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The purpose of this paper is to examine the stability and the parameters affecting the stability of vitamin C in beer, wine and orange juice.

In this study, a high performance liquid chromatography method was applied for reliable determination of ascorbic acid in these beverages. Three different types of beer, a wine and orange juice sample were spiked with ascorbic acid using different concentrations and pH values. The samples were stored at 4^oC, but in some cases 20^oC was also used as storage temperature. The joint effect of vitamin C and E was also examined.

The results demonstrated that vitamin C was stable only in orange juice at the original pH values. Under pH=4, beer was also a good matrix for vitamin C addition, but only at low storage temperature (4^oC). Vitamin E addition increased the stability of ascorbic acid (p<0.05) even at room temperature.

These findings could have significant implications to the beer industry. This study shows that vitamin C can be stable in beer during the shelf life of this product using appropriate pH and storage temperature.

The paper shows that the addition of an antioxidant vitamin is good from the point of view of the consumer's health, and it can improve the shelf life of the food because of its antioxidant activity.

Average intakes of vitamin B₆ are equal to, or greater than, reference nutrient intakes and clinical deficiency disease due to inadequate dietary intake is unknown. Although there is little scientific evidence of efficacy, the vitamin is widely recommended for treatment of premenstrual syndrome at levels of 50‐100mg/day (compared with reference nutrient intakes of under 2mg/day). At higher levels of intake (over 1,000mg/day), there is clear evidence of nerve damage, and there have been reports of symptoms of nerve damage in people taking between 50‐100mg/day.

Vitamin A Vitamin A is essential for healthy mucous membranes which line all the body's internal tracts, such as the digestive, urinary and respiratory systems. Vitamin A is required for vision in dim light and it is essential in order that the delicate linings of the eye lids and the coverings of the eye ball stay healthy. Vitamin A also appears to be needed for a healthy outer skin.

Professor H. M. Evans, when making a study of the reproductive capacity of rats at the University of California in 1922, found that animals given a diet containing all the then known vitamins failed to produce normal litters. This observation indicated that another vitamin was required for fertility and subsequently led to the recognition of vitamin E. The vitamin was known to be present in lettuce and wheat germ, since when either of these were added to the rats' feed their fertility was restored. Subsequently, in 1936, by a lengthy procedure for concentrating the vitamin, Evans was successful in isolating the pure substance from wheat germ oil. It was identified as an alcohol with the chemical formula G29H50O2 and found to be fat soluble. At the suggestion of Professor G. Calhoun, Evans introduced the name “a‐toco‐pherol” for the pure compound (from the Greek tokos = childbirth, phero = to bear, and “‐ol” indicating that the substance is an alcohol).

Vitamin D is one of the fat‐soluble vitamins. Its function in the body is to promote the absorption of calcium from the intestine and deposition of calcium in developing bone. If the young child does not have sufficient vitamin D he develops rickets. Vitamin D can be obtained in two ways, from the food, or by the action of the ultraviolet rays of the sunlight on a fatty substance, 7 dehydrocholesterol, in the deeper layers of the skin. There is at present no method for making a quantitative assessment of the amount of vitamin D obtained in this way, but it is believed to be the natural and most important means by which the body acquires its vitamin D. However, if a person does not expose his body to the sunlight, either because he (or more likely she) covers it up when she goes out, or stays indoors, or lives in northern parts of the world where there is no sunlight for many months of the year, there can be no conversion of 7 dehydrocholesterol to vitamin D. Even as far south as Scotland in the winter there is virtually no ultraviolet light. Vitamin D can be stored in the liver and body fat, so that a sunny summer may allow a store to be built up which can be drawn upon in the winter. However, whenever sunlight and particularly ultraviolet light does not reach exposed parts of the skin dietary sources of vitamin D become of major importance. The richest dietary sources of vitamin D are fatty fish such as herrings, kippers, pilchards and mackerel, but few people eat enough of these fish for them to be an important day to day provider of the vitamin. Most of our dietary vitamin D comes from margarine which is fortified with the vitamin, and eggs. Egg yolk contains about 5 micrograms of vitamin D per 100 grams, fortified margarine 8 micrograms and herrings, bloaters and kippers 25 micrograms per 100 grams.

Vegetables are rich in vitamin C, but most of them are commonly cooked before being consumed. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the effects of three common cooking methods (i.e. steaming, microwaving, and boiling) on the vitamin C content of broccoli, spinach, and lettuce.

100 g of homogeneous pieces of broccoli, spinach, and lettuce was separately processed for 5 minutes by steaming, microwaving, and boiling. A simple UV analytical method was employed to determine the vitamin C content of the vegetables.

Loss of vitamin C in broccoli, spinach, and lettuce during steaming was 14.3, 11.1, and 8.6 per cent, respectively, while the loss of vitamin C during boiling was 54.6, 50.5, and 40.4 per cent, respectively. During microwaving, loss of vitamin C in broccoli, spinach, and lettuce was 28.1, 25.5, and 21.2 per cent, respectively.

This study shows that any raw vegetable contains the highest content of vitamin C compared to that of cooked one. Eating raw vegetables is the best way to obtain vitamin C. Cooking methods (i.e. steaming, microwaving, and boiling) have huge impacts on the vitamin C content of vegetables. Steaming is the best cooking method for retaining the vitamin C content in vegetables.

This study evaluates for the first study the effects of three common cooking methods (i.e. steaming, microwaving, and boiling) on the vitamin C content of broccoli, spinach, and lettuce.

Because of the importance of having enough sleep in life and health, this study aims to determine the effect of vitamin D supplementation on sleep quality and pregnancy symptoms (primary outcomes) and side effects (secondary outcome).

In this triple-blind randomized controlled clinical trial, 88 pregnant women with gestational age of 8–10 weeks and serum vitamin D concentration less than 30 ng/ml were allocated into vitamin D (n = 44) and control (n = 44) groups by blocked randomization method. The vitamin D group received a 4,000 IU vitamin D pill, and the control group received a placebo pill daily for 18 weeks. Independent t-, Mann–Whitney U and ANCOVA tests were used to analyze the data.

The post-intervention mean (SD: standard deviation) of total sleep quality score in the vitamin D and placebo group were 1.94 (2.1) and 4.62 (1.71), respectively. According to the Mann–Whitney U test, this difference between the two groups was statistically significant (p < 0.001). The mean (SD) of pregnancy symptoms in the vitamin D and placebo groups was 23.95 (16.07) and 26.62 (13.84), respectively, and there was no significant difference between the two groups based on ANCOVA test (p = 0.56). Considerable side effects were not observed in any groups.

This study was conducted due to the contradictory results of the effect of vitamin D on sleep quality and the high prevalence of sleep disorders and pregnancy symptoms.

Somalia is an East African nation with a history of civil unrest that produced a significant influx of refugees in the USA in the last 25 years. Between 2000 and 2010, 40 percent of all US Somali refugees settled in Minnesota, which produces new cultural and health challenges for local communities and the state government. One such challenge is vitamin D deficiency, or hypovitaminosis D (Hv-D). Hv-D is developed through insufficient exposure to sunlight and low nutrient intake leading to increased risk for weakness and inflammation, oral health problems, diabetes, cardiovascular and autoimmune diseases and malignancies. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

In this narrative review, demographic, geographic and cultural information about Somali immigration are discussed.

Recent data suggest Somalis living in northern climates (Minnesota, the USA, Helsinki, Finland, Sweden and the UK) experience significant deficiencies in vitamin D. Vitamin D is stimulated by ultraviolet light exposure, a balanced and healthy diet, and dietary supplementation. High unemployment rates affecting access to health information and clinical services, significant cultural differences and climate differences pre-dispose this population to Hv-D. Health education and health promotion programming at the community and state levels in Minnesota should recognize the risk factors associated with Hv-D and the vulnerability of Somali refugees.

Current and future health programming should be re-assessed for adequate attention to vitamin D deficiency and cultural competency associated with the Somali immigrant population.

The body has an elaborate antioxidant defence system to protect against excessive free radical attack. Such attack has been implicated in the development process of several degenerative diseases.

The purpose of this study is to develop a chicken product that could supply calcium, vitamin E and vitamin C together with high sensory acceptability. The present study was envisaged to develop low-fat chicken patties fortified with calcium, vitamin E and vitamin C without any adverse effects on sensory attributes.

Three different levels of calcium lactate as a source of calcium viz. 1.5, 1.75 and 2.0 per cent, α-tocopherol acetate for vitamin E at 0.019, 0.023 and 0.029 per cent and ascorbic acid for vitamin C at 0.09, 0.12 and 0.15 per cent in low-fat chicken meat patties were tried and the optimum level was standardized based on physico-chemical, proximate and sensory parameters.

The calcium lactate at 1.75 per cent, α-tocopherol acetate at 0.029 per cent and ascorbic acid at 0.15 per cent were found to be optimum on the basis of proximate, physico-chemical and sensory parameters. The textural attributes of the standardized product was comparable to that of the control. The a*, b* and Chroma values for the low-fat chicken patties fortified with calcium, α-tocopherol and ascorbic acid were significantly higher (p < 0.01) than that of the control. The calcium and ascorbic acid concentration of the standardized product was significantly higher (p < 0.01) than that of the control.

The levels in the fortified product were found to be suitable to achieve a 20 per cent RDA of calcium and almost a complete RDA for vitamin C. The research findings demonstrated the development of a single-designer chicken product rich in calcium, vitamin C and vitamin E.