The Relationship Between Vitamin C and Guava

Guavas are a tropical fruit often underrated for their nutritional value. During growth, guavas develop a rich vitamin C concentration. In fact, a serving of guava can provide as much as 250 percent of your recommended daily allowance, or RDA, for vitamin C. Adding guava slices to your breakfast or enjoying guava as a dessert after dinner, helps provide all of the essential vitamin C you need for the day.

Benefits of Vitamin C

Vitamin C is a water-soluble vitamin, which means your body doesn't store it and you must consume vitamin-C rich foods every day. Most commonly, vitamin C is known for its role in boosting your immune system by warding off foreign bacteria. Vitamin C acts like an antioxidant, fighting off free radicals that can permanently damage cells throughout your body. Additionally, this important vitamin helps make collagen, a structural part of veins, connective tissues, skin and more.

Vitamin C and Guava\When you think of vitamin C, the first thing that comes to mind may be citrus fruits, such as oranges or grapefruit, which are readily available everywhere you shop. You may need to shop around to find guavas, which provide more vitamin C than citrus fruits or many other types of produce. According to the Office of Dietary Supplements, men need 90 mg of vitamin C daily, and women require 75 mg. A 1/2-cup or 4-ounce serving of guava provides approximately 188 mg of vitamin C, whereas the same serving of fresh orange has less than 50 mg. Since guavas have such a high vitamin C content, including them in your diet several times per week may help keep you healthy by invigorating your immune system.

Handling of Guava

Vitamin C is relatively stable and withstands harsh handling procedures. Research published in the "Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry" in 2010 evaluated guava and the vitamin C content during storage, cleaning and preparation in restaurants. According to researchers, vitamin C content under usual storage conditions and handling procedures remains the same. Researchers noted only minimal, insignificant changes in vitamin C content by the time prepared guava reached restaurant customers. Since vitamin C in guava is very stable, you don't have to worry about losing it when you slice and dice the fruit.

Ways to Enjoy Guava

You can enjoy guava in a variety of ways, but make sure it is soft to the touch before consuming. The rind and seeds are also edible, but usually discarded before eating. While eating guava fresh in the summer is a refreshing treat, you can also cook it, which is common in Latin American cuisines. Guava nectar or puree is readily available at your local grocery store, making a delicious addition to sauces, smoothies or salad dressings. Dried guava has minimal vitamin C content, since most of the water-soluble vitamins dissipate during water removal.