be eaten soon after cooking; prepare and eat them immediately to avoid repeated heating.
[Wash before cutting]
Vitamin C is a water-soluble vitamin. Therefore, when washing fruits and vegetables, wash them before cutting to reduce the increased loss of Vitamin C from the cut surfaces.
[Stir-fry over high heat quickly]
The cooking and heating time for vegetables causes significant loss of nutrients. Therefore, stir-fry over high heat quickly to shorten the cooking time. However, leguminous vegetables like green beans must be fully heated to effectively remove toxic nutrients.
[Add to boiling water]
For vegetables that need to be blanched, try to keep them whole during blanching to prevent nutrient loss from the cut surfaces. Also, it's important to control the appropriate temperature; add the vegetables to the water after it has boiled to preserve more of their nutrients.