Fruit and vegetable juices linked with vitamin C boost

A new study published in the British Medical Journal has found that drinking a daily glass of 100% fruit or vegetable juice is associated with higher blood levels of vitamin C and carotenoids - the orange colour in carrots - compared with other foods in the diet.

The large survey looked at the dietary patterns of more than 23,000 people and analysed vitamin C and carotenoid levels in their blood. It also examined risk of developing type 2 diabetes as this can be lower in people who eat a lot of fruit and vegetables.

The top scoring categories for vitamin C levels in the blood were fruit and vegetable juices followed by citrus fruits, fruiting vegetables (e.g. tomatoes, avocados, peppers, courgettes) and cabbage.

This can be expected as fruit juices are a rich source of vitamin C. One small glass of orange juice provides more than 80% of the daily recommendation.

Vitamin C contributes to the maintenance of many body functions, such as normal immunity, protection of cells against oxidative stress and reduction of tiredness and fatigue.

Reference

Zheng J et al. (2020) Association of plasma biomarkers of fruit and vegetable intake with incident type 2 diabetes: EPIC-InterAct case-cohort study in eight European countries BMJ 370: m2194 www.bmj.com/content/370/bmj.m2194

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