Vitamins. As they are destroyed.

You can enjoy a hundred times the generous vitamin composition of a product and anticipate the beneficial effect of its consumption of various dishes. It is important not to forget that vitamins are not so permanent - they are subject to destruction. Some vitamins are destroyed by temperature, others by sunlight, and others are affected by some third factors. This should be known and remembered!

How do vitamins tolerate heat treatment?

Vitamin A. It is found in liver, garlic, butter, broccoli, seaweed, carrots, tomatoes, green onions and dill. Heat treatment destroys up to 30% of its biological properties.

Especially intensively vitamin A is destroyed when frying, drying under the influence of ultraviolet rays. It is well preserved when products are sterilized at temperatures up to 120 degrees.

Vitamin B1. It is found in oatmeal, millet, pork, liver, buckwheat, and pasta. It is particularly sensitive to cooking (loses up to 45% of its use), frying (up to 42%) and stewing (up to 30%). Loses activity at temperatures above 120 degrees.

Vitamin B2. It is found in liver, mushrooms, chicken eggs, and goose. If you cook these products, you will lose up to 43% of their useful properties, so other cooking methods are preferable (when stewing, only 10% of the vitamin's biological activity is lost).

Vitamin B6. It is found in beans, tuna, mackerel, sweet peppers, chicken meat, spinach, white cabbage. This vitamin is really resistant to high temperatures, and cooking these products is even useful, because this way B6 releases its active components.

Vitamin B9. It is found in liver, beans, spinach, broccoli, barley, porcini mushrooms and mushrooms. It does not tolerate any heat treatment, losing up to 90% of its properties. Especially significant losses of this vitamin during cooking and preservation.

Vitamin C. It is found in rosehip, sweet pepper, cabbage, oranges, lemons, garlic, spinach. No wonder these products are often eaten fresh: boiling cabbage, we lose up to 90% of the vitamin, and stewing destroys it by 50%. Each subsequent heat treatment of the finished dish reduces the content of vitamin C by 30%.

Vitamin D. It is found in sea bass, liver, chicken eggs, and butter. It tolerates heat treatment well if the temperature does not exceed 100 degrees. It is destroyed largely due to the influence of oxygen, so it can easily withstand the sterilization of products.

Vitamin E. It is found in rosehip, salmon, walleye, wheat, dried apricots, prunes, oatmeal and barley groats. Practically does not break down under the influence of high temperature, but suffers from direct sunlight.

vitamin pp. It is found in poultry, rabbit, beef, fish and liver. Is perfectly resistant to any thermal processing, canning and freezing. These products will lose from 5 to 40% of the beneficial properties of the vitamin, no matter how they are prepared.

How do I preserve the useful properties of products?

In order not to lose all the vitamins in the cooking process, control the temperature: it should not exceed 100 degrees. This will destroy pathogenic microorganisms, but will preserve the biological properties of the products.

The heat treatment time should be reduced as much as possible. Steamed or baked vegetables. Do not cut them too small, or use a grater or blender. Optimally, if the products are cleaned and cut before use.

For better visualization and ease of understanding which of the factors negatively affecting the vitamin refer to the table.

Vitamin Destroying factor Additional information
Water Air Light Heating
A

Cooking takes away about 30% of retinol from products, and alcohol and high temperatures completely destroy it. To light and the effect of air relative to the uprights.
D Mediocre resistance to air oxygen. At temperatures above 100°C begins the process of destruction, 200°C-a critical figure.
E Sun rays and prolonged heat treatment over 170°C, actively destroy it. There is a weak resistance to freezing and long-term storage.
C Any physical or chemical effects negatively affect the presence of this vitamin in foods. It is destroyed even if it is not stored for a long time.
B1 Thiamine (B1) quickly dissolves in water and loses its properties. It is destroyed when heated above 100°C. The effect of direct sunlight is not established.
B2 Riboflavin (B2) is slowly destroyed in water. It is stable in an acidic environment, but not stable in an alkaline one. The effect of light on this vitamin has not been established.
B3 Nicotinic acid, vitamin PP, Niacin are all aliases of B3. It quickly dissolves in hot water. Alcohol also actively destroys this vitamin.
B5 Pantothenic acid (B5) slowly loses its properties in water, and heating and alcohol actively destroys this vitamin. The influence of air and light is not established.
B6 Pyridoxine (B6) quickly dissolves in water, is not resistant to sunlight and is quite slowly destroyed by heat treatment. Resistant to oxygen.
B9 Folic acid (B9) is destroyed fairly quickly under all types of physical and chemical influences. It loses its properties even during long-term storage.
B12 Cobalamin (B12) is subject to the negative effects of water, alcohol, and direct sunlight. It is destroyed by contact with copper or iron. Resistant to heat.
To Phylloquinone or penilevaginal (K) weakly resistant to heat treatment and is rapidly destroyed under the influence of direct sunlight.