Where'd all the vitamin C go?

[Chrissi]

Okay, so everyone knows that fruit has vitamin C.

Then where does it all go when they make juice?

I have noticed this, time and time again, that fruit juices never seem to have vitamin C unless they have been fortified with it. Check this out. This site says that lemons have 45% of your daily value of vitamin C in a quarter of a cup. Now, I'm sure there must be an eighth of a cup of lemon juice in a bottle of lemonade, but vitamin C is not even listed on the label, except to note that it is "not a significant source of vitamin C".

I have in my hands a bottle of Everfresh Fruit Punch. Reading the ingredients, I can see that it contains all sorts of natural fruit juices - the natural juices are listed first, and the artifical ones after, meaning there is more natural juice than artificial flavour in this.

However, reading the Nutrition Facts, this bottle has 0% DV of Vitamin C.

What the **** is going on? Where does it all go? There is natural pear, apple, pineapple, orange, lemon, cherry, and grapefruit juice in this, but no Vitamin C at all.

I've looked through juices - cause I love juice - like Fruitopia, Snapple, random brands of fruit juices, etc, etc, all of which have real fruit in them, but they NEVER have vitamin C unless they are "fortified" with it.

Hell, even orange juice is fortified with vitamin C. I wonder what it would be like if it WEREN'T fortified. We're always told "drink orange juice, it's got your vitamin C" but does it only have vitamin C because they put it in there!? If it were so rich in vitamins, why would they need to fortify it?!

[Mindfields]

Just take the damn pills, woman. Damn.

[Tasselfoot]

I am far from an expert on this... but my best guess would be that the juices of the fruit do not contain the Vitamin C. Instead, it is within the "meat" part of the fruit.

There is no pulp in your fruit drinks... so there is no "meat" in them. But in OJ, there usually is pulp. That is where the C comes from in the OJ but not the other fruit drinks.

Either that, or it is not real fruit juice used in the fruit drinks... another real possibility.

[Chrissi]

Hmmm...

But that site says the "juice" of the lemon has vitamin C. And the lemonade contains "lemon juice".

I... don't know.

[hydrojakep]

They remove it so you dont get aids.

[JurseyRider734]

I think the more important question is where did Vitamin C go?

Man, she was so good!

[Chrissi]

Ah Christ. Did I need to post this in Critical Thinking to get any serious replies? Honestly, this isn't the GB or anything.

[Omeganitros]

I got your back, homie. I'm a fruit-lover too. I'd rather have fruit salad over any kind of dessert.

[scorpio1690]

Answer your question?

[Mindfields]

Well don't move it to the GB, it will only get worse there.

[jujo07]

As far as I understand it there is an L Ascorbic Acid side as well as a D Ascorbic Acid Side to Vitamin C. The L side is most beneficial to people and the D side is pretty much useless.

In an orange, the Vitamin C is primarily the L side, and remains so in the surroundings of the orange. However, when the Vitamin C is extracted and preserved for a period of days, the L side changes to D and the juice will eventually even off at 50% D and 50% L. Also, when adding water to the L side that will produce the same kind of reaction.

As for where most of the Vitamin C disappears to, it's beyond me.